keep the blood flowing through your legs. like my socks? i also make a point to stand and walk around the plane as much as i can as much as the flight attendants will allow me. this week i'm on the road again in fact so follow me at cnn.com/sanjay or on twitter sanjay gupta cnn. make an appointment. come back to see us next weekend right here on sgmd. time to get you a check of your top stories. randi kaye is with us. from cnn center this is cnn saturday morning. allegations of a shocking scandal send u.s. secret service agents home from the president's trip to colombia. we'll bring you the details. also, remember these images from tuscaloosa last year? meteorologists are bracing for another tornado outbreak as devastating as this one likely just hours from now. we'll talk with a storm chaser on his way to tornado alley.

and north korea's big launch turned into a big bust, but some say it was just a coverup for a more sinister plan. we'll talk with governor bill richardson live. what's this guy doing? we'll tell you how a gator on the loose brought the pga tour to a screeching halt. it is saturday, april 14th. good morning, everyone. i'm randi kaye. we start with a massive black eye for the secret service. a dozen agents had to be pulled from their assignments in colombia because of a prostitute. it happened before the president even stepped off the plane in colombia. he is there for the summit of the americas. here's what the secret service is telling cnn. those personnel are being relieved of their assignments, returned to their place of duty, and being replaced by other secret service personnel. the agency also says the president's security was never compromised. joining me now from washington is journalist and author ronald kessler. you broke the story.

how big a deal do you think this is? >> this is really the biggest scandal in the history of the secret service. the biggest breach was when the salehis crashed the state dinner with a third intruder and it amounts to a pattern of corner cutting, covering up, laxness by secret service management. yet, mark sullivan, the secret service director, continues over all these fiascos. president obama has said he has complete confidence in the secret service. you know, i understand he admires the agency protecting them and he thinks that represents the secret service but in my book "in the president's secret service" i go into all kinds of issues including letting people into events without screening -- >> let's talk more about this issue. the secret service has said that the president's safety was not

compromised. but there was a risk here. i know you believe that. you believe it could have certainly put the president at risk. >> sure. of course, it's totally inappropriate for agents to be going to prostitutes in the first place. >> what was the risk? >> the real risk is, you know, some of these agents were married. they could have been subjected to blackmail by these prostitutes. as a result, they could have let terrorists in to secure areas and that could have resulted in assassination. as it is, it's a miracle that there hasn't been an assassination according to agents i've talked to because of this corner cutting, letting people into events without proper screening, not keeping up to date with the latest firearms, not requiring firearms tests or physical exams. just as one example recently, an agent who was overweight, out of shape, could not even open the door of the president's limousine. so what was the solution? the secret service instead of

removing her, and she was a supervisor, said, well, try to park the limousine in a better way so that she can open the door more easily. another example, mary cheney who is under protection, dick cheney's daughter, insisted that her agents take her friends to restaurants. well, of course, they're not taxi drivers. they're law enforcement officers. they refused as they should have but she complained and got her detail leader removed so management, you know, backed, instead of backing the guys doing the job removed him. that sends a message, for example, to the agents who let -- or uniformed officers who let the salehis into the white house dinner. gee, if we enforce the rules, if we turn away people, we might be in trouble because our own management will not back us. >> ronald kessler, appreciate your time and insight into the secret service on this. thank you. our dan lothian is traveling with the president for the summit of the americas and joins

us now from colombia. what is the secret service saying about this? >> reporter: well, first of all, pointing out that they take all of these allegations seriously, confirming that, in fact, these secret service personnel were relieved of duty, not confirming specifically that number of a dozen secret service personnel, not confirming what the nature of their actions were, just saying that it was some kind of misconduct. but, you know, i think what is interesting about something like this or perhaps even disturbing, is that when they have these kinds of summits, the white house pretty much comes here with a well scripted agenda. they want to focus on issues of trade, on the economy. this is a region that has been expanding quite significantly over the last decade. and those are the kinds of things that they'd like to focus on. but i think what usually ends up making news is the unexpected.

remember back in 2009 the president's first summit of the americas when he was handed that book by chavez from venezuela and that became a big story, it's always that unexpected. this of course being more serious than that, a black eye for the secret service and certainly something that is a huge distraction for the summit for the white house. >> what do you think when you talk about the idea, the notion that these 12 secret service members were sent home? they were replaced but we heard from ronald kessler who actually broke this story a moment ago that it was actually -- it happened because one of the secret service members refused to pay a prostitute and then they called police and that led to this being exposed. what do you think is going on right now inside the administration? how will they deal with this? >> reporter: well, they do have a division, which is kind of an internal affairs division, which we are told is now investigating this. so, no doubt, there are a lot of interviews that will be taking place. certainly, some of that must have taken place already on the

ground here, so they could at least form some of the basic levels of information on this so they could send those agents or those personnel home. that investigation continues but as the secret service points out, they have brought in additional personnel and they believe that the president's security has not been compromised by this action. >> dan lothian, appreciate that. watching it all there in colombia for us. thank you. opposition activists say syrian forces launched attacks on at least two sites today threatening an already shaking cease-fire. the opposition says forces shelled homes at dawn. activists say they opened fire on protesters in another city wounding at least 20. the cease-fire aimed at ending the government crackdown on citizens began thursday. firefighters in newark, new jersey got some help from an unlikely source. the city's mayor, corey booker, saw smoke coming from his neighbor's home then ran inside

and pulled her to safety, but the mayor is dismissing the talk that he is a hero saying he, quote, did what most neighbors would do. he suffered smoke inhalation and second-degree burns. his neighbor is in serious condition at the hospital. mitt romney is going to be late with his taxes. the candidate and his wife, ann, have filed a six-month extension past next tuesday's deadline. the romneys are not alone. the irs says more than 10 million taxpayers filed for extensions. if you live between wichita falls, texas, and lincoln, nebraska be on the lookout for some severe storms. forecasters say there will likely be a tornado outbreak later today, this evening, or overnight. the storm prediction center in norman, oklahoma put out an alert more than 24 hours in advance. that's only the second time ever that the center has done that. and meteorologist ailexandr steele is watching it all waiting for the storms to happen. >> really the key and you just said it most of the severity of this seems tonight to come after sunset so of course it's dark.

you can't see. if i talk about any of your cities or any places you may be today, or tomorrow, kind of just have a plan in place. maybe get a bicycle helmet or flashlight or some food or just have a plan for the weekend. let me show you what's happening this morning. at this point nothing severe though we do have a tornado watch. here is a look right now from oklahoma city to st. louis. this i-44 quadrant, if you're driving through that this morning or flying through some of any of these cities you could really have some issues. hone in a little bit. this is red box, the tornado watch, meaning not a warning. a warning -- tornado warning certainly more severe meaning a tornado has been spotted. a watch means atmospheric conditions are right for tornadoes to develop and that is certainly the case. you can see tulsa into this, it is all moving northeast at about 30 miles per hour. so that's what's currently happening. kind of want to show you the ingredients on why the threat could be so severe tonight and into tomorrow. all this moisture coming up from the gulf. we have this area of high pressure kind of keeping that

moisture at bay. that has pushed eastward, allowed all this moisture to come up. also this jet stream kind of moving right over this warm, moist quadrant and the upper level area with this cold pocket aloft so kind of everything atmospheric, very dynamic. certainly. so here is the line of concern today. oklahoma city, wichita, k.c., omaha, and into des moines. so today's biggest threats, there they are including abilene, texas. now as we move toward sunday, watch what happens. now, the threat moves farther east but it also goes much farther north. look at this. we pick up green bay, wisconsin. so the access really farther north for severe weather tomorrow. green bay, chicago, st. louis, little rock, houston. some very big cities impacted today and also for tomorrow. so there's the big picture. quadrant of concern right here through the plains. waking up in new york, good morning to you. connecticut, albany, new york, wherever you may be in the northeast, washington beautiful. atlanta and charlotte this morning as well. temperatures are comfortable. really some mild air. northwest is nice but also rain

moving into the pacific northwest, points south through california and then snow in the intermountain west. the snow kind of full bore second half of the spring. no question about it. of course, though, randi, the biggest concern have a tornado watch until 9:00 central this morning. but certainly all eyes for tornado warnings developing probably around 4:00 this afternoon but then through tonight, 11:00, 12:00, and then that of course the biggest concern in the dark when you can't see some of these maybe rain wrapped tornadoes in the dark. >> we'll be watching tonight and certainly will have the very latest tomorrow morning on cnn sunday morning. thank you very much. vermont's governor says that he almost became dinner this morning. he is telling his story of being chased by four bears, not one, four bears in his back yard. ok! who gets occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria.

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some of the stories making news around the nation. vermont's governor sharing one frightening story about his close encounter with four bears. >> i came close to being dinner and i got to tell you to be candid i sleep like many vermonters without too much clothing at night. i am not a big pajama person. the bottom line is the bears were dressed better than i and could have done some real damage. >> the governor says he was in bed the other night when he heard the bears in his back yard so he tried to chase them away. when he ran outside to grab his bird feeders the bears actually charged him. he managed to outrun them. in california paramedics transported this man to the hospital with, you see it there, parts of a metal stake still in his back. wow. that's hard to look at. officials say ben smith impaled himself while picking avocados. he had a fall. his grandmother says he is lucky. no vital organs were hit. >> amazing that it didn't hit

any of the other organs. it didn't hit anything vital just the one thing. >> that was a small tear to his intestine. surgeons have removed the metal and he is expected to make a full recovery. fire. >> a civil war veteran has finally been laid to rest near portland, oregon, 88 years after his death. >> for 8 # years later to be able to do this for him is really awesome. >> peter knapp's cremated remains and his wife's sat in storage all those years until a relative found them while researching their family tree. still to come this morning the rocket launch that wasn't. north korea defies the world with a provocative test but did it really just blow up in their face? we talk to governor bill we talk to governor bill richardson live, coming up.d yot an allstate agent.

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issue. former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. and former new mexico governor bill richardson. governor, good morning to you. >> good morning. nice to be with you. >> thank you. listen, aside from the fact that this was a total failure, did we actually learn anything from this? >> well, yeah. we learned several things. one that their intercontinental ballistic missile system still has some real technology gaps. i don't see how they could eventually shoot something the distance of the united states. they're years away from that. secondly, we did learn that in the past they had two unsuccessful launches they never admitted to. this time they did because i think there is more technology and cell phones in north korea. what we don't know is what are they going to do next? the danger is they will pursue an underground nuclear test to

atone for this failure, which is a blow to the new leader. >> north korea of course has said all along this was just a satellite launch, a weather satellite, but it is still military technology, so do you think, as many have said, that this was a cover for something bigger, maybe even a future plan? >> yes, i do think it was a test of ballistic missile technology. it was very clear in the united nations security council that this was prohibited. the north koreans, when they negotiated with us, with the united states in exchange for food aid, they would not pursue additional nuclear technology. this test clearly was a violation of that, although there is a dispute in the understanding. so, yeah. i think mostly it was a strong, symbolic celebration of the new leader ein power as the supreme

leader of north korea celebrating the hundred years of kim il song who was the founder of north korea and to demonstrate to the population that they had a new, powerful, prestigious leader. this has obviously affected them. where we go from here, we got to be very careful. we can't gloat about this. we can't provoke them. it's important we keep our cool. the six-party countries try to negotiate, put pressure on north korea. especially china that has leverage over them because they provide food and fuel to that country. >> the u.s. has certainly announced it is suspending food aid but really is that enough? should there be more sanctions? what would you advise the president? >> well, i would pursue security council condemnation resolution. that should be coming very soon. i don't think you can pursue any additional sanctions. maybe there are some potential

sanctions that you can pursue that deal with them having access to sensitive military technology. but outside of that, they're sanctioned to death. i think what is important is keep the food aid in suspension. don't cancel it. let them make the next move. if it's -- there's not much you can do for now, but i think history has shown that if you isolate them, if you just punish them, this gives them opportunities to react negatively, so i think we need to keep our cool, key players are south korea, japan, russia, but especially china that has leverage over north korea. >> and given your experience -- >> i think the administration is acting -- >> given your experience, how soon might you think that we'll see another test from them? >> well, i think the odds are pretty high that they will do something else like an

underground nuclear test. i think internally they have to recover from this blow. that's what i think they will do. but they keep -- you can't predict what north korea does. i've been dealing with them for years. you don't know what their next step is. the problem, though, is that they have at least six nuclear weapons. they've got ballistic missile technology, a million point two men in arms. we've got close to 30,000 troops in the dmz between north and south korea. we have an alliance with south korea. so that whole area is a tinder box. you have to watch it. you have to be careful. you can't provoke them but you got to be tough with them. >> governor, appreciate your insight. a pleasure to have you on the show this morning. thank you. >> thank you. tony is not like most people. when tornado sirens sound most people run for cover. tony chases the storm. he shot h video yesterday of a tornado touching down in

shawnee, oklahoma. tony is on the road again today in kansas now heading to nebraska with more severe storms expected there. i spoke to him just a short time ago. >> we are in kansas heading up to nebraska today. today looks very potent, very reminiscent of the outbreaks we saw in 2011. >> how many storms -- is this something that -- what are we expecting today in terms of the storms? are you expecting to find what you might call a super outbreak? >> today has the potential to be a super outbreak with tornadoes possible from nebraska all the way down into north texas. many of those tornadoes could potentially be very, very strong, impacting a lot of people from lincoln, nebraska down to wichita falls, texas. >> what kind of gear do you take with you on a trip like this when you're going to take on a tornado? >> we are equipped with satellites and mobile internet for radar services. we also have a gps. all of our camera equipment and

of course a trusty vehicle to ensure we're able to get in and out of there safely. >> i know when you spoke with one of our producers you said you have more food and mellow yellow than you can shake a stick at so i guess you have pretty good supplies. >> yeah. i've been on the road for the last seven days and food and drink on the road is very handy to have in the back seat and we'll make sure i never run out of that. >> how do you know when it's too dangerous? is there ever a time where you won't chase a storm? >> my goal is to try to tell the story, not become the story. so i try to keep a safe distance in front of the storm so that i don't end up in any kind of trouble. >> pretty brave guy. we plan to have tony back on the show tomorrow for cnn sunday morning. he'll have the latest from the storm that he was chasing. do you know what your online reputation is? you might want to because your boss might want to know as well. we're doing some social media

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if you're active on facebook and twitter and linked in take notice. potential employers are starting to notice. just this week there was a ban on employers asking for pass words. this has a lot of people talking. so let's talk about it with hln digital lifestyle expert mario armstrong joining us from baltimore. good morning, mario. >> hey, how are you? i'm from a state where that actually took down the maryland general assembly was the one that started this whole conversation about whether or not an employer should be able to ask someone that's trying to look for a job for their pass word. >> yes. a crazy thing and a crazy thought. probably some employees are probably curious about it so are there ways that they might be able to block their employers from seeing their facebook page and if they do block an employer does the employer know it? >> well, you know, absolutely the employer will know it. they'll know it if they knew you already had a facebook account

of course but the idea that an employer could be able to ask you and demand it in some cases, this is still going on, happening with athletic coaches at the university of north carolina, this is happening with the virginia state troopers. so many people are being demanded to ask for their user name and pass word for facebook. facebook doesn't agree with this. i think facebook should take a bigger step forward, proactive step, and say any business that is violating the privacy of an individual for applications or college admissions should be -- have their page banned or temporarily shut down from facebook. i think that could be an impressive step but one that would send a clear message. people aren't happy about this at all. >> if we can't to clean up our facebook page for those who have a reason to before an employer checked it out whatever you delete, is that permanently deleted? >> no. >> the library of congress has said they're archiving everyone's tweets. >> that is a very good point. everything does not get automatically deleted. it's kind of like your trash can on your computer.

over time those files will delete but not all gone right away. the best thing to do for spring cleanup, check your page, check your wall, and make sure that other people that are posting information on your site have to get approval from you first. you want to be sure no inappropriate content gets on there not only from you but more importantly from your friends and others that don't realize you're going through an interview process at that time. >> if you're worried about your online reputation is there a way we can determine what it is? >> yes. there is a website called reputation.com. i think we did this for you. >> uh-oh. >> they have a free service and some paid services but this is a serious thing, folks. take this very serious. your reputation is being determined by how you look online. you don't even get a chance to make a phone call, to sit in an interview. they're doing all of this to find out who you are, what you're about, what your associations are, what you do in your off time to get a better understanding and the best place to do that is the web. if you want to find out when things are mentioned about you online use services like g-mail,

google alert, as well as something like reputation.com. >> you found my reputation is pretty clean right? >> yes. you are squeaky clean which is a little concerning. >> it's because i've deleted everything. >> smart woman. >> all right. mario, great advice. thank you very much. great to see you. >> thanks, randi. >> have a great saturday. join us every saturday as our digital lifestyle expert mario armstrong gives us the scoop on the latest technology. want to know how to keep more money in your pocket and out of uncle sam's hands? tax tips coming up. as a police chief i have an opportunity to affect what happens in a major city. i learned early on if you want to make a difference you have to have the right education. university of phoenix opened the door. my name is james craig, i'm committed to making a difference and i am a phoenix.

i get my cancer medications through the mail. now washington, they're looking at shutting down post offices coast to coast. closing plants is not the answer. they want to cut 100,000 jobs. it's gonna cost us more, and the service is gonna be less. we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. the ripple effect is going to be devastating. congress created the problem. and if our legislators get on the ball, they can make the right decisions. we can save you $600. $600? wow, you're like a magician or something. shh. david copperfield doesn't like it when customers say that... ha, so he's a "magician," huh? can he do this? ♪ or this! or, how about this! wow, that was really impressive. it was... uh, i think we'll go with the $600. yes, we will. [ male announcer ] combine auto and renters with state farm, and save an average of $600. ♪

31 minutes past the hour. welcome back, everyone. i'm randi kaye. thanks for starting your day with us. while some of you may be scrambling to make tuesday's tax filing deadline others are looking ahead already to next year and some changes to the tax code that could make that 2013 bill a little more expensive. athena jones joins me now from washington with the details. good morning. what do we know about what tax rates will look like next year? >> good morning, randi. congress could act to make further extensions to some of the tax cuts that are set to expire but as of right now, the tax bill will go up for almost everyone in 2013. first you have the bush tax cuts. we hear a lot about that. the highest rate for the highest income earners would go from 35% to 39.6%. it's not just the rich who would be affected.

even the lowest income earners in the 10% bracket would see the rate go up to 15%. everyone would be affected there. there is also a payroll tax cut expiring at the end of this year. everyone who has a job pays payroll taxes and so we've all enjoyed this 2% reduction in what we've had, what has come out of our pay checks all of this year. it may not sound like a lot of money but certainly the obama administration thinks it's politically significant. back in february you'll remember they had all of these people writing in and tweeting about what that on average extra $40 a paycheck meant to them. that's another way we could see taxes rise. you also have two other quick ones that will mainly affect people who make more money. people who have investments. the capital gains taxes are expected to go up in 2013 so they'd go from zero to 10% and then the other one from 15% to 20%. that is a tax on things like investments like in stocks. finally, you have new taxes associated with the health care law. this is of course assuming that

the supreme court upholds the law, declares it constitutional. you'll have new medicare taxes coming online for people who make over $200,000. that's a 0.9% tax on earned income, increase in tax there, and another 3.8% tax on investment income. those are a look at some of the many things that could be changing in 2013 to add to that tax bill, randi. >> we will have to wait a little longer then and see what happens. athena jones, thank you very much. >> thanks. coming up, george zimmerman's arrest. the second-degree murder charge and an affidavit revealing more about the night trayvon martin was shot. so don't go anywhere. we'll break down what's next in this controversial case.

mr. zimmerman we are appearing here for your first apeern. our first appearance at this time for a charge of murder in the second degree and you are represented by mr. romero is that true? >> yes, sir. >> george zimmerman is spending

his first weekend in a 67 square foot cell charged with second-degree murder in the death of trayvon martin. his first court appearance thursday was brief. there was no bond set. his arraignment was scheduled for may 29th. cnn legal contributor paul callan joins me from new york to talk about this week. a very busy week, paul. let's look at the prosecution version of what happened the night trayvon martin was killed. investigators bluntly state trayvon martin was profiled by george zimmerman. how strong of a case do you think they have? >> looking at the affidavit, and this is called a probable cause affidavit, when prosecutors decide to file charges under florida law, they have to submit details of their proof to a judge and then he issues an arrest warrant. everyone was kind of waiting for this affidavit, this probable cause affidavit to see what the details are. there were no details in the affidavit. they simply say he profiled but they don't say how. now, profiling generally means racially profiled.

of course, zimmerman's defense attorneys will say he didn't racially profile. he simply mistakenly suspected that trayvon martin was a burglar or somebody trying to break in at the community. so i don't know. i think you'll see back and forth on that issue from the defense. >> how critical is it that his lawyer, george zimmerman's lawyer, get him out on bond and take him to the scene of the crime to see exactly what happened and walk him through it? >> i think it's very important to get a client out on bond as soon as possible. you know, randi, i've heard a lot of back and forth on this with people analyzing the situation. some saying maybe zimmerman would be better off remaining in prison for his own safety because of the controversy related to the case. but the truth is he's being kept largely, probably in a solitary confinement kind of situation for his own safety. from a mental standpoint it really wears you down, breaks your spirit. when you appear in court, it affects your public

presentation. also, of course, the defense attorney does want to go back to the scene and walk him through exactly where he first saw trayvon martin, what happened in the encounter. it's very, very important in preparation of the defense. so i think you would see the defense attorney aggressively trying to get the bail set and set in an amount that would allow him to be released. >> all right. po thank you very much. i want you to stick around because i want your thoughts on this next story we'll share with our viewers. two parents may be losing their adopted child for good because of a 1978 federal law that many don't even know exists. we'll have more on that, next.

it has been called the case of baby veronica, a child taken from two adoptive parents because of a 1978 federal law many have never heard of. and the emotional custody fight is nowhere near over. her first name is veronica. her last name is, well, complicated. at just 2 years old this little girl from charleston, south carolina, is caught up in one of the strangest adoption cases we've ever heard. her story begins in 2009 when veronica's biological parents who weren't married put her up for adoption. >> you want to be an engineer when you grow up? >> reporter: that is when matt and melanie entered the picture. they tried to have their own children but invitro fertilization failed them so an adoption attorney connected them with veronica's biological mom who told them the father dustin brown a u.s. soldier from oklahoma wanted to waive his

parental rights. veronica was born in september in oklahoma and from that moment they were a part of veronica's life. >> we were at the birth, in the delivery room, matt cut her umbilical cord. she's never not been with us. >> reporter: they were thrilled to have their new baby girl. they took her straight from the hospital to their house in charleston and were in the process of finalizing the adoption. four months after they brought veronica home, dustin brown signed a waiver saying he would not contest the adoption. but two weeks later, brown decided he wanted his daughter back and filed for paternity and custody. jessica monday is a friend of the couple. >> it wasn't until this child was 4 months old that he decides he wants to be a part of her life. with no regard to the birth mother, her decision, the pregnancy, the family that's

taking care of his child, and to just come and say, i've changed my mind, that just doesn't work, shouldn't work that way. >> reporter: south carolina law says a father is stripped of his paternity rights if he hasn't provided prebirth support or taken steps to be a father shortly after birth. but in this case, state law was trumpet trumped by a little known federal law from 1978 called the indian child welfare act. you see, brown is a member of the cherokee nation, which means veronica is part cherokee, too. so before the capobiancos could finals the adoption a family court judge ruled in favor of veronica's biological father ordering them to hand her over. the law is designed to protect native american children and to keep them with family members. congress took action after a

1976 study showed about 30% of native american children were being removed from their homes and about 90% of them were being placed with nonindian families. so did the capobiancos hand baby veronica over to her biological father? we'll tell you what happened right after this. [ male announcer ] away... [ children laughing ] ♪ ...is the smell of salt in the air. ♪ it's the sound a seashell makes. [ seagulls calling ] away...is a place that's beyond your imagination,

yet well within your means. find your away. for a dealer and the rv that's right for you, visit gorving.com. now for part two at our look at an emotional custody battle. a battle over baby veronica. adoptive parents are appealing a ruling that forced them to give their baby back to her biological father all because of a federal law called the indian child welfare act. the attorney general for the cherokee nation told us the law is working. one of the original authors of the indian child welfare act said his intent with this law is not to take adoptive children away from loving homes. how would you like to respond to that? >> it's not anyone's intent to ever rip a child away from a loving home, but we want to make

sure those loving homes have an opportunity to be indian homes first. you look at the welfare of the child and if, you know, if at all possible we want that child to be raised in a traditional indian family. >> reporter: that logic is lost on veronica's adoptive parents. >> this law has been used unjustly to the detriment -- >> the indian child welfare act is just destroying families like ours. >> reporter: this past new year's eve after two years with the little girl they hoped to call their own, matt and melanie capobianco handed veronica over to her biological father. >> do you think this is in her best interests? >> i think so. >> reporter: that night was the first time veronica had met her biological father. friends of the capobiancos had hoped veronica's dad would stay in south carolina a few days and get to know his little girl. but instead, that night he drove her here to his house in oklahoma about 1200 miles away

from the only home she had ever known. >> i mean, she's a 2-year-old girl that got shoved in a truck and driven to oklahoma with strangers. >> reporter: we tried to ask dustin brown why he wanted his daughter back but he didn't answer the door. and now that the capobiancos are appealing the ruling everyone involved is forbidden from discussing the case with the media. veronica's future now rests with the south carolina supreme court, which is considering the capobiancos' appeal. until the court rules they'll hang on to veronica's last words, from their only phone call with her since she left. >> she said, hi, mommy. hi, daddy. she sounded really excited to hear us and she said, i love you. i love you. numerous times. >> reporter: one family in pieces. another trying to make itself whole. and in just three days the south carolina supreme court will hear this case.

cnn legal contributor paul cowan joining me once again from new york. thanks for sticking around. i did want to talk to you about this. does the family have a case here since this is a federal law? >> federal law trumps state law but a lot of people don't realize this and generally with indian law in the united states and indian reservations tribes are sovereign nations within the united states. and, in fact, a lot of rights accorded to indian nations are the equivalent of treaties with foreign nations. people that live in places like new mexico know about this. and, clearly, a treaty or a federal law pertaining to indian rights will trump state law. that doesn't mean, however, that the parents, the biological father will win in this case. the south carolina supreme court might find the indian welfare act does not apply. >> so just briefly, what will actually take place at this hearing on the 17th?

will they hear both sides? >> well, yes. they will hear both sides and, you know, just as a back drop to this, every state struggles with this issue because on the one hand sometimes the birth mother wants to give up the child and you want good, adoptive parents to get into the picture quickly. but on the other hand, a lot of times people change their minds about this and one month, two months later the birth mother or the birth father had second thoughts about it and they want the child back. so legislatures have been struggling. what's the appropriate time period before we finals it? should be a month, two months, six months? because of course the baby is bonding with the new parents. this is not an easy question even without the indian reservation tribal law. and then you throw that into the picture. the reason that law was passed was because american indian tribes were being destroyed by children being put in foster care. so a lot of things that the court is going to try to balance

here. >> so if the couple doesn't get baby veronica back can they appeal again to a higher court? >> well, in theory, because this involves a federal law, yes, they would be able to petition the united states supreme court to look at the case. now, the court would not have to accept it. it is voluntary on the part of the court to look at a case coming out of the state or not. but it's a federal question so, yes. they could take it to the u.s. supreme court. and you may very well see that happen here. >> appreciate that. we'll continue to watch this case of course here on the show. thank you very much. >> nice being with you, randi. >> you as well. >> okay. a new way to care for your car while keeping an eye on the earth. learn all about green maintenance coming up next. i'm calling my old dealership. [ man ] may ford. hi, yeah. do you guys have any crossovers that offer better highway fuel economy than the chevy equinox? no, sorry, sir. we don't. oh, well, that's too bad. [ man ] kyle, is that you? [ laughs ]

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>> reporter: having a car in service can be a lot like going to the dentist. that's why ryan is trying to give the industry a tuneup. >> i realized there was an opportunity here where being that tree hugger and loving cars there was something. there was something there for me. >> reporter: so he started green garage, an eco friendly service shop. ryan says the key to the shop's success is helping customers run greener, not just their cars. can you explain to some of those people who don't know any better, why is this important especially when it comes to the car? >> if we start with, hey, you can save 1/4 of your time and 1/7 of your budget by changing the way you change your oil, that opens the door to learning more sustainable practices. >> reporter: it's not just about business. a lot of this has to do with education. they offer classes to the public to give them an idea how to better care for their cars. >> anybody that's been to a

previous clinic? >> reporter: like this wine, women, and wrenches class which shows women how to work on their own cars. where do you see this company five, ten, 15 years down the road? >> i want to serve and sell 250 million cars but we will not grow at a rate that dilutes our ability to provide a really good, great customer experience. >> reporter: reynolds wolf, cnn. every weekend we take time for a little r & r. today reynolds is off so i'm on my own. >> shut up. i'm going to miss "r & r!" >> don't ever miss r & r, john. i know you're upset about missing our viewing. reynolds is off fishing in wyoming. there he is. big fish. who knows if he really caught that one? but, yes, even comedian jon stewart loves "r & r." here is one story to hold you over until next weekend when reynolds is back. life on the golf tour. take a look. one week they're trying to win a green jacket.

the next week fending off a green gator. pga tour player brian gaye did not just qualify for augusta this year but it is not for lack of a daring caddy. kip henley took life into his own hands. he used that sand trap rake to drive the gator off the 15th hole in hilton head, south carolina. talk about nerves. brian of course had to play an already tough shot from just off the green with an angry gator watching his every move. he didn't do so well. no surprise. bogeying the hole. but, you know, can you blame him really? that's tough stuff. coming up at the top of the hour, secret service agents blafg b behaving badly. a prostitute and black eye for the president's protective detail. much more, straight ahead. [ grandfather ] that a boy! this is my grandson. and if it wasn't for a screening i got, i might have missed being here to meet him. the health care law lets those of us on medicare

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your bottom line is coming up in just 30 minutes. christine romans has a preview. hi, christine. >> good morning, randi. have president obama's policies hurt working women? is ann romney out of touch? the war for the women's vote is getting dirty.

and should the rich pay a higher tax rate than you? guess what? most already do. we'll arm you with the facts in the debate over what is fair and who is rich. plus, college grads come away with a degree and loads of debt. is it worth it? it is if you make the right choices all coming up at 9:30 am eastern. randi? from cnn center this is cnn saturday morning. allegations of a shocking scandal send u.s. secret service agents home from the president's trip to colombia. we'll bring you the details. also, remember these images from tuscaloosa last year? meteorologists are bracing for another tornado outbreak as devastating as this one, likely just hours from now. we'll talk with a storm chaser on his way to tornado alley. and our weekend in focus today. madame constituent. throughout the morning we take a look at what women want this

november and what the candidates must do to win their votes. it is saturday, april 14th. good morning, everyone. i'm randi kaye. syrians once again under siege just a couple days after the start of a cease-fire. government troops opened fire on protesters in dura where a human rights group says at least 20 people have been injured. meanwhile the city of homs was hit again by another round of shelling from forces loyal to the syrian president assad. it all comes as the u.n. security council is expected to vote soon on a draft resolution which demands access to syria for outside observers and calls on both sides to end the violence. an oklahoma man accused of shooting five people in a deadly rampage one week ago says he does not hate african-americans. in a jail house interview jake england says he grew up with friend of all races and, quote, always got along with everybody. on friday, prosecutors filed

murder and hate crime charges against england and another man alvin watts. all of the victims were black while england and watts are white. three of those victims died. two others were wounded. for everyone frustrated by the amount of money it is costing you to fill up your gas tank, good news. gas prices have been falling, yes falling for the past seven days. triple-a says that the decline has shaved nearly four cents off the price of gas bringing the national average to just about 3.90 a gallon. a slight drop in crude prices plus iran's decision to negotiate over its nuclear program have helped push those prices down. it's all leading analysts to say that gas prices may have peaked for the year. the secret service is in the spotlight this morning with a massive black eye. that is because the agency was forced to pull 12 agents out of colombia because of a prostitute. it happened before the president even stepped off the plane in colombia. yes the agents were there to lay the groundwork for the

president's security. journalist and author ronald kessler broke the story and calls it the worst scandal in the agency's history. he told me it all started with one prostitute who wasn't paid and from there went to the police and the state department and then a ticket home for 12 secret service agents. i asked kessler about the real risk in the case. >> this is reel it biggest scandal in the history of the secret service. the biggest breach was when the salehis crashed the state dinner along with a third intruder. i wrote that story with carlos allen. it all amounts to a pattern of corner cutting, covering up, laxness by secret service management. >> there was a risk here. i know that you believe that. you believe it could have certainly put the president at risk. >> the real risk is, you know, some of these agents were married. they could have been subjected to blackmail by these prostitutes. and as a result they could have

let terrorists in to secure areas and that could have resulted in assassination. as it is, it's a miracle that there hasn't been an assassination according to agents that i've talked to because of this corner cutting, letting people into events without proper screening, not keeping up to date with the latest firearms, not requiring firearms tests or physical exams. >> our dan lothian is traveling with the president for the summit of the americas and dan joins us now from colombia. dan, what is the secret service and what is the administration saying about this? >> reporter: well, first of all, the secret service pointing out that they take this case very seriously, confirming that in fact some of these secret service personnel were, in fact, sent home. they have not confirmed that number of 12. they also will not confirm the specific allegation of

prostitution. but, nonetheless, this has been handed over to their version of an internal affairs division, which is the office of professional responsibility, to continue this investigation. clearly, some of that investigation has already taken place here on the ground. we must assume that they have conducted interviews and that that will continue now that these secret service personnel have returned fortheir home base. but i can tell you this is certainly a big distraction and a serious distraction for the administration because they come here with a carefully crafted and scripted agenda to focus on trade, to focus on the economy. this is a region that really has been booming over the last decade or so. they have been able to rebound from the economic slowdown, global slowdown we saw much better than the united states. so this is an area that the administration sees a lot of opportunities for u.s. businesses and, in fact, a short time from now the president will be sitting down for a ceo summit

here to talk about the public/private partnership that can take place. yet the headlines are, you know, these secret service personnel who have been sent home. so a serious distraction for the administration, a black eye for the secret service. >> dan, would you expect the administration, maybe even the president to comment on this later today? >> we don't expect the president will comment on this. perhaps if someone throws a question at him he might take the time to say something about it. the more the president jumps in on something like this, the more it will continue to distract from the main message that they're trying to drive here. but no doubt we'll continue digging on this to try to get more details and perhaps some confirmation from the secret service to what sources have been telling us so far. >> dan lothian for us there in colombia. thank you. appreciate it. the power of the purse. even though men traditionally earn more women have a big say when it comes to how many is

spent in the household. we'll discuss the buying power of women coming up next. ♪ you are my sunshine, my only sunshine ♪

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putting the spotlight on women. it's our focus this morning and pay inequality is no secret. most men make more money than their female counterparts but did you know that women are earning, buying, and influencing spending at a greater rate than ever before? women make or influence 85% of all purchasing decisions.

they also purchase more than 50% of traditional male products including cars, home improvement products, and consumer electronic. by 2028 the average american woman is expected to earn more than the average american male. with facts like these it is hard to understand why women aren't a top priority when it comes to anything economy related. bill rogers is an economics professor at rutgers university. good morning to you, bill. we've heard a lot about women this past week, the issue whether women in the work place face more economic challenges than the stay at home moms. but isn't this argument more about who makes the money rather than who spends it? >> it's a real difficult question. it depends on where you are in the income scale. if you are a woman in a family at the lower part of the income scale, women there face a great deal, large number of barriers

whether it be access to affordable child care, then move to middle income women the continued challenge of getting into the trades, construction, for example, that these are some of the higher paying jobs. when you move to the higher part of the income scale it becomes an issue still around glass ceilings. so it depends upon partly where you are in the income scale in terms of what challenges the women face. >> yeah. is there really a difference do you think in spending for women who work versus women who stay home? >> is there a difference there? >> yes. >> in terms of the amount of resources they have, most definitely. but in terms of -- and also there is a difference in terms of the kinds of goods they're able to access. but the focus that, you know, i've seen and particularly talking with other economists, you know, it really comes down to having partners that will do much more in the households to help to offset some of these differences in the work place.

and it's not just, you know, doing the dishes. it's doing, putting the kids to bed and also in this day and age our kids are so wired in to activities. it's that brain power that is spent doing all that family organization that is again very similar. >> when you look at the primary buyers though women are the primary buyers but more than 90% of women say the advertisers just don't get them. they don't understand them. is that because the industry, that industry is still dominated by men? >> well, that's an interesting point. you know, we are still seeing great amounts of occupation segregation, you know, still many employers are starting to understand that, you know, now are getting to the fact that 49% of those who are in the work place are women. and we do see the societal lag effects in terms of employers, advertisers, society in general being really ready to understand and embrace the new realities that we see in the labor market,

the new trends. >> bill rodgers, thank you very much. >> thank you, randi. it is about 13 minutes past the hour. time for a check of the weather. meteorologist alexandra steele is with us this morning. good morning again. >> good morning, randi. we certainly do have the threat for severe weather today. the biggest problem with this threat may be the timing of it. a lot of these tornadoes could come tonight after the sun sets so that is the biggest difficulty. what we're looking at right now in terms of radar, this i-44 corridor between oklahoma and st. louis is where we're seeing thunderstorms. nothing severe as of yet. tornado watch box posted until 9:00 central but you can see the storms moving out of that. so that certainly will expire. then the threat pushes eastward. but tonight the threat also pushes northward. omaha, k.c., wichita, oklahoma city down to dallas today the biggest threat. so here is a look. if you're at some of these cities today or tomorrow kind of the key will be just to have a

plan because of the onset of these pretty late tonight. des moines, wichita, kansas city, abilene, and then tomorrow look at. it goes from green bay, randi, down toward houston, texas. so a very long linear line of severe weather tomorrow as well as the biggest severe threat really tonight maybe after about 9:00. >> get in the bath tub and take cover right? >> that's right. especially because it is going to be night time. that really could be some prosecution. though isolated tornadoes before that certainly possible as well. >> thank you. severe storms are expected today as we said for a wide swath of the plains. tornado outbreaks are likely especially late today and overnight. storm chaser tony lubbock took these pictures of a tornado that touched down in shawnee, oklahoma yesterday. he is actually driving out to nebraska to capture video of any storms there. i spoke with him a little while ago. >> we are in kansas heading up to nebraska today. today looks very potent and reminiscent of many outbreaks we saw back in 2011. >> how many storms, is this

something that -- what are we expecting today in terms of storms? are you expecting to find what you might call a super outbreak? >> today has the potential to be a super outbreak with tornadoes possible from nebraska all the way down into north texas. many of those tornadoes could potentially be very, very strong, impacting a lot of people from lincoln, nebraska down to wichita falls, texas. >> and what kind of gear do you take with you on a trip like this when you're going to take on a tornado? >> we are equipped with satellites and mobile internet for radar services. we also have gps. all of our camera equipment. and of course a trusty vehicle to ensure we're able to get in and out of there safely. >> i know when you spoke with one of our producers you said you have more food and mellow yellow than you can shake a stick at. i guess you have some pretty good supplies. >> yeah. i've been on the road for the last seven days and food and drink on the road is very handy to have in the back seat and we'll make sure i never run out

of that. >> how do you know when it's too dangerous? is there ever a time where you won't chase a storm? >> my goal is to try to tell the story not become the story. so i try to keep a distance in front of the storm so i don't end up in any kind of trouble. >> and we plan to have tony back on the show with us tomorrow when he'll share his stories of chasing those storms with all of us. after the break, autism and eating disorders. it's a problem for many kids, like 7-year-old caylee. but there's help and also hope. her story, next. stay with us at cnn saturday morning where news doesn't take the weekend off.

here is a preview of this week's next list. a look inside a virtual world with video game designer jane mcconnell. >> there are a billion people on the planet now who qualify as gamers. there are games you can play to learn how to start your own business. if you're unemployed and want to start your own company, there is a game you can play to learn how to do that. when i tell people, hey, do you want to cure cancer or alzheimer's? you can do that by playing a game. games are an extraordinary way to tap into the best version of yourself, the most determined, the most creative, the most resilient. i am a game designer and i'm the inventor of super better. [ male announcer ] a car is either luxury or it isn't.

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it's complete luxury in a class full of compromises. 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. fore! no matter what small business you are in, managing expenses seems to... get in the way. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere.

save time and get back to what you love. the latest innovation. only for ink customers. learn more at chase.com/ink it is something most of us take for granted. munching on an apple or grabbing a sandwich. but for families of children with autism these can be traumatic events. there is help out there, though, for the kids and the parents. like many 7-year-olds, caylee west doesn't eat vegetables, but she has also never had cookies, a grilled cheese sandwich, or any solid foods. >> i mean, it was a total nightmare. >> reporter: that's because up until now caylee has refused to eat. >> we were at the point we had a 7-year-old drinking out of a bottle still on formula. so we needed for her health and well being to find something that was more substantial.

>> reporter: like pureed food. it is a struggle caylee's mother jennifer west knows all too well and so do a growing number of parents in the u.s. according to the newest figures from the cdc, one in every 88 children has autism. a shocking majority of them have what are known as autism related eating disorders. >> the research ranges all the way from about 49% of children to 80% of children with autism have some restriction or difficulties in meal times or not eating enough to get good nutrition. >> reporter: this doctor is the director of the pediatric eating disorders program at the marcus autism center in atlanta. >> children have very severe tantrums, maybe throwing food or running away from the table or getting very emotionally upset and crying. >> with most kids with autism she is considered nonverbal so therefore really has problems communicating. she will swat at you and bite. she will just knock it out of

your hands. >> reporter: even for those patients who do eat their extreme pickiness endangers their health. >> another example might be a child who will only eat a particular brand of store-bought food so chicken nuggets but only chicken mcnuggets because they have a particular feel in their mouth or something about their experience of it that makes it more comfortable for them. >> reporter: the marcus center's feeding program may sound simple to a healthy person but is very rigorous for a child with autism. >> children are here all day monday through friday for about seven weeks working very, very hard and very intensely. we try to balance that out with the kind of re-enforcers that are going to motivate children to do what for them is very difficult work. >> reporter: there is still work to be done. >> from a kid that would slap you instead of letting you put food in her mouth to she is actually lunging at the spoon

now in order to get the food. so we have made big strides and this is just the beginning of the fourth week. >> reporter: long strides toward a healthier life for caylee and some peace of mind for jennifer. and for more information on the marcus autism center for pediatric eating disorders you can visit their website at marcus.org or of course you can always logon to my facebook page randi kaye cnn. we'll have the link for you there and more information as well. secret service agents and allegations of prostitution. it's an embarrassment for the agency. we'll explain, coming up. r spent their whole careers here. [ charlie ] we're the heartbeat of this place, the people on the line. we take pride in what we do. when that refrigerator ships out the door, it's us that work out here. [ michael ] we're on the forefront of revitalizing manufacturing. we're proving that it can be done here, and it can be done well. [ ilona ] i came to ge after the plant i was working at closed after 33 years.

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getting a check of your top stories president obama's trip to colombia to boost u.s. trade is making headlines but probably not in the way the white house had hoped. 12 of the president's secret service agents have been sent home for misconduct. the journalist who broke the

story tells cnn it's because of at least one agent's involvement with local prostitutes. the secret service which would not specific what happened says those agents have been replaced. syrians are once again under siege just a couple days after the start of a cease-fire. government troops opened fire on protesters in dura where a human rights group says at least 20 people have been injured. meanwhile, the city of holmes was hit again by another round of shelling from forces loyal to the syrian president. it all comes as the u.n. security council is expected to vote soon on a draft resolution which demands access to syria for outside observers and calls on both sides to end the violence. and a story we brought you first here at cnn. an oklahoma man accused of shooting five people in a deadly rampage one week ago says he does not hate african-americans. in a jail house interview, jake england says he grew up with friends of all races and, quote, always got along with everybody. on friday prosecutors filed murder and he