right in the middle of what they call tornado alley. funny. i never once in my life saw a tornado. tornado stats are they on the rise? >> they are the month of march. 200 spawned tornadoes as opposed over 80 on average. >> i'm a silly girl. this was a girl's dream boyz ii men and glad they are back. >> appreciate it, guys. let's throw it to carol costello in the "cnn newsroom." prostitutes pesos and presidential police. a shakedown the white house just wants to go away. president obama this morning promising a thorough investigation. ahead, new details in what is called the biggest scandal in secret service history. monster to determine. more than 100 reports of twisters tearing through towns and lives in the midwest. this morning live as woodward, oklahoma, begins to recover.

heat warning. we are 30 minutes from the start of the boston marathon. forecast high by afternoon, a sweltering 84 degrees. organizers telling some runners to come back next year. 18 hours of attacks. afghanistan' military putting a end to weekend barrage bombings. the risk american troops are facing. the "snl" surge. mitt romney said to be considering a guest spot on the show but will it help or hurt his image? have you ever put in more than 40 hours a week and not paid for it? a new wave of lawsuits. this time workers are fighting back suing their employers. "newsroom" begins right now. we begin this hour with shocking new questions about the president's inner circle and the secret service agents entrusted with protecting his life. this morning, 11 agents and officers are on leave and under

investigation. they are accused of hooking up with prostitutes at a hotel in colombia where they were praying security for the summit of the americas. the president say he will be angry if those allegations are true. >> what happened here in colombia is being investigated by the director of the secret service. i expect that investigation to be thorough and i expect it to be rigorous. >> brianna keilar is at the white house for us. first off, is there any reason to believe the president's safety was compromised? >> carol, in this case, no. that is what the secret service and the republican chairman of the house homeland security committee are saying at this point. the concern, though, of course, one of the reasons they will point to the fact this was not the president's personal detail. this all came to be before the president ever each got to colombia. it was wednesday night.

we are told by sources briefed on the incident that this went down. on thursday, it came to light and then quickly replacement agents were sent in from puerto rico and miami. this wasn't the president's hotel. this was a different hotel that members of the media were staying at, although a lot of them weren't in town at this point. i think the bigger concern is what it could have meant or in other instances, what it might mean. it could be someone who ultimately might try to black consist mail a secret service agent or someone nefarious who is trying to gain some sort of access to the president's zone of security. in this particular case, we're hearing from officials that, no, his safety was not compromised. >> republican congressman daryl issa is suggesting more agents might be involved. how serious is that concern? >> this is a concern of the chairman. >> reporter: he says his committee is looking into this

and critics say this may be the tip of the iceberg but folks on the other side of this saying that's not the case that they don't think this reveals some sort of systemic problem in the secret service and, for instance, the republican chairman of the house, homeland security committee peter king, he said that he certainly has confidence very much in mark sullivan who is the head of the secret service, but i think we are going to see that question being answered, carol, because the secret service is conducting an investigation and one of the things they will be looking into is other trips to see if this is a pattern on other foreign trips and specifically with some of these members of the secret service who were involved in this alleged institute involving prostitutes. in the meantime a leading republican congressman says lawmakers may hold hearings on the reported misconduct and saying this type of body behavior and potential security breach has probably happened before. >> when you look at this you realize if you can have this

kind of breakdown one that could lead to blackmail and so on, then we have got to ask where are the systems in place to prevent this in the future? the reason that the investigation will not be about the 11 to 20 more involved, it will be about how did this happen and how often has this happened before? things like that don't happen once if they didn't happen before. >> let's shift gears now to the cleanup and assess amount going on this morning after tornadoes ripped across much of the central part of the united states this weekend. the outbreak spun off more than 130 reports of twisters. today, ten states bear the scars. thousands of people trying to put their lives back together. >> in a second, the whole house was gone. we were looking up at blue sky and everything that had fallen on us. >> today, authorities from texas

to minnesota are trying to size up the cath from flattened homes to downed power lines. just about an hour ago, sadly, the death toll inched up. the sixth person has died of their injuries. remarkably the fatalities occurred in one small town, woodward, oklahoma. another 29 people injured and those numbers take on added significance when you realize this town's entire population is only about 12,000. rob marciano is in woodward this morning. >> good morning. >> reporter: calmer day and cleanup pace less frantic than yesterday. i'm sure is the morning wears along that will change. nonetheless the images are the same. and images like this. i mean, a bread truck. a sara lee bread truck flipped over and giving you the idea the intensity of this storm. by the way, ef-3 determined by the teams out here yesterday. that means winds of 136 miles an

hour doing dabblimage like this. one of 0e homes destroyed in this -- 80 homes destroyed in this town. looking at other damage we have seen around this neighborhood and listening to some of the stories it's amazing to me how some of these people survived. >> reporter: it's been 65 years since the big one hit woodward, oklahoma. in 1947 more than a hundred people died in a twister here. back then, charles hogue lives 30 miles away but remembers it well. >> i was 10 years old and i seen it when it wiped out this whole town. >> reporter: now he lives in woodward and this latest tornado hit his home and blasting into the living room and blowing off the roof and rip is the house inside/out. look how the tornado shoved this house off its foundation and tilted 20 to it 30 degrees. before the storm hit, mr. hogue and his wife came outside of the house to the backyard.

a storm cellar heavily fortified and, ready? heavy to open up. he and his wife got down there and that saved them. that door is heavy. you're a strong man. >> yes. you just do it. >> reporter: paul lord's family didn't have a storm cellar or any bichlt and now they are lucky to have their lives. the tornado threw paul out of the the house and onto the street. >> when i was laying down there on the curb, and i looked up and saw the house gone. i didn't know what to do. and then neighbors come in and start pulling bricks off and tilting walls up and everybody start coming out. >> reporter: what kind of injuries did you sustain? >> i got a big gash on the side of the head where the flap laid over and laid open. and they stitched that back up. >> reporter: his gronedson had deep cuts too. after getting buried under appliances. >> that is about where the bathroom was at. he was underneath in the tub and

had the washer and dryer on top of him. >> reporter: paul in a battered truck and drove himself and his bleeding grandson to the hospital. his wound is bandaged now but still stunned. they are getting a helping hand with the cleanup but searching for keepsakes and sentimental items are a low priority. what specifically are things that you want to find in this rubble? >> i found them. my son, my daughter, son-in-law, my grand babies, my wife. everything else just brick and stick. and they are all replaced. >> reporter: a man who truly appreciates life. he's had four brain surgeries, two invase sieive heart operatid now survived this. they are scheduled to sell that home later this week. they were supposed to close on friday and supposed to move out of it. they are moving out but the sale not going through.

but he is happy to have his family and happy. he saw all of those people helping him. this whole community coming together. >> he has such a great attitude. i want his secret. rob marciano reporting live from oklahoma for us this morning. the "discovery" shuttle will be flown from florida to the smithsonian in washington and where it will go on display and starts thursday. temperatures for today's boston marathon could climb to a sweltering 85 degrees. the race under way in 35 minutes. temperatures in the mid-70s but they are expected to soar in the 80s by the afternoon when many of the runners will be finishing. organizers are asking those who are not run the race before or people with medical conditions to come back and run next year. mitt romney might go right into the lion's den. "saturday night live" reportedly wants him as a guest.

this is a show that secures him without mercy. >> thank you so much. >> that was certainly a primary season to remember, huh? >> sure was. there was even a time when people were saying, i was the front-runner. i got to thank you for that, mitt. you're the only candidate that could ever make me look exciting. >> you're the only candidate who could make me look gay friendly. >> oh, yes. you can see the real rom nep and unreal romney together on "saturday night live." word is he is thinking about it. coming up in 20 minutes, we will talk to our cnn contributors if romney should agree to go live from new york or politely decline. clowning around. at taxpayers expense. >> whatever it takes, man. >> but the gsa will not be laughing today. lawmakers begin a week packed with hearings and questions. dana bash gives us an exclusive preview coming up. and president obama pushes

for a vote on the so-called buffett rule. if it passes millionaires will pay a 30% tax rate. details on that coming up, too. plus. ♪ don't do me like that >> don't do me like that! tom petty and the heartbreakers are heartbroken after some of their guitars are stolen in california. details later. ♪ ♪ and the flowers and the trees all laugh when you walk by ♪ ♪ and the neighbors' kids... what does being true to yourself have to do with being healthy? everything. ♪ but you're not ♪ you're the one ♪ one, one, one, one, one ♪ the one

♪ one, one, one, one, one ♪ the one ♪ one, one, one... standard keyless access, and standard leather-trimmed seats, then your choice is obvious. the lexus es. it's complete luxury in a class full of compromises. see your lexus dealer. there's another way to help erase litter box odor. purina tidy cats. only tidy cats has new odor erasers... making it easy to keep things at home... just the way you want them. new tidy cats with odor erasers.

i think meetings are good touf in between breaks. >> the gsa faces hearings from a number of committees this week and all are said to be testy. dana bash has an exclusive look. >> dana, when we gavel the hearing, this will be a filled room instead of an empty room. >> reporter: a sneak peek at the first congressional hearing on excessive spending at the gsa. the agency that is supposed to look out for taxpayer dollars, yet held a lavish 2010 conference awarding videos like this. ♪ >> reporter: what is your primary goal? >> our primary goal is make sure

this doesn't happen again. what often happens is ig does their job and perhaps some people held accountable but the culture doesn't change. >> he briefed martha johnson 11 months ago about over the top spending. house gop chairman daryl issa wants to know why the information sat on the information. >> let's remember that when you're a political appointee, you're there for two reasons. one is you have the confidence of the president to execute. the sending you're the eyes and ears of the president through the process. we want to know where that process failed. >> reporter: issa invited us from the public hearing room. >> you ought to see some people that don't get overtime. >> reporter: to the committee's private offices for an exclusive look at the weekend prep. >> these are some of the men and women working on a sunday. >> reporter: his aides praise the gsa's inspector general. >> this is in comparison to the ones the administration is fighting us. >> reporter: why not question past administrations? excess gsa spending in the bush

years. issa insisted he'll get to that, but, for now. >> remember, this president ran saying he was going to make changes. the question is was he well served by his political appointees when they were ordered to go in and make these cultural changes? if they didn't make it because they didn't listen to the president or because he didn't really mean it? use for his criticism of the obama administration, why did issa who took over the powerful oversight committee vowing to expose government waste rely on the inspector general to find it? were you asleep at the switch here? >> we are never feeling like we are doing enough. we have 120 people people between the majority and minority on this commit. the ieg is 12,000 people. >> reporter: he showed us a coin from the las vegas conference. >> 6,300 of these in velvet boxes. >> reporter: taxpayer dollars? >> taxpayer dollars. >> reporter: and a souvenir book. >> to have something to remember

it by. $8,000. >> dana joins us now from inside that hearing room. so, dana, who will we hear from today? >> reporter: we are going to hear from some people we haven't heard from before. we are inside the hearing room and have about four hours before it starts. i want to give you a sense of where the witnesses are going to sit. it's now set up for two but we will initially have four here. first of all, the inspector general who as you heard from chairman issa did most of the work for this investigation he is going to testify. now former administrative martha johnson who resigned two weeks ago today, we will hear from her for the first time here as well as david foley who, remember, one of those videos for those paying attention to this he was the one who doled out the awards at that talent show at that lavish conference. the last person i want you to take a look to remember this guy who we are talking about, jeff neely. he will come here and take a look at the video. he was the man on the red carpet who joked about wearing armani. he is going to come here we are

told and plead the fifth. why is that? because we are told at least through his attorney through the committee that he feels he has possibly under criminal satisfaction investigation because this has been referred to the justice department and he doesn't want to incriminate himself by testifying before this committee. that should be kind of dramatic if he does actually come and plead the fifth. >> yes, it will. you're going to have an interesting afternoon. at the top of the hour talk to a lawmaker heading up one of the this week's hearings. the congressman is already digging for answers. president obama pushes for a vote on the so-called buffett rule. what happens after the vote? details after a break. arrival. with hertz gold plus rewards, you skip the counters, the lines, and the paperwork. zap. it's our fastest and easiest way to get you into your car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003.

usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. departure. hertz gold plus rewards also offers ereturn-- our fastest way to return your car. just note your mileage and zap ! you're outta there ! we'll e-mail your receipt in a flash, too. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

president obama is urging the senate to pass the so-called buffett rule today. to say it's a major talking point for the president is an understatement. the president was surrounded by millionaires and their secretaries on wednesday. on thursday, the president talked buff lett rule with the local tv stations. on saturday, the president pushed again for the buffett rule in his weekly radio address. today it goes to the senate. >> i hope you'll ask your member of congress to step up and echo that call this week. by voting for the buffett rule. >> cnn political director mark preston is with us. mark, talk about pressure for a law that doesn't have a snowball's chance of passing. >> reporter: certainly not going to pass today and very much what we are going to see in the senate there is a procedural

vote to see if the senate can vote on this rule and doesn't look like the 60 votes needed to get that vote to happen. however, as you said, this is going to be such a huge political issue this year. we have seen the president really talking it up in major, major way. and, of course, he will continue to do so. you know it's interesting is that he not only did that in his weekly cease from the white house while he was down there, we expect him this afternoon this does not pass the senate to continue to push for this to go through. >> it was interesting that the obamas released their 2011 tax returns and that mitt romney responded by filing for an extension. what will the political fallout be? >> reporter: well -- >> if any. >> reporter: yeah, you know, let's tie this altogether with the buffett rule and the fact this campaign is about the economy and jobs and what we are seeing from democrats in the obama administration is that they are talking about how the fact is that millionaires and billionaires need to pay more money to try to help get the

economy going forward. now we know that right when president obama and vice president biden release their tax returns late last week. a short time later, then mitt romney filed an extension. we do know in the extension that he filed that he did put some numbers out there. in fact, he estimated his tax liability to be about $3.2 million. again, this is in the extension that he filed on friday. we also know that earlier this year, he did have an estimated earnings of about $21 million but this doesn't give us all of the details of really where mitt romney is making his money and what he is doing with it, quite frankly carol. >> mark preston, live in washington for us, thanks. now your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning should candidates return campaign donations from controversial donors? democrats were hoping they gotten past that hilary rosen

comment about ann romney not working a day in her life but by bill maher stepped back into tichlt there is a difference between a mother in that tough job and getting your [ bleep ] occupy the door at 7:00 a.m. when it's cold and having to deal with the boss, being in a workplace or even if you're unhappy, you can't show it for eight hours! that is kind of a different kind of tough thing. >> you may remember maher gave a million bucks to obama's super pac and the republicans are calling on the president to give that money back. fair or unfair? after all foster freese donated money to rick santorum's super pac and remember his comment? >> the contraceptive thing, my gosh! it's such an expense. back in my days they used bayer

aspinner for contraception. the gals put it between their knees and that was not as expensive! >> so the talkback question today, should candidates return campaign donations from controversial donors? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. ahead, longer hours and no overtime pay? well, workers aren't taking it any more! they are taking aim at their employers to pay up. cuban cajun raw seafood pizza parlor french fondue tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack baked alaska 5% cash back. right now, get 5% cash back at restaurants.

it pays to discover. ♪ where the sun never goes out ♪ ♪ and the sky is deep and blue ♪ ♪ won't you take me american flight 280 to miami is now ready for boarding. ♪ there with you fly without putting your life on pause. be yourself. nonstop. american airlines.

the key is to have a good strategy. the same goes for my retirement. with the plan my financial advisor and i put together, a quick check and i know my retirement is on course. [ male announcer ] with wells fargo advisor's envision plan, you always know where you stand. in fact, 93 percent of envision plan holders say they will retire on their own terms. get started on the plan you need today -- wells fargo advisors.

together we'll go far. have you ever worked more than 40 hours a week and didn't get pate overtime? more and more americans are

taking their employers to court over that! and it's working! the labor department won 225 million dollars in backpay for employees last year and up almost 30% from the year before. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. alison, why the surge in these lawsuits? >> reporter: carol, you know, part of it is because employers are saying we are fed up for being overworked. work to the bone and not getting paid for that extra time. the other part of is kind of a side effect of the recession because with the recession came those mass layoffs and workers left behind to pick up the slack but the problem is those workers aren't necessarily getting paid for all of that extra work. so what are they doing? taking their cases to court. over 7,000 suits have been filed in federal court just last year. some of their biggest gripes include force to work while off the clock. their jobs are misclassify as exempt from getting overtime and say their work is bleeding into personal time because of our

smart phones and telecommuting. you know how it is. you get e-mails in the middle of dinner you have to get to night after night after night. carol? >> i was just going to ask you about that. so is that considered overtime if your boss sends you and e-mail at dinnertime? >> reporter: and that is really kind of the gray area there. you know, employers say the labor laws need to catch up with the time to account for the electronic devices we use in our sort of off hours. otherwise, companies say you know what? they are going to have to be forced to rein in these modern office privileges like working from home. or employers are saying, you know what, employee? we will make you an hourly employee and you get that o.t. but we knock down your together salary. employers are saying employees can't have it both ways. if you want a flexible work schedule, it may mean having to put in some hours off the clock, you know, suck it up. but the supreme court may have to -- may be getting a chance to weigh in on these issues.

in fact, today the supreme court is going to be hearing arguments in a case against the drug maker glaxosmithkline. whether they should remain exempt in overtime pay for pharmaceutical workers. >> fascinating. alison kosik live at the new york stock exchange, thank you. you're probably used to seeing "saturday night live" secure mitt romney. he has been comedy for gold for them. check this out. >> i got to thank you for that, mitt. the only candidate who could ever make me look exciting. >> you're the only candidate who could make me look gay friendly. >> here you go. >> great. >> thank you. >> i placed your tip in this envelope. make sure you give it to your husband when you get home. he'll know best what to do with it! >> don't spend it on birth control! >> yeah! >> cheers. >> oh, soon you could be seeing double romney. "the new york times" is reporting the real romney, the

one on the right, is considering the show's offer to come on as a guest. of course, he wouldn't be the first republican punching bag to do the show. remember, sarah palin's trip into the looip's den in 2008? should romney say yes to "saturday night live" is our question. let's bring in will cain and lz granderson. welcome. >> hi. >> good morning, carol. >> good morning. will, start with you. would it be a good idea if romney agreed to go on "saturday night live"? >> well, i guess it depends on when he would go ian where he is standing in the polls at that moment. you got to recognize it's a little bit of a risk. will he bomb object be a huge hit? if he is way behind in the polls, then why not? you have nothing to lose. i'll say this. look. i have this sneaky suspension and i feel the same way about his potential presidency that the bar is so -- that the bar is so low for him, that he might actually exceed it. he might be pretty good. he goes on "saturday night live"

and he ends up being pretty funny. i think that's a real possibility here. >> he did a good job on "david letterman" as i recall. sarah palin went on "saturday night live." i don't know whether it helped or hurt her because she was so secured by tina fey at that point, voters couldn't distinguish between the two. >> well, you know what? first, i disagree with will. if i were mitt romney, i would not do "saturday night live" because he doesn't have the personality. sarah palin, on the other hand, she did and was a natural and in television before she got into politics. she was comfortable in front of the camera. i don't think mitt is comfortable. he doesn't come across physically comfortable. he's not able to rift. even when he laughs at himself, it doesn't seem like a sincere laugh at himself. like a mock of what it should appear to be like. so i wouldn't do it. as far as sarah palin is concerned, you know, she has said some stupid stuff! let's face the fact and it made for good comedy and good humor.

she is able to tap into that and she is relevant still today even though she is not in politics. >> i know some of our viewers are thinking this is a ridiculous conversation. chevy chase pretty much owes his career to president ford. listen to what he told cnn's alina cho about those days. >> they wanted carter in and i wanted him out and i figured, look. we are reaching millions of people. >> wait a minute. you mean to tell me in the back of your mind you're thinking i want carter. >> oh, yeah. >> and i'm going to make him look bad? >> oh, yeah. >> wow. >> okay. he is admitting it. there was a political motive here. not all for fun and games. do you think "snl" is trying to get obama reelected, will? >> by making fun of mitt romney? you know what? i think chevy chase admission is

pretty telling. yot i don't know if they are trying to get lm elected. you mentioned mitt romney is comedy gold for them. mitt romney is pretty plain and so is obama. i don't know for their careers which one is better for the potential segments and skits that they would do but i don't think either one of them are comedy gold. >> one of the "saturday night live" comedians said he bored with the election, what more can we do? how much of an influence do you think these shows have on voters? >> not much, especially this election, because it seem assess people are so polarized there is very little that mitt romney could do that could entice voters to vote for him and vice versa in regards to obama. i don't think independents are turning to "saturday night live" for their political guidance so i don't think it will really influence it one way or another. i just think in mitt's case,

because he has shown not to which of a personality worth viewing, that i don't see how this is going to look good for him. he should just stay away and just kind of keep what is he doing now because it's working for him for him much better. >> because it's not an ad-lib show. he does very as well when it's scripted. i think he might do okay, lz. >> let's see if he agrees to be on "saturday night live." >> we will see. >> we will end it there. we will see. thank you both. a quick reminder. please converse with us. today's talkback question, should candidates return campaign donations from controversial donors? i'll read your responses later this hour. still to come on "newsroom." ♪ don't do me like that >> yeah. tom petty and the heartbreakers dealing with a little petty theft. showbiz headlines is next. [ tires squeal, engine revs ]

♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] not everything powerful has to guzzle fuel. the 2012 e-class bluetec from mercedes-benz. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services.

robin gibb, the singer with the bee gees is in a como battling pneumonia. he has recently fought with liver and colon cancer and now the doctors believe he has a secondary tumor. a flood of support on social network sites and in the music industry hoping for the musician's speedy recovery. a.j. hammer is in new york. a.j., is he expected at all to pull out of this coma? >> unfortunately, it's kind of difficult to say at this point. a lot of people are praying for him but it's a tough battle. his family has released information on his website and that led to a flood of support from fans and contemporaries like peter frampton and julian lennon. in addition to the problems carol mentioned gib's rep confirmed to cnn the pop star has needed two emergency surgeries since 2010 for bowel

obstructions. robin gibb's twin brother maurice died in 2003 of a twisted bowel. we know the gibb brothers as the bee gees and broke out in a huge wave after "saturday night fever." they were inducted into the hall of fame in 1997 and they have told more than 200 million albums. robin stepped forward on self start tunes. "i started a joke." and "i've got a message for you." all memorable songs so clearly we need to send our thoughts to robin and his family this morning. >> tom petty dealing with petty thieves. >> he is actually a reward for five guitars stolen from a sound stage where he and his band rehearsing for their upcoming tour. he is willing to pay $7,500 reward, no questions asked to get back these guitars that include a vintage 1967 and 1965

gibson and another classic from 1967 from classic instruments. pretty exclusive instruments here and things with petty a long time. he went on his twitter feed asking for people for help saying sometimes people milk make mistakes but we would like these back. hopefully, they will get them back for the start of their tour wednesday in california. >> a.j., thanks so much. we know sarah silverman has a wicked sense of humor. now she is being accused of, oh, insensitivity. too weak of a word. she is being accused of insensitivity for a tweet. we will explain next hour. before you make your next salad, you'll want to hear about a recall over possible salmonella contamination. those stories and more coming up. [ nadine ] buzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz,

you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it. just to be able to wake up in the morning on your own. that's a big accomplishment to me. i don't know how much money i need. but i know that whatever i have that's what i'm going to live within. ♪ ♪

with earth day around the corner a closer look at simple green solutions you can try at home. >> we are at this hardware store stabbed in 1920, 11 blocks from the us capitol. i would call this energy efficient land. >> thank you so much. >> thanks. >> we have your traditional incandescen incandescents. yes, sir? >> i'm looking for one of these light bln. >> light bulbs are a big factor in the store's success. put up to a hundred or you could use, you know, a compact fluorescent in there too and using gases to eliminate the gas. you're only using roughly 21 a wattage on a compact fluorescent

than in this bulb. my house converted to all compact fluorescents. i have seen, you know, energy savings. it lowers your air-conditioning bill because you're emitting less heat. a led bulb where you get two and a half to three times longer life than you do with cfl. bulb like this is in the 50 dollar range. that's the cadillac. this should last 46 years! that's longer than i'm going to be around. $1.81 to operate this light bulb. 65 watts will cost you five to six times more. we are trying to reduce the c consumption in the entire country and benefit us in the long run. >> watch green solutions and focus this saturday afternoon at 4:30 eastern on cnn for more green solution tips.

. afghanistan's president hamid karzai blaming nato for a series of deadly attacks by insurgents that lasted nearly 18 hours.

explosions rocked central kabul earlier today, hours after periodic bursts of gunfire lasted well into sunday night. attacks targeted a district that houses government offices and allied embassies including the u.s. embassy. nick payton walsh with the nato forces in eastern afghanistan. nick, nato commanders are praising afghan security forces for being able to stop these i surgents but karzai is blaming my tow for the attacks. >> reporter: let's get clear what president karzai said. he said an intelligence that should be investigated and wanted to be particularly cautious at looking at nato's role in that. nato praising the swift response of the afghan security forces which key in that minds the eventual drawdown of the nato troops but it took 18 hours for the explosions, for this gunfire to stop ringing out across the central part of kabul that

should be safest. more troubling details emerging what may have been this intelligence failure. this attack is similar to another one that happened six months ago, both targeted nato hq and embassies and using abandoned building to launch themselves from and seeming to involve militants from the sophisticated hakani network. many questions today as the dust settles. >> so who is behind these attacks? >> reporter: many different questions about that. the taliban have claimed responsibility and said this is the start of their spring offensive and have suggested there had been no role of hakanis. tactics have been so similar to this network known as hakanis based out of pakistan. actually in the east where i'm standing particularly and known to be able to harness the kind of resources that carry out

these long, so fiphisticated, multipronged attacked in the safest parts of kabul. >> coming up in the 10:00 hour of "newsroom," u.s. troops and afghan security forces enter dangerous taliban territory on a man hunt for militants. we'll go inside the assault for a rare look at what american troops are facing and the limitations they're dealing with now that the troops are being removed from the region. we're back after a quick break. so, how was school today ? i have to be a tree in the school play. good. you like trees.

well, i like climbing them, but i've never been one. good point. ( captain ) this is your captain speaking. annie gets to be the princess. oh... but she has to kiss a boy. and he's dressed up like a big green frog ! ewww. ( announcer ) fly without putting your life on pause. be yourself nonstop. american airlines.

stories we're watching this morning in the "newsroom." a sixth death now being blamed on that deadly weekend toeshd outbreak. all of those who died lived in woodward, oklahoma.

the small town was among the hardest hit areas after the storm system cut a path of destruction across ten states in the midwest and the plains. now the focus is on cleaning zblup. >> we knew they got hit hard. we wanted to come help. >> it's really been a blessing to see everybody come out and help out. officials from texas to minnesota are now assessing all the damage from the powerful storm system. you might want to check on that bag of salad in your refrigerator. dole is recalling 756 cases of seven lettuces salads because of a possible salmonella contamination. the salad was sold in 15 states. the recall doesn't affect other dole salads. no illnesses have been reported. investigators are trying to figure out this morning what sparked this fire at a famous catskill new york landmark. the hotel turned condominium was featured in "dirty dancing." a local affiliate reported just

last month managers agreed to correct code violations at the compl complex. the talk back question for you, should candidates return campaign donations from controversial donors? this from peter. if the answer to that question is yes, then we would never have had a gop primary race. and who is to decide what's controversi controversial? one person's controversial is another person's logical and sensible. this from dave, yes, they should. if it doesn't match their belief then they should return the money. this from dylan. maybe not return it but give it to charity. this from debra. the money wasn't give tn to the president but to a superpac meaning even if president obama wanted to return the money, it's not his to return. which is true. please keep the conversation going. thanks as always for your comments. day for us. day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do?

bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. [ male announcer ] while others are content to imitate, we'll continue to innovate. the lexus rx. why settle for a copy when you can own the original? see your lexus dealer. i worked at the colorado springs mail processing plant for 22 years. we processed on a given day about a million pieces of mail.

checks, newspapers, bills. a lot of people get their medications only through the mail. small businesses depend on this processing plant. they want to shut down 3000 post offices, cut 100,000 jobs. they're gonna be putting people out of work everywhere. the american people depend on the postal service. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance

is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. say it ain't so. tim tebow booed last night. >> hey, when you're in new york, that's going to happen. new york's newest super star, after trade he's now a new york jet. and he got booed. that's right. last night at the yankees game he was hanging out with miami heat star dwyane wade.

maybe they wanted to boo tebow because that's how it works in new york. i'm going with that last one. down to miami. marlins in their new luxurious home. finally after 31 innings omar infante hits the first home run ever at their new ballpark. marlins fans, all they want to see is what happens after the home run. i feel like i'm in a carnival and i'm going to throw a baseball and get a stuffed animal. somebody texted infante, did you see the dolphins in the water? he didn't see any of it. >> are those dolphins or sword fish. >> gaudy, to say the least. you may nose every player in major league was wearing number 42 yesterday. that was in honor of jackie robinson. he broke baseball's color barrier in 1947 with the brooklyn dodgers. a man showed up for the

broncos cheerleader tryouts. he did not make the cut. he did do it to prove something. >> i really took this on as a project to really get -- prove a point to my students that, you know, you can accomplish your dreams. don't be afraid to express yourself and go after the things you want. and just, you know, keep trying and never give up. >> it's shocking he didn't make it. >> i'm stunned myself. he should have wore a bikini. thank you, jeff. >> that's sports. >> okay. bye. second hour of "newsroom" second hour of "newsroom" starting right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning to you. i'm carol costello. today officials from the general services administration, the gsa, head to capitol hill to defend themselves and their agency against those allegations. front line to fire fight.

u.s. and afghan troops team up for an overnight air assault mission in one of the most dangerous areas of afghanistan. hours later, it turns into an all-out fire fight. where's it at? where's it at? >> we'll take you to the front lines. plus, you're going to pay more. the agency designed to protect consumers decides to allow credit card companies to increase some fees. and pippa, a pistol and paris. the sister of the future queen of england photographed in a car as the driver points a pistol at the cameraman. we're live in london with the fallout. "cnn newsroom" begins right now. now to those hearings on capitol hill. focused on wasteful spending by a government agency. an agency responsible for cutting costs for the u.s. government. the chief of the general services administration resigned after the lavish spending at the

2010 convention in las vegas became public. more than $820,000 worth. soon video showing gsa workers mocking financial waste and abuse were released. ♪ don't hate my vacation, love to the nation, i never be on the oig investigation ♪ >> that's video of a gsa employee joking about buying everything a field office can't afford. the video was given an award at the las vegas conference. and the rapper, well, he was named commissioner for a day. there was also this video showing a clown mocking meetings. >> this is my commitment to our go green initiative. >> a green initiative based on margaritas? >> all our money, all the time. that's jeff. >> and an entire red carpet event for the gsa dinner. congressional investigators also are accusing the gsa of violating its employee gift limit. with rewards of ipods, digital cameras and other electronic

devices. what you just saw highlights part of the problem lawmaker wills tackle as they begin a series of hearings today. just how do you keep government agencies from wasting your tax dollars? i'm sorry i even have to ask that question. i'm joined now by republican congressman jeff denham. welcome, congressman. >> thank you. >> i might add you chair the subcommittee that oversees the gsa. you know, it seems to be a culture of lavish spending by the gsa. so you're going to hold these hearings, you're going to question people, probably embarrass them. but how do you change the culture? >> well, i mean, you just saw in these videos, it is embarrassing. and it is a culture. this is the agency that's supposed to be in charge of setting the efficiency for the rest of government. and for them to be not only out there spending like this, but bragging about it, i mean, people in my district are outraged. we've got twice the -- we're double what the national unemployment is and people in my district are saying how can this

happen? so, yeah, we're going to embarrass some people. we want to make sure that we hold some accountability, that we get that money paid back where we can and that where the law has been broken, somebody's going to serve some time. >> well, i was just going to ask you that. because a gsa employee by the name of jeff neely is expected to testify today. he was the man who bragged about wearing armani suits in these videos. he's expected to plead the fifth. this is in the issa hearing. not yours coming up a little later. but what kind of problem does that pose for you when people come to those hearings and they can't say anything? >> well, we've obviously subpoenaed a number of different people. we're going from the top down. this goes all the way to the president's appointee who has recently resigned. but we want to know how the cfo, the chief financial officer, allowed these expenditures to go through. i mean, this is an account we've been trying to audit since the first days that i became chairman of this committee.

for over a year and a half. and the previous chair, both republicans and democrats, have said, hey, show us how you're spending this money. what similar lus money tuf out there? what's in this public buildings fund? we want to know. the people have a right to know. we're going to continue to dig deep into this and find out how far this culture of abuse and fraud and wasteful spending goes. >> i think voters have seen these kinds of hearings before. they're asked very pointed questions by lawmakers. questions that should be asked. then nothing much changes. in your mind unless criminal charges are filed against some of these gsa employees will anything really change? >> absolutely, it will. you know, i'm a freshman member. i'm a new chairman of the committee. but this isn't just investigative. we want to make sure there are penalties in place after the fact, and we're also proposing legislation. we want accountability. there is no reason that the taxpayers should not be able to see what's in this account every single year. whether it's running surpluses

or deficits and what they're spending their money on. people have a right to know. >> what kind of penalties are you talking about? >> well, there have already been eight people that have either resigned or been fired or, you know, put on administrative leave. the people on administrative leave, we believe there is wrong doing and they should be fired. in some instances we want the money paid back. certainly where they've broken the law, we're going to continue to prosecute this to the fullest extent. the inspector general has now sent this over to the department of justice and we're going to continue to pursue it. >> this is the last question. there are four separate hearings on the gsa. four. some are held by republicans. some are held by democrats. why four? >> well, certainly this goes across several layers of government. i mean, from our perspective, this is the public buildings fund. this is our direct subcommittee. but there are other committees that are doing the investigative

piece and going after -- where they can, where the doj is involved. so this will go across both parties, both houses, and it goes a couple -- across a couple jurisdictions. so i would expect this first set of hearings to go between all four. but we're looking at other issues within this, so we're going to hold follow-up hearings as well. >> congressman denham, thank you for joining us this morning. >> thank you. later this hour, senior congressional correspondent dana bash has an exclusive look behind the scenes of the issa hearings. she'll join us live in 40 minutes. now to the shocking new questions about the president's inner circle and the secret service agents entrusted with protecting his life. this morning 11 agents and officers are on leave and under investigation. they're accused of hooking up with prostitutes at a hotel in colombia where they were preparing security for the summit of the americas. brianna keilar is at the white house for us this morning. so any reason to believe the president's safety was

compromised? >> reporter: so far, carol, it seems the answer to that question is no. this alleged incident involving secret service members and prostitutes happened before the the president arrived in colombia. this was not at the hotel the president was at. it was at a different hotel. one, in fact, that a lot of members of the media were staying at although they did arrive later. most of them arrived later than this advance team with the secret service. and this wasn't the president's personal detail. this was, as i said, an advance team that was working out things ahead of his arrival. but here are the details as we know them. this was a hotel that, according to chairman peter king of the house homeland security committee, he was briefed on this, and he said that there was a cutoff for 7:00 a.m. for guests of hotel guests. that they would actually have to turn in their id if they were accompanying a guest upstairs and needed to be out by 7:00 a.m. one female against was not out by 7:00 a.m. hotel management after being unable to access the room where

this female guest was called police. police were brought in. and the woman claimed that she was owed money, according to those briefs. police ultimately commented the u.s. embassy, which is protocol for this. that's how the secret service at tem baasy got involved. then the secret service agents were recalled. but there was no breach of security we're being told both from chairman king and the secret service. the secret service, carol, is investigating this. certainly they will be able to answer that question in more detail. >> we hope so. brianna keilar live at the white house for us. this morning the death toll inches up from those tornadoes that ripped across much of the central u.s. this weekend. a sixth person has died of their injuries. the outbreak spun off more than 130 reports of twisters. today ten states bear the scars. thousands of people are just trying to put their lives back together this morning. remarkably, all of the deaths occurred in one small town. woodward, oklahoma. cnn's sandra endo is there.

hi, sandra. >> reporter: carol, you can see -- hey, carol. good morning. you can see the devastation left behind by that spring of massive tornadoes that hit the country's midsection over the weekend. take a look at what 140 mile per hour winds can do when it hits a community. these rooftops have just been torn off homes. you can see the debris still in front of many of these homes. and just cars destroyed, as you mentioned. a new fatality to report this morning, bringing the death toll up to six people. from texas to minnesota, it was a weekend for wild and violent weather. the small city of woodward, oklahoma, suffered some of the worst devastation. paul lord was thrown from his home by the storm. >> i got a big gash on the side of the head. when the flap laid over and laid open. and they stitched that back up. >> reporter: mayor roscoe hill

says parts of his city were just flattened. >> it's something i never had to deal with and i don't want to ever have to deal with it again. but really a devastating thing to our city. >> reporter: wichita, kansas, was one of the biggest cities hit. the roof collapsed at this airplane manufacturing plant. a few hundred workers were there, but no one was hurt. and a confirmed tornado struck this hospital in creston, iowa, blowing out windows. paul lord says he's already recovered all his valuables. >> my son, my daughter, son-in-law, my grand babies, my wife. everything else is just brick and stick. >> reporter: officials say the storm's toll could have been much worse if early warning systems had not been in place. and for communities like this one hard hit, obviously the clean-up effort is under way. you can see them starting here to pick up the rubble, to clean

out the debris. and just to tell you, carol, about the resilience of this community, we spoke to the family who lives in this house. and they actually stayed here overnight despite the destruction to their house. they're saying that they're not going to let mother nature take them out of their home. carol? >> good for them. sandra endo reporting live from oklahoma this morning. thinking about applying for a new credit card? some rules are about to change that could have you, oh, yeah, forking over more of your money. we will explain just ahead. ♪ ♪ lord, you got no reason ♪ you got no right ♪ ♪ i find myself at the wrong place ♪ [ male announcer ] the ram 1500 express. ♪ it says a lot about you. ♪ in a deep, hemi-rumble sort of way. guts. glory. ram. in a deep, hemi-rumble sort of way. let's start with car insurance x.

this one does save people a lot of money and it's very affordable. it was very delicious. could you please taste car insurance y? this one is much more expensive. ugh. it's really bad. let's see what you picked. oh, geico! over their competitor. you are a magician right? no., oh. you're not?, no., oh, well, give it a shot. i am so, so sorry. it was this close. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee. that's 1% back on... wow! 2% on my homemade lasagna. 3% back on [ friends ] road trip!!!!!!!!!!!! [ male announcer ] get 1-2-3 percent cash back. apply online or at a bank of america near you. ♪

the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful. he would never give up on any of us. here's the headline. your credit card is about to cost you more.

i know. what else is new? for the why this time, new york and alison kosik. how much we talking about? >> more money you'd have to pay in fees. mark a check in the win column for credit card companies, carol. this is all part of the credit card laws that were passed a few years ago. what those laws did was basically limit the fees a bank could charge on credit cards. essentially capping the fees at 25% of your credit limit in your first year. but guess what? one credit card issuer, first premier bank out of south dakota, complained. a federal court ruled in the bank's favor. guess what? those rules were revised. now first premier and any other bank credit card issuer for that matter is now allowed to charge another $95 just to open a credit card account. that's in addition to a $75 annual fee on first premier's credit card for the first year with a $300 credit limit. that's basically 25% of the limit. guess what, carol, fees don't

get any better in the second year. after two years you'll have paid almost the entire credit limit in fees. how is that? >> just makes you sick. so that worries me. what does this mean for future rules? will the credit card companies just take every new rule to court and the courts will say go for it? >> they very well could. it is a possibility. analysts, carol, say that the bureau only caved because the court made it cave. but this could only be temporary. one financial policy analyst says this reversal does not indicate future softening by the bureau. so what it's doing is proposing to revise the revised rule and asking for public comment. because you said this is boiling your blood, let's pull up where you can post your public complaint or public comment. fwo to regulations.gov. look for proposal id number 3170-aa21. that's where you can put your comment. at least try to make an impact, carol. >> what is going on on the floor of the new york stock exchange? >> let's see. there's either someone retiring

or someone in the military is coming in. because usually tradition goes when someone walks on to the floor who's in the military, everybody stands and claps. this looks like a retirement, though. someone looks like they're retiring. >> i was just curious. whoever it was, they really, really like that person. >> yes, they do. >> thank you, alison. >> you got it. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, should candidates return or renounce denationatio from controversial donors. democrats were hoping they got past the hilary rosen comment. comedian bill maher stepped right back in it. >> what she meant to say, i think, is ann romney has never gotten her [ bleep ] out of the house to work. there is a dbig difference bein a mother and getting out the

door at 7:00 a.m., being with a boss, even if you're unhappy you can't show it for eight hours. that is a different tough thing. >> you may remember maher gave 1 million bucks to president obama's super pac. now republicans are calling on the president to give that money back. fair or unfair? after all, billionaire foster freeze was the guy who contributed $1.6 million to rick santorum's super pac. remember his comment about con t contraception on msnbc? >> this con ttraception thing, gosh. back in my days they used bayer aspirin for contraception. the gals put it between their knees and it wasn't that costly. >> that made a lot of people uncomfortable. does that mean every candidate is accountable for everything a donor says or does? where's the line? so the talk back question today, should candidates return or renounce donations from controversial donors? facebook.com/carolcnn. facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later

this hour. tracking down the taliban. coming up, go with american and afghan soldiers as they hunt down militants. plus, how many politicians does it take to investigate government waste? do we really need four separate hearings on a controversial bash in las vegas? doesn't that seem like a waste unto itself? we'll ask our political buzz panel, later. ♪ [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices.

developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. with more choices and fewer calories, [ traffic passing ] ] ♪ [ music box: lullaby ] [ man on tv, indistinct ] ♪ [ lullaby continues ] [ baby coos ] [ man announcing ] millions are still exposed to the dangers... of secondhand smoke... and some of them can't do anything about it. ♪ [ continues ] [ gasping ]

a man accused of killing 77 people in norway says he committed the attacks, but he's not entered a not guilty plea in court. in a show of defiance, anders behring pr ing bre ing breivik

emotion. he claims he was acting in self-defense when he set off a bomb killing eight people in oslo. then he travelled to a nearby island and opened fire. 69 people died there including teenagers and young adults. president hamid karzai, the afghan president, is blaming nato for a series of deadly attacks by insurgents that lasted nearly 18 hours. explosions rocked central kabul earlier today just hours after periodic bursts of gunfire that lasted well into sunday night. the attacks targeted a district that houses government offices and allied embassies including the u.s. embassy. karzai isn't the only one pointing the finger at the united states. senator john mccain says withdrawing troops from afghanistan increases the danger for american troops still fighting the war. >> every time the president announces another withdrawal, his military commander said it increases the risk.

that's what we're seeing here. >> the violence killed eight members of the afghan security force and four civilians. despite the troop drawdown, there are currently 90,000 american troops still in afghanistan. another 23,000 are expected to leave the country by the end of september. as more military personnel leave, afghan soldiers are forced to take the lead in tracking down and capturing their enemies. cnn's nick peyton walsh takes us with u.s. and afghan troops as they cross into dangerous taliban territory to search for militants. >> reporter: key to afghanistan's future is how ready are afghan forces to take over the job when america and nato start leaving. we witnessed one joint force operation between americans and afghanistans when they launched an air assault. where there is no afghan government to speak up, they were hunting two key afghan insurgent leaders. a last stand in a taliban hot

land. americans and afghans launch an air assault before dawn into a remote hostile district of gosni they've not set foot in for six months. they've planned an incredibly flat, exposed space about a mile away from a village where they are two high value targets the americans want to arrest. america's withdrawal is meant to awaken afghan forces to take over these man hunts. as they push into the village in search of the american's most wanted local militant, the afghans seem pretty casual. some doors stay locked. their prey likely vanishing when they heard helicopters. >> they hear the birds coming and they usually flee immediately. >> reporter: as the americans search a former weapons cache, they become the targets. [ gunfire ]

where's it at? >> reporter: clearly insurgents are keen to defend this building or at least attack the americans as they get near it. the shots coming close, fired from a distant tree line. the afghans spring into life, firing a rocket. and then move to flank the insurgents who keep taking pot shots. >> they don't like me running. >> reporter: warning flares from attack aircraft massing above stop the gunfire. and distant figures, probably women and children, appear, meaning a counterattack is too risky and the fight over. >> i think the one in the white is a child, to be honest with you. >> reporter: but keen warriors make for poor police. riding motorcycles is illegal. and they have to decide on a punishment. should they shoot the fuel tank?

perhaps not. they let the tires down. and then deliver what is here a rare encounter with afghanistan's government. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: that night they leave, and the taliban surely return, knowing that without american support the afghan state's relevance here slips further into the distance. nick peyton walsh, cnn, gosni province, afghanistan. a rare sight in north korea. leader kim jong-un making his first televised speech since taking over the country. jong-un spoke to troops in pyongyang to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of his grandfather who was north korea's founder. he touched on a wide range of issues touting his nation's military might and vowing never to get his people starve. >> translator: our fellow citizens who are the best

citizens in the world, who have overcome countless struggles and hardships, it is our party's firmest resolve not to let our citizens go hungry again. >> he also sent a warning to his enemies. north korea's leader said the country's military was powerful and battle ready. live from new york, it's mitt romney? "saturday night live" reportedly wants him as a guest. he's said to be thinking it over. should he do it? we'll run the question by our political buzz saw. that's coming up. a house that they really wanted. it was in my sister's neighborhood. i told you it was perfect for you guys. literally across the street from her sister. [ banker ] but someone else bought it before they could get their offer together. we really missed a great opportunity -- dodged a bullet there. [ banker ] so we talked to them about the wells fargo priority buyer preapproval. it lets people know that you are a serious buyer because you've been credit-approved. we got everything in order so that we can move on the next place we found. which was clear on the other side of town. [ male announcer ] wells fargo. with you when you're ready to move.

monarch of marketing analysis. with the ability to improve roi through seo all by cob. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. i'm going b-i-g. [ male announcer ] good choice business pro. good choice. go national. go like a pro.

a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪

sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get back to these invoices... which i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business. checking our top stories now. the gsa videos and the excessive spending they seem to celebrate will go under the microscope today on capitol hill. lawmakers will hold four separate hearings on the agency and a lavish convention it held in las vegas. that conference cost taxpayers more than $800,000.

11 secret service agents and officers are on leave and under investigation accused with hooking up at prostitutes at a hotel in colombia where they were preparing security for the summit of americas. the president says he'll be angry if those allegations are proved true. clean-up under way after tornadoes ripped across much of the central part of the united states this weekend. the outbreak spun off more than 130 reports of twister. six people were called, all in woodward, oklahoma. ten states suffered damage. political buzz is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. playing with us today, cnn contributors maria cardona and will cane. maria is on the left. will is on the right. will, i'm sorry. i didn't mean to call you by your last name. and dino lavala has the levity today.

welcome to all of you. >> thank you. >> first question. let's talk about these scandals. just when the general services administration's $823,000 blowout in vegas comes to light and goes before congressional panels, here comes news about secret service agents allegedly patronizing prostitutes in colombia. so what does this say about our government? will? >> well, it suggests we need to look at it with a much closer magnifying glass. i think that last week on starting point we actually interviewed a reporter from roll call who's been covering the story from the very beginning. he said since he started covering the gsa story he's gotten e-mails from other people at other institutions inside the government saying, hey, you ought to check out this at this agency or this at this agency. suggesting that this could be a problem much larger than the gsa or the secret service. so we ought to look very closely at an institution which has very little direct accountability. >> maria? >> well, certainly the timing

isn't great for the administration. but the president did say about the secret service issue that let's see where the investigation goes. and he is supporting a very rigorous and thorough investigation. and if it turns out that there was misconduct, then, yes, there should be outrage and there should be people that are going to pay for that. but the secret service is one of the less political agencies that exists in the federal government. so i think this administration has a zero tolerance policy on anything that has to do with that kind of misconduct and that kind of waste of taxpayer money and i think that's what we'll see. >> dean? >> carol, as a comedian, i must say the secret service sex scandal is amazing for us. wait till tonight. late night talk shows. "the daily show." every nuance joke you can hear of. in fact, the secret service agent fighting -- not wanting to pay the president $47 raises questions, what's $47 get you? why is not $45 or $50? let's be honest. there's over 2.6 million federal

employees out there. the president can't be responsible for every single one. but it is a pattern of misconduct, they should, of course, investigate it. i don't think it's going to be a big deal but it's going to be great for us, comedians. >> i think you're right, dean. it is going to be great for comedians which is a sad thing, too. speaking of the gsa probe, there are four, count them, four separate hearings on it. four. which is kind of ironic give than the whole issue here is government waste. do we really need four hearings on this, maria? >> i don't think so, carol. maybe they should go have these hearings in las vegas. i mean, i think it undermines exactly what the republicans are saying in terms of wanting the government to be as small as possible. wanting to get rid of as much of the waste. here they are calling for four hearings. i think this is something that can be very thoroughly investigated, which i think everyone agrees with on both sides of the aisle. we have to figure out what went wrong and make people accountable for that. but four hearings i think seems a little bit much. >> will? >> i don't know if four is too

much. i don't know. i do know that the government needs to be scrutinized. i'm glad maria brings up the secret service and says it's actually one of the least political institutions. because it's besides politics. this is an internal debate often among conservatives. is it possible to have efficient good government or is it simply you should go for small government because an efficient government doesn't have these kind of problems we see at the gsa, the secret service, is really an impossibility. i find myself in the latter camp. that you are asking for something that is inherently impossible in a massive bureaucracy. just reduce its size. >> dean? >> you know, you have to look at this. the new orleans in 2008 there was a gsa convention. they spent $600,000. no one investigated that. in fact, we say is four hearings too many? senator susan collins actually called for a fifth hearing today. for the average american, this waste of money is an outrage. five hearings is just ridiculous. this is why the approval rating of congress is on the same level

at e k. coli. it doesn't matter. democrat wk republican, independent, it's our money being wasted. they should stop it. five hearings? four hearings? too many. >> creative use of e. coli, though, dean. go. >> yes. >> okay. >> i thought it was clever. i don't know. i'm sorry. >> it was. i liked it. it made me laugh. >> i like the arbitrariness of $47, though, dean. it is weird. your buzzer beater, 20 seconds on the clock. "saturday night live's" loren michael -- let's listen. >> number ten. >> isn't it time for a president who looks like a 1970s game show host? >> yes. yes, it is. number nine. >> what's up, gangstats. it's the m-i double tissle.

>> that cracked me up. "saturday night live" lampoons romney pretty liberally. should he accept the offer? will? >> yeah. i think so. he think he could actually do pretty well. remember, "saturday night live" is a scripted skit show. it's not an ad lib stand-up routine. mitt romney is pretty good at being predictable and scripted. he could pull this off. letterman illustrates that. >> dean? >> i worked at "saturday night live" for seven years. i think romney would enjoy it. they'd put him in a dress like they did with rudy giuliani. the problems with romney, he'd go on the show. if people don't like the show he would end up te noudenouncing tw later. i think it's a good move. >> i'm trying to get that image of romney in a dress out of my mind now. thanks, dean. >> definitely do it. >> maria? >> i think he definitely should,

carol. because what he desperately needs to demonstrate is that he's actually human and he has a real sense of humor and can be normal and not so awkward. i agree with will. "saturday night live" is scripted. but it is not as short and to the point as the letterman top ten is. it will be more difficult for him. he's going to have to get training in regular joe speak. that's the issue. >> maria, dean, will, thanks for playing today. always fun. she's the sister of the future queen. her pictures usually cover the pages of magazines word wide. now, pippa is at the center of a criminal investigation. that story is just ahead. slow. this ' bet you think you're pretty quick? yeah, i guess it is pretty quick. jesse?!?

jesse? jesse?! much obliged. suddenly, everything else seems old-fashioned. ultrabook. inspired by intel. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most.

1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee. that's 1% back on... wow! 2% on my homemade lasagna. 3% back on [ friends ] road trip!!!!!!!!!!!! [ male announcer ] get 1-2-3 percent cash back. apply online or at a bank of america near you. ♪

comedian sara silverman joined the war on women. so-called war of women when she tweeted some before and after -- there's no gentle way to put this. she tweeted some before and after fake abortion photos. some people, well, they just didn't think that was funny. "showbiz tonight" host a.j. hammer is live in new york. sure pushed some buttons with these. >> dangerous territory here, carol. i like sara silverman a lot. think she thought she was still being funny. she posted her before picture on her twitter page with the headline it's a burrito. she showed herself pushing her belly out. later the same day she posted

the photo with her of a flat belly saying she had a quickie abortion in case roe versus wade is overturned. there have been people calling this a pro-choice picture. while i don't doubt sara is pro-choice i don't think she intended these pictures to be a political choice at all. the problem is, you joke about a hot button issue, carol, you well know you can expect to hear a very serious and pointed response from a lot of people. >> really? i read so many of those responding tweets. and everybody pretty much thought it was a political statement. >> and maybe it was. it'll be interesting to see if sara actually comes out and clarifies that. it seems to be she's going with the idea she was just trying to be funny and it didn't go over so well with a lot of people. >> yeah. i wasn't laughing. tom petty. his property was stolen. what happened?

>> he got robbed, carol. five of his guitars stolen from a sound stage. he and his band the heartbreakers were rehearsing for an upcoming tour. he is willing to pay you if you stole these guitars a $7,500 reward or if you know their whereabouts. no questions asked. he wants them back. a vintage 1967 rickenbacker. a 1965 gibson. another classic from 1967. valuable guitars. particularly on a personal level for petty. he went on twitter friday asking for people's help. you know, sometimes people make mistakes but we'd like these back. police in culver city, california, are investigating the theft. right now, carol, for tom petty, the waiting is the hardest part. the band's tour starting friday in colorado. i couldn't resist. >> i'm heartbroken. a.j., thank you so much. want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world? a.j.'s got it tonight on "showbiz tonight." 11:00 eastern on hln. ♪

[ male announcer ] aggressive styling. a more fuel-efficient turbocharged engine. and a completely redesigned interior. ♪ the 2012 c-class with over 2,000 refinements. it's amazing...inside and out. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. and it hasn't been going exactly as planned. [ director ] cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be home for a while.

[ male announcer ] the citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries.

[ technician ] are you busy? management just sent over these new technical manuals. they need you to translate them into portuguese. by tomorrow. [ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business. in just a new hours congress will begin grilling the gsa and demanding answers in how tagtsy has been spending your money. outraged lawmakers already know some of the waste.

the lavish convention in las vegas and the way employees mocked its own inefficiencies in videos like this one. >> i think meetings are good to have in between breaks. >> the gsa facesin hearings froa number of committees this week. all are sure to be testy. cnn congressional correspondent dana bash has an exclusive look. >> when we gavel the hearing, this will be a filled room instead of an empty room. >> reporter: a sneak peek at the first congressional hearing on excessive spending at the gsa. the agency that's supposed to look out for taxpayer dollars, yet held a lavish 2010 conference awarding videos like this. ♪ i buy everything robbers can't afford ♪ >> reporter: what is your primary goal? >> our primary goal is to make sure this doesn't happen again. what often happens, an ig does their job. people are held accountable. the culture doesn't change. >> reporter: the gsa inspector general briefed now former gsa

officer. darrell issa wants to know why the administration sat on the information. >> let's remember when you're a political appointee, you're there for two reasons. one is you have the confidence of the president to execute. the second is you're the eyes and ears of the president through the process. we want to know where that process failed. >> reporter: issa invited us from the public hearing room -- >> you ought to see some people that don't get overtime. >> reporter: -- to the committee's private offices for an exclusive look at weekend prep. >> these are just some of the men and women that are working on a sunday. >> reporter: issa's aides praised the gsa inspector general. >> this is a very efficient investigation by comparison to the ones in which the administration is fighting us. >> reporter: but why not question past administrations? excess gsa spending in the bush years? issa insisted he'll get to that, but for now -- >> remember, this president ran saying he was going to make changes. the question is was he well served by his political appointees when they were ordered to go in and make these

cultural changes? and if they didn't make it, is it because they didn't listen to the president or because he didn't really mean it? >> reporter: yet for all its criticism of the obama administration, why did issa, who took over the powerful oversight committee vowing to expose government waste, rely on the inspector general to find it? were you asleep at the switch here? >> well, we're never feeling like we're doing enough. we have 120 people between the majority and minority on this committee. the ig is 12,000 people. >> reporter: and they found more gsa excess. issa showed us a commemorative coin from that las vegas conference. >> 6,300 on about 300 of these in velvet boxes. >> reporter: taxpayer dollars. >> taxpayer dollars. >> reporter: and a souvenir book. >> just to have something to remember it by. >> reporter: 8,000 bucks? >> $8,000. >> dana bash joins us now live. the administration has taken this seriously. eight gsa officials have been reprimanded. some have been fired, right? >> that's right. in fact, one of those, the main

gsa official who has been fired is going to be here at this hearing in about 2 1/2 hours. we're here in the hearing room right now. this is where the witnesses are going to be. the person i was just talking about is, of course, martha johnson. she was the gsa administrator until about two weeks ago. she will come as well as david foley, one of the men featured in those videos. and jeff neely. jeff neely, we're told, though, he was the one who organized that conference. we're told that he is going to plead the fifth. that's what they expect. i was told we also expect the committee to dismiss his afterwards. carol, i have to share this with you. to me this is so ironic and really speaks to the head shaking that is going on about washington. jeff neely, as i said, was put on administrative leave. he is coming in here. the gsa is flying him across the country from california here in order to testify on a hearing about excess spending? and he's going to come and

likely plead the fifth. >> haven't they heard his video conferences? oh, dana. it makes your head hurt. >> reporter: it does. >> dana bash, thank you so. >> reporter: thanks, carol. prince william's sister-in-law, pippa, gets caught up in a gun investigation. now paris police might want to talk to pippa middleton. and that conversation could lead to criminal charges. everything that i've gained in life

has been because of the teachers and the education that i had. they're just part of who i am. she convinced me that there was no limit to what we could learn. i don't think i'd be here today had i not had a wonderful science teacher. a teacher can make a huge difference in a child's life.

he would never give up on any of us. thank you dr. newfield. you had a big impact on me. fiona here was just telling me that ford dealers sell a new tire like...every five seconds, how's that possible? well, we purchase 3 million a year. you just sold one right now didn't you? that's correct. major brands. 11 major brands. oop,there goes another one. well we'll beat anybody's advertised price. and you just did it right there, what's that called? the low price tire guarantee. wait for it, there goes another one. get a $100 rebate, plus the low price tire guarantee during the big tire event. look at that. it's happening right there every five seconds. your not going to run out are you? no. pippa middleton stunned the world as the beautiful sister of the woman who married prince william. remember this, the wedding of prince william and kate middleton? well, stun has turned to shock after reports the future queen's younger sister was photographed

in a car while the driver pointed a pistol in public. cnn's matthew chance in london with more on this story. good morning. >> good morning, carol. it's a story causing some shock waves here in london, at least. we understand the french police aren't too big on it. the images that appeared in the mass circulation sun newspaper with the headline smirking gun showing these images of pippa middleton, sister of kate, the duchess of cambridge, who's in this open top car with a bunch of pals in the middle of the french capital. one of them seen waving a pistol at a paparazzi photographer who's clearly following them. possibly annoying them as well. remarkably insensitive thing to do. particularly in a country which has had so many horrific gun crimes. particularly last month when at least four children were killed by gunmen. police in france are vowing to crackdown on gun crimes. also a presidential election

going to be held this weekend. the country's on high alert. the possibility is, carol, pippa along with the driver of that car wielding the gun could face prosecution and criminal charges. >> i'm sure you'll stay on top of this. matthew chance reporting live from london for us this morning. we asked you to talk back on a big story of the day. the question for you this morning, should candidates return donations from controversial donors? your responses, they're coming up next. perfect physical condition and i had a heart attack right out of the clear blue... he was just... "get me an aspirin"... yeah... i knew that i was doing the right thing, when i gave him the bayer. i'm on an aspirin regimen... and i take bayer chewables. [ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone so be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. so he's a success story... [ laughs ] he's my success story. [ male announcer ] learn how to protect your heart at i am proheart on facebook. but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy,

while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today.

if you want something done right, then do it yourself. that's the idea behind our children, our future -- the ballot initiative to fix our schools. we've waited years for the politicians to do it. now, we can do it ourselves. our children, our future sends every k through 12 dollar straight to our schools... not to sacramento. it benefits every kid in every school, with local control of the money. that's why the p-t-a supports it. my mom likes it, too.

you're probably muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. today's daily dose. new concerns about screening for ovarian cancer. the u.s. preventative services task force now says routine screening may not be best because the test could be harmful to patients and there's a risk of getting a false positive.

for women at high risk of the disease, routine screening is still recommended. but some doctors say new ways of testing for the disease are needed. we asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the talk back question for you this morning, should candidates return donations from controversial donors. this from diana. controversial comments by donors are not unnecessarily untruthful. we have donated to political campaigns and you wouldn't want to know the comments and views expressed around our dinner table. this from flavia. bill maher can say whatever he wants. he's a comedian. his show is on hbo. enough said. comedians mock and comment on everything. what's the big deal now? from david, seems i have a suggestion for the gop. just show nasty, sexist quotes from bill maher and say this is the mind set of many in the democratic party. but the gop is just not that smart. and is this the last one we have here? okay. last one. controversial comments by donors are not necessarily untruthful. we have donated to political campaigns and wo