well to offset the subsidies. there just isn't enough money. it sits there wasted, wolf, right now. where it could enclose a bunch of chimps. the government doesn't have the money to fenniinish it. >> how many chimps are involved in this? >> there's 130 there now. if legislation goes through, if laws change, you could be looking at 1,000 chimpanzees in half a dozen research facilities around the country that are going to be looking for homes. >> john zarrella, thanks very much. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." the news continues next on cnn. good evening, i'm jessica yellin in for john king. tonight, get ready for more secret service members to lose their jobs in the wake of the prostitution scandal. our sources tell cnn's dana bash at least three more employees are expected to be forced out today. the man who shot trayvon mart be takes the stand and says he says he's sorry to the teenager's parents.

plus, three decades later, the search heats up for the first missing child who appeared on the side of a milk carton. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com more fallout from the secret service prostitution scandal. one source tells cnn more members are expected to be forced out anytime now for their part in that night of heavy drinking and escorts in colombia. let's bring in white house correspondent brianna keilar for the latest. brianna, what are you hearing about these upcoming dismissals? >> reporter: jessica, we're expecting that at least three secret service members, three more, i should say, will be pushed out today. now, that is in addition, as you know, to the three who already have, including two supervisors. these will come from those eight secret service agents who are currently on administrative leave and have been stripped of their security clearance.

we also do know according to a senior white house official, jessica, that president obama will be briefed by the director of the secret service, mark sullivan. this is significant. it's been certainly the focus of a lot of questions in the white house briefings. because while the president's chief of staff and his deputy chief of staff have been in regular contact with sullivan, the president himself hasn't spoken to sullivan since the beginning of this scandal. so we do understand that he will be briefed. it is also important to note that by and large right now, jessica, republicans have been holding their fire when it comes to calling for mark sullivan to go. they've been saying they support him. the white house of course says they support mark sullivan at this point. it seems like a lot of people are holding their fire as we wait for the results of this investigation which could really prove pivotal to the director of the secret service, jessica. >> i want to add this, while you were reporting, if you check your black burberrblackberry, ys

too, multiple e-mails from multiple white house officials telling us the president this afternoon in the oval office received a briefing from the director of secret service on the ongoing investigation. so multiple white house officials telling us that update did already in fact happen in the oval office with the president. and i wanted to ask you as well, this incident also involved members of the military. on that part of the story, there's been a lot less information coming out of the investigation, until now. what do we know on the latest on the military aspect of this investigation? >> reporter: there's been less information but we do know today that has widened just a little bit. we were reporting before there were ten members of the military, jessica, who were potentially involved in the scandal. today that number has grown to 11. we learned from sources that right now the way they are being treated is they have been restricted to their bases.

bases in california, south carolina, as well as in florida. we understand from sources that there's six members of the army, two members of the marines, two members of the navy, and one member of the air force, jessica. >> all right, thanks so much, brianna keilar from the white house. we're learning, now, about two more of the men who already lost their jobs in the scandal, including one supervisor who used facebook to brag about checking out sarah palin. hear what palin is saying about all of it in about 30 minutes. and he is not out of jail yet but the man who admits to killing trayvon martin can be set free soon on $150,000 bail. george zimmerman took the stand wearing a suit and shackles at a bond hearing today. he used the opportunity to apologize to the teenager's parents. >> i wanted to say i am sorry. for the loss of your son. i did not know how old he was. i thought he was a little bit

younger than i am. and i did not know if he was armed or not. >> david mattingly is live for us in sanford, florida. it was a remarkable thing to watch on television, david. how did the martin family respond to that? you were there in the courtroom. >> reporter: yes, this was completely unexpected. i was looking right at trayvon martin's mother and father as george zimmerman was talking directly to them. i didn't see much of a reaction at all. they were very stoic. at times during the hearing, they would turn to each other and whisper something but not much reaction at all. as soon as this hearing was over, they got up and left the courtroom very quickly. didn't speak to anyone. and then they had their attorney come out to the cameras outside the courthouse to express their outrage. >> why today when he made all those statements to the police, why not show remorse there, if he was sincerely apologetic for killing this unarmed child?

>> reporter: zimmerman was also grilled by prosecutors when he mentioned this. the prosecutor questioned him about the timing of this and about why he didn't say something before. zimmerman said he did say that he was sorry to the police, sorry for what has happened. he also said that he was instructed not to talk to the family of trayvon martin. so that was his explanation for not say something sooner. >> david mattingly, thanks so much, from florida it joining me now for the legal perspective on john zimmerman's bond hear, cnn legal analyst sunny heston, a former federal prosecutor, and mark nijaim, a criminal defense attorney. first of all, sunny, we heard george zimmerman say he didn't know martin was a teenager and he didn't know whether or not martin was armed. why does it matter whether zimmerman knew martin's age or whether or not he was armed if he wasn't being attacked? >> well, yes, and i think that

it matter, quite frankly, because what we heard today in the courtroom is very different from the evidence that we have heard. i mean, bottom line is he said in the courtroom he thought that trayvon martin was close to his age. well, we know that george zimmerman is 28 years old. on the 911 call, he describes trayvon martin as in his late teens. so that's a really significant inconsistency showing perhaps he's being disingenuous. he also said today in testimony, jessica, that, you know, he thought -- he wasn't sure if trayvon martin was armed. we know he told police that he shot in self-defense because trayvon martin grabbed his gun. so there are significant inconsistencies in the little bit that he said on the witness stand today from what has come out before. and i would suggest that that's going to be a problem for him in the long term. >> mark, there was a stunning moment during the hearing today

when zimmerman's defense attorney questioned the state's lead investigator and got what sounded to me like a very weak reply. let's listen to this. >> do you have anything besides what you just identified, a copy of the probable cause affidavit? >> no reports or anything, no. >> any supporting documentation with you to the courtroom on his bond motion at all? >> no, i was not planning on testifying. >> mark, the entire country's watching this and yet the state seemed so unprepared. how is this possible? >> well, this is the way it often works, you know, there is a lot of bravado about bringing this case out and such, and it seems like as much time as was spent with the bravado should have been spent in preparing this case. how do you have a lead investigator show up to court and say "we weren't prepared to have him called." the burden of proof, the state knew that they had to establish proof evident, presumption great, and it had to be overcome

by the defense. the only evidence there was that affidavit. so they knew that was going to be torn apart and to leave an investigator wide open, they completely came in unprepared. >> okay, sunny, let's move on. at one point, the defense asked the state's investigator whether he could provide any proof that would dispute zimmerman's claim that trayvon martin assaulted him first. listen to how the investigator responded. >> that contention that was given to us by him other than filling in the figures one chasing the other one, as to who threw the first blow, no. >> that's the state's case. that wasn't very powerful. is the state's lack of compelling evidence at the hearing today a sign that their overall case may not be very strong or is it just that they weren't very prepared? >> i don't think -- i think they were prepared actually so i disagree with mark on that but i don't think we can read into

what we saw today. i don't think we can take away from that that this case is not a strong case or that this prosecution isn't going to be prepared at trial. the bottom line is this was a bond hearing. the burden was very, very high on the prosecution. they would have had to have proven their case beyond beyond a reasonable doubt. i suspect they knew that it was going to be very difficult to prevent george zimmerman from getting a bond and they did rely on the affidavit but it's very clear, jessica, in all cases that an affidavit for probable cause is not a complete recitation of the facts, it is a thumbnail sketch. of course the investigator wasn't prepared to testify because the government didn't call the investigator, the defense called the investigator, and that's something that's unusual. in fact, i think it played out the way many of us suspected it would play out. that george zimmerman did get some sort of bond package. i do believe the $150,000 bond was a little lower than it should have been, a second

degree murder case. >> i have a feeling we'll have a lot more conversations like this coming up. thanks to both of you for being on. coming up, mitt romney works to cement his spot as the republican white house contender. i'll ask republican national committee chairman ryan prevus if it's working. plus, new clues about a little boy who went missing 33 years ago. why the case is heating up now. [ male announcer ] a car is either luxury or it isn't. if you want a luxury car with a standard power moonroof, your options are going to be limited. ♪ if you want standard leather-trimmed seats, you're going to have even fewer. ♪ and if you want standard keyless access, then your choice is obvious. the lexus es. it's complete luxury in a class full of compromises. see your lexus dealer.

in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪

to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha! ♪ i heard they found energy here. it's good. we need the jobs. [customer:] we need to protect the environment. [worker:] we could do both. is that possible? [announcer:] at conocophillips, we're helping power america's economy with cleaner, affordable natural gas. more jobs. less emissions. a good answer for everyone. well, if it's cleaner and affordable. as long as we keep these safe. there you go. thanks. [announcer:] conocophillips.

the republican national committee met today and welcomed mitt romney who spoke with members and he was later introduced by the 2008 republican presidential nominee, the senator john mccain. the theme of the event, unity. >> i am so gratified to see our party coming together in a solid team that is going to elect him president of the united states. we want to welcome you in a formal way. to a great family. >> well, it's good to see so many old friends. thank you. >> so romney is the presumptive

nominee, right? not maybe jumping the gun a bit. reince priebus said yesterday, this tuesday, i think, is probably going to be a defining moment. he said tuesday. he joins me now from scottsdale, arizona. thanks for being with us. today's event was supposed to -- >> nice to be here, jessica. >> -- why wait till tuesday's primaries to call him the presumptive nominee? >> well, out of i thempg respect and deference to congressman paul and speaker gingrich. we're still talking to all the candidates. we have a little bit of different deal here. we've got to follow some rules. i think also just like i said out of respect for them it's important for us to continue talking and just making sure that we're moving slowly, we're communicating with all the

campaigns. i think tuesday's important -- >> does that mean after tuesday you'll ask beginnigingrich and end their campaigns? >> no, i don't think i'd ever do that. i would let mr. paul and gingrich decide on their own what they -- >> why, you're the party leader, isn't it your role to step in and ask these campaigns to end, to help romney seal the deal and move forward? >> no, i don't think so. i think it's up to our -- it's up to our primary voters to help them and others make the decisions as to whether or not they want to stay in or not. it's a combination of momentum. it's a combination of delegates. it's money. i mean, it's all of those things. ultimately, winning and losing matter in these primary battles and that's why tuesday's important. so i actually think the opposite, jessica. i think in this country, i think people are tired of folks in washington telling them what they should do and what they shouldn't do and that's why we let this process play out. i think actually it's been going

very well. you know, i think if you look at how the governor's doing, he's doing well. the party's getting pretty well uni unified. >> on that, cnn is reporting that rnc members and state chairmen had to sign a form pledging to support governor romney at the national convention before they could attend a private event with him today. three iowans apparently refused to sign that loyalty pledge. is that concerning, that some refused to sign? is that really the way to win over party leaders? >> well, no, i don't know a whole lot about that actually, jessica. i think the romney campaign had their own event for their own supporters and they were doing some things there. actually, the folks from iowa did actually end up taking their picture. it wasn't a big deal. there are some party rules actually that don't allow informal endorsements prior to declaration of presumptive

nominee. so that formality means something in a lot of states. that's really the reason why some of the stuff goes on. it's not really out of, you know, out of disloyalty or anything like that. it just had to do with party rules in different states. >> let's look ahead to the general election. you wrote an op-ed in politico this week saying president obama is not doing enough for latino voters and that, quote, latinos also face an unemployment rate that is higher than the national average. but look at this. in the latest nba/"wall street journal" poll, 69% of latinos support the president, compared to 22% approval for mitt romney. that is huge ground to make up for your presumptive, likely presumptive, republican nominee. how do you do that without major changes in policy? >> well, i mean, first of all, i wouldn't crow with you jessica, we do have a lot of work to do. i think what we have is, one,

top-line messen jing matters. i would say even people who don't agree with us politically would at least agree in regards to jobs and the economy and where we sit today, the republican party's in a much better place to make the appeal with hispanic voters as to the direction of our country. we've got better messengers. marco rubio, susana martinez, brian sandoval. for the committee, what we're doing, by rolling out hispanic victory centers around the country, hispanic victory directors around state parties, and what i'm telling you is we need to communication on the ground in hispanic and latino communities across america. and we haven't -- we've not done a good enough job in doing that. and that's why we're rolling out that now. i think you're going to see that gap shrink over the next few weeks. >> i want to continue this conversation with you but i have to interrupt because we have breaking news now. we will continue it another

time. right now, we have breaking news on the secret service prostitution scandal. cnn senior congressional correspondent dana bash is on the phone with us right now. dana, you have been breaking news on this all day. tell us what you have. >> reporter: well, the secret service is, now, making it official that three additional employees have chosen to resign. so three additional employees have chosen to resign. in addition to that, jessica, we know that 11 secret service members were sent home from colombia. now a 12th employee has been implicated. that employee has been placed on administrative leave and his security clearance has been temporarily suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. one of the employees involved has been cleared of misconduct. our understanding is five employees are on administrative leave and the security clearance remains suspended. but the headline is that three additional employees of the

secret service have now been forced out. the way they're wording it is "chosen to resign." we all know what that means. six altogether, six agents, or members of the secret service have now lost their jobs because of this scandal. >> dana, you're saying six have lost their jobs because of the scandal. one more implicated in trouble. now one of those we thought was in trouble is now cleared of all wrongdoing? >> exactly. one of those has been cleared of, quote, serious misconduct. but apparently will face appropriate administrative action. unclear what that means and who this person is. our understanding kind of the background of this, as this has been going forward, as we've been talking to sources about how this has shaken out, is that at least one of these secret service members was pushing back pretty hard, saying that he did not do anything wrong, did not do anything to break the rules or the code of the secret

service. and it's unclear if this is the particular individual we're t k talking about or not but it is important to note 1 of the 11 original members who were sent home from colombia has been cleared but will face what they call administratie isaction. >> wow, interesting. all of those who left also continue to remain under investigation is my understanding. they remain part of the ongoing inquiry. another piece of news we've learned this hour is the president was faced by director sullivan in the oval office on the latest developments earlier today. dana, you've been doing amazing reporting all day long. you have all the latest. keep us posted if you get more. cnn's dana bash reporting the latest for us. coming up, a prostitution scandal in colombia, a spending scandal at the government services administration. are they personnel issues or political ones? we're talking about how they could impact votes come

november. how did i get here? dumb luck? or good decisions? ones i've made. ones we've all made. about marriage. children. money.

about tomorrow. here's to good decisions. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there. and then treats day after day... well, shoot, that's like checking on your burgers after they're burnt! [ male announcer ] treat your frequent heartburn by blocking the acid with prilosec otc. and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

welcome back. here's alison cosick with the latest news you need to know right now. >> a passenger jet slammed into a hillside in pakistan killing 121 people on board and scattering debris across a neighborhood. officials are blaming bad weather, high winds, thunderstorms and low visibility. the crash happened just five miles from the islamabad

airport. just listen to it. the crowd in cairo's tahrir square today, and it looked familiar like last year's arab spring rally, but now thousands of people are protesting against the ruling military and holdovers from the old regime. the rally comes just a few weeks before egypt's first presidential election since former president hosni mubarak was forced out. back here in the u.s., it almost looked like the tour de france got rerouted through the white house. but these aren't professional cyclists, they're part of the wounded warrior project. men and women who have suffered physical, mental and emotional injuries while serving our country. president obama welcomed them to the white house earlier today. the four-day cycling event is happening in several major cities across the u.s. definitely showing us and proving to us that anything is possible. >> it's a great event at the white house. thanks so much, alison. coming up, a secret service agent who bragged about checking out sarah palin is now out of a

job, caught up in the colombian prostitution scandal. so, ah, your seat good? got the mirrors all adjusted? you can see everything ok? just stay off the freeways, all right? i don't want you going out on those yet. mmm-hmm. and just leave your phone in your purse. i don't want you texting, all right? daddy...ok! ok, here you go. be careful. thanks dad. call me -- but not while you're driving. ♪ [ dad ] we knew this day was coming. that's why we bought a subaru. ♪ how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet?. by building on the cisco intelligent network

they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. so how much do we owe you? that'll be $973.42. ya know, your rates and fees aren't exactly competitive. who do you think i am, quicken loans? [ spokesman ] when you refinance your mortgage with quicken loans,

you'll find that our rates and fees are extremely competitive. because the last thing you want is to spend too much on your mortgage. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. ♪

this half hour, a total of six secret service members have now lost their jobs after a wild night with escorts in colombia.

now, sarah palin has been dragged into the scandal. how she's connected and what she's saying. a new lead in the disappearance of etan patz 33 years after he vanished on the way to a school bus. why investigators are digging up a manhattan basement. six secret service members have now lost their jobs in the prostitution scandal in colombia. cnn's dana bash reported just moments ago that three of those employees resigned today following a wild night with escorts in colombia. tonight, we're learning a whole lot more about two of the six men, including one who bragged about checking out sarah palin. here's brian todd. >> reporter: jessica, two names have been made public. both have supervisor positions. we've obtained more information about each man. one of them is taking serious heat for a picture and a joke he

posted on facebook. on his facebook page, he posts several pictures of himself in action on protective detail. in one, he's seen standing behind sarah palin and under the photo he posts a comment saying, quote, i was really checking her out if you know what i mean. david chaney is one of the secret service supervisors who lost his job because of the prostitution scandal in colombia. that's what a force familiar with the investigation told cnn national security contributor fran townsend. palin on fox news channel responded to david chanay's facebook post. >> check this out, bodyguard, you're fired, and i hope his wife kick his his -- and sends him to the dog house. >> reporter: david is married, has an adoptive son. according to a posting which also says his father was a secret service agent. an official says chanay started on the detail when al gore was running for president in 2000 and he later protected vice president dick cheney. we tried repeatedly to speak to

chanay through calls to his lawyer and a visit to his house in virginia. chanay had called sheriff deputies to keep us from knocking on his door. would you ask him if he can talk to us? >> they are not talking and have made it clear they want no one on the property. >> reporter: his neighbor says he spoke with chanay on occasion. what did you talk about? >> just trying -- just wanted to get approval for whatever he was doing in the backyard. >> reporter: how did you find him to talk to? what was his man like? >> very personal, down to earth. >> reporter: another neighbor says chaney used to drive a long way to watch him play sports. >> truly the perfect neighbors. they're fantastic people. >> reporter: one former secret service employee describes david chaney as gregarious. the other superadvicer who lost his job is advised by our source as greg stokes. according to a career posting on the university of maryland's website, stokes supervised the canine training unit at the

secret service training center outside washington. court documents indicate a greg stokes was involved in a divorce case from 2003 to 2005. a case in which there's correspondence from the secret service. his former wife was also a secret service employee. attorney lawrence burger told cnn he's representing both cheney and stokes. he told us he's concerned about what he calls illegal leagues of privacy protected information coming from, quote, rogue elements within the secret service. burger says that's distorting the review of what happened. and he told the reuters news agency the officers are getting a raw deal. jessica. >> cnn's brian todd. for more on this, we turn to cnn national security contributor fran townsend. she's a member of the department of homeland security external advisory board. he has a point, there are a lot of leaks. first, let's start by asking where do you think the investigation goes from here, what's next? >> you know, it's interesting. it seems to come out in dribs and drabs. we had the supervisors dealt

with first a couple days later. now three more resigning. the most interesting part of this is we learned tonight from dana bash that there's another individual who's been identified. so clearly as they interview each of the agents, source said to me they're not providing information about each other, but as they each tell their own story, they've identified at least one more important. they've also been able to clear another individual who was in the original group of 11 of any misconduct. and so he's now going to face administrative proceedings. what we're seeing is progress. what you'd hope is they'd complete their investigation, announce the results and move on. what we're getting is a little bit at a time which keeps the story alive for them. >> you said something important, that a source told you they're not turning on each other, providing information on each other yet. is that the key here? >> it's very interesting because you know when you run a normal criminal investigation, i was a prosecutor for many years in new york, what you look for is you look at the group of individuals who were implicated and then you try to work their stories off one another, to get

them to contradict one another, give you additional information. it's interesting, from the very begin, we heard from sources that each of the agents had a story to tell. they were not all consistent. and so we expected in the natural course of things they would begin to point the finger at one another. that's not happened. they began -- they're working through this investigation. they're working through the facts. the agents are taking personal responsibility. they're not pointing the fingers at one another. >> do you think the higher-ups knew this was going on and chose to ignore it? >> no, everyone i've spoken to from leadership on down were really both shocked and outraged. you know this is so inconsistent with the way they conduct themselves professionally, day to day. i -- when i traveled overseas during the bush administration, i was a protectee and i can't tell you the level of professionalism, the courtesy that was extended to me. nothing of the sort -- you know, i find the comment on facebook about sarah palin frankly being

shoulding. no one ever treated me with anything but utter respect. >> but there are a lot of other people who are not surprised by a lot of this. >> that's right. when the protectee -- when the president or protectee is gone, that is either in advance of the arrival or after you've departed, is there a sense of collegiality and camaraderie among the agents, the staff, the press corps all traveling together? sure there is. but this is really different. the notion of involving foreign service national, prostitute who could have put somebody at risk, could have been interested for their own purposes in the information you had access to is really a good deal different. i think that's what's so shocking about it. these people really commit themselves to take a bullet for you. >> this has to wrap up pretty quickly. >> they need this -- as opposed to a little bit every day, they need to get to the bottom of this and get it over. >> fran townsend, thank you so much. fbi investigators with jackhammers are tearing up a basement looking for new clues

in the disappearance of atone patz. he was the first missing child who was the first that appeared on a milk cart and he was just 6 when he vanished in 1979. now we're learning patz may nev never have made it more than a block away from his home. cnn's susan candiotti. what is going on right now, and what are investigators looking for? >> reporter: well, i'll tell you what's going on right now, for the second day in a row, a team of fbi agents has been tearing apart a basement in the building behind me, ripping it apart piece by piece, as you said, using jackhammers, bringing out chunks of cement and bringing samples of soil to the fbi lab. they're looking for human remains of etan patz. they don't know whether they'll find him but they're digging as far as six feet below the cement floor to see if they find any indication that any of the soil

might have been moved down there. here is what the latest we're hearing about what led them to this spot. they interviewed a former carpenter, now 75 years old who used to work in that basement. and sources tell us that this carpenter knew the little boy and, in fact, was with him in the basement the day before he disappeared. the fbi then brought in a cadaver dog and they got a hit and that's what prompted this excavation. that carpenter is not under arrest. an attorney tells us he is fully cooperating with the fbi and that he has nothing to do with this boy's disappearance. he is continuing to cooperate that lawyer says. we can also tell you according to our sources that is not the only man the fbi has been interviewing. as this investigation gears up once again. jessica. >> just amazing, susan, they can make this discovery, this tip discovery now and not so many years ago. susan candiotti, reporting from new york, thanks so much.

coming up, a famous republican dips his toe into the veep stakes pool but will former florida governor jeb bush really take the plunge? we're america's natural gas and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now.

we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us. greetings from the people here sure are friendly but some have had a hard time understanding my accent. so to make sure people get every word of the geico savings message i've been practicing how to talk like a true chicagoan. switching to geico could save you hundreds of dollars on car insurance... da bears. haha... you people sure do talk funny. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me.

[ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. 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. [ sneezes ]

our breaking news this hour, a total of six secret service members have now out of the agency following that night with prostitutes in colombia. our dana bash reports three of them resigned today. former vice presidential

candidate sarah palin, who was protected in 2008 by one of the ousted agents, said this about the scandal and the commander in chief. >> if you consider what's going on in the state of our government, with, you know, look who's running the show, these boys not considering that there are ramifications for their action, whether it comes to a budget, out of congress and the white house, to gsa overspends, to this the secret service scandals, you know, i've had enough of these men being dogs and not being responsible and not entrusting, being able to allow us to trust what these boys are doing in washington. >> grr mama grizzly. joining us to discuss whether these controversies will take a toll on the president's re-election bid, majory omaro. barbara comstack and the new yorker's washington correspondent ryan liza. ryan, do you think the secret service is going to be a

political story come november? when does the white house have to step in? >> sarah palin just turned it into a political story. i don't think it was a political story till she said that. she has a right to be a little offended here. what this one agent said on his facebook page, that's the most outrablgs thing i've seen in the whole scandal so far. protecting her and making a sexist comment on his facebook page, it's pretty bad, she has a right to be mad. to blame it on obama, i haven't seen any evidence yet of what's come out this is a white house problem, a presidential problem. mark sullivan, the head of the secret service, seems to be handling this quite well. he was appointed in 2006 by bush. he's universally respected. so far the steps he's taken seem to be pretty good. >> although it's drip, drip, dripping out, which is never good for any scandal. let me ask you, barbara, mitt romney tried to link obama to another d.c. scandal and link this to that. he was asked by the national review about the gsa and the culture of waste in the federal government. he said, quote, i think the example starts at the top.

people have to see that the president is not taking elaborate vacations and spending in a way that is inconsistent with state of the overall economy and the state of the american family. so is it really fair to say the gsa conduct was somehow linked to the way president obama lives his life? >> i think he went on further to talk about as president what he'd like to do, is he would be on that job, and for four years he would focus on jobs and really not be as distracted on all the other things. i think this was really the bigger message. i think the gsa scandal is certainly something we're disgusted with and all. i would like to comment on the secret service thing only because i used to on capitol hill work with so many of these agents. i do think it is such an aberration. vast majority, every agent i ever ran into, was lovely. i think we do need to point out this is an aberration. i certainly hope it's an

aberration. that's why that one is so shocking. >> you don't say that should be linked to president obama? >> well, no, i think it's -- but i think getting the investigation, make sure the management that is there at the secret service, taking it seriously. because you can't have that kind of negligence and carelessness by secret service agents. i'm surprised they're out drinking and doing that thing in that context in a foreign country. that doesn't make sense and it's not consistent with anything i ever saw when we were overseeing their activities. they were the best of the best -- >> oh, so you are blaming it -- it's a president obama thing? >> no, no, i think -- what i'm saying is we need to get to the bottom of it and have a good investigation. >> margie, on the other side of the political aisle, a democratic senator says he's unsure whether he will vote for president obama. is that particularly bad news for the obama campaign at a timed when they -- he's a moderate. they need the support of every moderate. >> i don't think that's bad news. it's senator manchin's right to say what he thinks.

you have republicans trying to have a loyalty test and you have delegates being asked to pledge their loyalty to mitt romney and they're refusing to do so. you have governor mitch daniels coming out and criticizing mitt romney. you have republicans who are very tepid of their endorsement of mitt romney. you have joe manchin on the one side and a whole host of tepid endorsements for mitt romney on the other side. >> it does reflect people who are in precarious political waters themselves maybe don't want to get too far out there with president obama? no? >> i think senator manchin has been a moderate. he has been that since he got elected in his campaign and i don't think this is really a departure. >> i think you want to see are mo of that because you look at something like paul in missouri, mccaskill is running far behind her republican moment in swing states. >> she raises a good point with mitch daniels because mitch daniels, a republican, said of mitt romney, to the indianapolis star, quote, that mitt romney must not spend the precious time and dollars explaining what's at

stake and a constructive program to make life better. as i say, look at everything through the lens of folks who have yet to achieve. romney doesn't talk that way. he's criticizing the way romney ran his primary campaign and said he should run it as if he's looking to govern. >> one of the great things now that governor romney is clearly going to be our nominee be our nominee and everybody's coming together is you're enjoying to get the good advice of all of the candidates across the country. mitch daniels, jeb bush, marco rubio, and i'm seeing everyone come together. and somebody like joe manchin is going to weigh into virginia because, we're right on the border there with west virginia. and believe me, he has a big impact down in coal country and areas of virginia where obama has really turned off moderate democrats and that's why -- >> ryan? >> i never criticize a politician when they say something honest, that's what we all want. and good for him, all of these other republican vice presidential candidates sucking up to mitt romney.

it's nice to have mitch daniels saying what's on his mind. >> truth to power? >> a little bit. it's not always his reputation, but it's hard for me to criticize someone being honest. >> let's listen to jeb bush who has previously said he will not accept the vice presidential slot if offered. and now he says? >> well, i would consider it, but i doubt i'll get a call. and i don't know if it's the right thing for me to do. i think marco would be among many great candidates for vice president. i think marco's probably the best. >> my rule on people who may or may not be vice president is ignore absolutely everything that is said by any of them between now and the day they're picked. it doesn't matter if you say absolutely i will not be your running mate or if you say yes, i will, whatever you say doesn't matter when you get the call from the nominee, everything changes. >> but i think that this kind of really can hurt romney with latinos. because let's say he doesn't pick marco rubio and instead

tries to pick jeb bush and he further hurts himself with latinos -- >> why? >> because he's ignoring the strong advocate from a leader in the party who says pick this -- this popular latino. just further alienate romney from the latinos he's doing terrible with latino voters. he releases an info graphic, that's the extent -- >> you think he can lose with jeb bush? >> we're getting away from the whole issue. he has a lot of great candidates for vice president who i'm sure governor romney will be looking at. and we have an embarrassment of riches, and marco rubio is among them. paul ryan, obviously, has gotten a lot of attention and someone seriously looking at the budget. and i think taken on the president very seriously on health care bill and the budget problems in a way that has been great. so we're going to have a lot of good candidates and they're all going to be out there campaigning across the country. >> the question on rooubio he ce out with a proposal this week,

and the great question, is romney going to elm bras this or not? >> thanks to all of you for being here. have a great weekend. good to see you. and erin burnett "outfront" is coming up. we heard from george zimmerman, the man who shot and killed trayvon martin today. what's ahead for you tonight? >> well, that was pretty interesting to hear him and obviously he was trying to be emotional. but a lot of people saying why hadn't he reached out to the family before? we talked to a friend of george zimmerman's is going to be joining us ask talking about where george zimmerman actually got the money for his bail. a lot of people are saying where did he get the $15,000 apparently he has to put down. we'll get answers plus the latest on the breaking news in the secret service scandal. i know you've been doing a lot of reporting on that. we have more information tonight, new resignations and people being fired tonight, but also, of course, some details on the names and what men these were. back to you. >> busy news night. thanks, erin, we'll be watching you coming up.

and a heads up for fliers. u.s. airways and american airlines are closing in on a merger. and what's the deal with pot smokers and the number 420? why today is the unofficial holiday for those who love to toke up. it's very important to understand how math and science kind of makes the world work. in high school, i had a physics teacher by the name of mr. davies. he made physics more than theoretical, he made it real for me. we built a guitar, we did things with electronics and mother boards. that's where the interest in engineering came from. so now, as an engineer, i have a career that speaks to that passion. thank you, mr. davies.

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.

uh, nope. just, uh, checking out my ad. nice. but, you know, with every door direct mail from the postal service, you'll find the customers that matter most: the ones in your neighborhood. print it yourself, or we'll help you find a local partner. and postage is under 15 cents. i wish i would have known that cause i really don't think i chose the best location. it's not so bad. i mean you got a deal... right? [ bird cries ] go online to reach every home, every address, every time with every door direct mail. [ crunches ] mmm. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] pringles... bursting with more flavor. [ crunch! ]

mented. the latest news you need to know right now. hey, alison. >> explosions in the syrian city

of holmes. today alone, at least 57 people were killed across the country. protesters gathered in are number of areas, but government forces reportedly confronted them with armed resistance. demonstrators want to bring an end to president assad's 12-year rule. this was some of the most chilling testimony you're probably ever going to hear. breivik giving details about how he slaughtered 77 people in a shooting and bombing rampage in norway last summer. breivik describe ed how he systematically killed 65 people at a youth camp. he also gladly takes credit for a bombing in oslo that killed eight people that day. workers for three american airlines unions are throwing their support behind a plan to merge with u.s. airways group. but to make it happen, u.s. airways still has to negotiate with americans, managers, and creditors. american airlines needs help. its parent company amr filed for

bankruptcy protection in november. and take a look at this school art project. the self-portraits of more than 200,000 children are being projected right on to the front of buckingham palace combining to make a giant image of the queen. it's part of the face britain project aiming to celebrate children leading up to this year's diamond jubilee and olympics. nice and creative, right, jessica? >> that's gorgeous. >> it is. and now for the moment that no herb lover would miss. today is april 20th, 4:20, a day for celebration for maui wowy enthusias enthusiasts. a brief history lesson, 4/20 was coined in 1971 by a group of california high school students who met after school one day at 4:20 p.m. they were searching for some abandoned marijuana plants. there's also a weird convoluted connection to the grateful