facebook.com/carolcnn. that does it for me. newsroom does continue with ashley banfield. thank you. nice to see you and hello everybody i'm ashley banfield. it's 11:00 on the east coast, 8:00 a.m. on the west coast. busy hour ahead. take a good long look at your screen because that's what it's going to look like for the next six months. president obama on one side, mitt romney on the other. it's campaign mode, folks, the president is speaking to the construction union workers in washington. his republican challenger is speaking at the fish pier in new hampshire. cameras are on both. for mitt romney this is one more chance to audition a potential running mate and my colleague jim acosta is watching from washington. candidate number three will be under the lights today. >> reporter: that's right. let the auditioning begin.

kelly ayotte the new freshman senator from the state of new hampshire will be appearing with mitt romney in portsmith in a few minutes from now. this is part of the veep stakes. she's one of the potential running mates that the romney campaign will be taking a good long hard look at. that vet progress sees, that selection process is just getting under way. there's a throat be said for kelly ayotte and why she's being considered. she has a lot of tea party support up in new hampshire. she was endorsed by sarah palin. she has a tough on crime background. she was the attorney general in her state. she is also anti-abortion rights so she has that pro life boxing checked that a lot of republicans will be looking at as they go about selecting a running mate and there's a lot of upsides here. actually had a chance to see her speak in front of one of those

rubber chicken dinners here in washington, d.c. she's pretty engaging in front of a podium, in front of a crowd. i think you're going to see kelly ayotte do pretty well this morning in portsmouth although a lot of people don't know who she is. she's not a big superstar like marco rubio is. this is a could chance for kelly ayotte to introduce herself to the american people. that's why she's out there as well. >> doish four years ago the country hadn't really heard of one sarah palin either before the veep stakes and boy did that person become famous. keep an eye on things for us jim acosta. skipping over to the president he's certainly shoring up support from union builders and construction workers in washington. he's speaking almost 3,000 of them and that whole group the 13 union alliance is about 2 million members strong. you could say he's preaching to the choir.

>> i don't know about you want, but i'm chauvenistic. i want noerk have the best stuff. i want us to be doing build, not somebody else. we should be having -- [ applause ] people should be visiting us from all over the world. [ applause ] they should be visiting us from all over the world and marveling at what we've done. >> in just a few minutes the president will welcome the prime minister of japan to the oval office and this twoompb will hold a news conference in the white house rose garden. if you stick with us you'll see it live. 2:00 p.m. eastern. set your dvr if you got to go out. major milestone in new york city today. used to call it ground zero. you can flush that name because now we can say it's 1 world

trade center again. so a lot of people especially folks who work in new york city get goose bumps about this milestone and it's all about size. >> reporter: absolutely it is, ashley. it's a beautiful day. i would be remiss not mentioning this beautiful day. what's going to happen today we'll pan up so you can see the majestic tower that it's become, 100 floors. that's what you're looking at. at about 2:00 eastern time the port authority will lay a steal bomb on the top floor that will make this the taller building in this city, surpassing the empire state building. it's taken 7 1/2 years to get here. they have been moving at a rapid clip. one floor per week they've been building on what is 1 world

trade center. it is no longer ground zero, it is 1 world trade center. they are not done yet but getting there. it's a momentus day. i went around with the man who built the first -- something fell -- the first world trade center and who is rebuilding the second one. really meaningful to see what it is like and for the thousands of people to work to construct this. >> so poppy, give me a bit of a feel for the 1776. because that's where we're headed. that will take to it the newest heights, the tallest building in the western hemisphere. how long until we get there? >> how long until we get there? they say 2013, maybe 2014. we're still i'd say about a year away from getting there. but as i said they are working

on a pretty rapid clip. one of the other things that's getting a lot of attention that i should bring up is security measures. is there extra security. i just got off the phone with the nypd commissioner who told me we have a robust terrorism posture. he emphasized there's no specific information of any sort of threat related to the anniversary of osama bin laden's death which is tomorrow, that one year anniversary. he said unlike the days preceding the ten year anniversary of 9/11 when they did have specific threats, specific credible information about possible threats of car bombs in new york city we don't have that today or ladying in to tomorrow that one year anniversary. i think that's very important. i was up walking around the site earlier today. you don't see many more police officers. it seems like a relatively normal day but they are very aware and lot.

>> poppy joining us live this morning in new york city. some other big stories. in florida the sentencing of millionaire john goodman and it is being delayed. all because of allegations of misconduct by jurors in the case. you might remember that goodman was convicted last month of driving drunk, smashing his bentley into another car, running it into a canal where the driver was later found dead. you might remember goodman is the man who adopted his girlfriend in order to do some creative financial planning. he faces 30 years in prison. he was supposed to be sentenced today but according to the "sun sentinel" the judge will interview jurors during a special session. there's a big question whether any of them had discussions about goodman's wealth before those deliberations and that would be a huge no-no. ten years after she was kidnapped from her bedroom

elizabeth smart is speaking out in detail. she said some things before. she's saying a lot now. elizabeth smart recounting the physical abuse, sexual and emotional abuse during this annual child protection awareness event that's being held in maryland. smart recently got married. has turned the horror story of her kidnapping into a message of survival and hope for other victims. >> it just seems like there are no more miracles that every case that's investigated comes to a sad ending. but not all of them end sad. i'm here. mine was a happy ending and i know that there are many more children out there who have the same happy ending waiting to happen to them. >> awesome. awesome young lady. she has created an education program with her foundation. it's called r.e.d.. stands for resist aggression defensively. it teaches kids how from text

themselves against kidnapping and bullying. >> the company that owns the grand ole opry is suing the federal government. the company wants $250 million for damage to the gay lrd opry land hotel and grand ole opry house due to flooding two years ago. >> big ben and surface to air missiles. the london skyline could be changing. we'll take you live to london coming up next. and also you are looking live at a mitt romney event in new hampshire. we'll continue monitoring this, another campaign event and get used to them when presumptive republican nominee comes out we'll bring you some of that live.

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secretary of state clinton and treasury secretary tim geithner is heading off to beijing. this man is a blind self-taught lawyer and an activist who spent years in prison followed by a year and a half under house arrest in a village south of beijing. cnn's stan grant along with actor christian bale tried to visit chen late last year and this is how that turned out. >> stop right here. as you can see they are pushing

christian here, we're trying to leave peacefully. >> why can i not go? >> clearly not something that the chinese authorities were interested in because chen has been a social activist there. he's been very outspoken and clearly under house arrest. a week or so he somehow slipped away from his guards and reportedly made his way to, are you ready, the u.s. embassy and that's on your screen right now. it's almost certainly making him a talking point at this year's economic dialogue. the "new york times" is reporting a top lieutenant of secretary clinton is already in beijing for talks specifically about this dicy den chen. we'll keep you posted but clearly it makes things somewhat awkward. london, preparing to welcome the world to the 2012 summer games. that means world class security, of course. but one idea for securing the skies, not going over particularly well. at least for some folks in a

london neighborhood. i'll tell you something, i've done a lot of reporting on olympics in my day but never had to report on high velocity missiles at the same time as talking about summer games. give me the whole story. >> reporter: well apparently the ministry of defense has decided that in its entire security plan one of the thing it need is these high velocity missiles able to shoot down, for example, a plane or a helicopter that may be coming to attack the olympic stadium. this is very unlikely they say but they have to be prepared for anything. now where the olympic stadium is located is in east london and this is a very built up residential area and one of the locations where they want to put these high velocity missiles is right on top of a water tower which happens to belong to a very trendy hip part of east thrown where 700 people live. so over the weekend they were given leaflets that said there will be a test of these missile

systems in the next few days and you shouldn't be worried about it but that's what all the military personnel will be doing in your apartment building over the next few days. as you can imagine people were shocked and want to kmor. >> wait a minute. nobody knocked on their door. there was no like town hall meeting about a missile defense battery going up next door on a water tower. >> apparently not. most people said they heard about it when this leaflet was put in their mail boxes. the fact that it's being put in a residential area and the residents there weren't consulted. >> i was trying to think back if i heard anything like this before. a little research turned out there were surface to air missiles installed in beijing when they held the olympics and they were only about a kilometer south of their big show piece stadium. there's precedent for it. >> there is. again, the fact here in east london, very built up residential area. it just so happens this one

particular building they've chosen is a perfect example of east london. it's got a pool, supermarket, like a miniature city inside an old warehouse. so the fact that it's going to be, these missiles will be put right over these people's heads where they sleep, eat and live that's what's causing the problem. >> touch on the cost of security. every year it's a big story. what are they looking at in london this year for the cost of security? >> i don't have the exact numbers but you can be guaranteed that it will be very, very expensive. to give you and idea not only are they thinking about the missile systems but think be deploying a war ship that can deploy attack helicopters. that's very expensive. >> so there's a tourist attraction flight. good to say. thanks for that. appreciate it. coming up, the search for a missing arizona girl is heading in a strange new direction.

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a surveillance video may offer clues in the disappearance of a 6-year-old girl in arizona. it shows five people walking through a parking lot near the home of isabel celis at the time that she went missing which by now has been nine days. police say they've spoken to three of the people in the video who might be able to shed some light on isabel's whereabouts. our thelma gutierrez is following this story. she joins us live. what's the significance of not

only the video and the people that they were able to speak to but perhaps the people they haven't spoken to in the video? >> reporter: well, ashley, right now tucson police are leaving no stones unturned. this little girl has been missing for a long time and police say it's been a very frustrating case. they leased a surveillance tape to the media hoping somebody would recognize the five people captured on that tape leaving a bar between 1:00 and 1:30 in the morning. the video is very grainy and taken from a high angle possibly a building or parking lot light. isabel celis's father told investigators he put his daughter to bed around 11:00 p.m. and police have now spoken to three of the five people in that videotape. >> one individual self-identified, detectives have spoken with him, took a statement. i think a few other individuals were also identified and they've

interviewed those. again, they were from the moment we identified them or put out the video, we indicated that we wanted to talk to them and they were seen as witnesses and that's what they are. they are witnesses. >> reporter: now, ashley, police are also saying that those five people in that tape, there's a sixth person who could be seen in the tape. they are hoping to talk to that person as well. though, that person has not been identified yet. >> and so this very strange development that they are also now looking south of the border to mexico. what's the story? are they telling us the full story? why on earth are they heading south? >> reporter: well, ashley, tucson is about 45 minutes away from the mexican border and agents there have been keeping an eye out for her. her picture has been certificate can you lated right on the border amongst those agents and also her pictures have been circulated in nogales, mexico.

there's reports that agents have been searching bus station in the area. they have not elaborated on why they have expanded to mexico. but they have received tips of sightings of isabel out there but they turned out unfortunately to be false. >> then in all of these cases, thelma, and it's hard to even ask the question and it has to be asked, what about isabel's parents. have they been cleared? are they at all under suspicion at this time? >> reporter: investigators say isabel's parents have been very cooperative. yesterday the parents attended a special mass where 300 people came out to show support. the family were there. police say that so much time has passed ashley ten days that they admit that this case is frustrating. they have not given up hope. they have not ruled out anyone and they have not named any suspects. >> let's hope for a development in that case soon. thelma, gutierrez, thanks very

much. moving on, talk about being busted. on video, a hit-and-run driver caught in the act, take a look at the camera shot. yeah. it tells the story. so, how did this video end up actually finding the reckless man? you'll find out in a moment. at bank of america, we're lending and investing in communities across the country. from helping to revitalize a neighborhood in brooklyn... financing industries that are creating jobs in boston... providing funding for the expansion of a local business serving a diverse seattle community... and lending to ensure a north texas hospital continues to deliver quality care. because the more we can do in local neighborhoods and communities, the more we can help make opportunity possible.

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hit-and-run caught on tape. whoa. this happened in berkeley, california and you can see the driver just drifting in to the bike lane hitting two cyclists. that driver taking off. didn't gore stop. nope. just leaving them at the scene. luckily, those they were not seriously hurt. and police say that one of the cyclists had the camera mount don't handle bars and posted it on youtube. police were able to i've the car

and license plate and because of that, the driver has been arrested. so there. speaking of biking as well it could be illegal to ride a bicycle and text in california. and that could happen soon. lawmakers there are considering a bill that would prevent bike riders from being distracted which means cyclists could be fined like drivers if they are caught texting on the road. george zimmerman's attorney is taking a controversial case to the world of social media. he's conceding this is a very unusual move in this case but he also says he's doing it because this is a very unusual case. he says the key mission of this website is to identify and eliminate fraudulent social media websites that claim to represent zimmerman. zim areman is charged with killing trayvon martin in florida back in february.

apple is getting a little heat for their tax rate. there's an investigation by the "new york times" finding apple is using corporate loopholes to drop their effective tax rate to just under 10%. some of those practices routing the tax rates through ireland and yarn. that amounted to paying $3.3 billion in taxes. i know that sounds very high but, again, that's 10%. apple's response is they are responsible for half a million jobs in this country and they comply with all laws and accounting rules. to southern california now where this little guy is baffling marine life experts. in the middle of your screen it's a dolphin. he's stranded. and this weekend when he was guided towards the open waters, that dolphin instead chose to turn back. why is he doing?

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it is a busy morning for president obama. we told you about his speech to labor leaders and then he's back at the white house preparing to meet with the japanese prime minist minister. dan you can help me out. >> reporter: noda. >> the relationship is an issue and obviously some of the issues with north korea may be part of the plan. run down what's on the agenda. >> reporter: president obama has done a pivot focused more on the pacific-asian region an area where this administration believes there's great economic growth for the united states so that's the backdrop for this meeting but also a chance to ease some of the tensions between the two countries.

as you know recently the united states agreed to relocate some 9,000 marines from okinawa, japan. there's been talks about the economy and trade. they will sit down for this meeting here at the white house. they will also have a lunch meeting and then have a short press conference. there won't be a state dinner here, however. the prime minister will be hosted at a dinner here in washington by secretary of state clinton. >> so, i have a question for you. a lot of people suggesting that the relationship between our country and japan really started to deteriorate back in 2009 and yet just a year ago this country did a lot for japan after the tsunami. did that not do anything to mitigate what was this sort of, you know, relationship issue? >> reporter: it certainly did. the united states did help in a big way through all the humanitarian effort and in fact there continues to be help for

japan as japan overall continues to struggle with its economy there but, yes, it has done some to ease some of the tension between the two countries. but you pointed out earlier one of the other issues is the role that japan can play in diffusing some of the the evenings with north korea. they strongly condemned that failed rocket launch by north korea and u.s. is continuing to put pressure on the neighbors around north korea to see what can be done to sort of pull back or ratchet back the tensions that we've seen there recently. >> nice to see you. thank you. so the world's most famous spy agency is getting a little competition it turns out. take a look. >> the name is bond. james bond. >> yeah. maybe not quite james bond but taking a cue from the bone series the u.s. military is

going undercover at least a secretive special branch is. it's called the defense clandestin e-services. there job is different than the cia or nsa. barbara starr has the cloak and dagger details. why do we need another agency like this? >> reporter: you got to wonder, don't you. the intelligence community already spend something like $55 billion a year. why do we need more? what the military is saying is they want to set up this defense clandestine service so they can do what they call human spying. basically military personnel will be able now overseas to set up businesses undercover and hire people to work for them and what they are looking for, we're told, is the latest intelligence on things like terrorist threats, potential wmd, weapons

of mass destruction attacks all overseas using these undercover businesses to gather what intelligence or information they can and not using the satellites or drones, just talking to people out there on the street. >> so is this part of the defense department and if that's the case who has oversight? >> reporter: well, it is going to be part of the defense department, not part of the cia, not part of any other government agency. it's going to be headed up largely by men named general mike flynn. he's a close associate of general stanley mcchrystal. he was his intelligence chief back when mcchrystal commanded in afghanistan. he's a guy who spent his career in and out of a number of very classified military commando units so he knows his business very well and he is going to be one of the guys heading this up. >> so it complicates things a little bit because i'm wonder if somebody gets caught overseas and it is a soldier/spy, how is

he covered? is he covered by the geneva convention? does he become somebody who is treated as a spy? exactly what kind of a law would pertain to someone like this? >> reporter: well you know it depends on where this all goes on. let's be clear. two of the countries the u.s. wants to le s tto collect againt on is iran and north korea. we won't know if these people serve undercover in those countries. that's one of the most pieces of classified againintelligence. if they get caught there that's a significant problem. but you hit it, ashley. it's going to be very sensitive business. these people will not be wearing uniforms. they won't be acknowledging their identities and they will be spying opinion they will be collecting intelligence. going be very dicey how it works out. >> i believe in the old days we call that dirty intel, boots on the ground.

fascinating stuff. very cloak and dagger. keep feeding us the details. so i got to get you on to some other stories we're following. let me take you to peru where authorities are trying to solve a mystery that's unfolding along the shores there. apparently 1,200 or so birds including pelicans have been found dead along a 100 mile stretch of the northern shore line. fishermen said the deaths began two weeks ago. comes after 877 dolphins washed up dead on that same stretch of the coast. that happened last month. nobody really knows yet if the dolphin and the bird deaths are connected but what wildlife experts say more tests are being done try to figure out what is behind the marine mystery. stateside marine experts are baffled by something else. a lonely dolphin is determined to stay in a narrow channel in huntington beach, california.

animal rescuers are involved and they say the dolphin isn't trapped and it is healthy and doesn't seem to be in danger but it doesn't want to go back to deeper waters. they tried. did everything. rescuers tried to coax him this weekend. that little guy kept choosing to return to the channel after seeing two other dolphins nearby, perhaps unfriendly dolphins. crews are expected to give it another go. keep you posted on whether that little guy goes back to safer, deeper waters. >> los angeles erupting in violence. if you can believe it 20 years ago. have the wounds healed. is anything different? if it is, how different. the police official calling the shots on the ground during the l.a. riots said one step forward, two steps back and ask him why live on the scene next. çñv,>wvs[rk÷=$fí]çffs8rkaglcçñ

the streets of los angeles 20 years ago. the neighborhood turned into war zones. they were scenes from the l.a. riots and now they are historic markers. a brutal look at a city simmering over issues over race, poverty, inequality, all over the acquittal of four police officers accused with the beating of rodney king. that was the trigger that unleashed it all. this was also a wake up call. the impetus for change. today the streets of l.a., the lapd and its communities are in many ways very much transformed but at the same time the riots have certainly left a scar and

that scar shows. a man who has seen it all, bernard parks, deputy chief of the lapd. he's now a city councilman. you are standing literally right at the beginning of it all that was the genesis of the whole situation and i wanted to ask you, sir, if you think we've come a long way or if things are only just different now? >> well, ashley thank you for covering this. as one of many epicenters of the city for that night we made a great deal of progress in the sense of bringing and restoring some of our communities but we also are taking steps back today because we've lost things such as cra, we lost empowerment zones and we lost recently money from the block grant and now we're going through a redistricting process that disenfranchises even more people. all the progress of the last 20 years is being threatened today

by very recent elements nine don't know whether to call you chief parks because you became police chief after those infamous riots and now as we suggested a city councilman. i want to ask you if you've had any feelings or thoughts about the recent trayvon martin case and how that has become a new and different marker about race relations in this country. how do you weigh in on how things have unfolded in the florida story compared to how they unfolded in the l.a. story? >> well, i think you have a situation where there's some similarities in that there's outrage, hopefully there's not the outrage in the sense of florida where there becomes a riot but the difference sue certainly lost the life of a young man trayvon martin. here you had a video of a beating in which in many instances validated in many people's minds a long history of abuse that they can never prove

in the past. so i think there's some differences but certainly the outrage is certainly there. >> but were you buoyed by the notion that what happened in the trayvon martin tragedy, at least spawned marches, conversations, peaceful demonstrations and that nothing like what happened in 1992 happened in florida? >> well, i think the issue is this. is that if you remember in los angeles there were months that passed from the incident all the way to the trial and it was the result of the trial that caused the outbreak and the riot. i think it's an issue that clearly there are people that are concerned and there's outrage but, again, it's a long way from bringing to it a conclusion and we hope it comes to a conclusion that basically is legal and proper but also has understanding by the community. so just because there's not been an outbreak today doesn't mean that it doesn't fester as this trial goes on. >> boy, i sure hope that's not

any foreshadowing of things to come. i hope to dialogue continues the way it has been which, i believe, has been very respectful up until now. let me ask you a little bit about the players involved. if no one, there were circumstances that happened with the litigation in the case against those four officers. they were all acquit. a mistrial on one of the charges. two of the officers ultimately, were convicted in civil rights violations. they served their time. they are out. living a life in california. have you ever communicated with those two officers as their former chief or as a former heave? have you ever had a chance to talk with them since all of this? >> no, i have not. i didn't know them personally during the events and certainly have not talked with them in the subsequent trial or currently where they are living now. but clearly they have made a mark on this city. but i think we have to remember that as we go forward and as

people talk about these incidents that they reflect on the city of l.a. and also the los angeles police department, in reality the police department supported along with the d.a. felony filings. it was the jury that allowed these officers to go free. and i think the public was so engaged and so outraged by it that they basically came out against the most visible part of city government which is the los angeles police department. >> and on the other side of that whole coin chief/councilman parks have you ever had the chance or desire to speak with rodney king since all of this? >> i've talked to rodney king. we're on a 20 year retrospective done by the korean community. we talked about these issues and certainly he, as it relates in those stories certainly was a victim of some very vicious attacks, and is trying to get

his life together and has had some stumbles. it appears he's on the road he can stabilize his life at this time. >> it is good to talk to you and nice to see you in an environment that is calm and flourishing and we wish the best on this anniversary. chief parks thanks so much for being with us. and councilman parks. thanks so much. >> thank you very much, ashley. >> great to see you, bernard parks after this many years. live event and you guessed it, if it looks like a campaign to you, gotcha. romney on the podium. the woman at the podium a senator that maybe in the pickings for the veep stakes. we'll take you life to new hampshire for this event in just a moment. wow...

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from left to right... and right to left. ♪ the cadillac cts. ♪ we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. welcome back. taking you to some live pictures. mitt romney at the podup and just to the left of him, senator kelly ayotte. right now he is launching into a criticism of president obama about his treatment of small business owners. let's listen in. >> i was at one business not

long ago, small business. this was a printing shop, and the osha folks came in and fined them because they had not trained their employees on how to use one of their former emergency exits. this was an exit now closed, but it was -- it had two little brackets with the steel bar, and to use the exit all you had to do with lift the bar. this is the some kind of silliness that goes on when regulators are running amok. regulators have to see their job as not just stopping bad guys, but encouraginged good g ethe g. the president is proposing raising taxes on small businesses that are taxed as individuals from 35% to 40% at the top rate. that will kill jobs. and the vice president says he wants to do global tax on multinationals. not sure what that is, but it doesn't sound very good. and then their labor policies.

they stack the in accordance labor -- national labor relations board with union insiders who give to the union bosses what they want, which is agreements for us no the to open up new markets for us to sell our goods in, agreement from the teachers union not to allow more choice in the district of columbia public schools. agreements to say to boeing they can't build a factory in a right to work state. this scares the dickens out of people in small business because they think if they hire people and then they're forced in a union where their wages will be set by government arbitrators, they don't know what their costs will be. the list goes on. how about the energy policies? these fishermen burn about 100 gallons a day. you know how expensive fuel is for you right now. for them that diesel fuel make it is very, very difficult. price at the pump is high. it's high in part because of the

president's policies. he's cut in half the number of licenses and permits that were used to drill on federal lands. so drilling on those lands will not be coming forward in the coming years. this is an administration that i don't know what they've been thinking about. they certainly haven't been speaking to small business people, and folks like these behind me who are trying to make their living in small business. if i become president of the united states, i'm going to be a pro-small business president and fight for the rights of small business people. [ cheers and applause ] >> i somehow think the president has this view of the country that a big government and big companies and big banks can do a better job managing this economy than can individuals free to choose their own course in life and free to build their own

enterprises. i love the entrepreneurial spirit of america. i see it wherever i go. people want to start their own business. build their own enterprise. those that are successful employ the rest of our society and help make us better off. we need a president who understands the power of free enterprise because he's lived it, and i have, and i will, and i'll make sure that's part of our future. [ cheers and applause ] over these last several days h we have seen our president go across the country and bring up all sorts of extraneous items. everything he can do to distract from the issue people care about, which is a stronger economy, creating more ent enterprises quarterba enterprises, creating good jobs, and making sure our kids coming out of college can find a job, that our kids coming out of high school can find a job and we can

be confident the future of our children is better than what we've enjoyed. i wish the president would start talking about the economy and quit trying to divert with all the silliness day in and day out of he and his team. the issue people care about is the one that's affecting us, which is their pocketbooks, their gasoline prices, the cost of higher education, the need for more jobs, the need por hfo higher incomes. we're seeing a greater gaps for those who have the most and those who have the least. i want to help everybody, particularly those who are being left behind. i want to help the poor, i want to help the middle class get the kinds of jobs that raise their income. let's focus on helping the people who need the help the most. [ cheers and applause ] >> you might be wondering why you're seeing boats in the background. this is a fishing program that

has in their words cost people their jobs and senator ayotte along with senator scott brown have introduced a bill to change that. is senator ayotte a potential veep in the veep sweepstakes in thanks for watching, everyone. it's been nice to be with you. i'm ashleigh banfield. cnn "newsroom" will continue right now with suzanne malveaux after the break. great shot. 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.

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i'm suzanne malveaux live from washington today. it is 12:00 noon, 9:00 a.m. on the west coast. want to get you up to speed for this monday april 30th. more than a decade after the terrorist attack brought down new york's twin towers, one world trade center also known as freedom tower about to become new york city's tallest building surpassing the empire state building. workers are putting up steel columns that will make the unfinished building about 1200 feet live. we'll take you there live to capture this milestone event. george zimmerman has a new website. the man who killed the unarmed teenager, trayvon martin, is become online, but this time his site is being run by his defense attorney. attorney says it's a place where

people can get information about zimmerman's case, can also donate money to his defense. zimmerman's previous website raised more than $200,000, which he failed to disclose to the court until just last friday. think of it as the safest apartment building in the world. residents in an east london apartment complex have gotten leaflets warning them surface to air missiles could be put on top of the building to defend the summer olympic games. there could also be ten soldiers positioned up top for two months. the building is two miles from the sight of the olympic stadium where the kickoff of the games will begin in less than three months. elizabeth smart is speaking out again almost ten years after being kidnapped from her utah home at knife point. she is an advocate for missing and abused children and she is sharing her story around the country about being held captive and raped repeatedly for nine months before being spotted and freed near salt lake city. smart's message is one of hope.

>> it just seems like there are no more miracles, that every case that is investigated comes to a sad ending, but not all of them end sad. i am here. mine was a happy ending, and i know there are many more children out there who have the same happy ending waiting to happen to them. all right. this is interesting. a major gender role shift is taking place in this country. it's a sign of the times. dads are staying home with the kids while mom is at work. according to the census bureau, 1 in 5 fathers whose wiftives a working are staying home with the kids. >> where does your mom keep the vacuum cleaner? >> you mean jaws? >> your mom calls the vacuum cleaner jaws? >> yeah. >> where is it?

>> over there. >> cnn money's jessica dickler wrote an article. that was really funny because they're like he doesn't know what he's doing, how is this possible? but it's a reality now. i mean, he lost his high-paying job, his wife was able to get one, now you find a situation where a lot of other families are in the same position. >> that was a great movie, by the way. but it's true. there are a lot more dads staying home and taking care of their kids and there are a lot of reasons. child care costs have gotten a lot more expensive. with incomes staying mostly the same, a lot of families are struggling to afford daycare. with men out of work, a lot of men out of work after the recession, sometimes it just makes financial sense for them to stay home with the kid and be

the primary caretaker. there are a lot of women that are also out earning their husbands these days. more than a quarter of women in a dual-income households earn more than their husbands do. in those cases it just makes sense. >> and jessica, you say this is not just a story about the economy, but you talked to the dads, and they want to be with their kids. they want to stay home and take care of them. >> that's right. i did a story a couple weeks ago on mom staying home, and i got a lot of responses from dads that were saying, you know, we do this, too. and it wasn't always a financial decision. a lot of the dads that i talked to said that they really wanted to be there for their kids. they wanted to participate and do things with them, especially when they were so young. so, you know, it wasn't just about staying home. it was really about participating and working dads, too. they were pitching in more at

home and taking on more responsibility. >> love your story. folks should read it cnn.com. want to bring in a stay-at-home dad, lance summerfield and his wife decided they could make the most financial sense for him to stay home to raise the baby. three years ago lance started a new york city dads group to connect with other fathers who are staying at home. the group now has more than 550 members, and lance is joining us from new york. hey, lance. we're celebrating you today and all the other dads who are out there taking care of the kids. tell us about your situation. >> so our situation is -- started to become more common. it's nice to see more families sorting to do what's best for their family and kind of push the traditional roles and stereotypes aside. we were having our son, and we knew that we wanted someone to be home with our child at least for the first few years, and it made both financial sense and quality of life sense for me to be the one within our family to

be our son's primary caregiver. it's been an awesome ride. >> is that because you were making less than your wife? >> i think there were a few components to it. i was definitely making substantially less than my wife. her career track was on a better trajectory than mine, but, again, the two of us truly knew that we wanted to be active, involved, and engaged in his life early and often and it just made more sense from a family decision for it to be me. >> lance, i love those photos of you and your wife and your little boy. he's absolutely adorable. you're a very attractive family. tell me a little bit about what it's like to be home with him. >> so, you know, there are amazing days. i would say what's -- what i love most about being home with him is that i get to experience those small wondrous moments, not quite the major milestones that everybody seems to focus on, but just riding the public

bus and subway around new york city, hitting the local park or playground, just chuckling over silly things. those are the kind of moments that really leave those imprints on my mind, probably more than, you know, the day he talked and what his first words were. >> sure. >> sorry. >> no, go ahead. >> so it was nice to have -- it's nice to be able to have those bonding experiences with him because i know he's not going to remember them, but i certainly will. >> and, you know, those days when you take him to the park and you're the dad and you're taking your little boy, how do the other moms react when they see you? >> primarily it's positive. i think when i'm the solo dad, i'm pretty confident in my role. i have no problem walking over and starting a conversation with the other mothers about potty training or, you know, what preschool or nursery school you're trying to get your child

into. so, you know, these are really parenting conversations, so it's nice to be able to mix with them but it's nice to have that camaraderie, support, and network i have with the nyc dads group, too. >> i understand you have this online, this blog, why did you feel it was necessary to reach out to other men for advice or to share stories? >> you know, i really wanted that camaraderie and support almost like a dadternity feeling to be able to mix it up and socialize with people who are going through the same thing that i am. initially actually we started an online site, but the goal was really to get people away from their computer and in front of each other face-to-face. i think that's just been one major reason aside from having an amazing partner in my wife on why i've truly embraced my role. it's nice to have that support network. to hang out with these other guys doing workshops, listening to author discussions, and doing

the local gym class with our kids when it's a dozen dads together. >> and, lance, final question here, if the economy turns around and people -- you're able to get a good paying job along with your wife, would you still say and stake care of your son or do you think you'd find daycare for him? do you think that would change your family's circumstance? >> i don't think it would actually. i think what you're going to start to see is more and more families starting to make the decision what's best for the family, and you're going to see people starting to shatter those stereotypes and more dads taking on that role as primary caregiver. we're living through an awesome time right now. >> well, you know, i love to hear that, an awesome time. l a lot of people are really discouraged about this, but clearly there's a silver lining to this. the best to you and all those dads out there staying home and taking care of the kids. thanks for joining us. >> thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk with you guys. the freedom tower just one

steel beam away from piercing the ceiling of the new york city skyline. and on the brink of war. and then you heard the punch line -- >> i had a lot more material prepared, but i have to get the secret service home in time for their new curfew. >> i'm going to take you behind the scenes at the white house correspondents dinner. the annual event nicknamed the nerd prom. people with a machine.

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more than a decade after a terrorist attack brought down new york's twin towers, one world trade center, also known as freedom tower, is about to become new york city's tallest building. workers are scheduled to install a beam that will lift the tower to 1,271 feet. that's 21 feet higher than the city's tallest building right now, the empire state building. poppy harlow is live in lower manhattan. explain to us why this is important, this milestone, and why it's bittersweet for some. >> reporter: i'm sorry, suzanne, i had a hard time hearing you. >> this is a milestone here. this is a celebration in some ways but it's also bittersweet for some. remind us of why that is. >> reporter: absolutely it is. it is a celebration, it's a beautiful day here in new york city. as one person who is building the world trade center said to me this morning, it's kind of reminiscent of september 11th. it's a beautiful, clear sky.

it marks a very important milestone for new yorkers because this becomes new york's tallest building. it makes new yorkers think we are almost there. we are rebuilding once again. at the same time, suzanne, i would be remiss not to mention the timing. this comes one day, one day before the one-year anniversary of the capture and killing of osama bin laden. so there have been a lot of questions here about security. what security measures are being taken? have there been any credible threats to new york or the united states from al qaeda or any terror groups. i want to read you a statement i just got from new york city police department's deputy commissioner paul brawn. i spoke with him on the phone. he said there is no known threat to the world trade center or new york city because of the anniversary, but the nypd continues to maintain a robust counterterrorism posture. what they have done here is they have put basically 200 more police officers down here, a whole new division in the last six months or so. so they're obviously heightened alert. as you remember heading into the

days before the 9/11 anniversary, there were some credible threats to this area, and there are not today. >> was it timed to coordinate with the killing of bin laden? >> reporter: it was not coordinated whatsoever. it just happened, they realized a week ago they were going to hit this point because they've been building about a floor a week. it was not coordinated. it's really just quirns dental. of course, it brings up a lot of questions. suzanne, i had a chance to tour the site and actually to go to the 76th floor of one world trade center back in august. we're going to roll some of that video for you so you can see. i spent time going around with a man named mike manella. he very interesting built the first world trade center, then watch the towers fall, and then came back to build it once again. he is leading the construction. you see him there with me. and i want you to take a listen to what he told me this morning when we talked about how meaningful this is for him personally. take a listen.

of what does this day mean for you, mike? >> well, today is the day we can really look back and say that the milestones we've surpassed and overcome are certainly more significant than the ones ahead of us. we have challenges going forward but the building is in position where we can see it come to the top and we can see it being finished off in a very, very, very significant way. >> reporter: so obviously very meaningful for him. i spent the day talking to a lot of new yorkers about what this means for them. it means a lot, symbolically and just putting a close to that chapter. also what it means for many tourists lined up here, suzanne, and i think you will carry it live at about 1:30, they're going to put that steel beam on the top floor making it 21 feet higher than the empire state building. >> it means everything to folks. and poppy, of course, we're going to see you in about an hour or so to capture that

moment, that historic moment taking place over lower manhattan. thank you, poppy. well, under fire journalists run for cover as gun ships an fighter jets take aim inside the world's newest nation. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

it's the newest country in the world about you right now it's on the brink of a full-blown war with its neighbor. we're talking about the two sudans in northeast africa. south sudan officially broke away from sudan last summer after two wars over a 5-year period. now they are locked in an escalating battle over an oil field.

reporter robin kreal came under fire as warplanes from the north launched an attack on the south. >> reporter: we've been promised a story. this is close to the front line of the border clashes with the north. and the south sudanese commander is willing to talk. but another story is about to break around us. >> come down. >> reporter: it's coming, these soldiers shout. >> come, come, come! >> reporter: sudanese warplanes are streaking in, and we have just seconds to find cover.

we find a small trench, try to make ourselves invisible as at least half a dozen bombs drop around us. we wait for the sound of the planes to fade, then we make our escape. >> get in, get in, get in. >> reporter: we were just three kilometers from the front line when we heard incoming fire from what the soldiers say were gun ships and migs. we were then forced to take cover and once the firing -- once there was a lull in the firing, we decided to head out in our vehicle because it was simply too dangerous and we didn't know what to expect.

>> go, go, go, go. >> that is incredible reporting and krid yo thevideo there. the u.n. security council has demanded the sudan stop those air strikes. some big wigs on wall street out of their job. more than 20,000 banking jobs that are right now on the line. çñv,>wvs[rk÷=$fí]çffs8rkaglcçñ

here is a rundown of some of the stories we're working on. next, 20,000 bankers could soon be out of work. we'll tell you what it means, the wall street layoffs, what it means for the bottom line.

then, its nicknamed the nerd prom. what were all the celebrities doing at the white house correspondents dinner? we'll take you mind the scenes. later, everybody wanted to take out osama bin laden but a year later his death is suddenly causing a lot of political mudslinging. wall street could turn into another dead end for jobs. consultants and recruiters say thousands who work in securities are faciing layoffs. felicia taylor is joining us from the new york stock exchange. any word which companies would be cutting these jobs? >> the only one we know for sure is credit suisse. 35,000 cuts have been announced to happen. so far they have only laid off 2,000. fortune magazine says bank of america and barclays could be cutting jobs as well. obviously, things have slowed down with regards to the economy. that also means things have slowed down with regards to wall

street. now, that could rival the cuts we saw during the absolute epitome of the financial crisis in 2008. and fortune magazine also says those cuts could start soon, not kind of surprising after the first quarter. suzanne? >> felicia, what is driving this? do we know? >> well, we aren't seeing as many mergers and acquisitions because of the weak economy, so, therefore, you know, not as many people sort of are in the mix. we've also got tougher regulations. wall street reform was a result of the recession, and it's meant to stop another financial crisis, but naturally it hits banks' bottom lines. they don't have as much money to make deals with. higher borrowing costs, moody's and standard and poors say they may downgrade ratings.

>> and as for the markets, we heard today spain is in recession. last week you had a report that the uk also in recession as well. how does that affect the u.s. stocks today? >> well, what's the problem when it comes to the u.s. stock market is it again puts that eurozone into the uncertain category and it makes us wonder how much bank exposure u.s. banks have to the eurozone. that's a bit of a problem. today honestly the markets are kind of floundering around a little bit. there's not really any clear direction as we wait for the unemployment number to come out on friday. that will be the real direction. things are pointing to the downside although we had a very good week last week. >> thank you. good to see you. so if you're a journalist, it's actually the biggest party of the year. everybody from the president to kim kardashian was there, but what was comedian dave chappelle doing behind the scenes? i got a chance to talk to him. i needed a coach.

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it's a nice the president, the first lady join athlete, and politicians to poke a little fun at each other. it's the washington corne correspondents dinner. it's affectionately nicknamed the nerd prom. it gives the president a chance to show a lighter side. sometimes even zing his opponents. here is a bit about what president obama joked he would do his second term. >> in my first term i sang al green. in my second term, i'm going with young jezzi. michelle said yeah. i sing that to her sometimes.

in my first term we ended the war in iraq. in my second term, i will win the war on christmas. in my first term we repealed the policy known as don't ask, don't tell. [ applause ] wait though. in my second term, we will replace it with a policy known as it's raining men. >> having been to about ten of these, this evening did not disappoint. one of the ehighlights was finding the missing comedian dave chappelle who was searching for a ticket to the dinner earlier in the weekend. he was wearing ck an a hoodie. he end the festivities leading a soul train line at an after party. he tells me he's been in ohio on

a ranch with his family including a 3-year-old daughter he's had since he dropped out of the spotlight. valer valerie jarrett also hit the dance floor, and uh-uh expected moment, actor jesse tyler ferguson from "modern family" photo bombed me and actress goldie hawn. it was a good time. we'll have more about the evening coming up with our political panel. even the kardashians made an appearance at the president's event. all right. what a difference four years makes. in 2008 covered the epic battle between barack obama and hillary clinton fighting it out for the democratic nomination. fast forward now to 2012. and clinton's husband, the former president, is now doing an about-face playing a prominent role in president obama's re-election campaign. joining us to talk about that and more, democratic strategist estuardo rodriguez and tara

wall. first of all, wanted to ask you about the dinner and all the parties around it. did you catch a little of jimmy kimmel or the president. they were both pretty funny. >> pretty funny, yeah. actually, suzanne, i think i watch every year just to see what you're wearing so i can make sure i stay on top of all of my fashion sense. but seriously, yeah, i think that, you know, it was funny all around. i think you still have to make light of things even in the serious economic situation we are in as a country. there are times for that. but i thought jimmy kimmel was funniest because he essentially kept it real, you know, and really kept it right on point even with his jokes. that's just the kind of event it is. >> you know, i try to do my best, tara, with the outfits. i don't know if i'm setting any fashion trends. what did you think? >> well, you know, i think the person who suffered the most

throughout that whole thing was probably jimmy kimmel because, as we know, it's the host that ends up getting some of that spotlight for whether or not they go too far in attacking either side, and i think we sensed through a lot -- through a lot of comments that he was relieved and even some of the interviews with him afterwards, he was generally relieved it went over well and that he's not being criticized and banned forever. >> it's nice to see everybody kind of not taking themselves a little too seriously. folks in washington tend to do that. i want to turn the corner, something also that was really interesting that happened over the weekend. this was on sunday. there was a fund-raiser, a private fund-raiser. you had the former president, bill clinton, along with president obama. this was at the home of mcauliffe, essentially raising money hand in hand moving forward. what do you think about that, tara? do you think this is going to be a threat to the republicans and to romney seeing this kind of

powerhouse behind the president? >> well, certainly, you know, he has outspent by millions and millions almost billions. he knows that, but essentially, look, you got to remember, it's a little ironic. there is no love between these two. i mean, it was bill clinton that said that the president was -- president obama back four years ago was not ready for office. it was ironic it was president obama that cited bill clinton -- cited ronald reagan, in fact, as the way to change the country and not bill clinton. he said bill clinton had some missed years there and missed the mark. so it is a little ironic. i don't know if he's using this to validate some of the policies that have failed over the years. we'll see, but, you know, i don't know that it's a threat per se and that republicans are fearful of this. i think republicans will continue to stay on message. the romney xhan will stay on message about the economy and where we are as a nation now with unemployment, with youth, with women.

there are a number of things to point out that are very serious issues. i think they are continuing to rightly direct it in that direction. >> i want you to get in here because obviously there is some irony. we know there's some bad blood between these two, but they're clearly trying to present a united front here. i imagine that they're trying to use president clinton to try to get the moderates and even some of the conservative states where obama might not be as effective. >> i'd like to just grab something that tara said, which is romney is going to stay on message, which means they're going to stay on their message around the policy. the biggest reason that bill clinton's out there with obama now is because he knows exactly what the romney policies for the economy, what they did during the bush years, because it's an identical plan. and he knows very well that it didn't work before bill clinton took office. what he was able to do, the model he was able to set for president obama now, is what's going to continue keeping the country in the right direction. so it makes complete sense for bill clinton to be there hand in

hand with obama to say we need to keep moving forward. as what bill clinton said that night, this weekend, was what romney is offering is what bush offered but on steroids. and we don't want to go -- >> they have short memories. there was a lot of tension during that campaign and obviously they're going to have to brush some of that under the rug. he was the one that injected some of the race incidences early on in the campaign. there is no love lost between these folks. he's going to do what he's got to do to help the party essentially. >> tara, let me ask you this because considering so many clintonites are actually a part of the obama administration avid from hillary clinton, you have obama's defense tsecretary, the chief of staff, and vice president joe biden who worked for president clinton. there doesn't seem to be a lot of daylight between them. that there is a movement afoot that they are going to do whatever it takes to rally the troops and get behind president obama and get the people out to the polls. >> it's more of the same, more

of the same kind of big government policies, more of the same rhetoric. it's just more of the same. it's cyclical and, again, i don't think folks will be surprised or should be surprised in that regard. >> i want to talk a little bit about bill clinton, his role in this is part of an ad, an ad that actually talks about the decision that obama had to make to order the raid that killed osama bin laden. i want you to take a look at this. >> he had to decide, and that's what you hire a president to do. you hire the president to make the calls when no one else can do it. >> we've heard this. some people imply it, some people say it outright, that they don't think mitt romney would have made the same tough decision to order that raid, the bin laden raid. the anniversary is tomorrow. is that campaign, are they politicizing the capturing and

killing of bin laden? >> well, let's take it one step further, suzanne. mitt romney in his 2007 election bid said himself it wasn't worth the cost and the risk to go after bin laden. of course, two days later he reversed himself. but i think that's right. i think romney would not be -- if he would have been the president, would not have been able to demonstrate that kind of leadership. >> but the question is really, are they politicizing the issue over bin laden? there are some people who said that's not right. that's actually not -- that's hallowed ground. >> let's be fair. the answer to your question is when this election really heats up even more than it is now, they're going to question whether or not obama has the national security expertise and temperament to lead this nation. to raise the osama bin laden killing is very important here because he was focused. he had the opportunity. he went forward and executed what we now know as a successful

operation. >> all right. we've got to leave it there. tara -- >> you put that on the table but when you count yourself as a uniter and you use campaign issues like this to divide people that's what people are disappointed about especially when you say what someone would not do. >> we've got to leave it there, guys. i know you're not going to agree on this point. we'll bring you both back and talk more about it. thank you. >> thank you, suzanne. tired of shelling out money for the never ending student loan payment? we have some good news. the group trying to make that monthly money disappear, we're going to find out how they want to help you keep the cash in your pocket. what is that? it's you! it's me? alright emma, i know it's not your favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma

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even before most college grads find a job, they are already in debt. student loans are becoming an increasing burden for all of them. is erasing the debt fair or is it even possible in a tight economy? >> reporter: the ball around chain of the middle class, student loan debt. an offshoot of occupy wall street wants to forgive all student debt, $1 trillion of it, more than car loans or credit cards. >> it's a crisis, and it's not going away, and the current reforms that president obama is proposing out there on his campaign trail are like putting a band-aid on a tumor. >> reporter: the theory goes this is a bailout for students that would also be an economic stimulus because money meant for loan payments would be spent in other ways. it's a far left battle cry to be sure, but student loan experts

say it's unrealistic. >> i don't think all loans are going to get forgiven because it's just too expensive. there are much more effective ways of stimulating the economy if that's the goal. >> reporter: and you the taxpayer would pay for it because 85% of student loan debt is backed by the federal government. experts say the focus should be on limiting how much money we're borrowing in the first place. some experts advise planning for college like this. if possible, parents pay for a third, students pay for a third, and the students borrow a third. too much student debt limits your choices later. >> you're still going to be paying back your own student loans when your children are enrolling in college. you won't have saved for their college education. you'll be less willing to borrow for their college education because you will be up to your eyebrows in debts. >> reporter: he advises these rules. number one, don't borrow more than you expect to earn your first year out. that means a liberal arts major shouldn't borrow as much as an engineer does. rule number two, $10,000 a year should be the most you borrow. and rule number three, in almost

all cases, bankruptcy will not get rid of your student debt. christine romans, cnn, new york. the parents of a dying baby are making sure that their daughter has her first kiss, her first dance, and a tea party with her mommy. their bucket list has inspired thousands. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪

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the news is heartbreaking to hear. it would devastate any one of us, but a couple in texas is using this as an inspiration. although their infant daughter is dying, they want -- they say they want to use the little time they have left to build some lasting memories. kevin reese of cnn affiliate khou has their story.

♪ >> reporter: at a home in bel air, everything was right with the world. her parents named her avery. she arrived perfect and with a smile. but just a few months old, her legs went limp. something was wrong. >> i just started screaming, and it just doesn't seem real. >> reporter: what was real was spinal muscular atrophy, a rare jeanetgenetic disorder. her use of her arms will be next and then the ability to breathe. at best doctors give her 18 months. so what do you do with that little time? ♪

you dance. >> do you like that? >> reporter: mike and laura took avery's story online, created her own blog. >> the reality is this disease will take my life. >> reporter: and offered her own bucket list, the moments, the memories they want her to have before she's gone. >> avery, you silly girl. mike always told me we have all the time in the world to cry. we can cry when she's no longer here, but for now we want to try and enjoy the time we do have with her and just make memories. >> reporter: memories like her first easter, her first trip to college, her first innocent kiss, her first little girl tea party with her mom. >> oh, yummy. >> reporter: all of this online for a reason. >> we can watch her die or we can let her live and through letting her live, we're going to try and educate other people about this so they don't have to go through it, too. >> reporter: sma is a genetic disorder. there is no cure and very little

research. but parents can get tested to find out if they can carriers if it's something they could pass to a child. >> it's very aggravating that no one knows about this. >> i refuse to think that my daughter will die in vain. >> reporter: mike and laura promise to chronicle every moment in a very short life so that we remember avery, remember a disease that needs more research, and remember how they spent each day. >> we didn't sit there and cry that day. we sat there and we made memories with our daughter. >> and lots of them. >> reporter: memories they will keep alive hoping some day they lead to a cure. kevin reese, khou, 11 news. >> if you have a little one, you're probably holding them very close right now. we want to give you some information about spinal muscular atrophy. elizabeth cohen is joining us now. just tell us what do parents need to know about this particular disease? >> first of all, what a sweet

baby. i mean, i know the parents are trying not to cry. i'm trying not to cry now, too. she's such a sweetheart. here is what parents need to know. the symptoms show up in the first couple of months of life, and it's important for parents and pediatricians to know because it is -- there's no cure. however, there are some things you can do to try to treat the baby, to try to make the baby more comfortable and better functioning while they're here. so you saw the baby's limpness. she's very alert. these children are very intelligent but you saw the limpness in her legs, the limpness in her arms. you see her sort of making that connection there. the inability to hold up their heads, and it's not just -- some kids are kind of slow to develop. this is much more than that, suzanne. this is serious limpness, and if a parent thinks something is wrong, they definitely should talk to their doctor. >> she's such a beautiful baby when you see those pictures. it's so inspiring that they are trying to turn this around and really be hopeful and give her as much as she can in the little time she has.

do we know if this is something that could be tested if you're a carrier or somehow you would get a heads up knowing that this was to come? >> you can be tested, but here is the issue. you wouldn't know who to test. you would really have to test sort of everyone in this country. for example, let's compare it to something like tay-sachs disease tends to run along jews of eastern european origin. so you know to get that test before you have children, but this doesn't -- this cuts across all sorts of ethnic groups, and, you know, maybe there was a child in your family who died of this disease years back, but most people don't know it. it was either too long ago or it was just a baby who died early and no one is quite sure why. so, you know, this is very rare. you can look at these numbers. it's 1 child in every 6,000 to 10,000. there's a 1 in 40 chance of parents being a carrier, so it is rare but it is relatively speaking a relatively common genetic disorder. the bottom line is there's no way to know if you're someone

who should be tested or not. >> avery was just given 18 months as the prognosis. is that typical or is it possible that there are little babies that could live longer? >> this is typical experts tell us. babies are living somewhat longer than they used to because the treatment has gotten better. doctors are more aware of it. they're catching it earlier in many cases, but this is not a disease for which there is a cure. >> all right. elizabeth cohen, thank you. and to those parents, thank you for your story and your courage. he was the face of evil for a decade until a team of elite navy s.e.a.l.s took him out but a year later is the white house playing politics with the death of osama bin laden? i needed a coach. our doctor was great, but with so many tough decisions i felt lost. unitedhealthcare offered us a specially trained rn who helped us weigh and understand all our options. for me cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids. but my coach had hit that pitch before.

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america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. national security and the war on terror have been political fodder for republicans and democrats. you remember hillary clinton, she talked about that 3:00 a.m. call. former vice president dick chen cheney's criticism that president obama would make america less safe. this story is from candy crowley. >> reporter: it was probably only a matter of time, about 356 days, before the death of osama bin laden got into the political groundwater of 2012. >> he took the harder and the more honorable path and the one that produced in my opinion the best result. >> reporter: the former president praising president

obama for approving the risky raid in a campaign ad suggesting romney wouldn't have. which path, the silent screen asks? would romney have taken? it quotes his criticism of obama's promise to strike inside of afghanistan if needed to go after terrorists. where to begin and what can best be described as situational politics. seems like only four years ago the obama campaign was outraged by an ad from the former president's wife, then candidate hillary clinton. she used a picture of osama bin laden to question candidate obama's credentials. the obama campaign accused her of acting like then-president bush trying to, quote, invoke bin laden to score political points. four years later the obama re-election campaign has different rules. >> look, there's a difference in the roles they would play as commander in chief and i certainly think that's