use sanctuary of the venezuelan border to conduct operations. >> robinson says if the person is a spy or mercenary he is probably a bad one. a good spy wouldn't be carrying an american passport with iraq, afghanistan, and libya stamped on it he says and wouldn't be obvious about carrying a notebook with coordinates. brian todd, cnn, washington. hello again. you're in the cnn newsroom. i'm fredricka whitfield. mitt romney and his newly announced runningate aren't wasting any time hitting the campaign trail. just a few hours after introducing wisconsin congressman paul ryan as his vice presidential running mate the presumptive republican ticket is making its case to voters in virginia. right now they are in virginia getting ready to hold their third event of the day, a rally in the town of manassas. cnn's national political correspondent jim acosta is on

the way to manassas on the press bus there. jim, what's the message romney and ryan are holding on to? >> well, we've seen a lot of messages today from the romney/ryan ticket. we can now call it that starting this morning where mitt romney really threw down the gauntlet to the obama campaign and said this is not going to be about a personal attack in this campaign. it's going to be about the issues. and they started to get into some of those issues. paul ryan of course took the stage and talked about the need to cut the national debt in this country. and then fredricka some of that we saw at the second event in ashland, virginia which was very interesting, they started to sharpen their rhetoric on the obama campaign on the president. we saw paul ryan introduce mitt romney and say, talking about the economy, it doesn't have to be this way. we can do better. and then mitt romney got on stage and at one point basically warned the crowd, warned republicans that the attacks are going to be comin from democrats to get ready f these attacks coming from democrats

aimed at paul ryan and it was something that he had described as getting dragged down in the dirt. so mitt romney sort of is preparing republicans for the onslaught that will be coming. we're on our way to the third and final event of the day. mitt romney and paul ryan will take the stage in manassas in the voter rich section of northern virginia. this is the key battleground of the state of virginia. if one of these campaigns is going to emerge victorious here they're going to have to win northern virginia. and i think, fredrickfredricka, start to see paul ryan come into his own as a candidate on this ticket. tomorrow both of these men will be going on to north carolina for a couple events there. they'll be going then to wisconsin for sort of a home coming for paul ryan but we just confirmed with the romney/ryan campaign that on monday paul ryan will be going to the iowa state fair where he'll be campaigning on his own. mitt romney will be going back down to florida and then on to ohio to finish up this bus trip but then paul ryan will be emerging at that point as the

top surrogate of this campaign at the iowa state fair which is obviously full of lots of color and a few voters out there who know their way around a voting booth. the iowa voters are a shrewd bunch and they'll be putting paul ryan to the test. >> jim, is romney revealing any greater detail why he selected, you know, paul ryan? >> well, one thing i heard from a romney adviser today about why this pick, why now, they do want to have a conversation about a social safety net in this country, the entitlement debt load that the country faces right now. and paul ryan is the embodiment of that debate. after all, he is the house budget committee chairman who laid out that fiscal blueprint that called for a partial privatization of medicare for future seniors. now the obama campaign loves all of this. they think this is going to work to their advantage. senior voters down in florida. but the romney and ryan campaign, this is a calculated

risk they're making, fredricka, taking the gamble here and making the gamble here that the voters out there want to have this conversation even if they may not necessarily agree with this ticket on some of these issues. of course the romney campaign also put out some guidance earlier today that as president mitt romney will be writing his own budget. he is no going to be passing paul ryan's budget word for word. >> all right. jim acosta traveling with the romney/ryan camp now. appreciate that. through virginia. all right. the white house responded to ryan's selection by tying him to the policies that crashed the economy. cnn's jessica yellin is at the white house. jessica, what, specifically, is the obama camp saying? >> reporter: hi, fredricka. it's the obama campaign that is slamming this choice as a sign that mitt romney is doubling down if you will on the narrative that the obama campaign has built that mitt romney in their words wants to slash taxes for the wealthy on

the backs of the middle class. in a statement from the obama campaign manager he says the ryan budget is a new budget but supports new budget busting tax cuts for the wealthy by putting greater burdens on the middle class and seniors and describes ryan as the architect of the radical house budget. i'll tell you that i spoke to an official there who laughs that candidate romney is trying to distance himself from ryan's budget as jim pointed out the same day that he's picking ryan as his vice presidential candidate. >> so, clearly, this is going to shape some of the campaign ads that we've been seeing from the campaign, from the obama campaign and perhaps even from some of those super pacs for president obama as well. >> well, absolutely. you can see where this is headed already. the obama team is up with a video they blasted out to supporters today. this is on the web. and it makes their argument that ryan, paul ryan's budget which

he proposed to the house of representatives makes cuts in that that would hurt in the obama campaign's view women, the elderly, i think we have a bit of that video if we could roll it, women, the elderly, veterans, students, and middle class families. what you should take away from this is the obama team's thinking that this can be targeted to different key constituencies that can turn out in the election. this is not just about the one big thing you keep hearing is that medicare and the way it deals with medicare hurts seniors. >> all right. jessica yellin at the white house, thanks so much for that. people in iran are staying outdoors fearing the worst isn't over. two powerful earthquakes killed dozens and injured hundreds as well. we get a live update on the after shocks. lligence helping business, do more business. in here, opportunities are created and protected. gonna need more wool! demand is instantly recognized

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one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. new reports coming out of northwestern iran paint a picture of widespread destruction and loss of life after two powerful earthquakes. the farce news agency says the quakes destroyed four villages. 60 other villages are severely damaged and as we understand they are reporting the number of injuries and the death toll are in the hundreds. let's bring in meteorologist tom saider with the latest on this. it seems that when iran has these earthquakes they are so

severe. just a few years ago there was a huge, widespread earthquake that claimed hundreds of lives. >> yeah. actually two in recent history, the year 2002 they had a 6.5 magnitude quake that killed 227. but in 1999 they had a 7.4. that killed about 47,000. so when you look at the strength of the magnitudes across the world, typically when it comes to 6.0 to 6.9 magnitude quakes around the globe we have about 137 a year. now, strong is considered 6 to 6.9 but it depends on the structure, what it's made of, the materials. this is a real rocky terrain here. for the most part i want to give you an idea of what we're talking about, where we are in the world just to give you an idea. this is iran. here is tehran. this is the caspian sea. what is so interesting about the quakes today is that ahar has a population of 94,000 and to the southwest tabriz has 1.4 million people living there. the first quake just 60

kilometers from the magnitude -- excuse me. i knew i'd go metric. i'm from cnn international. that is about 36 miles. it was just 11 minutes apart from each other. within 11 minutes and only seven miles. so for the most part when you look at these quakes not only was it the time short and they're almost twins but it's basically what we look at is the depth. so shallow in this mountain zone. 6.5 miles deep. the second one only 6.9. you tlik have these at least 18 to 20 miles deep so the earth crust can absorb all this energy. they've had at least 17 after shocks. magnitude 4.5 to 5.0. it's hard to say. they're in darkness about 8.5 hours ahead of us. it's hard to say how many thousands are sleeping in darkness in make shift tents right now. it will take time. they could have aftershocks for two weeks so the death toll which is up to 153 now has just doubled in the last hour. >> with that darkness so many people feel like they're safer

by being outdoors. they're concerned about the infrastructure there. but in the dark, you know, you're only going to go by senses. you're not going to know where to go and what to see. >> the aftershocks may continue for two more weeks. >> all right, tom. thanks so much. appreciate that. all right. weighing the options now. the u.s. and turkey talked about taking steps to end the crisis in aleppo. [ dramatic soundtrack plays ]

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u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton is in turkey discussing the syrian crisis and has been meeting with turkish leaders and syrian activists. tlnchts is a very clear understanding about the need to understand this conflict quickly. but not doing it in a way that produces even more deaths, injuries, and destruction. this was a direct quote from u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton after a round of talks with the turkish foreign minister here in istanbul on saturday. this announcement coming 17 months after the uprising began in syria after the deaths by

conservative estimates of more than 17,000 people and after the unhcr registered nearly 150,000 syrian refugees that have fled across borders to neighboring countries and many more believed to have gone across borders fleeing the violence unofficially. clinton announcing after these talks that it was now time to set up a working group with their turkish allies that would include intelligence and military assets and that they would work on setting up contingency plans in the event of the down fall of the assad regime. basically, analysis for the future about the crisis that has been tearing syria apart for more than a year. when asked about what fears clinton had about syria, she said one fear was that it could become a breeding ground for terrorism. take a listen. >> we worry about terrorists, pkk, al qaeda, and others taking

advantage of the legitimate fight of the syrian people for their freedom to use syria, to promote their own agendas, and even to, perhaps, find footholds to launch attacks against others. >> in private conversations with cnn, turkish officials have expressed frustration with what they have characterized as u.s. foot dragging on the biggest crisis currently facing the middle east. one turkish diplomat saying that it feels like turkey has been left alone to deal with the refugee crisis and the conflict across the border. another turkish diplomat telling cnn now that the u.s. asked for this special round of urgent talks with the turkish prime minister and president and foreign minister that now it appears the u.s. is starting to recognize the severity of this conflict and this crisis for the region. during her visit mrs. clinton also met with syrian activists.

one dissident activist telling cnn that she specifically asked about which groups and opposition leaders would be worth giving u.s. money to and which groups they should not give money to. ivan watson, cnn, istanbul. it's been delayed by protests, legal troubles, and vandalism. despite the odds a mosque in tennessee has opened its doors. but the security concerns remain. tomorrow dr. sanjay gupta is celebrating robot week on his new show the next list. on the next list dr. sanjay gupta profiles ben kaufman, founder and ceo of quirky.com. >> i really enjoy the design and the creative process and pulling little levers and tweaking little details from a design perspective. what really gets me excited is when i literally hand an

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a tennessee mosque opponents fought to keep closed held prayer services for the first time friday. the islamic center in murfreesboro has endured two years of court challenges, protests, even a bomb threat and arson attack. opponents claim mosque leaders are trying to spread radical islam but the mosque held its first prayer session under a temporary permit. george howell has details. >> when we broke ground i broke down. >> reporter: sitting in this mosque for the first time after a two-year struggle to see it built his dream is now reality. >> i'm 54 years old and i've seen a lot, you know. it's not easy to get excited about something anymore. but this is certainly something that i hold above and beyond

anything that i've done in my whole life. love your neighbor as yourself is a concept existing in any religion. >> reporter: inside, it's a 12,000 square foot facility. much larger than the old mosque members out grew. >> we've been waiting so long to have a proper place to pray. i mean, it feels really good. >> reporter: while there is excitement and relief about opening these doors, there is also real concern. >> we knew that possibility something could go wrong and we have to thank god that it didn't. you know, that's always in the back of your mind. what could happen. >> it's been a very charged climate. the sikh shooting in milwaukee. you know about the mosque that burned down in missouri. are you concerned about this mosque expanding, opening after two years of controversy? >> well, we don't feel like we need to be because of the events we've seen occur up until now have not been violent in that

sense on that level. >> law enforcement is keeping a close watch, given the short history of this mosque. in just two years it's been the target of vandalism, arson, and even a bomb threat. resistance he believes is being pushed by a larger national agenda. >> the true people of murfreesboro and the county are not representative of the two years that have passed and ber hind us now. >> reporter: while he doesn't expect everyone to understand his religion or even agree he says simply he believes in what it means to be an american. the promise of religious freedom regardless of what you believe. george howell, cnn, murfreesboro, tennessee. >> i spoke with the imam of that tennessee mosque and here is what he had to say about the healing properties for the entire community with the opening of this building. all that tomorrow at 5:00 eastern time. you can also catch soledad

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our top story mitt romney

and his newly announced running mate aren't wasting any time hitting the campaign trail. romney introduced wisconsin congressman paul ryan as his vice presidential pickeral err this morning and they're making their case to voters in virginia today. romney introduced paul as, quote, an intellectual leader of the republican party and a person who will help lead the country, quote, to widespread and shared prosperity, unquote. a gunman dressed in civilian clothing has opened fire at a military base in the garmsir district of southwestern afghanistan. three u.s. marines were killed. also friday three u.s. special forces soldiers were killed by an afghan policeman. back in the u.s. people living near a huge sinkhole in southern louisiana are under a mandatory evacuation order. the sinkhole has swallowed an area the size of a football field.

a company mining a salt cavern may have triggered it. to make matters worse about 150 homes might be sitting on a chemical powder keg. if drilling a relief well hits a pool of underground liquid butane the whole area could go up in flames. people who live in the world's newest nation of south sudahave a big reason to watch the olympics. a hometown favorite is running in that marathon tomorrow. his goal isn't just a win a medal but to out run his violent past. [ scratching ]

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dozens of elite runners will be competing in the olympic marathon on sunday but one man stands out among them. he will be carrying the hope of

the world's youngest nation on his shoulders. here is becky anderson. >> reporter: for many the marathon is the most grueling of olympic events. the race will be nothing compared to what this runner has endured so far in his young life. he was born in what is now south sudan, the world's newest country after it became an independent state in july, 2011, ending decades of civil war. south sudan doesn't yet have an olympic committee. the games haven't exactly been the country's top priority. but the ioc granted him permission to run as an independent. i know that you sadly lost a lot of friends and family. >> yes. >> on the way. didn't you? >> yes, i did. not only my family but i am very concerned about the 2 million people who died.