i'm overprotective. that's why i got a subaru. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. i avoided the ceremony as far as i could. most of the maasai girls suffer mutilation when they are 12. i really liked going to school. i knew that once i go through the cutting i am going to be married off and i dream of becoming a teacher and that was going to end. my mind said run away but i had to face my dad and say i would

only go through the cutting if he let me go back to school. it was done in the morning using a very old, rusty knife with no anesthesia. i can never forget that day. eventually, i was the first girl in my community to go to college in the u.s. i am kakenya ntaiya and i returned to my village to start a school for girls so they too can achieve their full potential. when girls start at school they are very shy but over time you see them grow. they are treated very well. it is the most exciting thing. our work is about empowering the girls. these girls say no to being cut and dream of becoming lawyers, teachers, doctors. my daughter will do better than my son. i came back so the girls in my

community don't have to negotiate like i did to achieve their dreams. that's why i wake up every morning. that's it for me. thanks for watching. "the situation room" with wolf blitzer starts right now. >> thanks very much. happening now an urgent response to north korea's chilling nuclear threats. the united states now beefing up its missile defense systems out on the west coast. a stunning turn-around on gay marriage by a leading conservative. in a cnn exclusive, senator rob portman explains the personal reasons behind his change of heart. and a bizarre and tragic medical mystery. a man dies after receiving a transplanted kidney tainted with rabies. how could this happen in the united states of america? how many other people are at risk right now? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

forget all those wacky scenes of north korea's leader joking around with dennis rodman. the united states, the obama administration, right now taking the north's threats of a nuclear attack very seriously. the pentagon has just announced it will beef up america's defense missile systems out on the west coast. in california, oregon, washington state. let's go straight to cnn's pentagon correspondent chris lawrence, watching what's going on. chris, a lot of us are stunned by this decision but update us on what is going on. >> wolf, we just came out of a briefing where we learned the pentagon is going to spend a billion dollars to put new intercepter missiles on the west coast. now, that plan includes react investigating a missile field that the obama administration

deactivated just a few years ago when it concluded that north korea didn't pose enough of a threat. if a nuclear missile is ever fired at the united states, this is the best hope to stop it. 30 interceptor missiles which can be launched from ground silos in alaska and california. now the pentagon is deploying up to 14 more. >> the reason we're doing what we're doing and the reason we're advancing our program here for homeland security is to not take any chances is to stay ahead of the threat and to assure any contingency. >> reporter: north korea tested a long-range missile in december. it conducted its third nuclear test in february and just this month threatened a preemptive nuclear strike on the u.s. that caught the pentagon's attention. >> north korea's shrill public pronouncements underscored the need for the u.s. to continue to

take prudent steps to defeat any future north korean icbm. >> reporter: as far back as the state of the union speech president obama said the u.s. would -- >> strengthen our own missile defense and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats. >> reporter: but republican congressional sources say the president's actions have been anything but firm. in 2011 the administration argued intelligence showed there wasn't enough of a threat, a short-sighted move say the congressional sources. quote, the intel didn't change. this is right where we expected north korea to be. and that is in possession of a missile that could travel nearly 5,000 miles, in theory since north korea has never successfully launched a long-range icbm. >> i think what you see is mainly a political signal to north korea that no one is going to be intimidated by their december launch and the subsequent nuclear test. >> reporter: getting that one

missile field back online and getting the 14 new missile interceptors, the cost is about $1 billion. they hope to have these ready by 2017, wolf. >> it takes that long to get all the missile defense systems ready? >> reporter: it does because you've had some problems with this system, wolf. they did a successful test in january but now are in the proses of getting aflower interceptor ready for a second test. they are not going to buy before the interceptors are ready to fly. >> chris lawrence with ominous reports coming out of the pentagon including the defense secretary chuck hagel. thanks very much. just how serious is the north korean threat? how capable is the united states of defending itself out on the west coast in alaska and hawaii as well? joining us now is the nuclear weapons expert, president of the fund. a real expert on the subject. i couldn't help but notice your tweet earlier when we heard hagel was making this

announcement. you said, this move stuns me. u.s. putting in more interceptors that don't work against the north korean threat that doesn't exist. explain your skepticism here. >> the national academy of sciences came out with a study last year, briefed to the congress, that said basically the existing missile, ground based interceptor system, is deeply flawed, technologically troubled. they recommended a brand new interceptor, brand new radar, brand new site. and here is the administration doing what many members of congress wanted to do, pouring new money, a billion dollars, into the same old interceptors. to their credit, they are trying to fix it. they're trying to develop a new kill vehicle. if that kill vehicle won't be tested until late fall of this year. so that is part of the reason you're seeing the delay. a billion dollars. we don't have that kind of money lying around anymore. it would be justified if the north korean threat were that

serious. i just don't believe it is. north korea is still years away from the ability to field a missile with a nuclear warhead that could hit the united states. >> you just heard chris lawrence report they don't think the new missile defense system would be in place until 2017. would the north koreans have a missile capability with a nuclear warhead ready for use against potentially the united states by 2017? >> highly unlikely. they've been making fits and starts in this in their missile technology. they've tried three times to launch a long-range missile. they just succeeded for the first time. it would need to do at least two more tests. here is the really good news. if they were to actually threaten the united states we would see them assembling this. it takes them days to put this up in the launch pad. we could intercept it on the ground. that is my best time in missile defense, preboost intercept. the other really good news out of the pentagon today was kind of buried but if the cancellation of the phase four system for the european missile

defense, they decided they didn't need this, that the iranian threat was not developing quickly enough, this is a big deal because it potentially unlocks a deal with russia who's been complaining about this part of the system. we may be able to now get a nuclear arms reduction agreement with russia because of what the pentagon did today. >> you heard the president earlier this week. he gave an interview to abc news's george stephanopolus in which he made it clear he is deemly concerned about the north korean threat, takes it very seriously, and says the united states has to worry about it because of the margin of error if you will that we don't know exactly what north korea is up to. >> well, the american public is very worried about this. the way i look at this announ announcement and the kinds of statements you heard from the president and secretary of defense and top officials is that they want to reassure the public that they're doing everything they can. this missile defense system, i have to tell you, has got so many technological problems with it that it's doubtful it would

ever work. it certainly won't work if the north koreans don't cooperate. that is if they do something other than a simple threat the system is designed to intercept a simple threat. if they launch a missile with decoys, pieces of wire, chaff, jammers, balloons, then the missile interceptor can't see the target and the whole thing fails. but it's the job of the pentagon and the president to reassure the public. that's what they attempted to do today. >> very quickly, to reassure the public is one thing but are you saying u.s. taxpayers are throwing away a billion dollars for a system that doesn't work? >> we spend $10 billion a year on missile defense. we spend about $250 billion over the last few decades. we still aren't anywhere close to a system that can actually protect the united states from a determined adversary. yes i'm saying we are wasting our money woochlt very a defense that works. it's called deterrence. if the north koreans or anybody else would dare attack us with a nuclear missile it would be the last thing that regime ever did. they would be wiped off the face

of the earth. >> thanks very much for coming in. >> thank you, wolf. up next the cnn exclusive, conservative senator rob portman tells our own dana bash about the very personal reasons that led to his stunning change of heart on the issue of gay marriage. and dramatic testimony in the trial of two high school football players accused of raping a 16-year-old girl. oh, hi thehey!ill. are you in town for another meeting? yup, i brought my a-team. business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe! hi there! earn a ton of extra points with the double your hhonors promotion and feel the hamptonality. an e.p.a.-estimated 34 mpg highway. amazing. see the grille? mm-hmm. let me show you how it works. it opens and closes like this to help you conserve fuel. oh.

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wall street finally paused to catch its breath today after ten straight up days. the dow slipped 23 points backing off its record high. all three major indices are down slightly. more news just ahead right here in the situation room. if you have high cholesterol, here's some information that may be worth looking into. in a clinical trial versus lipitor, crestor got more high-risk patients' bad cholesterol to a goal of under 100. getting to goal is important, especially if you have high cholesterol plus any of these risk factors because you could be at increased risk

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to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. now to a cnn exclusive. a stunning reversal by a leading conservative on the issue of gay marriage. senator rob portman of ohio made the declaration to our chief congressional correspondent,

dana bash. >> reporter: senator portman, thank you for inviting us here today. you invited us to make an announcement. >> well, yeah. thank you for coming. i am announcing today a change of heart. on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about. it has to do with gay couples' opportunity to marry, and during my career in the house and also the last couple years here in the senate i've taken a position against gay marriage, in my faith and faith tradition and had a very personal experience which is my son came to jane my wife and i, told us that he was gay and that it was not a choice a know that's just part of who he is and had been that way since he could remember. that launched an interesting process for me, which was rethinking my position, you know, talking to my pastor and other religious leaders and going through a process of at the end changing my position on

the issue. i now believe that people ought to have the right to get married >> reporter: talk a little bit more about the moment that your son came out to you and your wife. >> well, my son is very close to me and my wife, and he had worked on the campaign and so we got even closer during the campaign. he came to me as a college freshman and said, you know, after the campaign was over, after i was already elected to the senate, that, you know, he wanted to tell us that there is something about him we didn't know as well as we thought we knew him. and it hasn't of course changed our view at all of him rncht wh. >> reporter: what was your reaction? love, support. 110%. >> reporter: surprise? >> surprise. yeah. >> reporter: you had no idea? >> no idea. >> reporter: did he ask you to change your position on gay

marriage and gay issues? >> not initially. in fact, i wasn't thinking about policy or, you know, positions. i was just thinking about him as my son and someone who i love very much. and am very proud of. so that was not an initial discussion. but over time, yeah. we started talking about that more. and he was helpful as you can imagine in giving me his perspective and information. he is a very bright kid. >> reporter: did he push you? >> no, not really. i think he's happy, you know, proud that we've come to this point, but he let it be my decision just as, you know, it's going to be his decision as to the role he plays going forward in this whole issue. he's, you know, happy that i've ended up where i have but he is a private guy. like most college kids, normal college kid who doesn't want to necessarily be out front on this issue but it's part of who he is.

>> reporter: does he -- he obviously knows you're doing this. how does he feel about you deciding to take the political plunge like this and make an announcement that you're flipping your position on this issue? >> well he is on spring break right now so he was here with me for a few days this week just hanging out and going to meetings with me and so on. so he knows what i'm doing. he's back home now. but, you know, i think he's happy that i'm doing it. he also realizes this will probably put a little more focus on our family and that isn't necessarily something we're comfortable with, but i felt it was important for me to come forward and talk about this, one, because i've made my decision. second, because this court case is coming up and i anticipate i'll be getting a lot of questions from members of the media about what my position is as will other members of the house and the senate and i wanted to be absolutely clear and not mislead anybody. so he didn't dictate the timing but the timing in a way is a

combination of both coming to a change of heart on it, change of decision, and feeling comfortable about that and, second, the fact that i think this discussions going to be one that we're going to be having here in the congress after the oral arguments at the end of this month and up to the decision and beyond. >> you say you'll support that. changing your position is one thing and, certainly, a big deal. but then are you going to take it to the next level and be activist on it? are you going to go home to ohio and say let's change this state law and get rid of the ban on gay marriage which is probably one of the most sweeping in the country? >> well, people are going to know my position. but as you know, i've never really been involved in this issue one way or the other. i have voted consistent with again my beliefs at the time. >> reporter: but does your son and the new experience with your son change that? will you be active on it? >> you know, i'm kind of an economic policy walk. that's why i got in this business.

that's what i've always focused on. how to get the economy going, get jobs back, and i spent hours this week in the budget committee. i'll be going back soon. the budget is on the floor next week. and those will continue to be the issues that i'll put my primary focus on. >> reporter: what do you say to a gay constituent in ohio who says, i'm so glad he changed his position but why did it take him learning that he has a gay son? why didn't he as my representative care about my rights before that? >> well, i would say that, you know, i've had a change of heart based upon a personal experience. that is certainly true. dick cheney i think had a similar experience. i've talked to him, by the way, about this. you know, it wasn't an issue i had given much thought to prior to that. maybe i should have but the reason i got into public service was because of my concern on the economic and budget issues. that's always been my focus. >> reporter: you just walked into the very last question i promise i will ask which was going to be about dick cheney.

you said you did talk to him. did you call him for advice because he had a situation very similar? >> yeah. i mean, i spoke to him personally, i actually met with him. >> reporter: what did he tell you? >> rob, do what's in your heart. you know? i mean, he was a good person to talk to because he also was surprised by the news and in that case, you know, his wonderful daughter who he loves very much, and it forced him to rethink the issue, too, and over time he changed his view on it. and i followed his advice. you know, i followed my heart. >> and joining us now, nice interview, dana. very important. obviously wasn't an easy thing for senator portman to do. tell us what's going on right now. is that the same feeling you got from him, sort of a difficult decision to come out in favor of marriage equality? >> yeah. i think it was a difficult decision all around and at that

moment the most difficult decision that he felt was the one that he made to do the interview. he did one television interview with us, which was wonderful for us to get a chance to talk about it but it was clear why he did that one interview, because it was very difficult. he is, you know senator portman well. he is very press savvy and comfortable in front of the camera and was certainly comfortable but a different kind of rob portman than i've seen before. he was trembling a little bit. he was clearly nervous. i was thinking about it afterwards wondering if it was because of the subject matter, and inc. that w think that was but i honestly think because he wanted to do right by his son and make him proud and his son sent out a tweet saying he is especially proud of his father today. >> he handled it in a very impressive way. very moving, the whole situation. i know you'll be back with more during our 6:00 p.m. eastern hour maybe a little more in our 5:00 pm hour as well. thank you

thank you. >> we'll get reaction to senator portman's announcement from conservatives over at the cpac conference under way near washington, the conservative political action conference. lots of big names speaking today. we'll get full coverage in our next hour on that story as well. new jersey governor chris christie gets hacked. you'll find out who else is being targeted. that's ahead right here in "the situation room." of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away. we're going to wake the world up. and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. cisco. tomorrow starts here. looking for a litter with natural ingredients that helps neutralize odors.

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od. helping the world keep promises. try align. it's the number one ge recommended probiotic that helps maintain digestive balance. ♪ stay in the groove with align. as fighting rages inside syria the first syrian rebels trained by u.s. military and intelligence officers have returned from jordan. that word from a rebel spokesman who says some 300 fighters were trained to use antitank, antiaircraft and other weapons systems. more news right here on the situation room in a moment.

president obama is taking his message on clean energy to chicago. what's going on, lisa? >> president obama toured the argan national laboratory outside chicago. he is pushing congress to take action on his so-called energy

security plan. he wants to use $2 billion in oil and gas revenue over the next decade to wean cars and trucks off fossil fuels and lessen the country's dependence on foreign oil. the vatican is denouncing allegations newly elected pope francis deliberately failed to protect two fellow jesuit priests during argentina's military dictatorship. they were kidnapped decades ago when the current pontiff headed argentina's jesuit order. the vatican says the claims which appear in a book by an investigative reporter are false and defamatory. all right. how about this unexpected duo? russian president vladimir putin is enlisting hollywood action ar steven segal to get russians back in shape. the two have opened the martial arts center outside moscow. mr. putin wants to bring back the type of mass physical fitness program that was popular under joseph stalin. one of the more interesting facts about president putin is he is a black belt himself. not entirely surprising, wolf. >> yeah.

that is interesting. steven segal is now helping him in this effort. very impressive. thanks very much. up next president obama has tough words on iran's nuclear program just ahead of his visit to the middle east next week. here's a question. are the u.s. and israel on the same page when it comes to iran's nuclear program? i'll ask israel's ambassador to the united states, michael orr. he is standing by live.

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as the u.s. rushes to boost its missile defenses against a threatened north korean nuclear attack president obama has been talking tough about iran's nuclear program using words like red line saying all u.s. options are on the table. all this comes as he prepares to

head off to the northeast in the coming days, his first official visit as president of the united states to israel. joining us now is israel's ambassador to the united states, michael orr. thanks very much for coming in good to be here. >> the president was pretty precise in talking about iran's nuclear program capability in an interview he gave israel's channel 2 that aired yesterday. i'll play the clip. >> we think it would take over a year or so for iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously we don't want to cut it too close. >> is that your israeli government's assessment it would take a year for iran to develop a nuclear weapon. >> we certainly appreciate the affirmation of president obama's commitment to preventing iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. we are signed on to that program. our intelligence analysts together with american analysts look at the program, see many of

the same things, we draw many of the same conclusions. i'll just refer you back to something prime minister netanyahu said at the general assembly last september where he said the main issue is not when iran gets a nuclear weapon. the one question is when can we no longer prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon because the iranian program is not just building up on its nuclear stockpile but also moving underground and there is going to be a point where we'll no longer be able to prevent them. that point is not in the distant future. >> that is not a year from now. >> not in the distant future. when is it? >> well, back in september the prime minister said it would be sometime in the summer. >> this coming summer. is that the current israeli a intelligence assessment that by this summer that red line if you will where iran has a capability to develop a nuclear bomb takes place? >> not just the capability. it is when we can no longer see it. just last week the iranians announced they're building 16 new nuclear sites. i guarantee you they're not going to be above ground.

they're installing centrifuges that will triple the time they can put out enriched uraniuim. so instead of being able to break out over the course of two months it could be reduced to a matter of weeks and that will take place underground where nobody is going to be able to see it. >> is your government and the obama administration on the same page in terms of intelligence assessment that this summer is in effect the so-called red line? >> again, we look at the same set of information. we draw many of the same conclusions but there are structural differences between us. >> what are the differences between israel's assessment of when that red line takes place, which you say is this summer and the u.s. assessment? >> it is not a difference of assessments but say clocks. israel has a small clock moving very fast. america has a bigger clock moving slower. israel is a small country in iran's back yard threatened with national annihlation by the iranian regime. we have certain military capabilities. america a big country far from the middle east not threatened with destruction on a daily

basis by the iranians yet and america has vastly bigger capabilities so it can afford to wait longer are you saying if iran doesn't back down and halt its nuclear program by this summer israel will take action? >> i'm saying israel will reserve the right to defend itself and that right has been recognized by president obama. president obama said only israel has the right and the duty to decide how best to defend its citizens. >> a lot of u.s. analysts don't believe israel necessarily has the capability to deal effectively, destroy iran's nuclear program if you will, and the united states needs to do that. >> israel has the ability to defend itself. it has the right and the duty to defend itself. >> so you could do it by yourself, that option you're holding open if the u.s. doesn't do it? >> our position just like the americans' position is that all options should remain on the table and those options are real. >> when the president meets next week with the prime minister of israel benjamin netanyahu will this be issue number one? it will be one of the major issues we discuss across the

table. of course there is a wide range of issues. the middle east is in turmoil whether it be the situation in sinai, in syria, attempts to reanimate the peace process. yes, to address the advancing iranian nuclear program. >> is the peace process getting off the ground at all? do you see anything happening on that front? >> well, that is a question i think you have to pose to the palestinians. we, together with -- >> the president will meet with the palestinian leadership in ramallah. >> i expect he'll pose that question to them. we, together with the united states, share the same policy. we call for the resumption of direct talks without preconditions to discuss all the core issues, refugees, borders, jerusalem security to reach a solution based on two states for two peoples. the palestinians are not there for most of the last four years have refused to negotiate. we hope they'll come and rejoin us at the negotiating table. >> they blame israel's continued expansion and settlement activity on the west bank. >> in the past we ripped up settlements out of gaza. 21 settlements, 9,000 residents

to advance the peace process. we didn't get peace. we got rockets rained down on us. we froze settlement construction on the west bank for ten months to get the palestinians back to the table. the palestinians have a lot of preconditions. it is not just settlements. we have no preconditions. we have a lot of things we ask the palestinians to do but we don't form them as preconditions. we think the only way to resolve this conflict is through direct negotiations. >> one final question. he is going to make a major speech, the president, at the jerusalem convention center but not before the parliament, israel's kinnes. some israelis are saying why. >> i think it is important he reaches out to a wide spot of israeli society particularly the young. we have the larges young per capita of any modern industrial country in the world. we have six major universities, three among the hundred top universities in the world. this is going to be a great audience and it is important to hear the message about the president's vision about the future and also to hear him express his appreciation for

israel's achievements in technology and science. >> we'll be watching every step of the way. i know you're heading back to jerusalem to be on hand for that visit. safe travels. thanks very much for coming in. and just ahead, dramatic testimony in the trial of two high school football players accused of raping a 16-year-old girl. oh, hi there bill. hey! are you in town for another meeting? yup, i brought my a-team. business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe! hi there! earn a ton of extra points with the double your hhonors promotion and feel the hamptonality. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.

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it is day three of the trial of two ohio football high school football players accused of raping a 16-year-old girl. the players insist they're innocent. cnn's lisa sylvester is following the case for us and has this report. we need to warn our viewers. some of the testimony in this trial is very graphic. >> reporter: it's a case that has riveted and divided a community. two steubenville, ohio high school football players on trial for raping a 16-year-old during a night of parties in august. in this picture the accused 16-year-old malik richmond and 17-year-old trent hayes on the

right carrying the alleged victim by hans and feet. prosecutors say she was too drunk to consent. the defense says they are innocent. the case has taken on a life of its own on social media. in this video teens talk about the alleged crime in a vulgar fashion. >> what if that was your daughter? >> but it isn't. >> what if it was. >> if that wasn't my daughter i wouldn't care. >> reporter: thursday in court a computer expert read hundreds of text messages from up to 17 different cell phones one from the alleged victim saying, quote, i think i was drugged. i have no memory after i left. another sent from mays' phone said yeah dude she was like a dead body. i just needed sexual attention. in another message he denied having sex with the victim. the defense questioned who really sent the messages. the case has prompted protests and touched many in the community. both the local prosecutor and judge recused themselves because of connections to the people involved. >> i was born and raised here. it is a good town. >> has it divided the town?

>> i think it has. >> reporter: some see the football players as getting special treatment where others see the alleged victim as targeting the team or outsiders sterg up trouble. >> cnn's poppy harlow is in steubenville, ohio right now where the trial is unfolding. this is causing a lot of emotional reaction. clearly, in the area and indeed around the country. what is the main strategy of the defense? >> reporter: well, i will get to the defense in a moment, wolf, but first let me lay out for you if i can what i just came out of witnessing in court. all day the prosecution has been putting witnesses on the stand. this is the first day we heard from eyewitnesses, teenagers who say they saw the alleged rape occur. in ohio it is not necessarily defined as sex between two people but any sort of penetration, digital penetration unwanted from one individual to another. so the first eyewitness that

took the stand is a 17-year-old, a friend of both of the codefendants trent mays and malik richmond. he said he was in a car with them between two parties late that night in august and he said that he was sitting next to trent mays and the alleged victim and saw trent mays digitally penetrate that victim with his fingers. he said that he went on to videotape that on his iphone for a couple minutes then delete it the next morning. then the state brought their second witness today, an 18-year-old, also a friend of the co-defendant's, who said after that car ride when they got to a home and went into the basement, the victim was lying naked and the malik richmond also penetrated her with his fingers. the defense strategy in all of this is twofold. they are saying, first of all, aren't you reconstructing your memory of the night through all the media attentio the social media that it has gotten, and then they also talk about how intoxicated really was this girl? was there consent or was there

not? that's key in all of this. was she agreeing to? we know she wanted to go earlier in the night with those boys. where does it fall? right now a third state witness, an eyewitness on the stand as we speak, wolf. >> and the defense argument, their main contention will be? >> their main contention is, was this girl really too drunk to make decisions? they say she was walking on her own. others say she was stumbling, wolf, at the same time we know from a lot of testimony that earlier in the night her friends asked her to stay with them and she said no i want to go with these two boys. so where is that line going to be drawn? also, questions about how can you prove who sent these text messages that are very damning and finally because there has been so much media attention on this that all these witnesses have seen are they possibly reconstructing the night in their head because of all that's been discussed? and those are points the defense has made. we still haven't heard from the alleged victim in this and we also have not seen either of the defendants take the stand.

we believe that is still to come. this has to be wrapped up by sunday. the visiting judge said this has to end by sunday. if these two young men are convicted since they're juveniles the maximum mey could serve is until they are 21 years old. wolf? poppy, thanks very much. we'll stay in touch with you. coming up here in the situation room tiger woods, chris christie, and mitt romney. they're all getting added to a list no one wants to be on. we'll explain. [ lorenzo ] i'm lorenzo. i work for 47 different companies. well, technically i work for one. that company, the united states postal service® works for thousands of home businesses. because at usps.com® you can pay, print and have your packages picked up for free. i can even drop off free boxes. i wear a lot of hats.

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affiliate wsvn. looks like there was a plane crash at this executive airport in fort lauderdale. you see firefighters on the scene. a lot of cars clearly have been destroyed very, very severely damaged. we don't know about injuries. we don't know what kind of plane other than it was a small plane we are told but fire and rescue teams are on the scene right now. these once again are live pictures coming in. looks like a plane crashed into those cars over there and you can see what's going on. we'll get more information and update you as more information comes in. once again, this is the fort lauderdale executive airport down in florida. other news we're following including sensitive personal information splashed across web pages. if it's happening to the rich, famous, and powerful what about you? our brian todd has some answers for us. brian, there's new information coming in. what's going on? >> wolf, the suspects have gone after more celebrities and politicians posting their most

sensitive financial information for all to see. a sports icon, rising political star, and last year's republican presidential nominee are among the latest targets. mitt romney, tiger woods, chris christie, new names added to a website's postings of what it claims are the personal financial records of people in public life, their mortgage information, credit card debt, the alleged data on christie shows he sometimes has a high american express balance. his spokesman calls the breach a disturbing intrusion. we cannot verify that the information is accurate. a law enforcement official tells cnn investigators are looking into how the perpetrators got the data and whether it was hacked or not. the fbi, secret service, and los angeles police are all on their trail. i spoke with michael gibbons, former head of the fbi's computer investigations unit. >> how are investigators tracking these suspects? >> the addresses of computers will lead you to other computers, lead you to the little detail filings and snippets of files and you may do

forensic captures of whole computer systems looking for a piece of evidence from other system across the globe. >> reporter: two credit agencies confirm information on their clients was accessed. how easy is it for an impersonator to fake an inquiry and get data about you from a credit agency? i called for a free credit report to learn the type of information they ask for. >> my mailing address is [ bleep ]. my social security number is [ bleep ]. just hung up with annual credit report.com. it was all automation thech. they asked for my full name, mailing address, date of birth and social security number. they did offer a security safeguard asking if i only wanted the last four digits of my social security number to be posted with the credit report. online they asked me four challenge questions. it seems the people who exposed this information are confident they'll never be caught. on the website they openly taunt their targets posting pictures

of kim kardashian and tiger woods crying with the first lady's apparent information a note, blame your husband. we still love you, michelle. here's the picture in hulk hogan's file. hillary clinton, ouch. is there an arrogance to these suspects? this is a former hacker who is now with the cyber security firm called beyond trust. >> there is an inherent arrogance to that. you know, we've seen that plenty of time with different hackers. those i worry about more are the folks you don't hear from. >> reporter: he says when some hackers show their cockiness and swagger it can catch up to them. why do they do it? he once hacked government systems and he said most of the time it is just to show they can. >> is there any indication money has been stolen from the celebrities? >> a law enforcement official was not aware of any money being taken but said some of the address information may have been used. in the past hackers and others have done what is called

swatting. they find the home addresses of celebrities and they'll make maybe a fake emergency call and send the police to the person's home. that's been done with ashton kucher and justin bieber in the past. >> very worrisome developments indeed. thanks very much. one update we're getting more information on the breaking news from a few moments ago. these are pictures coming in from fort lauderdale. the executive airport there. fire rescue officials tell us a twin engine plane crashed near the fort lauderdale executive airport just outside the downtown area. it services smaller planes. officials tell us the plane appears to have struck a building before crashing into those cars. we're getting more information and will bring it to you as it comes in. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!!

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you're in the situation room. happening now a gop trail blazer has a stunning change of heart about same sex marriage and reveals why in an interview you will see only here on cnn. a freshman democrat get a smackdown from president obama behind closed doors? i'll ask him live this hour. what do hillary clinton and joe biden have to do with the golden girls? we welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we begin with these live pictures from a small airport, executive airport in fort lauderdale, florida. we are now told that a piper pa-31, a small plane, shortly after taking off from that airport crashed into a warehouse and you see the vehicles that have been destroyed in the

process. we don't know injuries. we don't know the extent of injuries or, worse, god forbid, what happened but you can see the residue left over from firefighters, rescue workers who came to the scene to deal with the fire there. once again, this is the fort lauderdale executive airport, large columns of smoke were visible for several miles just a little while ago. but firefighters on the scene doused those flames and now they're dealing with arrests. we'll update you and bring you more information as it becomes available. once again, these are live pictures coming in from the executive airport in fort lauderdale. other news we're following here in the situation room, you might call them some of the youngest people impacted by washington's forced spending cuts. fifth graders who are missing out on what may have been a chance in a lifetime chance to get inside the white house and see it up close. cnn national political correspondent jim acosta is over at the white house. watch what was going on.

has details. >> reporter: two weeks after the automatic spending cuts kicked in people across the country are only beginning to feel the effects. just ask the students we talked to earlier today. they were hoping to get inside this house just over my shoulder. >> one block to the white house. >> reporter: these fifth graders from east lawn elementary school came all the way from the small town of burlington, north carolina for the school's annual field trip to washington. late last month they received this confirmation for a tour of the white house, but this is as far as they made it. >> 'cuz they're cutting their budgets rnch instead they're getting a civics lesson in the meaning of the word "sequester." >> i'm ticked off. >> reporter: like the rest of her classmates she held fundraisers to come up with the $300 each of them needed for the trip. do you understand what is going on here, why this is happening? >> yes. because obama don't want nobody to see his beautiful house. >> reporter: feelings are hurt. >> that was the highlight of our trip for our students and it is

a once in a lifetime opportunity that some of us may never get again. >> this is a very unfortunate circumstance that is a result of the sequester. >> reporter: white house officials say they had to make a choice between canceling tours and furloughing secret service agents. they also point to other painful cuts from the air traffic control towers in small cities facing closure to the reduced hours at the national archives. >> these cuts will harm not help our economy. >> reporter: to cuts in science research at the national lab president obama visited today. >> they don't trim the fat. they cut into muscle and bone. rncht talk to amanda harrison whose husband john just lost tuition assistance he receives from the marines due to the automatic cuts. it's a program that enticed him to join the marines in the first place. >> you don't get to maintain a good job. i'm sorry. as a service member's wife. you know, we give up a lot. and this was a little something in return.

for everything we do. >> reporter: back at 1600 pennsylvania avenue the students who wanted to get an up close look at the white house are instead getting a tour in broken government. >> this is the people's house so we should have gone inside the house. >> reporter: a tour that comes at a high price. >> terrible example to give the kids. >> reporter: sort of like breaking their promise. >> breaking a promise. >> reporter: earlier this week the president said arrangements are being made to rebook some of the canceled tours for students who are coming here to washington but white house officials say that is still being worked out and they also caution not all of the tours will be put back on the schedule here at the white house. they stress, wolf, that those tours, many of the tours just like the rest of the cuts around the country are here to stay for now. >> and they're pointing out they insist officials at the white house, the secret service decided to do this because they were forced into making painful spending cuts. is that right? >> reporter: well, we've heard a

couple different stories this week. the white house says the decision came inside the white house. the president said the decision came really from the secret service but really the secret service presented the white house with sort of an array of options and they said, look. you can go with furlough and secret service agents. you can go with cutting their pay. or you can do away with these tours which cost about $74,000 a week and the decision was made to scrap the tours for now. obviously, people here at the white house would like to see the tours come back just like the students, wolf. >> those kids would like to see those tours come back as well. let's see how long it takes. jim acosta, thank you. he is one of the most prominent figures in the gop. the man who was constantly at mitt romney's side during the 2012 presidential campaign, not only as a possible running mate but also as the obama stand-in helping mitt romney prepare for the debates. now senator rob portman of ohio is changing his position on an issue many in his party don't agree with him on -- the issue

of same sex marriage. it is for a very personal reason that he shared exclusively with our chief congressional correspondent dana bash. >> i'm announcing today a change of heart. it's an issue a lot of people feel strongly about. it has to do with gay couples' opportunity to marry. during my career in the house and also the last couple years here in the senate i've taken a position against gay marriage, really imparted in my faith and faith tradition and had a very personal experience, which is my son came to jane, my wife and i, told us that he was gay, and that it was not a choice and that, you know, that's just paurt of who he is. he had been that way ever since he could remember. and that launched an interesting process for me which was kind of rethinking my position, talking to my pastor and other religious

leaders, and going through the process of at the end changing my position on the issue. i now believe that people ought to have the right to get married. >> dana is joining us now. you're getting some reaction from other conservatives, other republicans to senator portman's announcement. >> reporter: that's right. when it comes to congress i think the best way to describe republican congressional leaders is cautious. they're being cautious. it is clear they're not comfortable. look. they know rob portman well. they like him and admire him and respect him. many know his son, will, who he has revealed is gay. they don't want to offend him but also don't want to offend the conservative base. most of the conservative base still is very much against gay marriage. listen to what speaker john boehner who of course is from portman's home state of ohio said. he said, senator portman is a great friend and ally and the speaker respects his position but continues to think that marriage is between a man and a woman. that was speaker boehner's spokesman. that is still very much the feeling inside the republican

party. i want you to listen to what the former republican presidential candidate, probably future presidential candidate rick santorum said about this. >> i'm not too sure that the rationale behind what senator portman was doing is something that has broad application to the debate. you know, the fundamental principles that attach to the institution of marriage really haven't changed as a result of that personal story. we need to look at what's right, what's right for the american public and more importantly what's right for children. we'll continue to write for those things. >> basically senator santorum is saying he totally disagrees with senator portman on this sensitive issue. >> he absolutely is. >> he is not changing his position at all. >> no. >> some younger conservatives, there is a conference going on right here in washington, the conservative political action conference. there could be a generational

gap if you will on the issue of marriage equality. >> there really is. we know that is true across society. that it is a generational issue. you saw it with senator santorum and others i just referred to saying they still believe marynell is between a man and a woman. they are of the older republican generation. you mentioned cpac the conservative political action committee going on right now. there are a lot of activists there, probably the most conservative activists from around the country, and the younger people, we talked to some of them, many of the younger people basically say they have a live and let live attitude. listen. >> our economic policies are sound. our national security policies are extremely sound. if some of the domestic issues could be left to state issues more people would embrace the party, appreciate some of our stances and other things of that nature. >> i think it is important to adapt a little more to the 21st century and the civil liberties issue. >> i personally know many gay conservatives and i think that they would appreciate that and they stand for all the values we

stand for and happen to have found themselves in a situation where they don't have the same rights as everyone else which i don't think is right. >> kind of a lot of shoulder shrugging which of course we all see among the younger generation but it is very interesting, i think fascinating to also hear that from again among the most conservative activists in the country. not that they're saying they're necessarily for gay marriage but they say that gay americans should just kind of be left alone which in many ways is also part of the conservative maybe more libertarian principles and philosophies. >> live and let live. let the government stay out of these kinds of issues a lot of young people think like that as well. all right. good work, dana. i know your interview, we have a lot more of it in our next hour here in the situation room. >> be here. >> terrific work. thanks very much. coming up, did a freshman democrat get a little ribbing from president obama behind closed doors? he is here. that congressional democrat, to join us live. we'll talk about what happened. ♪ [ acoustic guitar: upbeat ]

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let's get back to the breaking news. you see the horrific pictures from that small airport in fort lauderdale. the small plane that crashed into a warehouse at the airport. a small piper we're told. piper pa-31 crashed into the warehouse. a lot of damaged vehicles. firefighters on the scene dousing the fire there. smoke had been seen for miles. chris works nearby, witnessed the crash. chris, what did you see? >> well, actually what occurred was i was on the phone. i work in the office across the street from the accident. the whole building shook. it felt like something crashed into the building itself, a car or something. we walked out of the back of the building to see what happened and we saw flames coming over the toch the building. so we circled around to the front and went across the street in the car lot. like a tow truck car lot.

flames and black smoke just billowing out and cars are on fire and the pictures describe it. people were just running out and one of the tow truck drivers actually ran out. i spoke with him and he basically told me that the plane landed in front of him or crashed in front of him and he barely made it out before the car exploded. >> we're told the plane took off from that small executive airport in fort lauderdale but then quickly crashed into that warehouse destroying all those cars. that is what you are hearing as well, right? >> yeah. that is correct. i heard it from several people actually there. people were scrambling to move their cars and pretty much get away from it. and, yes, they said a plane was coming in. it came pretty hard. and they said the plane pretty much just dropped on to the lot. >> hold on for a moment. your own john zarrella is down in the area as well and knows this airport quite well. have you heard anything about

injuries, how many people were on that piper twin engine plane? >> reporter: no, wolf. not yet. haven't gotten any indication as to who was on the plane, how many were on the plane, where they were going. none of those details filled in yet. but just from that airport as the witness was pointing out it is an executive airport. you get a lot of twin engine planes, single engine planes. a lot of jets going in and out of there. many of the executive jets flying in and out of that airport as well. where the new york yankees used to play in fort lauderdale, those planes coming in and out over head very low all the time. a very, very busy, small executive airport but a lot of traffic in and out of there. >> how far is it from the major international airport in fort lauderdale? >> reporter: just a few miles probably i would say no more than about five to eight miles north of fort lauderdale

international. >> so it has nothing to do with fort lauderdale international airport. this is a totally separate, small airport. >> reporter: correct. a totally separate airport. nothing to do with fort lauderdale international. >> john, i'll let you work your sources and tell us what happened to the people on that plane and then you'll get back to us, update us. john zarrella on the scene as he always is. chris is still with us as well. he was an eyewitness to this crash. saw what was going on and you see these live pictures coming in from our affiliate wsvn down in south florida. they're still dealing with the aftermath. it looks like, chris, at least i'm guessing 15 or 20 vehicles if we get a wide shot over there may have been destroyed. is that what you saw? >> when i was there about three or four actually blew up while we were watching people get out and move their cars. three or four blew up.

the roof caught on fire. it was so heck tetekt hecht ik u couldn't even look in. >> it looks like the cars were parked in a parking lot, like maybe people who had gone on some of the planes, not necessarily a very heavily trafficked area is that right? empty cars basically destroyed? those cars from what i was told that lot is actually a tow truck lot. so those were actually tow truck drivers are bringing them in and those cars have all been towed. so that's where they all came from. the area is typically -- i work at the fuel cell right across the street and we're an faa repair shop and we deal with commercial aviation and deal specifically in fuel units. so it's pretty scary considering that how much fuel for an aircraft we have in our building alone and how combustible and flammable that is. >> thanks very much, chris.

we'll stay in close touch with you. joining us from the scene as well. john zarrella is working his sources. once we get information on the extent of injuries we'll update our viewers. we'll take a quick break. when we come back, freshman democrat in the congress, did he get a smackdown from the president of the united states behind closed doors? the congressman is standing by live. the longest 4g lte battery in a razr thin profile. with 32 hours of battery life that turns an all-nighter, into a two-nighter. the droid razr maxx hd by motorola. droid-endurance. droid-powerful.

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there is a surprising report out there suggesting president obama delivered a little bit of a smackdown to a freshman congressional member of his own party. roll call describing it as a gentle ribbing. let's discuss what is going on with the newly minted democratic

representative from michigan. congressman, thanks very much for coming in. >> thank you very much. >> i saw the story in roll call. i'll put it up on the screen. kildee then proceeded to ask what one person described as a somewhat long winded question about the importance of creating jobs for his economically distraught district. you're from flipt. i can tell you're a freshman because you didn't pay much attention to the state of the union, obama joked. i talked about that. a little bit of a smack down to you right? >> well, i think he assumed i was missing the manufacturing innovation centers which is what he talked about in the state of the union. i was raising a much bigger issue about cities like flint and detroit and saginaw, cities that have had significant economic dislocation and are structurally unsound. in fact, not only did i not miss the point about manufacturing innovation centers but the previous day had been meeting with white house staff following up on the state of the union. >> you were familiar with the proposals he outlined. >> very familiar.

i have been advocating them for a long time. it was a light hearted moment, a closed meeting between democrats. there was a lot of banter between the president and other members. i wasn't the only one but you're not going to find a bigger fan of president obama. we're friends. i am a freshman but have been with him five times since i was elected. >> so when he looked at you he knew who you were. >> he calls me dan. the thing he said that nobody seems to be reporting is he said he thought i was sort of classing up the place but i guess that is not as interesting. >> so no hard feelings. >> no. >> no animosity. >> no. >> he wasn't like ribbing you a little bit. >> here is the thing. i'm in the situation room with wolf blitzer talking about distressed cities. any way i got here is a good thing. the president and i are on the same page. i've been working with his administration even before i got elected on trying to find new ways to breathe life into distressed places. this manufacturing center is one of them but i am promoting a whole series of fixes that will

take cities like flint and lots of other cities around the country to a different place. allow them to participate in the economic growth the president is asking for. >> what flint has been going through, detroit about is to go through now, the governor named a special executive to oversee we hope it doesn't happen the bankruptcy proceedings. >> is really tough. there are cities that have been left behind and flint is one of them. it's been going on for decades and my belief and this is what i said to the president is we need to think about significant new investment in these places not just allowing, you the rising tide of the economy to take lots of cities with them. cities like flint and detroit will be left behind. what i was raising with the president and had been talking to his administration about for sometime is a whole series of strategies that will allow us to retrain workers, deal with the blight and abandonment, deal with aging infrastructure, create a platform for them to be able to benefit from economic growth. we are on the same page in

getting there. >> good luck to you and the district and flint and the area i know they're going through tough times in detroit as well. we had the governor on the show yesterday. >> thank you very much. up next the public apology. mitt romney returns to the national stage. to stand before the gop and says it is time to learn from his mistakes. also, romney's former running mate paul ryan talks about where america could be heading and it's just short of an economic apocalypse. low testosterone, you should know that axiron is here. the only underarm treatment for low t. that's right, the one you apply to the underarm. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer.

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former gop presidential candidate mitt romney was back on the national stage today with key members of his own party apologizing for letting them down in his first public speech since losing the presidential election. >> i left the race disappointed that i didn't win. but i also left honored and humbled to have represented the values we believe in and to speak for so many good and decent people. we've lost races before in the past but those setbacks prepared us for larger victories. it is up to us to make sure we learn from our mistakes and my mistakes and take advantage of that learning to make sure we take back the nation, take back the white house, get the senate, and put in place conservative principles. we may not have carried on november 7th but we haven't lost the country we love and we have not lost our way.

people like bob macdonald, scott walker, john kasich, susannah martinez, chris christie, brian sandoval, these are the people we got to listen to and make sure their mess annage is heardd and clear across the country. i'm sorry i won't be your president but i will be your co-worker and work shoulder to shoulder alongside you. you see, in the end,, in the end we'll win. we'll win for the same reason we won before. because our cause is just, and it is right. >> let's talk a little more about what's going on with our chief political analyst gloria borger and chief political correspondent candy crowley the anchor of "state of the union." he says, romney, that the party needs to learn from his mistakes. what are those lessons? >> well, i think by watching him you could see what they were. this is a man who is having trouble connecting with voters. i don't think he particularly

connected with this conservative group. it kind of puzzles me why he chose this as the first place to make his first kind of public speech. the thing that interested me the most about it, wolf, was that he went out of his way to mention chris christie and governor bob macdonald of virginia, two very popular governors in their own states who were not invited to address this conservative group. i think it was a little bit of a big tent message coming from him, too. >> if you look at his mistakes, and putting together a mistakes of 2012, what went wrong next week, chair of the republican party, i think one of the things about -- >> very long. >> one of the things about romney and that every candidate can look at is watch what you say in the primaries. you know, the fact is i think if you look back and particularly when you look back at latino votes, that sort of thing, you know, we know the old kinard you

have to run to the right then run back to the center. you can't do it anymore. it was too far of a run for him and i think it really began to doom him at least in terms of demographics. >> sure. >> when he was talking, when they were talking about hispanics and he started talking about self-deportation. those primaries really are tough especially on republican candidates. >> don't forget this was the place, this speech, where romney called himself severely conservative. >> a year ago. >> if you recall. a year ago. what a difference a year makes. now he is talking about chris christie, right? >> listen to paul ryan the republican vice president, presidential nominee, because he had a little dark picture that he painted. >> our debt is already bigger than our economy. at some point lenders lose confidence in us. they will demand higher interest rates and when they do interest rates across the country will skyrocket on mortgages, credit cards, car loans.

and then pressed for cash the government will take the easy way out. it will crank up the printing presses. the dollar would sink. our finances would collapse. the safety net would unravel. and the most vulnerable? they would suffer the most. a debt crisis would be more than an economic event. it would be a moral failure. >> that's a pretty dark picture he is painting. it is. and it's the paul ryan we know. this is the paul ryan chairman of the budget committee. i don't think this was really for paul ryan an audition for 2016. i think this is somebody who really wants to be the next speaker of the house and wants his career to be in the house and what he is talking about is what he knows about which is the budget. so where some other republicans are saying, you know, you can't just limit your remarks to the budget. you can't just talk about austerity it's not our platform, that's where paul ryan feels comfortable. >> and this is where he feels comfortable. i don't count him out for 2016

by any means but i will say contrast that to bobby jindal's speech the governor of louisiana who said we are obsessed with zeroes. we cannot be the party of cutting. we cannot be the party that's constantly saying we can't do without. we have to be the party of growth. and what you saw was the inside the beltway republicans and the outside the beltway republicans. >> speaking of bobby jindal let me play a clip. remember a couple weeks ago he is speaking about his own republican party, a stupid party if you will. here is what he said today. >> today's conservativism is far too wrapped up in solve go-ing hideous mess that is the federal budget. the shortfall in our entitlement programs, burgeoning debt, even as our president creates new entitlement programs. today's conservativism is in love with zeroes. we seem to have an obsession with government bookkeeping. i'm here to tell you this is a rig game. it is the wrong game for us to

be playing. yesterday was the fiscal cliff. today it's the sequester. tomorrow it'll be the fiscal apocalypse and then fiscal armageddon that is a pretty different message than paul ryan. yeah and pretty simple. we have to be about people. we have to stop being about numbers. we have to be about the middle class and what people care about and let them know that we care about them. >> again, this is why mitt romney is saying, look, to these governors, because they're actually interacting with people and the outside the beltway republicans look at the inside beltway republicans saying you don't get it. you saw that in stark relief at cpac. >> they're both paul ryan and bobby jindal sescertainly risin stars. >> next generation. >> thank you very much. see you sunday on state of the union 9:00 a.m. eastern and noon. >> yes. you got that right. >> thank you. among her guests by the way the chairman of the ranking member of the house intelligence committee this sunday. just ahead does this pair look like the golden girls to

you? we'll tell you why we asked when we come back.

all right. check this out. do the people in this white house photo remind you of shall we say the golden rls? the senate minority leader mitch mcconnell says they do. let's discuss what's going on in our strategy session. joining us the democratic strategist donna brazill. the republican strategist anna navarro both cnn political contributors. here is the republican leader in the senate mitch mcconnell. here is the sound bite. don't tell me democrats are the party of the future when their presidential ticket for 2016 is

shaping up to look like a re-run of "the golden girls." you know, we got rand paul, marco rubio, paul ryan, and a slew of smart, young, and energetic governors ready to take america into the future. and the other guys got hillary and joe biden. >> he's laughing but does he have a point? >> absolutely not. first of all the theme of that wonderful sitcom was thank you for being a friend. mitch mcconnell will take miami because as you well know that is where the tv series was based. we'll take the senior vote, women's vote. but you know what? mitch mcconnell is running scared so trying to make it up as he goes along. >> he may have his own problems getting re-elected in kentucky. >> i was there for the speech. it went over very well. hardly did i know he could tell a joke much less laugh at one. but i do think that mitch

mcconnell has to be careful because he is a lot more close in age to joe biden and hillary clinton than he is to marco rubio. >> no one is talking about mitch mcconnell running for the republican presidential nomination. >> no but he is running for re-election in kentucky. he did very well in the speech but you could tell he is throwing out rand paul's name a lot. >> here is what he said about rand paul. i'll play the clip. >> you know, we got rand paul. he's the perfect example of what i'm talking about. he's a warrior. and we need more warriors. rand reminded the world that politics isn't just about that. rand reminded us last week and it was truly inspiring. >> he likes rand paul. a lot of republicans right now like rand paul. his father was sort of on the sidelines if you will when he ran for the republican presidential nomination. but rand paul sort of emerging in the new center of the republican party. >> he probably wanted us to

forget he supported tre' grason in the republican primary in 2007 who was challenging rand paul. mitch mcconnell did not go to the senate floor tonight until after rand paul became a twitter hit. so i don't think mitch mcconnell really is embracing rand paul. what he is doing is embracing the tea party and trying to prevent himself from a primary challenge. >> you understand these republicans. go ahead and explain. >> i think what mitch mcconnell needs is for rand paul to embrace him. i saw rand paul's speech yesterday at cpac. very crafty. that man is in campaign mode already. he's got his slogan going, stand with rand. i stand with you. you stand with me. i think mitch mcconnell wants rand to stand with him. >> he's not a shy guy. he says he's seriously thinking, already seriously thinking of running for the 2016 nomination. >> wolf, there were all sorts of signs of a campaign that's already going on. i think he's campaigning very hard to win that straw poll in

cpac which would of course make a lot of press. it is something his father did several times and i think would be very meaningful. i wouldn't be surprised if that is the result tomorrow. >> i look forward to having a rand paul ticket in 2016. i would not have to work as hard and, god knows, hillary clinton or joe biden could beat him before daylight. >> mitch mcconnell does make a good point which is that right now we have incredibly a much younger bench than what the democrats have. >> when you look at the bench we don't know if martin o'malley will run or duval patrick or elizabeth warren or mr. cuomo, governor cuomo of new york. we have a big bench as well. >> joe biden has all but declared and he would be one of the oldest candidates. >> donna, be careful what you wish for. >> it is not age as you know. age doesn't matter. >> be careful. 1976. i'm old enough -- a lot of democrats were only hoping ronald reagan would get that republican nomination. that movie star and who was elected in 1980? >> i remember when age mattered, when john mccain was running age

mattered. >> i remember the day they dismissed the fact we could have our first african-american so i know a lot of things can happen. you know what? better days ahead for the democratic party. >> don't go away. we got more to discuss including president obama. he admits to a wistful day dream involving get this a fake mustache. ♪ if you have high cholesterol, here's some information that may be worth looking into. in a clinical trial versus lipitor, crestor got more high-risk patients' bad cholesterol to a goal of under 100.

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all right. we're back with our strategy session. here is a question. could president obama be walking among us without us even knowing? maybe not but he shared the fantasy in an interview ahead of next week's trip to israel. >> one of the things that is toughest being president, and that is true here in the united states but certainly true when

i'm traveling, is just the spontaneous interactions that you have when you just walk into a restaurant or you go to the beach or meeting people day to day and getting a sense of how they're feeling, what they're thinking about the world, about life, so, you know, sometimes i have this fantasy that i could put on a disguise and, you know, wear a fake mustache and i could wander through tel aviv and go to a bar and have a conversation or go down to, you know, a university and meet with some students in a setting where it wasn't as formal and, you know, we're going to try to find as many opportunities as i can to interact directly with the israeli people but you've tapped into something that chafes at me and is the toughest thing about being president. you can't just slip out and

interact with people without having a bunch of guys with i'v presidents. that was an interview with channel 2 in israel that he conducted on the eve of his departure. it's not easy being in that bubble, is it? >> no, it isn't. and i've heard that from other presidential candidates, and presidents, of course. president obama stands out even without being president. he's tall, he's good looking. i think most people would recognize him even if he wasn't president. but the opportunity to go to israel at this time of the year is just a great experience. and i hope he has a wonderful experience. >> i hope he does as well. donald trump spoke at cpac today as well. you were there, you were listening. i'll play this clip. >> the republican party is in serious trouble. the 11 million illegals, even if given the right to vote, you know, you're going to have to do what's right. but the fact is, 11 million

people will be voting democratic, from the standpoint of conservatives and republicans. you've got to win elections. when you have people that are well-meaning, but governors saying it's the super party, and i heard that statement and i said, what a horrible statement to make. when you send $400 million, and it's a failure, and you don't have one victory, you know there's something seriously, seriously wrong. if mitt made one mistake, and i like mitt romney a lot, but if he made one mistake, it's that he didn't talk enough about his success. >> you were there. how was he received? >> don't remind me. i'm still twitching from having listened to that speech. i think the speech went down like a ton of bricks. he didn't have a very packed room. it was half empty. frankly, i think it was very upsetting. he was very critical of just about everything, boasted about

all of his money. it was random thoughts on the world according to donald trump. it did not make sense. it was dysfunctional, incoherent, rambling. it was a very bad speech. when you judge it by any measure. >> were a lot of people wondering he was invited but chris christie not invited? >> the governor of virginia not invited. >> i think that people thought that donald trump would provide some entertainment. he didn't. frankly, he struck, you know, a chord that we haven't seen in cpac. cpac has been pushing immigration reform. and obviously donald trump did not get that memo, or chose not to read it. i'm a big tent republican, wolf, so i never talk about let's exclude somebody. but i'll tell you, donald trump tests my principles. >> not holding back. donna brazile. >> amen to that. >> thanks very much. the united states now

beefing up its missile defense systems against north korea. what's going on. we'll have an update coming up at the top of the hour. also, jpmorgan chase gets a lashing on capitol hill. after some very risky trading that produced billions of droid-smart ? with google now, it automatically knows when you need to leave for the airport, how much traffic there is, and has your boarding pass ready. the droid razr maxx hd by motorola. droid-smart. droid-powerful.

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loans and sometimes it's actually to take a profit. but the question is, are they investing in safe investments or investing in risky stuff. senator levin has an answer for that. he said banks need more oversight and regulation. case in point, jpmorgan. the news was stunning when jpmorgan chase had to restate first quarter earnings last year. >> breaking news. we were talking about jpmorgan and the q-1 and q-2 earnings report. >> we were talking somewhere around $2 billion. we now know it's going to be about $8 million. >> it all went sour, it produced more than $6 billion in losses. after nine-month investigation, the senate subcommittee on investigations finding, jpmorgan bild on risk, hid losses, manipulated risk models, dodged oversight and misinformed the public. >> i'm not sure that there's

many organizations and companies and corporations in america that could get away with such a thing. >> according to the senate committee, e-mails show that the company's credit derivatives portfolio tripled in size in the first three months of last year as traders doubled down. to cover their losses they used internal profit/loss reports. one employee suggesting things had gone too far saying, quote, it's getting idiotic. senator carl levin said they misled them during a conference call last april when he tried to downplay the damage surrounding the credit portfolio. >> that was a balanced presentation of the scp, on april 13th? >> it was an accurate presentation. >> you thought it was a balanced presentation? not disclosing it, it was losing money, not disclosing that it violated all five risk limits regularly? some cases for months? you think that's accurate to just tell them you're comfortable, that the regulators

know all about this, that your risk people, your top risk people approved all these positions? honestly now, do you think that's a balanced presentation to investors? >> senator, in hindsight, there's lots more information that we learned. >> no, no, not that you learned. you had that at the time. >> in a statement, a jpmorgan spokesperson said, quote, well, we have repeatedly acknowledge significant mistakes, our senior management acted in good faith and never had any intent to mislead anyone. jpmorgan stock took a hit friday. but the long-term impact could be on the banking industry. and whether congress limits just what a bank can do with customer deposits. >> where we started to see things sort of come apart a bit was the use of these, not just for hedging, but also for speculative activities. >> to make money, not just cover the losses, but to actually make money. >> exactly. >> now, keep in mind all of this was going down last year.

that's four years after wall street had to be bailed out by taxpayers. and that is why some of the sentiment from lawmakers on capitol hill was -- didn't you learn anything from that experience? so we'll have to see where they go forward with this investigation, wolf. >> i rarely see carl levin as irritated as he was right there. but people are worried about these mistakes. they could come back to plague us. lisa, thanks for that report. happening now, the u.s. beefs up its missile defense system in response to nuclear threats from north korea. a top republican senator changes his mind about same-sex marriage. he tells us why in an exclusive interview. graphic testimony in the trial of two high school football players accused of rape. plus, why reinforced cockpit doors may not be enough to stop terrorists determined to take down a plane. i'm wolf blitzer. kate is off today. kate is off today. you're in "the situation room."

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we're following breaking news. a small plane crash in south florida, the twin engine plane was trying to return to the airport immediately after takeoff, but crashed into a nearby parking lot, setting a number of parked cars on fire. cnn's john zarrella joins us on the phone right now. what are you finding out, john? >> reporter: wolf, the latest information we're hearing from our affiliate station here in miami is in fact three people were onboard that plane. do not know who they are. we do not, according to authorities, know whether the plane issued any distress call, or declared an emergency. what we do know is that it took off about 4:30 this afternoon, about an hour after ago, from ft. lauderdale executive airport. and almost immediately began to try and make an emergency return to the airport, according to authorities. but as you were reporting, it

did not make it. crashing into a bunch of parked cars near a warehouse area just to the east of the airport. it would have been taking off on what's known as runway 8, going from west to east when that plane went down. it happened near what's known as power line road. perhaps more remarkable than anything else, wolf, it appears there were no injuries on the ground from this incident. the video, of course, showing a lot of foam that was sprayed by the firefightering units that arrived there. a lot of the cars that were hit were engulfed immediately in flames. of course, a lot of charred debris on the ground there. >> we just heard, by the way, john, from the fire chief, all three of the fatalities were individuals on that small plane. not fatalities of individuals on the ground. three people killed in this plane crash. one of the eyewitnesses, chris, we spoke with him a little while

ago, he has some amateur video. i want to play it. we'll take a closer look. you see the heavy plume of black smoke coming up from that crash, that plane going down near that warehouse, destroying a lot of the vehicles there. and as we've just learned, three individuals aboard that small piper plane dead as a result of this crash. it's pretty scary when you see what happened there. this airport not far away. you've been telling us, john, from the major international airport in ft. lauderdale. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. about five to eight miles to the north of ft. lauderdale international airport. we were told also, from what we are hearing, that this plane was on a local flight. what local flight means, we don't know. where it was heading, we don't have any idea at this point.

but you were reporting all that thick black smoke, clearly because it was just taking off. this plane was still loaded with fuel when it crashed. so much of that black smoke, of course, from the burning of all of that fuel onboard the plane, as well as the cars that were immediately engulfed in flames by that crash. >> john zarrella on the scene for us, as he always is, in south florida. john, thanks very much. we'll update the viewers as it comes in. let's check in with some other news happening right now, pretty significant news. pretty scary, i should say, at the same time. the united states military is not taking any chances right now when it comes to north korea. that country's nuclear fests and the threat of a launch, launching a nuclear strike against the united states, prompting the obama administration, the pentagon, to strengthen a critical defense system. our pentagon correspondent chris lawrence is working this story for us. all of a sudden, chris, the

pentagon announcing some major activity out of the west coast, fearful of what north korea could be doing. tell our viewers what's going on. >> that's right, wolf. pentagon officials are admitting that north korea's new mobile ballistic missile has emerged as a threat faster than even they suspected, or expected, and they say basically that north korea's threat has risen to the level that they now need to employ and deploy more missile intercepters. if a nuclear missile is ever fired at the united states, this is the best hope to stop it. 30 interceptor missiles, which can be launched from ground silos in alaska and california. now the pentagon is deploying up to 14 more. >> the reason that we're doing what we're doing, and the reason we're advancing our program here for homeland security, is to not take any chances, is to stay ahead of the threat.

>> reporter: north korea tested a long-range missile in december. it conducted its third nuclear test in february. and just this month, threatened a preemptive nuclear strike on the u.s. that caught the united states' attention. >> underscoring the need for the u.s. to continue to take any steps to defeat any north korea icbm. >> reporter: president obama said the u.s. would -- >> strengthen our own missile defense and take firm action in response to these threats. >> reporter: republican congressional sources say the president's actions have been anything but firm. in 2011, the administration moth balled one alaskan missile field arguing intelligence showed there wasn't enough of a threat. a short-sighted move, say the congressional sources, quote, the intel didn't change, this is right where we expected north korea to be. and that is in possession of a missile that could travel nearly

5,000 miles, in theory. since north korea has never successfully launched a long-range icbm. >> i think what you see here is mainly a political signal to north korea, that no one's going to be intimidated by their december launch and subsequently nuclear test. >> reporter: the existing intercepters have had technological problems and haven't performed as planned. the pentagon is testing a new missile, and won't buy the additional 14 until officials are sure they can fly. >> we spend $10 billion a year on missile defense. we spend about $250 billion over the last few decades. we still aren't anywhere close to a sis taem that can actually protect the united states from the determined adversary. yes, i'm saying we're wasting our money. >> the pentagon plans to spend another $1 billion on this program, and have these 14 missile intercepters ready to go by 2017. they're also scouting locations for a potential third large site, which may be right here on

the east coast of the united states, wolf. >> it's all pretty scary stuff. chris lawrence, thanks very much. let's dig a little deeper with tom foreman. tom, you're in our virtual studio over there. tell our viewers where these missiles are. >> you know, the simple truth is, wolf, chris is exactly right, what this is is a recognition by the pentagon that wherever they are in north korea, the capability of their missiles and their nuclear weapons is making more of a global threat. and what they're trying to do in the pentagon is saying let's look particularly at the specific threat and how we can stop that. how are they going to do that. we talked about the new deployments that chris was talking about. first of all you're talking about more radar bases in places like japan. you would be able to get more early warning of what's happening, more missiles in alaska and california over here. which as you can see is somewhere in what we think might be the range of their very best shot from north korea at the time in the future, and more warning systems out in the ocean as well. how would all of this work? the simple truth is, if there

were a launch over here in north korea, the early warning radar systems would start signaling back to the launch systems over here, giving the coordinates. so all of this could launch, and at once, if everything worked well, you could get them to all come together and intercept the missile in the middle of its flight. i'll tell you, what, missile defense people talk always about layers of defense. that is not one shot. ideally, they would like to hit it here with some early shots of missiles as soon as it gets off the ground. if not, try to have shots at it here. and if not, they would try to have last-minute shots before it came to the ground over here, wolf. that's the plan. that's what they were beefing up today. >> tom foreman, working this part of the story for us. i'm sure folks in alaska, hawaii, washington state, california, they're getting nervous hearing about these reports. we'll have much more on the story comes up in "the situation room." a federal appeals court said the cia has to acknowledge the existence of any records on drone strikes aimed at people

such as terror suspects overseas. the case stems from an aclu request for the records under the freedom of information act. but the cia re fusioned to confirm or deny it had any such records citing national security. the court calls the denial, and i'm quoting now, fiction. syrian rebels are getting a potentially critical boost to oust the president bashir al assad. the first group just arrived back in syria. a rebel spokesman said they're being trained by american military and intelligence officials to use anti-tank and antiaircraft weapons. the syrian civil war is now two years old this month. mitt romney reentered the political stage today with a message for an influential conservative gathering just outside washington, d.c. brianna keilar is joining us from the scene. brianna, what's going on at the

conservative political action conference? >> well, wolf, today with mitt romney appearing here, it was almost as if he was trying to assuage some of the disappointment that many of the attendees here have expressed over the november election. he said he hasn't lost his optimism because of the failed race, as he tried to pass the torch to a new generation of republican leaders. on day two of this conservative conclave, just outside washington, d.c., attendees looked back to look forward. mitt romney entering cpac to a standing ovation, his first major speech since november, saying the future of the republican party is with republican governors of battleground states. >> these governors have shown that they're able to reach across the aisle, offer innovative solutions, and then they're willing to take the heat that you have to take to do important things. >> he named names. >> people like bob mcdonald, scott walker, john kasich,

susana. >> he mentioned paul ryan, but not louisiana governor bobby jindal, oi primary opponent rick santorum, who appeared to be making their pitches for the 2016 race. while romney talked about reaching across the aisle, santorum warned a rapt audience of changing too much. >> for those who want to abandon the moral underpinnings so we can win, permit me to paraphrase a great teacher and ask, what does it profit a movement to gain the country, and lose its own soul. >> even party stalwarts like mitch mcconnell say it's time for new messengers to carry the republican message. >> don't tell me democrats are the party of the future. when their presidential ticket entds up looking like a rerun of the golden girls. you know, we had rand paul, we've got marco rubio, and a

slew of smart, young and energetic governors ready to take america into the future. >> now, wolf, the big act tonight is jeb bush. he will be keynoting this dinner. a lot of republicans would like to see him throw his hat in the ring for 2016. he did not throw his hat in the ring for the straw poll here which a lot of folks pay attention to here at cpac. he actually requested of the organizers to not be a part of it, saying it's too soon to be talking about 2016, wolf. >> brianna, on the scene for us, cpac, thanks very much. a new cnn show is starting on monday with jake tapper. it begins monday afternoon 4:00 p.m. eastern. you can watch our show, and our new start time. that will be 5:00 p.m. eastern starting monday. "the lead" with jake tapper 4:00 to 5:00. "the situation room" will be on from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. eastern. a hot-button issue. a conservative republican

senator says he now supports same-sex marriage. former vice president dick cheney actually helped him play a role in that. the cnn exclusive interview is coming up. plus, a 9/11 widow says reinforced cockpit doors aren't enough to protect us in the air. >> if the secondary barrier were installed on victor's airplane, we wouldn't be talking today. we would have a safe aircraft. and no one -- 2,973 people would not have died that day. (music throughout)

why turbo? trust us. it's just better to be in front. the lead with jake tapper. the lead. fatal hit and run cases virtually ignored by law enforcement. is race playing a role. a closer look at mississippi

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a dramatic turn-around by a leading conservative when it comes to the issue of gay marriage. senator rob portman of ohio now says he supports marriage rights for same-sex couples and for a very, very personal reason. he spoke about it exclusively with our chief congressional correspondent, dana bash. >> senator portman, thank you for inviting us here today. you invited us to make an announcement. >> yeah, thank you for coming. i'm announcing today a change of heart. on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about. it has to do with gay couples'

opportunity to marry. and during my career in the house and also last couple years in the senate, i've taken a position against gay marriage. in my faith tradition. and had a very personal experience, which is my son came to jane, my wife and i, told us that he was gay. and that it was not a choice. and that, you know, he -- that's just part of who he is, and he had been that way ever since he could remember. that launched an interesting process for me, which was rethinking my position. you know, talking to my pastor and other religious leaders. and going through the process of, at the end, changing my position on the issue. i now believe that people have the right to get married. >> talk a little bit more about the moment that your son came out to you and your wife. >> well, my son is very close to me, and my wife.

and he had worked on the campaign. so we got even closer during the campaign. and he came to me as a college freshman, and said, you know, after the campaign was over, after i was already elected to the senate, that, you know, he wanted to tell us that there was something about him we didn't know, as well as we thought we knew him. of course, it hasn't changed our view at all of him. >> what was your reaction when he told you? >> love. support. you know, 110%. >> surprise? >> surprise, yeah. >> you had no idea? >> no idea, yeah. >> did he ask you to change your position on gay marriage and gay issues? >> not initially. in fact, i wasn't thinking about policy or, you know, positions. i was just thinking about him as my son. and someone who i love very much. and very proud of. so that was not an initial discussion. but over time, yeah, we started

talking about that more. he was helpful, as you can imagine, of giving me his perspective on it and information about it. very bright kid. >> did he push you? >> no, not really. i think he's happy, and proud that we've come to this point. but he let it be my decision, just as, you know, it's going to be his decision as to the role he plays going forward in this whole issue. he's happy that i've ended up where i have. but he is -- he's a private guy. he's like most college kids, normal college kid who doesn't want to necessarily be out front on this issue. but it's part of who he is. >> does he -- he obviously knows you're doing this. how does he feel about you deciding to take the political plunge like this and make an announcement that you're flipping your position on this issue? >> well, he's on spring break right now, so he was here with me a few days this week, going to meetings with me and so on, just hanging out.

so he knows what i'm doing. he's back home now. but again, i think he's happy i'm doing it. he also realizes this will probably put a little more focus on our family, and that isn't necessarily something we're comfortable with. but i felt it was important for me to come forward and talk about this, one, because i've made my decision, second, because a court case is coming up and i anticipate i'll be getting a lot of questions from the media as to what my position is, as well as other members of the house and senate. and i wanted to be absolutely clear and not mislead anybody. so he drnt dictate the timing, but the timing in a way is a combination of both coming to a change of heart on it, a change of decision, and feeling comfortable about that. and second, the fact that i think this discussion is going to be one that we're going to be having here in the congress after the oral arguments at the end of this month, and up to the decision and beyond. >> you say you'll support that.

changing your position is one thing, and certainly a big deal. but then are you going to take it to the next level and be activist on it? are you going to go home to ohio and say, let's change this state law and get rid of the ban on gay marriage, which is probably one of the most sweeping in the country. >> people are going to know what my position is. but as you know, i've never really been involved in this issue one way or the other. i have voted consistent with, again, my beliefs at the time. >> but does your son, and the new experience with your son change how you'll be active on it? >> you know, i'm kind of an economic policy walk. that's why i got in this business. that's what i've always focused on. to get the economy moving, get jobs back. i spent hours this week in the budget committee. i'll be going back soon. the budget's on the floor. next week. and those will continue to be the issues that i'll put my primary focus on. >> what do you say to a gay

constituent in ohio who says, i'm so glad that he's changed his position? why did it take him learning that he has a gay son? why didn't he as my representative care about my rights before that? >> well, i would say that, you know, i've had a change of heart based on a personal experience. that's certainly true. dick cheney i think had a similar experience. i've talked to him, by the way, about this. and it wasn't an issue i had given much thought to prior to that. maybe i should have. but the reason i got into public service was because of my concerns on the economic and budget issues. that's always been my focus. >> you just walked into the very last question i promise i will ask, which was going to be about dick cheney. you said you did talk to him. did you call him for advice? because he had a situation very similar? >> yeah, i mean, i spoke to him personally. i actually met with him. >> what did he tell you? >> rob, do what's in your heart, you know. i mean, he was a good person to

talk to, because he also was surprised by the news, and in that case, you know, his wonderful daughter, who he loves very much, and has forced him to rethink the issue, too. over time he changed his view on it. and i followed his advice. i followed my heart. >> really nice guy, too. you know, dana, when he was being vetted as a possible romney vice presidential running mate, he came clean. he told them all this stuff. he told romney and the vetters. >> that's right. i asked him the question, if he knew about his son being gay two years ago, did he tell mitt romney and his answer was ey, he told romney's entire campaign team. they had to know everything about him. i said do you think that's why you weren't picked? he said, no, because he asked, and romney told him that. but when you think about the politics of it, they were already past the primary season. they were already into the general election. you might also argue that perhaps it could have been been a benefit for the romney campaign to be able to reach out

to constituencies other than white heterosexual males, about the only constituency that they ended up winning. >> good point. dana, excellent interview. thanks very much for doing it. they were considered heroes on the football field, now they're defendants accused of a terrible crime. coming up, we have details how the trial is tearing one ohio community very much apart right now. this day calls you. to fight chronic osteoarthritis pain. to fight chronic low back pain.

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a shocking case in a community divided. what really happened on a night of a teenage partying rampage. it's the subject of a high-profile rape trial under way right now. a 9/11 event changes on

airplanes. she said one thing could have saved her husband's life, and thousands of others. and adopted at the age of 32. one man's deepest childhood wish finally comes true. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." graphic and disturbing testimony today in a closely watched rape trial. two high school football players are accused of assaulteding a 16-year-old girl who was drunk and claims she has no memory of that night. it's happening right now in steubenville, ohio. we'll go there live in just a moment. but first some background from cnn's lisa sylvester. >> it's a case that has riveted and divided a community. two steubenville, ohio, high school football players on trial for raping a 16-year-old during a night of parties in august. in this picture, the accused, 16-year-old ma leak richmond on the left and 17-year-old trent mays on the right carrying the alleged victim by her hands and

feet. prosecutors say she was too drunk to consent. the defense says they are innocent. the case has taken on a life of its own in social media. teens talk about the alleged crime in a a vulgar fashion. >> what if that was your daughter? >> if that was my daughter, i wouldn't care. >> a computer expert read hundreds of text messages from up to 17 different cell phones. one from the alleged victim said, quote, i think i was drugged. i have no memory after i left. another sent from mays' phone said, yeah, dude, she was like a dead body. i just needed some sexual attention. in other messages he denied having sex with the victim but did say there was sexual activity between the two. the defense questioned who really sent the messages. the case has prompted protests and touched many in the community. both the local prosecutor and judge recused themselves because of connection to the people involved. >> i was born and raised here. it is a good town. >> has it divided the down?

>> i think it has. >> some see the football players as getting special treatment where others see the alleged victim as targeteding the team or outsiders stirring up trouble. lisa sylvester, cnn. today's testimony in that trial today was very, very graphic. poppy harlow is on the scene for us right now. she's in steubenville, ohio. what happened in court today, poppy? >> well, it's been an explosive day in court. and we're hours from testimony today ending, wolf. right now on the stand a forensic scientist from the state of ohio testifying about dna evidence that was found. but i will tell you, the key witnesses today have all been put on the stand by the prosecution. three teenage boys, all of them friends both co-defendants in this case. all of them testifying to seeing with their own eyes these two boys raping this 16-year-old girl on that night in august. the first witness to take the stand this morning, saying he

saw the rape occur in a car, saying that he saw trent mays perform a sexual act on this girl, that in the state of ohio is illegal. then moving to the house that they went to after they were in the car, the second witness saying that in the basement he saw the girl lying naked on the floor. and that he saw maleak richmond doing the same, performing an illegal sexual act on this girl while she was not moving. the third witness coming forward saying he also witnessed maleak richmond doing that, admitting to prosecutors that he took a picture of it. a picture of this girl who he also said was his friend, wolf, very disturbing watching these young boys testify. they were very, very upset, distraught on the stand for hours. but this is the key to the prosecution's case, because although pictures were taken of a naked girl, a video that one of the witnesses said he took of what happened in the car, he

then said he deleted it. so there is not that video. it all rests on testimony, wolf. >> poppy harlow on the scene for us. thanks very, very much. up next, a bizarre and tragic medical mystery. a man dies after receiving a transplanted kidney tainted with rabies. how could this happen. right here in the united states of america. how many other people are at risk right now. it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away. we're going to wake the world up. and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. cisco. tomorrow starts here. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word...

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monitoring three transplant patients after another patient who received a kidney from the same donor died of rabies. this is extremely rare. here's elizabeth cohen. >> organ transplants, usually a life-saving operation. but in this case, a deadly one. in 2011, a man in florida died and his kidneys, liver and heart were donated to four patients. in florida, georgia, illinois and maryland. no one knew he had rabies. the maryland patient who received a kidney died last month. tests confirming the victim contracted rabies from the donor. now the three other patients who currently show no signs of rabies are under treatment to make sure they don't die, too. this has happened before. in 2004, four people, including 18-year-old joshua hightower, died after receiving tissue and organs from a donor had rabies.

>> you mean a foreign branch of rabies or some kind that is, you know, uncommon or rare? or the kind that you vaccinate your dog every year for? and he said, jennifer, the kind you vaccinate your dog every year for. >> reporter: in that case, the virus spread through the blood stream. all the recipients died. in the recent case, there were red flags. doctors knew the donor had encephalitis or swelling of the brain and behavior changes. doctors checked for other causes of ensifl light is, but not for rabies. >> there are thousands and thousands of potential pathogens out there that organ donors could be infected with. rabies is so uncommon, the screening tests for rabies are not universally available. >> reporter: only labs in georgia, new york and california are able to test for the disease in humans, according to the cdc. a doctor at the cdc told cnn today, perhaps there needs to be a change in policy so when

someone has encephalitis they are tested for rabies before organs can be donated so a life-saving operation doesn't kill someone once again. in a sad coincidence, both the donor and recipient are military men. the donor was just 20 years old. he had moved to pensacola to train to be an aviation mechanic, and the recipient was an army veteran. wolf? >> what a sad, sad story that is indeed. hope they can fix this down the road so it doesn't happen again. it's a place where just taking a walk can be dangerous, especially if you're african-american. our special investigations unit is taking a closer look at fatal hit-and-runs that were virtually ignored by law enforcement. capella university understands businesses are trying to come

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an african-american man killed in a hit-and-run in rural mississippi, and law enforcement barely took action. drew griffin of cnn special investigations unit first reported the story. >> garrett burdette was 41. he walked wherever he went, in rural panoela county, that can be dangerous, especially if you are black. in november of 2009, his body was found on this site. the autopsy revealed multiple injuries consistent with being hit by a vehicle. for three years there's been nothing more than this simple one-page incidents report about what happened. no one in the panoela county sheriff's department ever bothered to do anything else. >> did they ever come up and down these streets handing out fliers? knocking on doors? asking people if they'd seen anything? >> no, not over this way.

>> do you know of any activity that way? >> no, no one said anything. >> so how do you know they're investigating? >> well, they had put it on the paper, when they found him dead. and then he had put on there, and then they wrote it in the newspaper. they said it was still being investigated. >> drew's joining us now live. drew, you came across the story while you were actually investigating the hit-and-run of another black man in this very same county. so here's the question, what's going on down there? >> boy, we'd like to find out. we were last summer, a black man, 61-year-old sunday schoolteacher, wolf, was run over and killed by white three teens. that appears to be deliberate. they were charged with murder. days later four black young boys said they were nearly run off the road by two white men in a jeep. it was while we were down there investigating those two incidents that we came across the story of ruby burdette. we couldn't believe it.

three years ago her son is found dead on the side of the road, obvious hit-and-run, obvious accident, and the police have done zero, wolf, zero to find out why. >> the mother of ruby burdette she's been holding out hope for some time there could actually be an investigation. according to your reporting there never really was an investigation at all. so here's the question on this one, did the police explain why? >> the sheriff of panoela county refuses to speak with cnn. in fact, was hostile to cnn. on this case, on the case of the black man killed last summer, on the case of the four boys who report almost being run off the road. but we do know that the sheriff is listening. and tonight, we're going to tell you that there is going to be, or appears to be the beginning of an investigation to find out what happened to ruby's son, albeit three years after that investigation should have started. >> we'll see if they come up

with some answers. amazing reporting from you and your team, drew. thanks very, very much. drew will be back with much more on this story, he'll join anderson cooper on "ac 360" later tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern. when we come back, the tsa's new knife policy has one 9/11 widow pushing for more protection in the skies. you'll find out what she says is now needed. that's next. all right that's a fifth-floor problem... ok. not in my house! ha ha ha! ha ha ha! no no no! not today! ha ha ha! ha ha ha! jimmy how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? happier than dikembe mutumbo blocking a shot.

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despite opposition from pilots, flight attendants and passengers out there, the tsa seems determined to press ahead of a policy to allow small knives on planes. there's resistance from someone who knows all too well how dangerous knives on planes can be. renee has been investigating this. what do you see? >> the tsa's knife policy has a 9/11 widow say how dare they. now she's on capitol hill

pushing to make it a requirement that all blades have a secondary barrier when the cockpit door is open in flight. the faa mandated reenforced cockpit doors, called one of the most effective ways to protect pilots. what happens when the doors are open? this 9/11 widow knows the wor worst-case scenario. >> the reason why is there was a breach of the cockpit. i'm here today to stand for victor because he doesn't have a voice anymore. >> reporter: her husband was captain of flight 175 when hijackers using small knives overpowered the flight crew and flew the plane into the world trade center. >> nice to meet you. >> reporter: she's on capitol hill pushing for more protection in the skies. with the tsa said to allow small knives on board within week, she says congress needs to mandate

all airplanes have this, a secondary barrier to add protection when the cockpit door is open and pilots leave for the bathroom or to get a male. >> studies have shown it takes three to five seconds to breach a cockpit. once inside, it's two seconds and the cockpit is taken over. >> i have been flying with united since 1997. >> reporter: this pilot says the doors give the crew extra time to react. right now, airlines use a food cart and a flight attendant to protect the cockpit. airlines believe current procedures are sufficient. but for this pilot and her union, it's not enough. >> when they have tested which is more effective, again, the secondary barrier wins out every time. >> reporter: but the international air transit association disagrees. >> there are procedures in place for entrance and exit from the cockpit. the doors themselves are very strong. and as long as the procedures

are followed, then there should not be any issue. >> if the secondary barrier were installed on victor's airplane, we wouldn't be talking today. we would have a safe aircraft and 2,973 people would not have died that day. >> she and the pilots union say say can get bipartisan support for a law that would make these barriers mandatory, especially in light of that new tsa knife policy. >> i remember those box cutters that were used on those planes on 9/11. police are nervous. >> especially her. she has a personal story tied to this as well. >> can't blame her. thanks for that report, renee. erin bernett is going "outfront" tonight. she's joining us now with a preview. >> we're going to talk about the spending cuts. the president made a joke in illinois about chairs. there weren't going to be enough chairs because of the the

spending cuts. he got laughter from the audience. we're going to talk about that. plus the new samsung where if you scroll with your eye, it would move, which terrified me. we're going to review the phone and see if that feature works. and we're going to talk about the biggest move in plastic surgery in a long time. it's a new nose that's in tonight's essay. a lot of people pick on me online saying i have a big nose. i do and i'm going to stick with it. we will have that full story. >> nobody picks on you. >> it's all right. you know how twitter is. >> don't even pay attention to them. >> all right. have a good weekend. >> most women would die to have a nose like yours. >> you're so nice. >> coming up, a story you don't want to miss. it could be proof when it comes to love and family, it's never too late.

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