>> my word. >> reporter: when flying wallenda made it to the other side, he pumped a fist and blew a kiss. we swoon for the no drama raccoon. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> that's it for me. but "cnn newsroom" continues. hi, everyone. i'm brooke baldwin live in new york today. why? because very soon i will be racing into the middle of our "cnn newsroom," one floor above me and interviewing this guy, cnn's newest addition, mr. anthony bourdain. tough questions for him today. which a lightning round. do not miss that at the bottom of the hour. first, i want to begin with this. four months after a gunman massacred children in connecticut, the nation is seeing the first gun reform proposal with an actual chance

of becoming law. why? because it is coming from these two men. here they are. senator pat toomey, a republican, from pennsylvania. and joe manchin of west virginia, a democrat. they are both gun rights advocates, both strongly supported in the past by the nra, but now they're both facing opposition from the powerful gun lobbying group. we're going to get to that here in a moment. here is what the senators would like to do. set up a commission to study mass violence. expand background checks to buyers at gun shows and online. right now, only people buying at a gun store are vetted. senator manchin explains what the plan does not cover. >> what we have done, if you go to a gun show, that's tight. you have to do all background checks and has to be recorded with an ffd.

if you go online, the same. other than that, no. personal transfers are not touched whatsoever. all personal transfers are not touched whatsoever. >> no doubt critics will see that omission as a huge loophole. as for the nice national rifle association, not happy either. here is a statement from them here. they say expanding background checks at gun shows will not prevent the next shooting, will not solve violent crime and will not keep our kids safe in schools. while the overwhelming rejection of president obama and mayor bloomberg's universal background check agenda is a positive development, we have a broken mental health system that is in the going to be fixed with more background checks at gun shows. the senators' plan is expected to be the first debated on capitol hill, as soon as possibly tomorrow. and while it shows promise, there is still no guarantee whatsoever it will pass through congress. joining me now is raul mas, the

second amendment activist. raul, good to see you. welcome. >> thank you for having me, brooke. pleasure to be here. >> let me begin with your reaction to this compromise on background checks today. >> listen, i'm not in favor of it quite frankly. mind you, i speak as an individual. as a member of the nra, but not a spokesman for the nra. but quite frankly i'm not in favor of it. i agree it is going to do absolutely nothing to basically decrease gun violence in this country. let alone the school shootings that occurred in newtown and what we saw in aurora. you know, we have spoken a lot in last couple of months about a comprehensive plan to eliminate gun violence in this country. there is nothing comprehensive at all about this. we're once again going down the same tired path of basically trying to put the onus of all this gun violence on the backs of america's law abiding gun owners, myself included. >> before i push you a little bit on that, some of this is personal for you. i know you emigrated with your family at a young age from cuba, to escape the reign of fidel

castro. were you old enough to feel his limiting power then? >> no, but, listen, it is a very clear -- you can look this up very clearly. one of the first things that fidel castro did when he came into power was to absolutely round up all private firearms in the hands of citizens. and basically declared a statement monopoly on the ownership of firearms. so this is a subject i feel very strongly about. i fought for my entire life and i will continue to do so. i think we are going down the wrong path. these kinds of laws -- go ahead. >> let me just be clear. this is not -- this could -- this is proposed legislation, this compromise that we're hearing about, this is not universal background check chec. it doesn't actually include private transactions, so if somebody wants to sell a gun to their neighbor but your neighbor is not well in the mind so to speak, you could still do that. as a supporter of second amendment rights, how does that sit with you?

>> well, let me start we saying, you know what, as a private individual, you know, you can't be in the business of selling guns without having a federal firearms license. the amount of transactions, the number of transactions that occur every year in this country as a result of private firearms sales are actually quite minuscule. and there is already plenty of laws on the books against strawman purchases, against selling fire arms outside of states, against being in the commercial business of selling firearms without a federal firearms license. there is plenty of regulations already on the books to basically keep individuals from doing this. and circumventing the law. >> then what about -- >> what i think you do by passing these kinds of ordinances is putting another regulatory burden and potentially criminalizing a bunch of individuals who quite frankly are now going to get in trouble because they sold a shotgun down to their buddy at the range that they skeet shoot with every other weekend. >> some people are responsible,

some people as we witnessed are not. when you look at the cnn orc poll, nine out of ten americans support some sort of -- some sort of background checks here for gun purchases. if you, raul, if you're sitting around the dinner table with any of those nine out of ten americans who support this, who are not on your side, where would you compromise? give me one thing. >> listen, i think we are all in favor of trying to make sure we can keep firearms out of the hands of deranged individuals, okay, and out of the hands of hardened criminals, okay. this legislation unfortunately doesn't do that. it imposes -- >> where would you compromise? give me one item. >> where i would compromise is to say, you know what, if you want to, you know, on any commercial sale, on any sale of firearm, regardless of where it may be located, a commercial sale, i'm okay with a background check, but not routine transactions between friends, between family, between individuals that have known each other for a long period of time

who want to sell an occasional gun to somebody they have known for 10 or 15 years. >> raul mas, thank you for coming on. we'll continue this conversation today. coming up the next hour, we'll speak with the mother of a sandy hook student who was gunned down in december. she will speak with me live. will this proposal be enough for her, this compromise? i'll ask. meantime, this breakthrough legislation on background checks comes as cnn goes in depth all day long with our special report guns under fire. some schools are trying to curb the violence by spotting a shooter before the student ever gets near a gun. cnn's nick valencia explains. >> if i were a teacher, i would go mad, have an ak-47 disguised as an umbrella. then i would pull the gun out, shoot the kids and save the last bullet from me. >> this is from somebody who is 8 years old. >> an 8-year-old child. >> he wrote a hit list. >> reporter: for the last few years, dr. tony belize and his team at the los angeles county mental health department have worked to try to prevent the

next school shooting. >> how are we going to impact this kid? >> reporter: one thing they found is that students who show a strong potential for school violence are getting younger and younger. >> don't always get the classic school shooter on his way to school with the handgun or the semi-automatic, but we see kids in significant distress. and we know that if we intervene early, those things will not become so incapacitating in the future. >> reporter: while they may not be able to predict a violent outburst, the team looks at indicators including communications like letters, and drawings. >> i never felt that he was a danger to others. he always was more of a danger to himself. >> reporter: as the mother of a boy debilitated by mental illness, lynn goodlow saw the warning signs when he was in high school, a surgeon for more than 30 years, she says she struggled with understanding her son's condition. with mental illness, there is no clean diagnosis. >> it was certain, you identify with some problem you go cut it out, and it is finished. it is done. with mental illness, it is a

very emotional roller coaster. and it is heart wrenching. >> reporter: her experiences led her to champion a mental health intervention program for high school students in l.a. it is another resource in the city that many regard as a model in addressing the issue. the lapd works hand and hand with dr. belize and the l.a. county department of mental health. >> absence this program or the strategy and the dedicated work of the clinicians and officers who work here, we would be another front page news item. >> reporter: something tony belize hopes will never happen here. >> the program has been effective in identifying individuals on a pathway to violence. and our follow-up has shown that they haven't acted out. >> reporter: with nearly 700,000 students in the school district, it is a daunting task. nick valencia, cnn, los angeles. just in to us at cnn, word

of another investigation involving infectious diseases at the dentist. this case in arkansas. the state department of health revealing it has been contacting about 100 patients all the way from 14 years of age to 22 about possible contamination. the dentist at the center of this died in february. and this comes here just a week after the incidents in oklahoma involving hundreds of dental patients now being tested for hepatitis and hiv. and now, a story that unfolded live this time yesterday on this show. near houston, a psychological evaluation is now in order for this young man, who stabbed 14 people at lone star college yesterday. police say 20-year-old dylan quick had fantasies of stabbing people since he was 8. >> we have charged dylan with three counts of aggravated assault. we're focused on the recovery of the victims.

and we know what you have already stated, that he has fantasized since elementary school about stabbing individuals, and that he has planned this particular incident apparently for quite some time. >> quick used a razor, utility knife, when he randomly was stabbing his victims. they are all expected to survive. a quick market check now. we can see, rocking and rolling again today. yesterday we hit the all-time high, the dow up 146 points right now. less than two hours away from the closing bell. both the dow jones and the s&p 500, i should mention, hit highs yesterday. and today we'll continue to watch the markets for you as we approach the closing bell. now, to some of the hottest stories in a flash, rapid fire. roll it. you are looking at a giant breakthrough. you are hearing a massive

explosion under the streets of new york city. look at this again. the mta blowing through tons of bedrock to make way for a subway expansion on manhattan's east side. that's a huge explosion. the project said to cost $8.3 billion. and you are still able to get your mail on saturdays, at least for now. the postal service announced today it is delaying the plan to end saturday service. not by choice, though. congress prohibited the plan to stop delivering mail on saturdays. the postal service says it is disappointed but it will, quote, follow the law. and i would imagine folks in parts of south dakota are probably wondering where is spring? look at this. they're getting hammered with winter-like snow today. they want to put the shovels away, ice-covered trees, snow falling everywhere. thousands left without power. enjoy it, those of you in the sunshine. the storm is expected to move into minneapolis later tonight.

in the east, summer temperatures. d.c., a balmy 88 degrees right now. today, all eyes once is again on the korean peninsula as new intelligence warns north korea could be about to launch not one, not two, but multiple ballistic missiles. want you to hear what defense secretary chuck hagel said a short time ago. >> this country, the united states of america, our allies, the united nations, has been very clear that north korea has been with its bellicose rhetoric, with its actions, have been skating very close to a dangerous line. our country is fully prepared to deal with any contingency, any action that north korea may take

or any provocation that they may instigate. and we have contingencies prepared to do that. >> u.s. troops are now preparing for what is being called an imminent test launch, upping their alert status in south korea. cnn's anna coren is in seoul for us. we know that the u.s., these missiles have received their liquid fuel. what else do we know about them? >> reporter: that's right, brooke. fueled up and ready to go. and as you say, the pentagon concerned we could be expecting multiple missile launches. they described north korea as the masters of deception. perhaps, you know, they want us -- the international community to focus on those two missiles, positioned on the east coast. they have never tested these

medium range missiles before. they should travel about 4,000 kilometers. but perhaps that is a bit of a decoy. and then there will be other missiles that will be launched as well. so, certainly we can expect these any day now, that's according to the united states and south korean authorities. a date, brooke, we should keep in mind is the 15th of april, the anniversary of the birth of the founder of north korea, kim il-sung, who, of course, is the grandfather of kim jong-un. >> let me just show our viewers this poll, because we wanted to just get the pulse of americans here, if north korea attacks south korea, should the u.s. send troops? you can see the majority of americans say yes. you're there in seoul, anna. what are south koreans saying? >> reporter: well, brooke, it is quite strange. i'm sure, you know, to the outside world people would think that people here in seoul would be very much on edge, but in actual fact that's not the case.

people are going about their daily lives as if it was a normal occurrence, what is going on. the reason being is they have been living in this climate for the last 60 years. ever since the end of the korean war in 1953 when the armistice was signed. the two countries have basically technically been at war. so they're quite used to this rhetoric that comes out of north korea. however, brooke, i should mention what that we are seeing from kim jong-un is unprecedented. with his father, we knew what he wanted, whether it be food or aid or fuel or just a position that -- at the bargaining table, but with kim jong-un, he is untested and no one knows what he's going to do. >> pyongyang has been eerily quiet as of late. anna coren for us in seoul. anna, thank you. coming up next, a story you will never forget. a teenager says she was gang raped at a party, then humiliated when pictures were sent to her classmates.

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it is the president's annual budget proposaproposal. you know, bed time reading for the folks in d.c., a mere 244 pages. for you, i have broken it down to three. page one, the all important deficit. it goes down in 2014 to $744 billion. page two, taxes. the president wants more from the wealthy for that deficit shrinkage and to start up national pre-k. page three, something new, potentially irksome to the president's own supporters, possible savings coming out of social security and medicare. jessica yellin, those are my three headlines. what are yours? >> reporter: i'm with you on the headlines, brooke. the major one, he is offering to reform social security and medicare, finding savings in both of those programs, so important to key democrats. and some in the president's own party are now howling betrayal.

the president is also proposing to raise taxes on millionaires, millionaires in particular, and together all of this is meant to kick start negotiations with the republicans on the debt, and also replace as across the board spending cuts. this is going to surprise you. you might expect he says that he's gone a long way in offering compromise. this is the president. >> for years, the debate in this town is raised between reducing our deficits at all costs, and making the investments necessary to grow our economy. this budget answers that argument because we can do both. >> reporter: and guess what, it answers the argument by enraging both democrats and disappointing some republicans. so we don't see this as likely to lead to much action here in washington, d.c. it is sort of a mission statement for the president going forward, brooke. >> okay. so this could make for some fun fodder over dinner tonight,

where i understand the president is planning to sell this. who is coming to dinner? republicans only? >> yes. republicans only. this is part two of that date with the republicans. he first -- first one he held a few weeks ago. we have a partial list of the senators, republican senators, cnn has independently confirmed we have been calling around to offices that do plan to attend the dinner tonight. it is going to be here at the white house, in the old family dining room, at 6:30 this evening. no hotel meals for this group. the last group ate at the jefferson hotel. we expect he'll talk about the budget, but also immigration reform will be up for discussion. and, brooke, i'll emphasize guns. this is an issue that the president has gotten personally involved in. i can confirm to you, or tell you, that yesterday the president personally placed calls to senators pushing them to get on board this gun legislation. so he is rolling up his sleeves and playing a role in pushing that, brooke. >> yeah. jessica yellin at the white

house, thank you. it is a story that has become all too familiar. last month, the case of a teenager raped by two high school football players in steubenville, ohio, absolutely captured the nation's attention. and now, sadly, a similar story has folks across the country shocked and mad. but this time the alleged victim here is dead. this is retehia parsons, 17 years young. she hanged herself in her bathroom last week. why? her mother has reason to believe it is because she was gang raped and then bullied. more than a year ago, she says she went to a party, want you to listen to how she says it got started. >> started drinking vodka straight, somewhere in there the

girl -- one of the girls left, and then it was reteia with four boys. she doesn't remember all of it. she remembers a guy leading her up the stairs, taking turns on top of her. >> now her mother says someone took a picture of one of the boys raping her. she apparently was seen throwing up while this happened. and that picture went viral online. similar to the steubenville case. she would become the talk of her school. she was blamed. she was even called a slut. >> one girl that was her friend put on her status, sluts need to leave the school anyway. just bullying and boys that she didn't know sending messages, want to have fun, you did it with my friends, why don't we get together. it just was nonstop. >> and by nonstop, more than a

year. her mother says life became unbearable for reteia, especially after learning the boy she said raped her would face no charges. she switched schools she got checked for depression. apparently got better, but not good enough. last week she gave up on life. >> i didn't even knocked the door, i just picked it open, i could feel the weight of her body on the door. i didn't think anything. i just opened the door and said, reteia and had to cut her down. she was hung. she was hanging. >> her family took her off life support sunday. police say they didn't have enough evidence to prosecute the boys for sexual assault. her mother believes kids these days must be held accountable. >> i think kids have to be accountable for their actions and i think something, you know,

like reteia, they talk about bullying at school, mom, but they don't care. >> she will be laid to rest this week. her family will remember her for being a great sister and a daughter. they hope her story helps families going through similar pain. and when it comes to these allegations of teens being cruel online, we can do better. ♪ [ female announcer ] from more efficient payments. ♪ to more efficient pick-ups. ♪ wireless is limitless. ♪ from tracking the bus. ♪ to tracking field conditions. ♪ wireless is limitless.

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parts unknown. i'm about to make a mad dash, one floor above me, to talk to tony bourdain. he's meeting the folks in our newsroom here in new york. he's hanging out, waiting for me. we'll ask him a bunch of questions including where he's going with this series, if there is anywhere in the world he wouldn't go, also his passion for writing, writing for hbo. he's a big music fan. we have some lightning round questions as well. paula deen, fatherhood, so while i'm dashing upstairs, take a look at this special preview of what is coming up sunday on parts unknown. anthony bourdain takes us inside myanmar. watch. >> the beginning of three days of breakout the crazy. giant speakers compete for attention. just like in new york's street fair. but with infinitely better food. these are the little birds? >> yeah. these guys are really good. >> it is the backbone of every

street fair in the world, isn't it? deep fried food. >> that's right. >> and break an egg in it, one shot. all right. >> this is greasier than i thought it would be. >> crispy little bird, i'm all over it. >> good head. good beak too. c

i'm telling you right now, the girl back at home would absolutely not have taken a zip line in the jungle.

i'm really glad that girl stayed at home. vo: expedia helps 30 million travelers a month find what they're looking for. one traveler at a time. expedia. find yours. so, i'm standing by with my new friend, anthony bourdain, parts unknown, this sunday, 9:00 on cnn. it is so nice to meet you. can i call you tony? >> yes, please. >> okay, tony bourdain, welcome to cnn. >> thank you. i just got my official i.d. today. i can't believe they gave it to me. >> anthony bourdain, cnn i.d. you're official. you weren't official before. but that officially makes you the real deal. let me just begin with this show. look, we all know, and you have many, many fans, you had previous shows, one of the reasons i understand you came to cnn was because we, with our security, and our pull around the world, we can get you places maybe other people couldn't get you. my question though is is there

anywhere in the world you wouldn't go? >> wouldn't. in principle, no. i mean, there are places i'm definitely going to wait to go. i would love to go to iran, tehran, in particular. >> you would? >> i would like to wait a little bit, you know. >> we don't know how long that waiting may be. >> i'm hopeful. i heard it is a young country. i heard once you're inside, the government, as lovely as they are, i get the people are nice and the food is great. that's a place i would like to go at some point. >> tehran. myanmar, i'm fascinated by the fact you were in libya. we covered that live through the demise and fall of moammar gadhafi and here we have some pictures. you were tweeting up your trip in libya. tripoli, what -- walking around there, tell us what that was like. what did it smell like? what were you surprised by? >> it is a totally different security situation and shooting style than i'm used to. you have to think about how long you want to hang around in any

given place. there are people there who want to hurt you. in general, what it felt like -- >> were you fearful ever? >> you know, you just go and go and go, you want to get the shot, you want to do it, you think about that stuff later. >> okay. >> for me, it -- what surprised me is that, you know, kids. there were skater boys and, you know, medical students from canada -- cobbled together cross bows and face soviet tanks. an extraordinary story, and getting to meet them and talk to them about things like music and fast food. you know, i think people would be surprised. >> a lot of big fast food fans in libya? >> one of the more heart breaking scenes in the show is eating at a kentucky fried colonel knockoff with a young rebel who was absolutely ecstatic to be eating american-style fast food, to the point that he's eating this greasy fried chicken and saying this is the taste of freedom. i just felt, wow, right?

>> wow. for you, you're also -- you went to colombia, a place i would love to go. and you talk a little bit about drugs, and legalization, this whole -- the debate involving whether or not it should be legal. you used your own experiences and your own opinions in that. how did you do that? >> well, you know, when you see how big colombia is and how unpopulated it is, and vast areas of jungle and cocaine production and trafficking areas, you see a lot of costs they paid for our appetite for drugs. i've come to terms with the fact that in an earlier life i'm probably responsible for least one dead colombian in, you know, due to my lifestyle in the '80s. there is a real affect on the grou ground.

i came back from the usefulness of the drug war, but overall, i'm impressed by what a beautiful, proud, diverse, interesting country. so much going on there. >> favorite meal. >> ever? >> in colombia. >> i think it is called a bandera, this mammoth titanic breakfast of every known meat, rice, beans, not like cooking, but delicious. best ever sancoco, like their all in one stew, like a colombian gumbo. >> sounds yummy. writing. i want to talk to you about writing. you end up getting published in the new yorker, boom, begat your book. then now here you are, you love new orleans. i want to play a clip. this is a clip --

>> cool. >> with your buddy, i'm facetious maybe in saying richmond, old nemesis, food critic. take a look at this. tremais. >> journalist. >> we're going to be true to what we believe. >> excuse me. this is how we cure the three-day -- >> that's a wreck. got to be kidding. nobody throws a stazarak. >> you call him two words i cannot repeat on cnn because i do like my job and i like to keep it. give me a back story. >> you know, alan had written a very unkind review of the dining scene in new orleans, just a few months after katrina, which i thought was incredibly in poor

taste. when i said some unkind things about him, he said some unkind things about me, it escalated and they say revenge is sweet. i wrote this part for alan richmond like character, really an act of pure revenge. but then he agreed to appear as himself, which i thought showed a lot of class. it is hard to stay angry with a guy, even if he's your arch enemy when they got the stones to step up and do something like that. >> we're not using the words to describe him anymore? >> we had dinner since. >> dinner. with alan richmond. >> if you have an enemy, good to have one who is as significant and as interesting and with as much gravitas as alan richmond. >> let's have a little fun. lightning round. first up, boneless chicken. >> not food. >> ted nugent. >> charming. charming, like dr. lector or just charming. i don't know.

>> keith richards. >> my hero. i mean, i would -- i'm shaking just thinking about him. if i got in an elevator with keith richards, i would totally geck out, wouldn't be able to speak. >> alcohol. >> good. >> later, tonight, your big party. paula deen. >> i just keep thinking lunch burger, two beef patties, fried egg, bacon in between, two krispy kreme doughnuts. that can't can be good. >> can't be good. can't be good. cnn. >> this is cnn. >> say it with me. i'm tony bourdain and this is cnn. you are the lover of words. favorite word in the english language. >> i can't say it here. joe pesci uses it a lot. let's put it that way. >> segueing to one f word we can use, fatherhood. >> well, you know what is great about it for me is that after living my whole life as myself

as the star of the movie in my head, i, you know, now it is all about the girl. watching cartoons with my daughter, greatest thing i could possibly think of doing. >> final two questions. just on the same vain, your little girl. how has being a dad rocked your world? >> in every possible -- any notion of ever being cool or, yeah, any notion of being cool disappeared the minute you look on your child's face. >> you don't consider yourself cool anymore? >> cool is not caring about things. it is indifference and that's the opposite of who i am now. >> one day when your daughter grows up and says, dad, what -- tell me about your 20s and 30s and 40s, what do you tell her? >> look, it is a matter of record. that's who daddy was. he doesn't do those things anymore. from the minute -- the moment she was born, i worked hard to not do anything that would embarrass her or be, you know, cause -- bring shame on my house. but, you know, i did what i did, i was who i was, i've done those

things and i'm going to be honest about them. >> tony bourdain, i will set my dvr. so nice to meet you. welcome. you have the official pass. you're in. tony bourdain, watch his show, starts this sunday, first show is myanmar, correct? myanmar, this sunday, 9:00 p.m. eastern. and we'll be right back. xt big , isn't a thing at all? it's lots of things. all waking up. ♪ becoming part of the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ trees will talk to networks will talk to scientists about climate change. cars will talk to road sensors will talk to stoplights about traffic efficiency. the ambulance will talk to patient records will talk to doctors about saving lives. it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away.

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i'm chad myers. the third annual cnn ireport awards are under way. go to cnnireportawards.com to vote. here are the nominees. >> it is a mental sport as much as it is a physical one. >> a lot of people like me.

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so i know how important that is. a bullet to the head kills a 6-year-old boy, just playing in the yard. the gunman, a 4-year-old playmate, who grabbed a rifle from his parents' home. we are talking about guns today. what about guns at homes, like the gun that killed 6-year-old brandon holt in new jersey? want to bring in our panel today, cnn's christine romans, and mom of three little boys joins me here in new york. also essence magazine's acting managing editor vanessa bush, fitness expert and author donna richardson joyner, and ben ferguson, host of the ben ferguson show, and chris freights, national correspondent for national journal. welcome to all of you. and because this lovely lady sitting here to my left, i want to begin with christine romans. put your mom hat on for me.

>> i never take it off. >> keep it on. what about the idea some people are proposing, i hear laughter, some people are proposing the idea we have sex ed in schools, why not have gun ed as well? >> there are millions of kids who are getting gun education at home. there are lots of different programs that gun owners and others use to teach their kids the proper use of guns. my big concern is kids who don't know and understand guns but could find themselves in a situation where guns are, someone else's house, a party or even in a car, a parking lot or somewhere where there has been -- i worry about the kids that don't know about guns. so sex education, when they're young, it should be up to the parents to tell the kids what they think they should know. i'm struggling with this right now. i recently was at a place, an arcade, with all the gun games. my 4-year-old picked up this big scary gun and he said you like to fill it up regular or super? he didn't know what it was. what do i do now? >> vanessa, what do you think of

this idea? educating our kids, start young. >> i don't know about this idea of guns. i think it is foreiimportant to expose children to the dangers of guns and this is not a play thing. when they play video games, when they see their toy guns, they really don't understand what the actuality is of having someone shot, witnessing someone being shot. they don't understand the brutality of that. and tv anddplam glamorize it, make it seem like it is something that goes away right after. but this is long-term, forever. that's something we have to do a better job of teaching our children that this is serious. this is serious what we're doing. >> ben ferguson, ben, to you, you're a gun owner. hang tight. one other idea i wanted to throw out to everyone, you hear of a 6-year-old kid being killed, it makes you think where were the

parents and how was the gun stored? this is an op-ed we found in the orlando sentinel, there should be tougher punishment for parents. prosecutors shouldn't be afraid to send a tough message to parents, parents deserve to face criminal charges if that firearm gets into the hands of a child. cracking down on careless adults who don't follow a few simple steps to keep fire arms out of the hands of kids is one thing i expect. >> i get nervous because unfortunately there are truly accidents that happen. but when it comes to educating the kids, i grew up in a family where my father was in law enforcement. still has a badge today. and what he did was is curiosity can be a great thing, also a terrible thing. and he made sure from a very young age that we understood what a gun was, how it worked, how dangerous it was, what it was used for, and i think in school that if you had, for example, a sheriff come in, a police officer come in, and talk to kids about guns, and so that

if you find one, this is not something for you to play with, and a toy. kids automatically look up to firemen and policeman and hear that when they're younger, that's how they want to be when they grow up or astronauts. they'll be gradrawn to that per. if you have someone in law enforcement, especially those that may be retired law enforcement, i know they would be more than happy to come in and talk to kids. if they're leading the discussion, i would be all in favor of it because it takes the politics out of it for maybe a teacher's perspective, pro or against guns, i don't care. but for law enforcement to do this, i think it would be a brilliant way to talk to kids because when my curiosity was taken away, i never went looking for my dad's guns because i had seen them and understood how dangerous they in fact were. >> so that's one idea. a great idea to have a neutral voice, law enforcement in schools. if you want to go that route, donna, what about the parents. in florida, for example, you get slapped with second degree misdemeanor for parents who aren't locking up their guns, for example. marijuana possession is worse

than that. >> first, i want to say i believe that the education should start at home, but i think it should be extended to the school as well. in the new jersey case, i believe that the parents were careless for not locking up that gun in a secure location, and also not having the safety lock on the gun. so i think there is some liability there because they did not secure that gun. i don't believe a child of 4 years old going into find this gun would have known how to take the safety lock off the gun. and the gun was loaded. so we have to protect and save our kids. >> chris, you get the last word. >> i think it is a mix of both things. you have to have parents who are responsible. i think increasing criminal penalties would be a deterrent. certainly guns shouldn't just be lying around. i think there is an education piece. that goes with good gun ownership. ben's dad taught him, you don't play with these, these are not toys and you show the children, this is how they work, this is

what they are and they are dangerous. the same way your dad showed you that the lawn mower or chainsaw in the garage was dangerous, you need to know this is a tool, it is an adult tool, and not something you are to toy with. and i think a bit of both, the education for the children, and maybe some more criminal penalties for a parent who is irresponsible may help this. >> because it is not only if you're a parent and not only if you don't have a gun, but your kid could go to somebody's house and their parents could have a gun, which opens up a whole other conversation. we talked last week about gun etiquette. what do you do with parents? christine romans, thank you very much. panel, stick around. next hot topic involves anthony weiner. he wants to make a political comeback, perhaps. will and should new yorkers forgive him? that's next. [ male announcer ] this is kevin.

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yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. we're back. let's talk about anthony weiner. you see the cameras stopping as they did for this guy, tends to spell trouble. a little sexting scandal did it for anthony weiner, silenced the ever quotable democrat from queens. this is weiner, back june of 2011, announcing his resignation from congress. he did say at the time he might want a second chance. and now the new york times is reporting that weiner may run for mayor. mayor of new york city. want to open it back up to my hot topics panel. ben ferguson, what do you think? do you think he should leave well enough alone? >> can't you do any better than

this is what i would say to anyone that is thinking about voting for this guy. i mean, if this is the best that you can come up with to offer the big apple, we've got real problems in this country. i mean, of course, he wants to come back because what else is he going to do? he's obsessed with being important. he's obsessed with people talking about him. he's obsessed with being a politician. and having that power. even his own brother used the word to refer to him that i can't even say on tv. and almost like it was an attribute, a positive thing. so, you know, then again, from his perspective, look at the current mayor. he literally bought an election with his massive fortune, so if that guy can get re-elected, then, you know, maybe weiner can too. who knows. >> donna? you agree with ben? >> i think the whole sex scandal put him in jeopardy because most people need to know that he can be trusted to make good decisions. so i think even though his wife forgave him, the people of new

york have to vote for who they think the best leader is and who can restore new york. >> chris, we remember the whole scandal. he continuously lied. >> that's right, brooke. what is interesting about what weiner is doing now, he's clearly testing the waters. that new york times magazine piece is to reintroduce himself on to the scene after taking the amount of time, kind of in hiding as it were, getting his personal life straight, and he commissioned some polling and basically asked new yorkers, would you give me a second shot? and the answer, according to his polling, was, we would, but we would have a lot of questions. and the truth in his ability to be honest with new yorkers is going to be one of those things and he's already kind of given that joint interview with his wife, showing a unified front there. this is not the first politician that has fallen to a sext scandal and returned successfully. we have bill clinton, newt gingrich, david vitter caught up

in a prostitution scandal, got re-elected. mark sanford just got -- he got open the appalachian trail and now he'll run against stephen colbert's sister. >> vanessa, i want your opinion. we're thinking in terms of former mayors in new york city -- oh, and we just lost ben. down to three. can we still keep rolling? we have three. let's keep going. vanessa, to you, because we were thinking, we have a picture of a cross-dressing rudy giuliani from some time ago. supposed to be a joke, right? a little kerfuffle, like a political roast. it is new york. not like it is peoria we're talking about. >> right. i mean, you know, politicians have nine lives. we have such a short memory in terms of what they have done in the past, and people have come back from a lot worse things than tweeting out, you know, their indiscretions over the airwaves. i think that if he comes out

legitimately humble with policies that the new yorkers believe are strong and can actually help the city, then he might stand a chance. you never know. >> okay. ben ferguson, wherever you are, thanks for joining me. vanessa bush, donna joyner and chris freights. my thanks to all of you. now this. top of the hour, i'm brooke baldwin. on the day, it doesn't go as far as universal background checks. but a new partisan gun proposal may be as good as it gets with the best chances of becoming law. why? because it is coming from these two men. here they are. senator pat toomey from pennsylvania. then you have stepping up to the mike, senator joe manchin, democrat, west virginia. their gun reform plan would do this, expand background checks to buyers at gun shows and online. keep in mind right now this is

the only people buying at gun stores are vetted. but it would exempt private transactions. >> the bottom line for me is this. if expanding background checks to include gun shows and internet sales can reduce the likelihood of criminals and mentally ill people from getting guns and we can do it in a fashion that does not infringe on the second amendment rights of law abiding citizens, then we should do it and in this amendment i think we do. >> no doubt critics would see that omission as a big old loophole. but what else is the proposal involve? it would ban a national gun registry, set up a commission to study mass violence and allow dealers to use a conceal and carry permit in place of a background check when authorizing the sale of a firea firearm. joining me now is a mother of this sandy hook student, gunned down four months ago. anna grace marquez was 6 years

old. her mother flew from her home in connecticut, with the president, she's the one there you see the sign, it says love wins. and has been trying on capitol hill, trying to commence lawmakers to back gun safety reform. she joins me now live. thank you so much for being here with me. here we have this plan, you're there on capitol hill, this is a possible compromise on background checks. does it go far enough in your opinion? >> you know, i'm just grateful that we started the conversation. i'm grateful not only for the product of this amendment or what could possibly be an amendment we're voting on, but also for the process. what i've seen here is people working together on both sides to try to do something, to reduce the likelihood of another mother standing in my shoes. >> tell me about, you talk about the conversations, that you're glad the dialogue is beginning. you're there on the hill. tell me who you've talked to. tell me how to reception to your

being there has been. >> brooke, i want you to understand and your listeners to understand i'm only a mother, i'm not a lawmaker, i'm not someone who knows a lot about what happens in washington, but i can tell you that i was heard, i can tell you that i was listened to. that doesn't mean that everybody agreed with me or, you know, we're a i have diverse group, the parents that came here. that doesn't mean there was agreement on all the issues. but i felt heard and i'm encouraged by what i saw in washington, which is bipartisan cooperation. >> let me ask you now. we talked last hour, i talked to a gun rights advocate. he said what the nra is also echoing that this proposal here, this possible compromise, you know, would not stop another mass shooting. what would you say to him? >> i would say that this is going to be a marathon. it is not a sprint. so this is the beginning. this is the beginning of a conversation and this is one small act we can do now.

and we'll just keep going in these efforts to protect americans. >> it has been nearly five months since you lost your little girl. i know that support has been pouring in, even the day after, i saw the tributes in newtown when i was there. how are you doing? i know the world wants to know. do you keep anna's room the same? what have these last few months been like for you? >> if i can get up and brush my teeth, it is a good day. the fact i'm standing here in washington is a testament to the prayers of the american people who have kept my family afloat over the past five months. i'm so incredibly thankful for all the support we have received. and i can't say thank you enough. not only to our friends in america, but to our friends in canada, that we just left, about six months ago now. thank you. >> okay. nelba marquez greene, thank you so much and i'm so sorry for

your loss. >> thank you, brooke. now, want to go and just dip in here and hear michelle obama, first lady, joining, speaking about guns, joining the white house to push for tighter gun control. let's take a listen. >> i started out with exactly the same aptitude, exactly the same intellectual, emotional capabilities as so many of my peers. and the only thing that separated me from them was that i had a few more advantages than some of them did. i had adults who pushed me. i had activities that engaged me. schools that prepared me to succeed. i had a community that supported me and a neighborhood where i felt safe. and in the end, that was the difference between growing up and becoming a lawyer, a mother, and first lady of the united states, and being shot dead at the age of 15. and that is why this new fund

that you've created here in chicago is so important. it is so important. as you heard, this fund will help create those ladders of opportunities for all of our kids. it will give our children meanters who push them and nurture them. it will teach them the life skills they need to succeed, will give them alternatives to gangs and drugs, safe places where they can learn something, stay out of trouble. because we know that every single child in this city has boundless promise, no matter where -- >> as we go from one mother to this mother, a mother of two girls, michelle obama there, standing in chicago, joining the white house's push here for more gun control legislation. in fact, looking at her reminded me of 15-year-old who was shot

in violence not too long ago, very soon after the inauguration. she was there for inauguration weekend in washington, d.c., and in a marching band, and that shooting actually happened blocks from the obamas' chicago home. so we will continue to watch. the first lady speaking in chicago city, that has certainly been riddled by gun violence. happening now, thousands of people rallying at the capital, demanding congress pass immigration reform this year. there are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living right here in the united states. they want a better path to citizenship. cnn's political reporter shannon travis is live at the capitol. set the scene for me and tell me -- okay. hearing we just lost shannon travis. we'll work on getting him back up and see what those people there -- we do have him now? okay. shannon travis, i hear we have you now. you with me? >> there is a lot going on out here, brooke. let me set the scene for you.

basically these immigration reform supporters came to the very place where president obama was inaugurated to deliver a message. they have been chanting repeatedly obama, listen, we are fighting. they also used his own words, you remember that, brooke, yes, we can. they're out here fighting for immigration reform. this is a national rally for citizenship. they expect potentially tens of thousands of people here at the capital. i don't think it is that many people to give you a sense of the crowd size. we have some state leaders, political leaders, some union leaders out here. and obviously families who are impacted, being adversely impacted by immigration reform. i've got one family right here with me, brooke. this is louise right here. this is his 13th, soon to be 14-year-old daughter. she is an american citizen, brooke. he is an undocumented worker. sir, why are you out here today? >> because i came to support

immigration and work all my life and also i came to washington and i want to say because my daughter was born he here, so i don't know what i can say when immigration touch me, you know. >> thank you, for talking with us. brooke, obviously this is important to a lot of families out here. we know the gang of eight, that plan that they hope to reveal, maybe this week, perhaps next, today senator rubio briefed republican senators on the plan. we'll see what happens out of that. brooke? >> okay. shannon travis for us there in front of the capital, a whole lot of people wanting that change, wanting that pathway. thank you. now to some of the hottest stories in a flash. roll it.

there she goes. this is a giant breakthrough, a giant explosion. this is underneath the streets of new york city. what, you ask? this is the mta blowing some tons and tons of bedrock to make way for a subway expansion. this is the east side. the product is said to cost $8.3 billion. and a shoutout today on the eve of the masters. there she is. condoleezza rice, sporting the coveted green jacket. here is club chairman billy payne. >> welcoming condi and darla as members of augusta national represented a joyous occasion for the club. this week, that's truer than ever. and i hope the experience for condi and darla as members of our club has been every bit as rewarding and enjoyable for them over the last eight months as it

has been for their fellow members. it is just awesome. >> for fun, par 3 tournament is happening right now, down at augusta. they play for keeps starting tomorrow. this woman is dancing for a reason. she thought she had won $40,000 in the canadian lottery. nothing wrong with that. guess what, she was wrong. it was actually $40 million. her daughter checked online. good thing she did. and figured out the correct amount. >> my dad works so hard and we have been struggling so much. $40 million. i'm going to go for dinner with my whole family. all you can eat. >> all you can eat. dinner, she says. i would be dancing too.

after that dinner, she said she'll finally take her dream honeymoon to hawaii after 30 years of marriage. good for them. cash reward up for grabs. who can forget this guy? christopher dorner. that former l.a. cop who went on a shooting spree, sparked a massive manhunt, there was a $1 million reward in the case. so far, no one has gotten it. we're going to ask sunny hostin why that is, on the case, next. [ male announcer ] red lobster is hitting the streets

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you'll find reviews on home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. with angie's list, i know who to call, and i know the results will be fantastic. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. ...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. the constitution is at the heart of the hearing today for alleged colorado theater gunman james holmes. at issue is whether a reporter

can be forced to reveal the sources who told her in this case what was in this notebook that james holmes sent to a psychiatris before that shooting rampage that killed 12 people and wounded 70. sunny hostin is here. obviously in this business we know sources are incredibly important. you want to protect them. why does it matter where this reporter got her information? >> no question that holmes' attorneys will want that information. if a source gave -- if it was a law enforcement official that gave her this information, they were under a gag order. during cross examination, if that law enforcement officer gets on the witness stand, you can attack him or her by means of saying, well, you violated a court order and now we're supposed to believe you, this jury is supposed to believe you. it goes to credibility and it could be very important. but also have to sort of weigh this reporter's source privilege, so very important, all the privileges are important, doctor/patient,

attorney/client. >> could she be forced to give it up? >> she could be forced to get on the witness stand. if she doesn't say anything, she'll be held in contempt and could go to jail. this happens to reporters often, not that often, but it happens where they go to jail for about six months because they refuse to divulge their sources. this is a first amendment issue. as you mentioned, reporters need this privilege to do what we do. lawyers need them, doctors need them. if not the system sort of fails. so i suspect that this is going to be a long, hard fight. she got a little bit of a reprieve because the judge said i'm not going to decide this issue yet until we know that the defense is going to bring up this mental health defense. but come on, you know the defense is going to bring this up. >> we'll see if she has to. i want to ask you, of course, christopher dorner and that whole case. now we know today these 911 tapes have been released this is the call that was made just before former l.a. cop christopher dorner's last stand, at big bear lake.

he was wanted for shooting at four police officers, remember he was a subject of this huge manhunt, a couple of months back. this call was made by that couple, he tied up inside their condo in big bear. take a listen. >> you guys were tied up? >> yeah, well, i got -- yeah. >> well, how long ago he did leave? >> 15 minutes. >> 15 minutes to half hour. >> did he take your vehicle? >> he took our keys. >> what keys? >> so they -- your thought was mine, sounds pretty calm. >> they do. >> for having just been tied up by this man. do you think they -- they want that reward, which has not been given out yet. >> it hasn't been given out and they want the reward and the guy whose car was hijacked is also applying for the reward. it is a $1 million reward. and it is -- this actually issue upsets me. >> why? >> i think if you put this reward out and do want citizens to step in, because they don't normally have to step in --

>> call police, tell them where the bad guys are. >> now they really are entitled to this reward and they're switching up the rules here. first it was if this guy was caught and convicted. well, we know that he was killed in that fiery blaze. so now they're saying we're going to change the criteria and you got to apply. if they decide to -- if somebody decides to withdraw the money, there is no legal recourse. that's not right. there is something -- >> you think they'll get it? >> maybe part of it. but shouldn't they get all of it? i'm upset. i don't like this. >> i can tell. >> i don't like this. not fair. not fair. >> not fair, so says sunny hostin. sunny, thank you very much. now, moments ago, we showed you what happened in chicago, michelle obama has been speaking, talking about violence in that city. want to play a clip for you, where she got pretty emotional. you're going to see it next. >> and i urge them to use their

lives to give meaning to ideas. i urge them to dream as big as she did. and work as hard as she did. and live a life that honors every last bit of her god-given promise. so today i want to say the exact same thing to all of you, i want to urge you to come together and do something worthy of hadiya pendleton's memory and our children's future. join me and hadiya's classmates and young people across this city who, by the way, even in the face of so much hardship, and such long odds, are still fighting so hard to succeed. we need to show them not just with words, but with action, that they are not alone in this struggle. we need to show them that we

believe in them, and we need to give them everything they need to believe in themselves. i would not be here if it weren't for that kind of belief. and i know that together we can do this. so let me tell you this, i look forward to the work that you do. i look forward to you hitting this goal and surpassing it. like forward to the city being the model of what communities can do to wrap their arms around our youth and make them the best they can be. to embrace all of our neighborhoods, and every last one of our children. thank you so much. good luck and god bless.

we got this earlier with our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin. today, barack obama unveiled his fifth president ideal budget proposal. this is for fiscal 2014, starts october 1st. and this thing, it is pretty thick. you can see them. look at this. pretty thick. 244 pages thick. looks like more there. gloria borger she will stay up late with this page turner.

yes. no. let me get to the -- let me get to the three headlines, we have sort of deduced here. one, the all important deficit goes down in 2014 to $744 billion. headline two, you have taxes, president wants more from the wealthy for the deficit shrinkage to start up the national pre-k. headline three, something new and potentially irksome to the president's own supporters, possible savings coming out of social security and medicare. so, gloria borger, chief political analyst, we heard the president say that we are more than halfway now to that $4 trillion in debt reduction, he says we need to do. but then we heard him say this. >> if anyone thinks i'll finish the job of deficit reduction on the backs of middle class families or through spending cuts alone, actually hurt our economy short-term, they should think again. when it comes to deficit reduction, i've already met republicans more than halfway. in the coming days and weeks, i

hope that republicans will come forward and demonstrate that they're really as serious -- as serious about the deficits and debt as they claim to be. >> gloria, heard this before, the president saying the wealthy need to pay higher taxes. the republicans saying no, no, no. is this the same old, same old? >> do you get the feeling you've seen this movie before? i get the feeling you do. we saw this as early as last december. this is essentially the deal that the president put on the table in order to try and avoid that fiscal cliff crisis, right? and so he's putting it on the table again. and, of course, the question is why would republicans now decide that they would be more willing to compromise with him today than they were back then? the answer to that is they're not, we have heard republicans say they're not. but, but the president does deserve some credit for at least going back and saying, you know

what, there are some changes i would make as far as social security and, yes, there are some changes ild make as far as medicare. house speaker john boehner says we can revisit some of those. but they're small. they're not enough. and we're not going to go for any new revenue. here we are again. >> you wrote in your piece, it is crunch time here, there are a lot of issues, they're having dinner, the president, these eight republicans, at the white house tonight. so we'll see what can get maybe brokered at the beginning of some brokerage tonight over some dinner. we'll see. gloria borger -- >> i'd like to be at that dinner, wouldn't you? >> fly on the wall perhaps definitely. gloria, thank you. now diplomacy with a dictator. cnn has learned u.s. and north korean officials met secretly in the days before north korea really ramping up this latest threat round. we're asking christiane amanpour

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that's right for you. it is called the new york channel, and we're learning a little bit more about this as the u.s. is bracing for an imminent launch of north korean missiles. let me take you back to march, before the threats of nuclear testing and missile launches were at this fevered pitch. as dennis rodman headed home after his meeting with leader kim jong-un for the so-called basketball diplomacy. the u.s. had its own version of diplomacy happening. u.s. and north korean officials meeting for secret talks in new york. chr christiane amanpour joins me now. tell me about the talks. how did this go down? >> to be honest with you, it is not that unusual.

there is a u.n. mission here of the north koreans, and they do have officials who are sometimes used as interlocutors. mostly these officials are communications officers, really. they are -- they have different titles, but these are not negotiators. and what happens is that they basically get used to pass messages back and forth. while that mission and that contact and that channel is open, we're told that it is not one that is producing any kind of movement on this crisis. >> not a lot of movement. i'm just curious, though, with this sort of back and forth, are there any inherent problems with back channeling? >> well, it is not so much whether back channeling is a problem, it is always good to have a channel open. but all the experts who i've talked to say, you know, once one gets beyond this particular crisis, which most people believe will be some kind of a missile launch, probably not

aimed in anger anywhere, but as a test fire somewhere, once this immediate crisis is over, how to deal with the ongoing issue of north korea. and some people say there needs to be much more engagement, but at a high level, not at a back channel level. that the only person who actually calls the shots in north korea is the top leadership. and so perhaps some experts have suggested a special envoy. just to find out who is this new leader. are they open to -- is he open to any deal of any sort? >> at this stage in the game here, do you think that will happen? >> that's the all important question. nobody quite knows. certainly most people who suggest that realize it is politically really quite difficult in the united states, because it always looks like and certainly critics will say that you're just appeasing or giving into blackmail. but the truth of the matter is, experts are saying, that neither the sanctions nor the harsh rhetoric have produced the kind of restraint that the u.s. is looking for.

the united states is not going to go to war presumably over north korea and its nuclear program. the north koreans want to remain a nuclear entity, so how to deal with them. it is going to take something more creative than currently is on the table. >> creative diplomacy. so says christiane amanpour. appreciate it. let me remind all of you tonight at 6:00 eastern time, wolf blitzer will devote an entire hour to this crisis in north korea. so tune in for a special edition of "the situation room," 6:00 p.m. eastern, only here on cnn. the push for background checks took one step forward today. a bipartisan breakthrough steps up the likely senate debate on gun laws. one sticking point for some, a national gun registry. next, we are talking to candy crowley. we'll ask her if this compromise addresses that concern.

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after a gunman massacred children in connecticut, the nation is seeing first gun reform proposal with an actual chance of becoming law. why? because it is coming from these two men. you have senator pat toomey, a republican from pennsylvania, and senator joe manchin of west virginia, a democrat. their bipartisan plan will expand background checks to include buyers at gun shows and online. >> this is common sense. this is gun sense. we're not infringing on the rights of an individual citizen. but basically if you're going to go to a gun show, you would be subjected to the same as if you went to the gun store. >> these senators are also pointing out this law, potential law, would enhance gun rights. senator toomey gave this one example. >> current law forbids active duty military personnel from buying a gun in their own state. that's terrible policy, frankly. they're only permitted to buy a gun in the state in which they're stationed.

what we would do is we would change that. >> with me now, candy crowley, "state of the union" and our chief political correspondent. both the senators, it also explicitly bans a national firearms registry. a lot of people were fearful that could be created. do you think that's enough to allay the fire fears, to get a for those opposed to gun legislation? >> not all of them, but the nature of a compromise is to pull as many people in from both sides as you can. and i don't think that this compromise would have been put out there with the kind of details that it has in it unless they were pretty sure that this gets them pretty close to the 51% vote. now, look, there are going to be amendments to whatever this has to be introduced and maybe becomes a base bill and there has to be amendments and this will be a week long process. but it is fairly clear to me that they do have and maybe even

before this, they do have the votes to get past the filibuster. so this gives folks something to hang their hat on, that they were worried about the national registry, worried about other things that took out some of the stuff that is in -- in the original bill from committee that a lot of gun owners objected to. it is a compromise that everybody has something in it they don't like, which generally means it has a fairly good chance. >> okay, so if this is sort of the original it ration of legislation that could see several changes and amendments as you point out, what do you see as the biggest challenge here? i suppose it depends what side you ask. >> well, it does. and it also -- remember, there is already a bill, this will be introduced as another bill to kind of supersede an amendment or something. we'll see how this all plays out. i think that the biggest challenge still is not republicans, because certainly there will be that, and they will feel free to vote against it if they want to, but it is those swing state democrats that

senator harry reid, the majority leader in the senate, has been worried about forcing them to take votes that might be unpopular back home. so we should watch some of those who are up for re-election next year, and see how it plays with them. i don't think there is an element in it that seems more problematic than others. and, again, you have to sort of see what the totality of the bill is going to be, what amendments are allowed to be discussed and voted on and one amendment to get adopted. >> we're just at the beginning stages of what could be concrete legislation. candy crowley, thank you so much. >> thank you. now to your money. the dow, let's look at the big board, up 145 points. we are just about 15 minutes away from the closing bell. both the dow jones and s&p 500 hitting new highs today. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. that's candy. there she is. alison kosik. yesterday we saw a great day. today, a great day as well. >> making history again. the dow and the s&p 500 both

making history again, rocketing to their highest trading levels now. look at the dow at 14,818. the s&p 500 at 18 -- 1588. it is more surprising the pessimistic traders and analysts on wall street, they didn't expect to see this happen so quickly. they were predicting this is going to happen at least over the summer, maybe later than that. so, sure, these levels are -- if you're invested in the market, the returns are pretty stunning as well. the dow is up 13% for the year. the s&p 500 is up 11%. and the timing is kind of interesting, brooke, because it is coming as first quarter earnings season is kicking off, companies are turning in their report cards for the first three months of this year, and the reality is expectations aren't that great for a good quarter, so you wonder how does this jive that we're seeing, you know, the market rocket higher, yet companies aren't expecting much out of the first quarter. what this really seems to be about is sheer momentum, a good reason is because of the fed.

it is pumping billions of dollars into the economy, moving investors from bonds into stocks. >> keep the momentum moving. good for the 401(k). alison kosik, thank you very much. and here in new york city, mayoral race could get another candidate. one who not too long ago made headlines for all the wrong reasons. who am i talking about? we'll discuss with mr. tapper next. we went out and asked people a simple question: how old is the oldest person you've known? we gave people a sticker and had them show us. we learned a lot of us have known someone who's lived well into their 90s. and that's a great thing. but even though we're living longer, one thing that hasn't changed: the official retirement age. ♪ the question is how do you make sure you have the money you need

to enjoy all of these years. ♪ to enjoy all of these years. hwelcome back.. nice to see you again! hey! i almost didn't recognize you without the suit. well, this is my weekend suit. weekend getaways just got better. well, enjoy your round! alright, thanks! save a ton on our best available rate when you book early and feel the hamptonality. i don'without goingcisions to angie's list first. you'll find reviews on home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. with angie's list, i know who to call, and i know the results will be fantastic. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

anthony weiner, he lied in public. he lied again. he even lied to our own wolf blitzer on live tv. you don't do that. now, after a lewd picture, the former congressman says he's ready for a comeback. let me go to chief washington correspondent and anchor of "the lead," jake tapper. is it possible new york city may be more forgiving than the rest of the country? >> i think, first of all, there is a famous quote from f. scott fitzgerald that there are no second acts in america. and that's been proven wrong time and time again. you can look at mark sanford down in south carolina, who just won his primary race to be elected there. look at bill clinton.

you can look at any number of politicians. does anthony weiner have a shot at redemption? as paul simon once sang? sure. absolutely. he's quoted in the new york times magazine in a story published this morning saying, quote, i want to ask people to give me a second chance. i do want to have that conversation with people who i let down and people who put their faith in me and who want to support me. i think to some degree i want to say to them, give me another chance. i think it is -- entirely obviously up to the voters of new york city and will be rough because that media environment is very difficult as you know. but it is certainly possible. huma, his wife and mother of their son, is standing by him and supportive. at the end of the day, i've seen much stranger things happen than anthony weiner returning to public life. >> i'm sure you have, after all your years in washington. speaking of, big day today, as far as the gun debate, compromise now.

brokered between these two senators and it sounds like you have landed both of them. >> that's right. we're going to have the first joint interview with the republican and democratic senator who are trying toing ir this compromise on background checks. joe manchin and pat toomey. the news broke last night by dana bash and this morning we heard more of it, about their plan to expand background checks to cover gun shows, to cover internet sales, but to exempt other groups such as personal sales and we will have the first joint interview with the both of them, that's coming up on "the lead." and we also will talk to the author of that new york times magazine story, jonathan van meter, about anthony weiner and his possible return to new york city politics. >> we'll look for it. huge interview, those two senators. jake tap, thank yoper, thank yo. we'll see you up next hour on "the lead." coming up, lindsay lohan's awkward conversation with david

letterman. have you seen this? also a billion, billion with a b, dollar donation to a new york museum, j jay-z selling hi the brooklyn nets and folks paying thousands of dollars for twitter followers. the power block is next. sometimes, we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance. save up to 10% just for combining your auto and home insurance. call liberty mutual insurance at... to speak with an insurance expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. personalized coverage and savings -- all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect.

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technology, sports, business, health, showbiz news

we're hitting it all now in the power block. let's begin with lindsay lohan. she talked about her rehab with david letterman last night and things got a little awkward. >> how many times have you been in rehab? >> several. >> how will this time be different? what are they rehabbing first of all? what's on their list? what are they going to work on when you walk through the door? >> we didn't discuss this in the pre-interview. >> do you have addiction problems? >> now you said like dr. phil. >> i'm sorry. is it like alcohol? do you drying too much? >> we discussed this in the last -- >> lohan teared up towards the end of that interview. letterman complimented her saying she a lot of poise and spine to appear on his show.

a cosmetics iftycoon is donating art. the collection includes 33 masterpieces by picasso. the son of the late cosmetics queen estee lauder. the donation is transformational. lauder says he hopes the gifts will draw more people to the muse yaum. jay-z, changing his game again. he's reportedly planning to sell his brooklyn net shares so he can become, of course, an nba agent. ♪ according to yahoo! sports jay-z owns less than 1% of the brooklyn nets. he has been a huge part of the team's marketing efforts. nba rules forbid anyone from owning a team and representing players at the same time. and you tweet?

i tweet. but the number of followers you have on twitter is a status symbol for some, especially for celebrities and politicians. guess what? there are actually people willing to shell out cold hard cash to buy fake followers. what? this has gotten to big it's turned into a million dollar industry. our tech guy is here with us. you have to be kidding me? money for followers and they are fake? >> politicians are the biggest culprits. people are paying on average 20 bucks for 1,000 fake followers or $1,000 for a million passaic followers but the most fascinating part the "new york times" publish ad report this industry could bring in between 40 and 360 million dollars in business this year, and the most bizarre part of all this to me is the fact there are tools like the fake followers tool from socialbakers.com that tells you how many fake followers somebody has.

what's the incentive to do this? a lot of celebrities tweet about products. they have that financial incentive. big losers are twitter and facebook. they want real followers. brooke i checked to make sure your account, i'm happy to report you have a massive and legitimate following. >> have the real deal my big 90,000 and counting. thank you very much. thank to you my real followers. last night was some huge musicians performing. memphis soul at the white house next. ♪ ♪ i'm soul man weekend getaways just got better. well, enjoy your round! alright, thanks! save a ton on our best available rate when you book early and feel the hamptonality.

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♪ i've had nothing to live for ♪ ♪ look like nothing is going to come my way ♪ a little memphis soul at the white house. justin timberlake one of many a-lifters who serenaded the president and first lady. in addition to j. t., there were many others. including my favorites -- look at the first lady getting down. que queen latifah. cyndi lauper and the soul man himself. ♪ when you got it ♪ you got something