kurt warner, host of the new show "the moment" and cocreator of this amazing 3-d pen, we talked to you about it yesterday. the 3-doodler. that thing is just plain cool. >> "cnn newsroom" with carol costello begins right now. happening now in the "newsroom" fierce weather slamming arkansas and missouri. >> i saw spinning, out of control fork air long time. >> violent tornadoes on the ground for 30 miles. this morning, a state of emergency in full effect. also, shark encounter. a kay aker and the catch he wil remember for a lifetime. >> he circled around, under my boat, and then it kind of hit me what just happened. plus, health alert.

do you know what's in that bottle of juice. >> we just don't know how much of this is happening. >> taking you to the test to see if what's on the label is really inside. >> okay. this is a little sweet, but we'll see. >> millions of cars recalled because of faulty airbags. is your car on the list? your live in the "cnn newsroom." good morning. thank you so much for being with me. i'm carol costello, from missouri to arkansas, the damage is extensive, following a series of powerful storms, outside of little rock, a tornado left a debris path 30 miles long. the twister hit one town, passed over another, before slamming into thard. three people suffered injuries, 33 homes damaged and a church absolutely demolished. just 90 minutes before the start of weekly services.

>> sitting there, it just got real quiet, and we just started pouring down rain. it sounded like literally a freight train, and all of a sudden, we saw all of the debris flying at us, back of the trust was actually lifted. >> all of a sudden, you couldn't see nothing, and all of a sudden, i saw it spinning out of control for a long time and then all of a sudden, it just stopped. and then i -- you know, all i could do is tray prey and ask the lord to not let me die. >> oh. severe weather season is starting late this year because of a chilly march. only about half of the number of tornadoes reported so far. justin lewis from katv joins us now. looks terrible behind you. >> yes, carol, that's exactly right. we're about 75 miles north of little rock in the van buren county area. this place literally turned

upside down yesterday. don't just take my word. this is the church you just mentioned, completely demolished by high winds and severe weather. i got off the phone with a county judge here, they know of at least six homes completely demolished, just like this church. a number they expect to grow significantly through the day, as they continue to assess this damage. i caught up with one man who lost both his church and his home from yesterday's storms, just pulled in, saw the damage, saw the boat, saw the roof gone and tons of people out here helping, thankful for the outpouring we've received. we'll get to work, see what has to be done and i know something good will come out of this. >> and something good could be a lot of volunteers, and the county judge said 3,000 currently without power in the county and a lot of rural area

in this county. trying to get to those spots, assess more damage, see how many homes, how many families could be displaced this evening and get a better grasp on what has turned this whole county completely upside down. carol, back to you. >> amazing only three people hurt, justin. was there plenty of warning before the storm hit? >> actually, carol this came pretty quick. a pretty good prewarning system, dating back to an '08 tornado that really hurt this area. it hit quick and four people actually taken to the hospital, three leased. one remains in the hospital right now with non-life-threatening injuries. a lot of people really dodged a big bullet with this storm. >> that's a good thing. justin lewis, many thanks to you. state of emergency in effect near st. louis after a tornado ripped roofs off several homes. 24 homes damaged, no serious injuries reported.

missouri's governor will tour the area today. in the meantime, much of the southeast could see tornadoes damaging winds, and large hail today. greatest risk in alabama, georgia, and the florida panhandle. in suburban atlanta, a deadly end to a bizarre hostage taking. >> oh, let's go, let's go. stand by, new york, stand by. >> police used a stun grenade so loud it set off car alarms across the quiet neighborhood. a s.w.a.t. team entered the home and after a brief gun fight, the hostage taker is dead. the hostages? firefighters that responded to a call that turned into a trap. martin savidge in suwanee with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. as you point out, really a troubling story here. it was according to authorities, a phony call that lured the firefighters to come here, believing they were treating somebody who needed to be rescued. once firefighters got here, they

found out they were the ones in need of help. >> we know that firefighters routinely run toward danger. but not this. >> when they made entry into the home, they were taken hostage by him. >> began 3:40 wednesday afternoon. firefighters near atlanta, called to what they thought was a man having a heart attack. this is radio traffic from one of the five firefighters taken hostage. >> we are in a situation where we have an -- an armed person. >> the gunman began making demands. >> and he is requesting a certain -- certain utilities to be turned back on at his house, and he is armed. and we are in the room with him. >> he is going through some financial issues and the power

was turned off, along with cable and cell phone. >> reporter: about 30 minutes into the ordeal, one of the five hostages was leased. then around 7:30 p.m., police moved in. a loud bang, then volleys of gunfire. >> stop it, stop it! >> it got to a point where we believed their lives were in immediate danger, and the s.w.a.t. team made the decision to go in, neutralize the situation. >> reporter: neighbors who knew the man didn't expect anything like this. >> he was really nice, maybe a little bit too nice. i don't know. seemed like a normal guy. >> reporter: the gunman was killed. one police officer injured and the firefighters suffered only minor injuries. >> just relieved for our firefighters, that they will go home safe to their families. >> carol, authorities have not identified the gunman so far. it has been reported that this house was in foreclosure, and that raises the specter. could it have been that, that

the homeowner was about to lose his home, that triggered this complete ordeal? carol. >> martin savidge from suwanee, georgia this morning. the same day the senate could begin debate on a bipartisan gun control bill, a mock cemetery goes up on the national mall. 3,300 crosses mark those killed by gun violence since the connecticut school massacre back in december. today, the senate is expected to overcome a blocked filibust eed attempt. keep your eyes on the left side of the screen. that was a tiger shark. did you see it? probably about ten feet long and 500 pounds, it wanted the same tuna this hawaiian kayaker trying to snag. >> the shark came around, came under my boat, hitting the kayak and it kind of hit me what just

happened and i had reaction to all of that. >> oh! >> yeah, you get the shivers bait on it. thinking about the whole thing. >> the fisherman was shaken, but not spooked. he told khnl after his close encounter, he caught three more fish in the very same spot. one of senator mitch mcconnell's aides is sticking by the claim that a private meeting h on how to take down ashley judd as a political candidate was taped. >> the fbi came out to our office, spent about an hour here earlier today and they did a very thorough checking of our office, they, of course, spent time with myself and the rest of our team, wonderful agents, really, really sharp, very serious, taking this very seriously, and they seem to think they've got some

interesting leads that they are running down, and i can't wait until they get to the bottom of this. >> he also said there is no way that the tape was recorded and leaked by another aide. "mother jones," liberal magazine, leased the tape in which you can hear mcconnell's team, discussing how to take down ashley judd who was considering a run. and north korean state television announced war say matter of time, telling south korea you will regret this. north korea raised one of its missiles to an upright firing position, raising concerns a launch was imminent. one of north korea's missiles has the range to hit u.s. bases in guam and japan. on the plus side, it appears china, north korea's chief ally is getting pretty darn fed up with kim jong-un's tough talk. evidence? the chinese government has no problem allowing citizens to

feast on jon stewart's skewering of the north korean leader. >> look past the picture . there are missile trails aiming at hawaii, california, d.c., and for some reason, austin, texas. >> going to blow up austin, texas? just trying to get the rest of texas on your side? or -- or did south by southwest reject your indy film, little miss un-shine. >> that "daily show" clip has gone viral in china. with me is p.j. crowley, former state department spokesman. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. >> if china is fed up with north korea, what action could it take? >> it's sent a stern public message and i'm confident they are sending private messages,

china has significant influence over north korea doesn't have the same influence with kim jong-un it had with his father, kim jong-il. >> again on north korean state television, there were these threats. why do they keep on coming? if north korea isn't going to could anything? >> this morning's paper on the front page "the new york times" there is a story about swatting, these frank calls that require authorities to respond, even though it turns out an there is only an amusement factor. north korea is doing something similar. creating this crisis with a more sinister motive. this is intimgation, extortion, they want the international communicate to pay attenti community to pay attention to them, to in essence reward them for bad behavior. >> and the international community is paying attention to them. secretary of state john kerry is

heading to seoul tomorrow. what will he do there to calm the waters? >> two primary missions to south korea and japan, reassure that we will protect not only our interests, but our allies in the region as well. and to china, it is, look, you have more influence than anyone else with north korea, and you have to find a way to get through to this young leader, and help him back off of the escalation that he has created in recent weeks. >> pyongyang is getting ready to celebrate a national holiday, the birthday of its founder, big holiday. does that seem like -- does that seem like a country that's ready for war? would it launch something on this national holiday, this birthday? >> i think it's quite possible it will launch a missile. it's done it before. it could carry across japan. that's happened before. i mean, the danger here is not that north korea is going to go to war if they do it will be brief, brutal, but the end

result is clear. but i think that the -- there is one risk of miscalculations, that, you know, the missile goes where they expect it to, if it doesn't, then that creates one circumstance. so at some point in time, somebody has their trigger on a short-range missile. will they fire it, south korea will fire back, if you think in baseball terms, kim jong-un is new, never been brushed back, and, you know if that happens, then how will he respond? that's an unknown factor, and we hope it doesn't come to that. >> we hope so too. p.j. crowley, thank you so much. >> you're welcome. some of the best selling cars in a massive recall. involving suspected airbags that could open with too much pressure and actually injure you. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange to tell us more. >> good morning. you will definitely recognize some of the name. toyota, honda, nissan, mazda. this doesn't just involved cars here in the u.s. it involves

cars around the world. 3.4 million cars are being recalled. most from toyota. 1.7 million of them. corollas, sequoias, tundra, lexus sc 430 toyota, just coming off a recall of cars last you're. next big southeast honda. recalling 1. 1 million vehicles. what is the issue for the recall, the passenger airbag could deploy with too much pressure. good thing is, no injuries or deaths reported. but recall under way nonetheless. interesting tidbit, all of the airbags came from the same japanese manufacturer, tecada if are you an affected owner, you should be contacted by mail. carol. >> let's switch gears a minute and talk about the markets. dow and s & p open at all time highs. actually that happened yesterday. what can we expect today? >> yesterday, stocks skyrocketed, breaking new records and any gains that happen today with the dow, s & p

that will break yesterday's record. this comes from indications from the federal reserve's latest policy meeting that the fed will most likely continue its stimulus measures for the foreseeable future. stocks could have momentum. stocks flat before the opening bell. and a third claim for unemployment benefits. fell 42,000 to 346,000 it may create doubt about whether last week's lousy jobs report. showing 88,000 positions are reported, may add cred attenten it will be a fluke. nonetheless, stocks flat ahead of the opening bell. >> just ahead in the "newsroom," do you know what's in your food? the label says one thing, but that may not be actually what's inside. more on the growing problem of food fraud. ♪

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19 past the hour. two crooks tried to rob a chicago souvenir shop. one of the suspects accidentally shot his own accomplice in the leg. and you can see the accomplice limping out of store. the gunman jumps the counter. and the brother-in-law of the owner chases him with a fire extinguisher. the owner now recovering from his injuries. police are still searching for those suspects. george zimmerman's mother, accusing the medafter propaga propagating a lie. is he charged with killing trayvon martin. gladys zimmerman calls april 11, 2012 "the day the justice system failed usz as americans, and as a consequence, an innocent man was arrested for a crime he did not commit. solely placate the masses."

your lunchtime burrito will get healthier. taco bell will have a more nutritious menu by 2020. they will have 20% of combo meals meet fda guidelines and this is coming at the request of younger customers who will be its older customers by the time the thing is put into place in 2020. we're talking food. tough to eat healthy. arduous to read all of the food labels that every single ingredient, maybe you shouldn't by. anyway, the labels on those things, the juices, may not be accurate. accurate at all. a growing problem with food fraud. zane asher with more for you. >> this is where it all begins. ingredients that will eventually make their way onto trucks, into factories and onto our table. but how can we be sure that the

ingredients you read on the label's outside are exactly what's inside? >> the unfortunate thing about food fraud in the u.s. we don't know how much is happening. consumers have no way of knowing unless the worst happens. someone gets sick. >> reporter: according to the u.s. pharmacopial convention, food fraud is up a dramatic 60% in the last year alone. >> a lot of the has to do with the economics of food, and it's driven by a profit motive. >> reporter: as food costs climb steadily around the world from drought and higher prices, experts say it appears some flyers are more willing to cut costs by replacing key ingredients with something cheaper. >> basically, the instrument just shines light up. >> reporter: detention devices here use light reflectant to see if food has been aadult raidula.

we are going to see if i could distinguish real pomegranate juice than the one adulterated with pear juice. i happened to be right. and what if the substituted ingredient was potentially harmful. >> they are really worried about the next unknown. >> reporter: chinese suppliers added melamine to milk powder and that contamination led to the death of at least six children in china. authorities in europe uncovered horse meat being passed off as beef. and conservation group oceana released a study that showed a third of seafood worldwide is mislabeled. >> it's quite easy to dilute something and have it sneak through. >> reporter: the fda says it is dealing harsh punishments. >> the worst thing for a food company is have their brands

associated with fraud or safety issues. >> they may not know that the product they are adding to the food is dangerous for consumers. unfortunately, that kind of ignorance can have a high cost. >> the fda spends $300 million a year preventing food contamination. a lot of it is out of the consumer's hands. you can make sure you find a retailer you trust. there is a website, foodfraud.org. go in, type any food you want and see if it's a food commonly adulterated and what it's adulterated with. >> foodfraud.org. i had try it. talk back question for you today. will background checks really decrease gun violence? facebook.com/carol cnn or tweet me at@carol cnn. ♪ [ acoustic guitar: upbeat ] [ dog ] we found it together. on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing.

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now your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the stay. the question this morning, will background checks really decrease gun violence?

is this all there is? background checks, after months of agonizing debate about assault rifles, violence movies and video games, high-capacity magazines? background checks? the deal is not exactly a crowd pleaser. new york governor andrew cuma calls it "a sellout to the gun lobby" according to gun owners of america, the sellout is actually senator toomey. >> nra is always basically the benchmark. one i am proud to be a member of. >> but they disagree with you. >> my wife disagrees with me, and i still love her. >> a gut-wrenching process for the newtown families and joe manchin, a senator with the "a" rating from the nra. but nra leaders say expanding

background checks will not stop violent crime or keep kids safe. they hope gun owners will see way beyond that. >> nra the benchmark, the one we look to. >> they are opposed to the legislation. >> my wife disagreed with me the other day, and i still love her. >> if background checks are as bipartisan as they get, at least they can make a deal on something. ta tack back questions, will background checks decrease gun violence? facebook.com/carol cnn or tweet me @carolcnn. at if the next 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. ♪

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yes, you could. ó? good morning. thank you so much for joining us. i'm carol costello.

we're watching the opening bell at the new york stock exchange. see if stocks continue their record run. investors waiting for more quarterly results. alison kosik on the floor. >> after yesterday's record breaking day, will stocks do it again? maybe not at the moment. bears come out to play a little bit. stocks sitting at the flat line. the path of least resistance, to the upside. with the fed driving the rally overall. pumping billions into the economy, buying up treasuries and mortgage backed securities, pushing investors to buy into stocks, the dow and s & p rocketing to highest trading levels ever, that's surprising even some pessimistic traders. they didn't expect to see levels like this until summertime. we could see stocks get a little more momentum as the day goes on, after we learn that first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell a lot. to 346,000. the day is young, stocks are

flat. carol. >> alison kosik, reporting live. on the menu at the white house, green salad, steak, sauteed veggies with a big side of bipartisan. he hosted 12 senators at dinner to talk about the budget, deficit, immigration reform and preventing gun violence. johnny isakson organized the guest list. senator hatch, alexander of tennessee. ru rubio of florida and collins of maine. with seven others. now with us, briana keilar. so did they accomplish anything? >> reporter: i am so sorry to disappoint you, we don't actually have specifics on the meeting. if i kept a list on the meetings that i wanted to be a fly on the wall this would be right up there. the republicans and democrats, staying mum on the specifics of

what was discussed. yes, that's annoying for reporters like you and me who want to know all about it. but you can take it as a sign of good will, they spoke about things and not blabbing about it right now. the white house says it was a constructive discussion, wide ranging, talked about immigration, and you have the gang of eight senators who are supposedly close to a deal on legal status for undocumented immigrants. talked about gun violence, this on the eve of this vote that we're seeing in the senate today. and they talked about deficit reduction on the day that president obama unveiled his budget. that, yes, republicans and democrats didn't really like. so georgia senator johnny isakson said it was productive. orrin hatch said it was an open discussion. a long dinner. senators arrived at 6:45 p.m. didn't wrap up until 9:00. they ate in the old family

dining room this is my best shot. why i'm not a meteorologist. right about there. the old family dining room off the state dining room. nice price to have daner and sticking to the atkins diet with the steak and veggies. >> sounds yummy. >> reporter: maybe a good sign they aren't talking too much about it. so two dinners just over a month marked by constructive and cordial constitutions. the president and senators are still at a stalemate in issues like the budget. joining me now, democratic strategist and analyst for the buzz. >> good morning. >> they talked about substantive

issues, tough issues like immigration, the budget. gun control. high hopes, will? >> i don't have high hopes, that's okay, though. look, i hate to belabor the dinner metaphor, but the problem, largely we attempt to bite off more than we can chew. obama care, tens of thousands of pages and now immigration, it has as many caveats. >> 1,100 pages, right? >> right. >> we are much more successful when we debate issues that we can digest in small chunks, debate each other, get mad at each other, but hash out something. >> will, let me ease your digestidid digestion for a moment.

i am encouraged. gun control, we are seeing real achievement in the senate between republicans and democrats on immigration reform. a possible bill coming out, maybe even this week or beginning of next week. even on the budget. the president is challenging his own party and taking on his own party to get a deal done. >> let's face it, robert. that budge set going nowhere. going nowhere. >> what is going to be positive, though, carol, we'll see some structure for deficit reform. because the debt ceiling debate that's coming before us. >> let me tell you why you are not easing my indigestion, i am afraid of what success may look like. >> nobody gets all that they want. and it's about time we started to come to some sort of agreement on something.

although the background check isn't the best, at least they came to some sort of agreement. when was the last time that happened? >> and the public is engaged in the debate, and the public demanding action from legislateors. that's critical. >> we are taking on so many issues, agreement isn't always to be celebrated. on the issue of background checks, i don't think it's a compromise worth having. >> okay, well, i'm kind of depressed by you today, will. >> sorry. >> will kain, robert zimmerman. talk about a spoiler alert. kevin bacon of "the following" reveals a major plot twist and now he's apologizing. carfirmation.

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kevin bacon says oops, my bad. after tweeting a big show spoiler. a.j. hammer is in new york. what happened? >> to be clear, carol. i won't make the same mistake by putting on the air right now. i respect people's desire to see the show play out as they will. a spoiler about kevin's hit show "the following." i don't think you can really blame kevin for this. after monday's episode aired, he retweeted a fan's reaction to a major plot twist, but didn't think about the repercussions, those who time shift and watch later on the dvr, fans outside the fans waitsing to watch the whole thing in order. a lot of people haven't seen the episode yet. here is the apology. to all of the fans abroad and late watchers, i'm truly sorry i retweeted a spoiler and then he

point posted a quick little apology. take a look at this. >> my bad, my bad, my bad. >> my bad, my bad, my bad. >> if i can sum that, kevin thinks it's his bad. he's a movie star, not used to the tv gig and the quick turn around. i will give him a pass. >> he needs to talk to his wife. she could teach him a thing or two, probably has. appreciate it. thinks facebook knows to much about you, wait until you hear what kind of personal data the social media giant is mining for its latest advertising blitz. the story, next. [ male announcer ] the 2013 chevy silverado 1500

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47 past the hour. five men arrested in los angeles. they would break into the roof of banks using power tools and break into vaults. they are accused of stealing $6 million. in south florida, a court hearing under way for a mom and dad accused of abducting their own children. josh and sharyn hakken, snatched their young son days after

losing custody and sailing to cuba the parents could face life in prison. the little boys are back safe and sound with their custodian grandparents. a tornado leaves a 30-mile long debris path outside little rock. the twister hit one down, passed over another, before slamming into a third. in all, three people hurt, 33 homes damaged, and a church was absolutely demolished, just 90 minutes before the start of weekly services. those severe storms are now heading east. tennessee, alabama and georgia could see strong winds and damaging hail later today. next time you pick up a new pair of shoes at the mall, don't be surprised to see more shoe ads on your facebook page. how do they know where you are shopping? >> they are watching what are you buying. they work with free data

companies that have a huge pile of consumer data on you and me, axiom, data logic and epsilon. they have dossiers from everything from income levels to what we buy, even social security numbers. facebook will match all that data to your fprofile and use that to create better target groups for its ads. until now, they could only base ads on information users provided. but that's all changing now. facebook is quick to point out that all of the data is anonymous, that advertisers, they will never know the identities of people seeing ads, but still. ew. >> can you opt out of ads? >> good news is you can. a wholesale opt out or opt out for certain advertising. go to your facebook page and choose to remove yourself from

targeted ads if you go to the about this ad link or from the help center link. you can also go to within the drop down box that's associated with show you that ad again or t to show you any ads from that partner. now, facebook also says users, they're going to be able to see why they were targeted for a certain ad. come, on carol. i know you don't like this, but there's a harsh reality. you're going to get bombarded with ads no matter what rsh facebook is trying to make them more relevant to you, but at the same time trying to deliver advertisers a group of people who are actually most likely to see the ad, to click on it, and actually be motivated to buy whatever the company is selling. it's just a reality of on-line activity. >> well, i guess you got to make money, and that's what they're doing, right? >> exactly. >> alison, thank you. >> will background checks really decrease gun violence? facebook.com or tweet me at carol cnn. # i almost didn't recognize you without the suit. well, this is my weekend suit. weekend getaways just got better.

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. will background checks decrease gun violence? a lot of tweets today. i'm going to read some. this is from ben. violence will always exist. however, citizens should have a right to defend themselves without the government dictating what kind of weapon. this from bailey. yes, it will. it will deter some who should not buy them. the harder it is to buy a gun,

the better. this from -- of course, not. criminals procure their weapons from any means, including illegal means that the further check cannot address. as for linda, what harm will it do? that is, unless you have something to hide. if one life is saved by doing background checks, then it's worth, it isn't it? please keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me at carol cnn. tickets for red sox games usually are hard to get, but something happened at fenway park that has not happened since president george w. bush's first term in office. bleacher report next. # 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.

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. golf's first major tees off today. forget tiger. here is this morning's bleacher report. >> eighth grade. >> already he has a few veterans saying, hey, this guy is way too young to be participating in the masters, but is he here, and he has played a practice round this week with tiger. he took on the media. never seemed rattled. china hasn't produced many great golfers, over the years, but china thinks, hey, it's going start with this guy. >> they're coming, and he is one

of them. to see him hit the ball under 12, well, we knew he was going to be good, but we didn't think he was going to be in the masters in two years. >> all right. cute kid alert. this is the par three competition. love it. it's on wednesday every year of the masters. that is robert gerrigas' son. luke donald and his daughter. look at the putters. she is so cute. look, dad, i did it, i did it, and garrett with his son again. using the same driver. having a little trouble. he finally connects out of the sand. so adorable. a great family event for grandkids and the kids. the masters par 3 contest. in the ba last night coby had a great night. dropped a season high 47 points, but it's what he kobe said before the game that has people talking. he had some choice words for fired rutgers basketball coach mike rice. he said it on jim rome's show time talk show. >> if you were one of the

players getting the ball thrown at them, how would you have reacted? >> i would have smacked the hell out of him. no question about it. no question about it. probably wouldn't have been the best way to react to, it but that's how i would have reacted to it. >> kobe feeling like a lot of us felt when we first saw that video. >> for the first time in ten years fenway park did not sell out for a red sox game. some are blaiz blaming the rain. some are blaming the 69 wins last season. whatever the reason, they fell about 6,000 short of sell-out. the intended streak started may 15th, 2003, went for 820 straight games, which includes both regular season and playoff games. i mean, most baseball stadiums arnold the country would be proud to sell out for two, three years for them to go ten straight years is actually really incredible. rain today going to be an issue for the masters. it's supposed to come in maybe late day and obviously over the night and possibly early into the morning as well. >> some delays, huh? joe, thanks. >> the next hour of cnn newsroom starts now.

running for cover as tornados rip through the midwest. >> as soon as we got into the hall bathroom really a loud boom went off, and a tree broke and went right through the kitchen. >> plus, how easy is it to buy a gun? it took us just minutes with no background check. and, whoa, watch out. >> oh! >> yeah. i did get the shivers. >> a fisherman has his own jaws moment. he will tell us what it was like. and a man shot nine times, but his bat wins. you're live in the cnn newsroom.

good morning. thank you for being with me. i'm carol costello. as early as next hour the senate could vote and begin debate on one of the most divisive issues in american politics today. that would be gun control. here's a stark reminder of how deep the passions run. a mock cemetery now sits near the capitol. gun control activists have erected 3,300 grave markers. that's the number of americans killed by guns since the school massacre in newtown, connecticut. as cnn's dana bash explains, the break in the stalemate may be tied to a bipartisan compromise steeped in symbolism. >> reporter: two senators with a rags from the nra appealed directly to their fellow gun owners. >> this is gun sense. >> their message? expanding background checks on gun sales is commonsense. >> we're not infringing on the rights of an individual sit sflen, but basically if you are going to go to a gun show, you would be subjected to the same

as if you went to the gun store. >> the common ground rests on simple proposition, and that is that criminals and the dangerously mentally ill shouldn't have guns. >> we know, for example, from polling that universal background checks are universally supported just about. >> the bipart sfwlan legislation falls short of the universal background checks the president is calling for. it would expand mandatory background checks to gun shows and internet sales, but would not require background checks for any other private gun sales. to enforce the expanded law, gun sellers would have to keep a record of the sale, but in a nod to some gun owners' concerns about civil liberties, it explicitly bans the federal government from creating a national registry. parents of children killed in newtown have been lobbying senators for two days. the sandy hook tragedy had already spurred these senators to act. >> nobody here, and i mean not one of us, in this great, great

capital of ours with a good conscious could sit by and not try to prevent a day like that from happening again. >> background checks are not a cure-all by any means, but they can be helpful. >> pat toomey out front is considered critical for passage, though he represents the moderate state of pennsylvania. he is a conservative republican expected to bring others on board. gun rights and other conservative groups wasted no time blasting toomey. one called him a "sell out", and the nra issued a less personal statement, but one dripping with disappointment saying, "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." democrat joe manchin says he hopes his fellow nra members will look beyond the opposition of its leadership. >> nra has always been basically the benchmark. it's the one that we look towards. it's the one i'm proud to be a member of. >> but they're opposed to your legislation. >> my wife disagreed with me the other day, but i still love her.

>> dana bash now joins us from washington. so, dana, does this compromise bill have a hands to pass the house because the senate is going to take this up, and then if the senate passes, it it's got to go to the republican-led house? >> it's a big open question, and it's a great one, because, yes, of course, let's -- we got to take this one step at a time, and the big debate in the next two weeks at least is going to be in the senate. we're going to see what comes out of the senate. that is a really important question to ask to answer what happens in the house, and the reason, carol, is because if there are, you know, 61, 62 senators who vote yes, meaning just a few republicans are picked off, it might not get very far in the house. if there is an overwhelming vote, maybe 70 votes, it might be harder for a house republican leadership to say that we're going to sit on this, we're not going to take this. i was just talking to one source on capitol hill who pointed out something that's very interesting to me, and that is pat toomey, the republican who is the co-sponsor of this compromise, is from the state of

pennsylvania. that is one of the few states sort of in the northeast that still has republicans from the house or republicans in the house, and so they are probably going to feel pressured from the fact that their own senator is on board to also want to have some kind of vote. that is certainly a dynamic that might help answer that question. >> we'll see what happens. dana bash reporting live for us this morning. what exactly does the so-called gun show loophole look like up close? martin savage and his cnn crew struck out last weekend to find out. >> reporter: it's a simple idea. just how easily can you buy a gun at a gun show? so a cnn crew took a weekend drive. 600 miles with a pocket full of cash hitting five gun shows in three states -- tennessee, south carolina, and georgia. first stop? north georgia. the venue is small, and the selection limited. >> there weren't a lot of vendors. there wasn't a lot of product out there for people to buy.

>> reporter: next the crew went north to kings port, tennessee, for a saturday afternoon local gun show held in a hotel convention center. it was a smith & wesson mp 45 caliber semiautomatic that first caught our producer's eye. asking price? $625. it's a nice one. it's not brand spanking new, but -- >> cash and carry, or do i have to fill out any -- >> cash and carry. >> but it's early, and the team opts to keep looking. ten to 20 minutes later they circle back to the same table, negotiating for the same gun. >> 600? >> this one? >> yes, box it up zoosh what? >> box it up. >> it's a deal. no background check. it's not needed for a private sale. but the seller is legally required to check id like a driver's license to make sure the buyer is not from out of

state. in this case no identification asked for, no paperwork, not even a question like what are you going to do with it? in fact, metro the seller more buyer even used a first name. if that's not surprising enough, listen to where the seller said he got the gun. >> i got that off of a police officer yesterday. >> really? >> yes. >> that's right. he got it from a police officer. >> any way you'd part with these for 1,000? >> service so easy for the next buy that the team decided up they. >> probably not at this points. that one is very, very new. >> this time they see two .9 millimeter semiautomatic handguns, glok 17s. asking price for the pair is $1, 100. the producer offers a flat $1,000. that's rejected. the next bid of $1,050 prompts a phone call. >> let me ask. let me see what -- one of them is his. one of them is mine. give me one second. >> in all the deals, the team paid less than the asking price.

>> all right. we can do $1,050. >> the producer boxes the guns in their carrying cases and heads to the door. again, no names. no id. no paperwork. not even a receipt. total time, 5 minutes, three semiautomatic handguns purchased. incidentally because there's no paper trail, none of these weapons can ever be traced to the buyer. later the same day in greeneville, south carolina, and it's the biggest show of the five our team attended. after wandering the floor our producer spots this gentleman carrying a semiautomatic rifle on his shoulder. asking price? $1,200. >> the strap doesn't come with it. that's on my .22. >> you're just moving it up? >> i just moved it over. >> the bushmaster xm 15 as it's known is a semiautomatic only civilian version of the m-16

u.s. military rifle. first introduced in the vietnam war and still used by u.s. troops today. >> it's out m car. i just didn't want to carry it all around. >> i brought it to a gun show a couple of weeks ago in columbia, and the case, this is big and bulky, and there were so many people in there, i kept banging people, and that's why i didn't bring it with me. $5,56. either one. the .223 or 5.56. >> any way you would go down $50? >> yeah. i'd go down $50. >> all right. s you want to walk out, and i'll pay you? >> sure. >> the seller takes our offer. $1,150. from first conversation to settling on a price takes just 70 seconds. out in front of the convention center, the money is exchanged.

the rifle, complete with case, is handed over. our team walks away with a variation of the same weapon used m deadly sandy hook shooting. again, no questions asked. >> there's the case. there's the gun. there's the clip. >> good. five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, 11, 50. >> okay. thank you very much. >> appreciate it. >> thank you. >> we should make clear that there were three instances, one in each state, where the team was asked for id, including during this potential sale in tennessee. >> where are you from? >> georgia. >> so i have to have a tennessee license? >> you have to have a tennessee license. >> yes, you sure do. >> thank you. >> yeah. >> i know he would like to sell it. >> without proof of residency,

the seller refers the deal, and our team walks away. our total weekend weapon haul is three semiautomatic handgun with extra magazines and one semiautomatic rifle with a 30 round magazine. total spent? $2,800. all done, without showing any identification, without felling out a single form, not even so much as a name exchanged, the team now has a small arsenal which can never be traced. martin savage, cnn, atlanta. >> wow. checking our top stories now at 11 minutes past the hour. in suburban atlanta a deadly end to a bizarre hostage take. a hostage sweeps into a gun, and the gunman is dead after a brief gunfight. his hostages firefighters that responded a call that turned into a trap. >> made entry into the home, and they were taken hostage by him, and then he started making demands. these demands were to have his power turned back on. apparently he is going through some financial issues, and the

power was turned off along with the cable and cell phone and so on, and he wanted all those things turned back on, and that's why he was holding them hostage. >> one law enforcement officer was shot in the incident, but his injury is not considered life threat nipping. the four firefighters were taken hostage and suffered superficial injuries from a police stun grenade that was used to distract the gunman. south korean and u.s. officials are on high alert waiting and watching for a possible missile to launch from north korea's coast. yesterday officials feared an imminent launch after north korea raised a missile into firing position. this morning north korean state tv repeated threats of war saying war is just a matter of time. an armed robbery is caught on camera. two crooks tried to rob a chicago souvenir shop. as can you see, the owner fought back, despite being shot in the leg. the 62-year-old grabbed a bat and just started swinging. one of the suspects accidentally shot his accomplice in the leg. the accomplice limps out of the store, but then the gunman

jumped over-the-counter. the owner's brother-in-law throws a chair at the other robber. there he goes. then he chases him out with a fire extinguisher. the owner is recovering from nine gunshot wounds. he is expected to be okay. police are still searching for the suspects. nearly 3.5 million cars are being recalled because of defective airbags. it includes toyota's popular camera and corolla model from the years 2001 to 2003. plus, several model from nissan, mazda, and honda. for the full list go to cnnmoney.com. for the second day in a row the threat of severe weather looms. this time it's over much of the southeast. tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail all possible. greatest risk in alabama, georgia, and the florida panhandle. in missouri the governor will tour homes damaged by a tornado.

it was about 30 miles outside of st. louis. no injuries reported. a similar scene north of little rock, arkansas. a tornado left a path of destruction 30 miles long. three people hurt. 33 homes damaged. one church absolutely demolished. justin lewis of affiliate katv joins from outside of that church. it's amazing no one was hurt inside that church. >> reporter: exactly. hi there fwen. you talked about 30 homes damaged. we're expecting that number to rise as we get around the country. this is what we talked about. the church that was damaged. we're actually standing in what used to be the sanctuary. as you can see there, that's the pastor up there trying to kind of salvage anything he can from this church at the time. in the distance we hear many chainsaws going off. people just trying to really put together the pieces at this point helping out. there's a whole crew. that home on the other side of that home completely gone. that's the youth director of this church. that's his house. those people are trying to pick up things.

we actually saw a boat in a tree over there. yesterday afternoon his storage shed was demolished. we actually caught up to him yesterday, and here's what he said once he got home from work and saw all the damage. >> i just pulled in, saw the damage, saw the boat, and the trailer and the storage building in the woods, saw a roof gone, and i saw hundred -- tons of people out here helping. i'm thankful for the outpouring we've received. we're going to get to work and see what has to be done, and i know something good is going to come out of this. >> reporter: work still going on. much of what's left of the church really is debris and books. this one entitled "traveling light." they're trying to find the light at the end of this tunnel from this tornado damage. back to you. >> was there warning before the storm, justin? >> there was. now, if he they didn't have a whole lot of time. i'm being told right now we talked about the warning. about 3,500 people were actually without electricity. that steps from obviously the

damage yesterday afternoon and last night trying to get the debris off the roads right now and get to some of those people who don't have power who may not really have access to leave their homes at this time. >> justin lewis, many thanks. we appreciate it. >> this fisherman, boy, did he have a close call. a shark jumps out of the water and lunges at him. we'll tell you what happened next. when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight.

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...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. 19 minutes past the hour. time to check our top stories. the man accused of going on a stabbing spree at his community college near houston is in court this morning. 20-year-old dillon quick charged with aggravated assault and a rampage that left 14 people hurt at lone star college. police say quick told them he fantasized about stabbing people since he was 8 years old. >> george zimmerman's mother is accused of -- is accusing the media of prop gating a lie against her son. gotshalling zimmerman, as you know, was charged with killing 17-year-old trayvon martin. on the anniversary of her son's arrest she calls the april 11th,

2012, "the day the justice system failed us as americans and as a consequence an innocent man was arrested for a crime he did not commit, solely to bracate the masses." keep your eyes to the left of your screen. oh. that was a tiger shark. probably ten feet long and 500 pounds or so. it actually wanted the very same tuna this hawaiian kayaker was trying to snag. >> the shark made a circle, came around, and ate it under my boat and hit the kayak, and then kind of hit me what happened, and then i had a reaction to all of that. >> oh! >> i did get the shivers a bit on it. just thinking about the whole thing. >> yeah, shaken but not spooked. the fisherman said that after his close encounter, he caught three more fish in the very same spot. >> well, the world keeps an eye on north korea and its missiles. many south koreans say they now want their own nuclear ars mal.

not everyone thinks that's a good idea. here's keung lau. >> reporter: seoul amid growing threats from north korea, but there's a growing rage beneath this calm. >> translator: south korea is not powerful enough, says this woman. ". >> reporter: if we have nuclear weapons, it would be better for our stability. a sentiment echoed loudly by a prominent south korean politician. speaking at the carnigy endowment for international peace in washington he minces no words to the american audience. we want our own nukes. >> telling us not to consider any nuclear option is tantamount to telling us to simply surrender. let us try to prevent the unthinkable by thinking the unthinkable. give korea room to maneuver. >> reporter: the call defies a longstanding principle to limit

the nuclear club. one south korea heated for decades under the shield of america's nuclear umbrella. there's been no official policy shift from the government, but from the people? public sentiment is shifting here in south korea. two recent national polls show that two-thirds of south koreans believe they should have their own nuclear weapons. that's a sharp rise from just a few years ago. so what changed? ♪ >> reporter: attacks from north korea that claim lives. 46 sailors were killed when a torpedo sank a south korean warship in 2010, and a surprise artillery attack that killed four people. south koreans, weary of the persistent problems with pyongyang. they see kim jung un's uncontrollable ramp up as a failure of western diplomacy with no long-term solution. phillip yun helped manage policy towards north korea under president clinton. he says more nuclears is a dangerous proposal for global

security. >> it is not going to enhance south korea's security. it is going to make south korea less safe. i think it's not going to prevent north korean provocations, and it's not going to add to the ability of south korea to deter any large scale attack from north korea. many of the, what will happen is that there will be a regional arm race. >> armed south korea, japan will follow, and then china responds. a region that would tip even more out of balance and out of control. cnn, seoul. our talk back question for you today. will background checks really decrease gun violence? facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me@carolcnn. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule.

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kwet for you this morning, will background checks really decrease gun violence?

is that all there is? background checks? after months of agonizing debate about assault rifles, high capacity making sdmreenz, violent movies and video games, background checks? the deal brokered by republican pat toomey and democrat joe manchin is not exactly a crowd pleaser. new york governor andrew cuomo calls it "a sell-out to the gun lobby." according to the pro-gun group gun owners of america, the sell-out actually is the republican senator toomey. still, it's been a gut-wrenching process for the newtown families seen here meeting with an emotional snow manchin. remember, he is a senator with an a rating from the nra. yet, nra leaders say expanding background checks will not stop violent crime or keep children safe. manchin, though, was hoping gun owners will see beyond that. >> nra has always been basically the benchmark. it's the one we look toward. it's the one i'm proud to be a member of. >> they're opposed to your legislation. >> my wife disagreed with me the

other day, and i still love her. >> if background checks are as bipartisan as the senate gets on guns, then at least the two sides can make a deal on something. talk back question for you today. will background checks really decrease gun violence? facebook.com/carol cnn. or tweet me @carolcnn. is he back. dick cheney set to talk to the republican faithful as the party tries to figure out its way forward, but is dick cheney the right man to help the gop rebrand? we'll talk about it next. [ male announcer ] progress isn't about where you've been. ♪ it's about where you're going. the new ram 1500. best-in-class 25 mpg. ♪ north american truck of the year. ♪ the truck of texas. better residual value than ford and chevy. it's the fastest-growing truck brand

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control bill, and here's a reminder of just how empassioned this issue is. gun control activist advisory erected 3,300 grave markers near the capitol. that's the number of americans killed by guns since the school massacre in newtown, connecticut. president obama getting thanks. we're talking about the budget, the deficit, immigration reform, and preventing gun violence. senator johnny isaacson organized the guest list. orrin hatch was there with senator lamar alexander of tennessee and senator marco rubio from florida, and senator susan collins along with seven others. senator isaacson commended the president for reaching out. a tornado leads a debris path 30 miles long. the twister hit one town, passed over another before slamming into a third. in all, three people hurt, 33 homes damaged. a church was demolished. that's what you are looking at. this church was demolished just 90 minutes before the start of

weekly services. those severe storms are now heading east. tennessee, alabama, and georgia could see strong winds and damaging hail later today. >> tiger woods teas off in just a few minutes, and he is the favorite to win his fifth green jacket. maybe it's the republican twist on that 1980s hit "back to the future." the party seeking to rebrand holding its spring meeting to craft the new strategy. among the headliners? dick cheney. yes, that dick cheney. the former vice president who once told a senator to, well, can't say that on tv, but it wasn't very nice. the same dick cheney who left the white house with a 13% approval rating. news of his appearance coming on the same day that rand paul seemed to be looking to the party's future during a visit to howard university. paul of the first major republican to speak at the

historically black university since colin powell back in 1994. joining me now pete dominik, serious xm radio host, patricia murphy, founder and editor of citizen jane politics and contributor with the daily beast and stanford frazier, a senior at howard university who attended senator paul's speech. welcome to all of you. >> hi, carol. >> stanford, i want to start with you. you sat in the audience. how was rand paul received? >> it was a mixed message. the students were definitely welcome to hearing him speak, and we definitely noticed he tried to appeal to us. at the same time we didn't agree with everything he said. >> it was a tough audience, though, to begin with, wasn't it, for rand paul? >> it was a very tough audience. early on a couple of students actually walked in the middle of his speech and held up a sign saying howard university doesn't support white supremacy, and sensationalism aside, i think it demonstrates how african-americans are wary of the republican party. >> howard, by the way, in case all of you don't know it, howard university has produced giants

in the political world, including their good marshall and edward brook, the first african-american elected to the senate, but when senator paul tried to give a little history lesson during his speech, things did not go over so well, so let's listen. >> how many of you would have -- if i would have said who do you think the founders of the ncaap -- would everyone know they were all republicans? >> yes. >> all right. all right. you know more than i know. okay. that's -- and i don't mean that to be insulting. i don't know what you know, and you don't -- i mean, i'm trying to find out what the connection is. the thing is that i think the general public doesn't -- the republican party hasn't talked enough about the great history and interaction between the republican party and black history and voting rights in our country. >> so stanford. >> yes. >> i mean, did that negate the whole speech? >> well, definitely during the speech, you could tell he was

well researched, and he was trying to speak to us. during the question and answer period, he had some times where he messed up. >> i think stanford should be a politician. yeah. >> oh, man. >> did anybody watch that, carol, and not cringe? i mean, that's literally the definition of condee sending. he went into people who know a lot more than him at a historical black college that have to, correct me if i'm wrong, stanford, study african-american history as part of the curriculum, and tried to teach them, and it was literally condee sending. he was also intellectually dishonest in that program, and rand paul pointed out the history of the republican party. most african-americans don't remember when the republican party was the party of black folks. they don't remember that time. we're looking at the last 50 years here, and that matters, and the policies matter a lot more than -- rhetoric matters a great deal, and republicans can't appeal to hispanics.

they're having a hard time appealing to women, and they're having obviously a hard time appealing to african-americans. policy matters too. >> i would say that at least rand paul tried. >> yes. >> it took some courage for him to appear in front of what was sure to be a tough audience. >> i give rand paul a lot of credit for going to howard. i don't give him credit for literally saying i don't know what you know. i mean, this felt like a conversation you should have had in a small group to at least start to know what people know and what they don't know so it came off as just so literally painful to watch, but you do give him credit, and you have to give him credit because he is doing something that the rest of his party is not doing, which is speaking directly to african-americans, seeking out african-american audiences, and at least starting a dialogue. hopefully he heard some of the information that was coming back to him. again, it's really not about a dialogue. it's not about who you are talking to or sort of what's the top line, how does the message go with african-americans? i think african-americans are

sophisticated enough to know that the underlying policies that the republican party is advancing don't feel right to them, and i think that is the underlying problem for the republican party. they don't have enough african-american leaders. they don't listen to enough african-american voices, and the policies that they have do not appeal to aafrz that they are respecting their community and advancing policies that will benefit them. you know, there's just a whole level of problems for them, but i do give rand paul credit for at least starting a conversation, which is much more than his leadership is doing. >> okay. stanford, i'm going to ask you another question. the republicans are going to get together for their spring meeting, and they're going to talk about rebranding the republican party to attract more minorities. one of the headliners is dick cheney, and his mission is to help the republicans rebrand the party. how do young people, young african-americans view dick cheney? >> not favorably. not at all. >> why not? >> well, people are still thinking about the bush years

and what happened in that administration, so some of his policies weren't very popular. especially war mongering policies. >> i think that sometimes we forget that not just young african-americans, but young people in general aren't really in favor of war. is that correct, stanford? am i saying that right? >> definitely. one of the few cheers rand paul did get yesterday is when he spoke about needing congressional approval to go to war and being anti-drone strike. >> there's a mixed message going on. rand paul does a courageous thing and goes to howard, but then the republicans invite dick cheney assist a headliner to help rebrand the party. >> i mean, listen, at what point does your credibility become compromise snd yesterday republicans -- or a couple of days ago they were asking dick cheney. they invited him to speak to him about north korea. i mean asking dick cheney for advice on foreign policy is like asking dick cheney for advice on gun safety. his credibility is gone. he was the architect of the

worst foreign policy disaster of our generation. asking him about the future on foreign policy especially much less anything else, i mean, this guy in my opinion, frankly, i think dick cheney -- i'm one american who thinks dick cheney is actually a bad person. >> oh. so patricia, on the other hand, you can't really alienate your base either, and the republicans know that. they have to hang on to their base as well as attract new people to the matter. dick cheney is still much admired among core republicans, right? >> the reason dick cheney is the right person for them to hear prosecute is that republicans still respect dick cheney. you know, the reason that he is the wrong person to hear from in terms of policy going forward is that he is a 72-year-old white man. they are doing just fine with 72-year-old white men among the republican party, and they're losing national elections. it feels right now about a party that is all about the past. when rand paul was talking about the virtues of the republican party, he was talking about the republican party in the 19th century, not the 21st century. there is a debate among

republicans do we moderate or modernize? i would argue they probably need to do both. i don't think that dick cheney is the man to do either of those, but listen republicans, respect him. they want to hear from him. i think they should at least open up their tent and start to hear from some younger people that don't look exactly like them. >> last question for stanford. among republicans, stanford, is there someone that you respect and admire and wish would really speak at howard? >> that's a great question. i think yesterday was great to start a dialogue. i would love to have a lot more republican leaders because i -- >> the last republican to speak at howard -- sorry to interrupt you -- was colin powell. >> yeah, definitely. i think yesterday was great because for the first time instead of getting the headline, you got to read the whole article. instead of hearing little sound clips, you got to hear the republican party and at least rand paul and how he felt on certain stances. >> interesting conversation. thanks to all of you. >> thanks, carol. >> thanks a lot. >> just ahead, carnival cruise is now practically giving away

rooms. it comes after that cruise from hell on triumph. how about $38 a room? we'll tell you more after a break. morning, brian! love your passat! um. listen, gary. i bought the last one. nice try. says right here you can get one for $199 a month. you can't believe the lame-stream media, gary. they're all gone. maybe i'll get one. [ male announcer ] now everyone's going to want one. you can't have the same car as me, gary! i'm gettin' one. nope! [ male announcer ] volkswagen springtoberfest is here and there's no better time to get a passat. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease one of four volkswagen models for under $200 a month. visit vwdealer.com today. redesigned site has this new score planner tool with these cool sliders. this one lets us know what happens if we miss a payment. oh. this one lets us know what happens if we use less credit. yeah. what's this one do? i dunno. speaking mongolian.

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carnival is trying to lure back passengers after months of bad public relations. you remember the ill-fated cruise from hell back in february followed by reports of power problems aboard other ships. well, now carnival is offering bargain basement prices, and we mean bargain basement prices. alison, to you. this is incredible. >> this is really an attempt to get back from what was an absolute pr disaster. what's funny is you look at these ships. the triumph, the dream, the legend. they sound so magical, downtown

they, but all of them had big problems. >> you try some ridiculously low prices for cruise. we went on carnival's website. they're advertising several trips this month out of miami for under $40 a night, but here's why they have to do this. if you ever wanted to see a company that's got to do something because something is wrong, look at how much carnival shares have plunged since that triumph pr nightmare. after the triumph was stranded in february. shares plunged 12 percent. they haven't recovered. last month the company, in addition, issued a weak profit in sales forecast. it said bookings this year are lower than last year. there's been a bit of recovery with those bookings, but not muff. what are they going to do? they're going to offer you cheap cruises to get you on the boat, and once you're there, they're hoping you spend money. carol zoosh i know. my friend just left for a carnival cruise. i asked her when she was going to get back. she said i don't know.

it's carnival. >> i know. i know. well, you know, good luck with all that. >> yes. that's what i told her. alison, thank you. we'll be right back. the humble back seat. we believe it can be the most valuable real estate on earth. ♪ that's why we designed our newest subaru from the back seat forward. introducing the all-new, completely restyled subaru forester.

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bring you details. that looks bad. we'll bring you details as soon as we get them in. five men have been arrested in los angeles suspected of being part of a crew of a serial bank robbers. police say the crew would break into banks through the roof using power tools and then gain access to the vaults. these men are accused of hitting four banks in the last year and stealing, get this, $6 million. also in california, watch as police use a taser and arrest a -- oh, a 62-year-old man. police say harley kelly pulled out a knife and crossed the highway stopping traffic in both directions. they say he moved towards police with a knife so they hit him with seven high-powered bean bags and shot taser shots, but he kept walking. they say he went down on the seventh taser hit. he now faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon. we're getting our first look at aerials of the damage from overnight tornadoes. samantha moore is at the cmn weather center. show us. >> yeah.

well, right now we have a watch that's in effect until 3:00 p.m. central for parts of louisiana and miss mishgs but we have aerials to show you from ktbi where they're going out to survey much of this damage from the potential tornadoes. you saw yesterday, of course, we have seen the pictures coming in of the incredible damage that occurred there last night, so they are heading out to the hazleton area here. they had a report there of wind gusts up to 101 miles per hour, and, look, can you see from the aerial pictures showing you much of the damage. trees uprooted. homes, buildings just torn apart. many cars turned over on their sides. they will be out going to these three different areas. i believe we had that on google earth. i'm not sure. you can put that source. here we go. we have at least three separate areas around st. louis. bridgeton here. north of st. louis. then the union celedon area. this is where we really had some

widespread reports of a lot of damage. this is where they're focussing on today, carol. we'll let you know when we have word as to exactly what happened there last night in regards to tornado activity. wow. >> thanks so much, samantha sfwloosh you bet. >> coming up in the newsroom, one little girl asks snow white to grant a very special wish. >> i wish for daddy to come home. sfwlu wish that daddy would come home. >> ah. we'll tell you if her dream came true.

if you know your disney fairy tales, you know snow white's wish. that someday my prince will come. that's exactly what one little girl wished for. here's jeanne moos with her happy ending. >> reporter: when snow white has you by the hand and you're headed for the wishing well at disneyland, you better come up with a good wish. >> melissa has had a hard time with her father being gone. she's a daddy's girl. >> reporter: with daddy gone for seven months to afghanistan, no wonder 4-year-old alissa brown gave snow white this wish. >> daddy come home. >> hide your eyes. don't peek. ♪ i'm wishing ♪ i'm wishing ♪ for the one i love >> and while alissa was wishing, not peeking, who should appear?

>> hi, baby. >> but the one she loves. we'll let alissa give you the play-by-play. >> i give him a big hug. >> a hug she's happy to recreate sitting in their san diego home. >> reporter: you know, scott, i kept expecting you to pop out of the wishing well. ♪ >> that would have been a pretty cool trick, but we kept it simple for this one. >> it was made simpler because the browns had a friend of a friend who has a sister working in p.r. at disneyland, and she helped with the marine lieutenant's request, but when it was his 14-month-old son, liam's turn to greet daddy -- >> liam looked scared of you. >> he was only 7 months old when i left, and he has only seen pictures of me, and daddy doll wrshz. >> that would be deployment daddy doll. >> daddy. >> it's lieutenant brown's

picture on it. >> i miss you, dad where i. >> this was the day when alissa first laid eye on her dad. within a few hours of the reunion, liam was getting used to his dad playing and cuddling, but there is a down side to going to a wishing well and actually making your kids wish come true. alissa has already told her parents -- >> my next wish is for a puppy. >> wish for a puppy? no, we got a brother instead. >> maybe that wishing well worked a little too well. >> puppy. >> yeah. well, i don't think snow white can bring you puppies. >> jeanne moos. >> just daddies. >> new york. >> good try, though.

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