surviving son when they come to the united states. that as we learn more about how the tsarnaev brothers may have pulled off this attack. cnn with a firsthand look at a place where the suspects may have learned to make their bomb. and exclusive interview with their mother about the mysterious man who may have influenced their son. >> it just opened our eyes, you know. really wide about our son. >> live team coverage of the boston marathon bombings from boston to russia, doing it like only cnn can. plus, five u.s. presidents will be in one place today for the opening of president george w. bush's presidential library, giving mr. bush a chance to reflect on his legacy. >> history will ultimately judge the decisions that were made. >> later we'll have the first

images of the bush library in a tour with former first lady laura bush. it is thursday, april 25th, in this special edition of "starting point" beginning right now. >> i'm christine romans in flork. we begin with breaking news. two fuel barges on fire this morning after a mass i've explosion. it all happened in mobile bay, alabama. the explosion and the fire still burning so intense firefighters have set up a one-mile safety radius. firefighters at this hour unable at this point to get near the flames. the first explosion happening just before 11:00 eastern followed by at least five more and heard up to 20 miles away. the barges are reportedly loaded with gasoline. and that's why it's keeping the fire going at this point. firefighters, the fire so fierce, firefighters can't get in there to fight it.

three people have been rushed to the hospital suffering from severe burns. they're in critical condition. we're learning this morning the flames are finally starting to die down but firefighters say they will wait until daylight to get a better look at what can be done. ironically, all of this happening at the same facility where the crippled carnival triumph is docked. the cruise ship under repair, of course, after an engine fire left it adrift at sea with more than 4,000 people on board in february. we are continuing to monitor this situation. we're going to bring you updates all morning long. ed john in boston making news in the marathon daycase. john berman there with more on that. john? >> there is breaking news this morning in the boston marathon bombing case, as well. the parents of tamerlan and dzhokhar tsarnaev holding a news conference right now. so far his mother is telling reporters that the u.s. is accusing them of being terrorists. she's in tears. she says u.s. officials have

told them she will not be able toe to see their son dzhokhar when they come to the united states. nic robertson is in the news conference in dagestan. he will join us live in a few minutes with more. meantime, here's the latest in the investigation. a congressman who sits tons house intelligence committee rae vealing the tsarnaev brothers used a remote control device similar to one used to operate a toy car to set huh the explosives. in the next 24 hours the father of the suspected bombers anzor tsarnaev is expected to arrive in the united states. we are told he is cooperating with the fbi investigation. and we've also learned that the russian not t only flagged the fbi about tamerlan tsarnaev, they also sent a warning letter to the cia after the fbi checked him out. both agencies determined there was not enough specific information to move on. so, with the new information about the use of remote controls, investigators are focusing on how these bombs were made. they want to know if the

tsarnaev brothers got any helper happens from any militant inside dagestan. cnn's miguel marquez has the latest on this angle from the streets of boston. good morning, miguel. >> reporter: good morning, john. lots of details starting to come to light in this investigation. i want to take you back to the place where this began though, the finish line of the boston marathon. and what's incredible here is just how close the first bombing was. i don't think you get a sense of that from the video we all watched together. this little spot here on boylston street now, hallowed ground. investigators tell cnn and other news agencies at least one of the homemade bombs was triggered by remote control, possibly a crucial clue. were the devices based on a blueprint in al qaeda's english language magazine "inspire" or similar to ones built in camps by abu dujan. whether he or tamerlan tsarnaev

ever met now part of this massive worldwide investigation. ♪ this as boston's dead are remembered. >> he was born to be a police officer and he lived out his dreams. ♪ >> reporter: thousands in attendance for memorial for m.i.t. police officer sean collier. >> officer sean collier, we love you. >> reporter: in attendance, vice president biden who seemed to make news by suggesting that tsarnaev brothers were self radicalized. >> why were there al qaeda central out of the fatah or two twisted, perverted, cowardly knockoff jihadis. >> reporter: investigators saying nothing ruled out as boston takes another big step toward normal. >> i think for life in boston it's very important that things

move on because everyone has been very much -- very upset for the past week. >> reporter: the urban flow returning to boylston street, except at the locations of each bombing. those places, like a world still on hold, placeses of reflection, places where emotions still flows. at the memorial to the victims, jill biden, wife of the vice president, stopped to pay her respects. and another sign of just how strong boston is, a picture tweeted out last night of jeff b bbauman, the guy in the wheelchair who lost both his legs. it's hard to think about. he delivered an 18th birthday present to sydney corcoran also injured in the bombings. just fantastic to see. one other note though on the tsarnaev parents coming here, the father coming here, we understand tamerlan tsarnaev,

his body has not been claimed at the medical examiner's office and that is probably a very power phful motivation for the family to get here. john? >> miguel marquez here on the streets of boston. on the thought of the parents of the tsarnaev brothers, happening right now, each parent is speaking out this morning tearfully talking about their sons. investigators are also exploring the russian connection of tamerlan tsarnaev. nick peyton walsh has spoken with the mother of the bombing suspect. nick joins us now. good morning, nick. >> speaking from zubeidat tsarnaev this morning, in 2011, saying that his turn toward radical i had worried them. they wanted to start monitoring them. she said she won't be going to the u.s. just yet, the father will be going tomorrow or at some point during the week.

she also shed some light on how her family had turned into devout muslims. armenian descent who converted to islam, it had a profound affect on all of the family. >> everybody is talking about misha. when misha visited us, he just opened our eyes, you know really wide about islam. he was really devoted and very good, very nice man. >> she describes actually how her elder son said to mother, you should probably cover our hair at some point. the clear extreme points of view of the islamic faith that he began to hold. but also investigators say are

nowing looking at any other links there may be between tamerlan tsarnaev and his time here six months of last year. we don't know if he actually met militant active here called abu dujan. what we do know is he linked images from his youtube page. police saying that abu dujan was running training camp for militants where they learned to make homemade bombs. this is dagestani militant abu dujan in video that one of the alleged best on the bomber, tamerlan tsarnaev, posted on his youtube channel. russian special forces killed abu dujan in a shootout last december in dagestan and we don't know if he ever met tsarnaev. the dagestani police revealed to cnn this small-time militant ran training camps for bomb making but foreigners came, too. police cave us images of abu dujan's group training in the woods. this one explains how to mix and

prepare homemade explosives almost anywhere. and the group's pictures suggest they learned to use a mobile phone as a detonator. local police chief who helped hunt down abu dujan said the militant trained foreigners. >> translator: we do not have audio or visual confirmation but we do have information confirming that abu dujan met with foreigners. >> what did the foreigners learn in the woods? >> translator: i can't talk about the number of foreigners, but they met to exchange their banded experience. there are dagestanis who have taken citizenship elsewhere who come here to meet in their historical motherland, whose roots are here. >> reporter: could that have included americans? >> translator: it's entirely possible. but i know p there were arabs and turks among them, but whether there were americans, i don't know. >> the police chief told us abu dujan was often observed coming here to the heart to this

islamic mosque behind me which itself denies any links to extremism. it is possible though that tamerlan tsarnaev last year also prayed here. >> translator: of course, the culture of mosque is their mosque where all of them go, technological wosk gives us operational information that abu dujan went there, met people, and agitated. not once but many times. >> there are reports that dujan was observed at the mosque and he was observed meeting tsarnaev. do you know this? answer this for different n't - reasons, i can't answer. you understand me? >> now, i should point out the two men didn't actually meet although so much of their lives overlap. some more points coming out of the press conference by the parents. the mother suggested she may renounce her u.s. citizenship saying she doesn't believe she

will be allowed to see dzhokhar if she went to the united states. she seemed a little bit less sure she wouldn't getting a cess when i spoke to her earlier on and said now being fed by tubes. very emotional scene at this press conference, contrasting with the woman you've seen more calmly when i spoke to her earlier on to try and reconcile. the vision that she had on angelic children and that being presented by the media and by u.s. officials. john? >> all right, nick, thank you. earlier in nick's report you heard him speak about this mysterious misha,a man who some relatives say may have influenced the elder tsarnaev brother, brainwashed him into adopting a stricter form of islam. brian todd is following that part of the story for us. >> reporter: family members now describe a mysterious man who they say had a mesmerizing influence on tamerlan tsarnaev. they only know him as misha. they don't know his full name. here's how the suspect's uncle

described the man and his influence on the older brother in an interview with cnn. >> there is a person who knew corn vert into islam, both frommer armenian descent. this person took his brain, brainwashed him completely. tamerlan is off now. there is no respect his own father. that concerned me big time. unbelievably. >> reporter: more pieces fit together in a telephone interview wolf blitzer did with the ex-brother-in-law of the two suspects. he said he had met misha twice, introduced to him by tamerlan. he said he didn't witness misha actually turning tamerlan into a radical islamist but -- >> he surely did have influence and did teach him things that would make tamerlan, you know, go away from the people and go more into the religion and maybe, maybe that's possible that he suggested him some

radical ideas. >> he said he had told him he had quit boxing and listening to mainstream music because misha taught him that in islam it's not good to do these things. asked if he suspected that misha was connected to any terrorist groups -- >> i didn't suspect either him or tamerlan being connected to terror group or having terrorist ideas, but i know that they had a lot of conversations about just, you know, islam and how islam is being attacked pr the outside -- you know, from the western countries and how islam is under pressure. >> asked when tamerlan became a more devout islam, the ex-brother-in-law and the uncle say they both noticed it about four years ago. we searched for misha using the internet, a search database and social media, cross referencing his name with descriptionses of him. one name did come up.

we scoured matching addresses in the boston area, phone numbers and e-mails. we couldn't find him. not mentioning his name. has misha ever been connected with the islamic society of boston, the mosques they attended? i put the question to mosque spokesman. >> is there such a person in this congregation. >> no. >> and duo you think there coul be anything to that? >> not to our knowledge. >> another mosque official told me, quote, we are looking for him, too. they say they want to find misha as much as anyone else right now. brian todd, cnn, boston. >> thanks to brian for that report. new this morning, russian president vad slad min putin calling this a disgusting crime. he said the bombings should re-enforce the need for more u.s. and russia counter terrorism cooperation. a chechen opposition leader called the boston bombings a potential gift to putin in he

tried to enlist the u.s. as an ally in the fight against the chechen people. the tsarnaev brothers are of chechen heritage and lived in the dagestan region before moving here in the united states. lots more going on elsewhere. christine romans is back in new york with more of the day's top stories. >> we're following new dwoopmentes in the investigation of those ricin tainted letters sent to president obama and others on capitol hill. the fbi focus has shifted. they're searching the site of a former martial art studio in tupelo, mississippi, and the home of a former politician who was an instructor there. investigators are trying to determine if someone tried to pin the poisonous letter on paul kevin curtis, charges against him have been dropped. curtis' attorney says her client was a scapegoat. victor blackwell will have the latest from tupelo in 20 minutes. happening in new orleans suburb is picking up the pieces after a pair of back to back twisters came through town.

nerves are rattled in kenner. meanwhile, parts of the soggy midwest could see relief today while other areas brace for more flooding. jennifer has more from the weather studio. >> we are watching the flooding along the illinois as well as mississippi river and many of these locations were still at major flood stage. for peoria, ten feet above. let's go to video of what conditions were like on the ground. we're talking many homes are under water. looking at video coming out of fargo, north dakota. they're prepping for flooding for this weekend. as i take you back over to our graphic here. i want to point out to you for the mississippi river right at cape jer girardoau. talking about 100,000 acres already flooded. up towards the area of the northern plains, north dakota, temperatures are going to be soaring this weekend into the 70s. allowing for rapid snow smelt

and that is going to lead to flooding roads a right along the red river. that's going to be peaking in the weekend as well as into next week. temperatures climbing to the 70s. on a wider view, as you have seen the clouds where john berman is reporting out of boston, that frontal system slides over to the east. see lots of sunshine setting up. clouds linger for new orleans where they had two tornadoes there yesterday. christine? >> jennifer, thanks. meantime, rescuers in bangladesh desperately searching for survivors of a factory collapse that claimed 160 lives. more than 1,000 people injured when the eight-story garment factory collapsed yesterday near the capital city. many were scared to come to work after cracks appeared in the building on tuesday. those survivors claim the building owners told them the factory was safe and ordered them to report to work yesterday. of course, the factory made

garments for exports like the u.s. president obama attending a memorial service in baylor university today in honor of the 14 people killed in a blast in the fertilizer plant in a town of west, texas. at the devastating site, investigators are trying to piece together exactly what happened. they still don't know what caused the fire or what triggered the deadly explosion last week that leveled the plant, leveled nearby buildings and many homes. it will be a sight to behold, five living u.s. presidents to the in the same place for the dedication of the george w. bush presidential library. it begins at 11:00 a.m. eastern in dallas. these days the nation's 43rd president is preoccupied with being a new grandfather and aspiring painter. he says the new library is all about laying out facts. and he tells our john king he doesn't feel any need to defend himself or his presidency. >> i know this, that laura and i gave the presidency eight years

of our life. we gave it our all. made the best judgment calls i could. didn't compromise my principles. i'm a content man. >> the nation does seem to be looking more kindly on the bush presidency. according to a new poll, 68% considered his office a failure right after he left the white house in 2000. now the number has fallen to 55%. in the next half hour, a live report from brianna keilar in dallas where the dedication is less than four hours away. and stay with cnn in the 8:00 hour of "starting point," a former first lady laura bush staiks takes john king on a tour of the new presidential library. keep it right here for special coverage of the dedication as well hosted by wolf blitzer only here on cnn. back to you in boston, john. >> thanks so much. we are continuing to monitor two breaking stories this morning, including the parents of the accused boston marathon bombers speaking out.

that news conference is still going on. expected to end in about 15 minutes. we will get a live report from what they said. they are in tears. plus, we're getting inside detail on just how much the information and the cia knew about tamerlan tsarnaev. congressman adam schiff briefed last night by the fed. he will tell us what he heard. more when our special edition of "starting point" continues. by building custom security solutions that integrate video, access control, fire and intrusion protection. all backed up with world-class monitoring centers, thousands of qualified technicians, and a personal passion to help protect your business. when your business is optimized like that, there's no stopping you. we are tyco integrated security. and we are sharper.

we're now joined by california democratic congressman adam schiff. he is the ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee. he is among the lawmakers who have been briefed on the boston investigation including a briefing last night. congressman, thank you so much for joining us this morning. let me start off with this news that we did hear overnight, that the fbi not only the fbi was informed by the russians at tamerlan tsarnaev in 2011 but later in the year the cia was also informed by the russians.

the russian intelligent service reaching out to the cia. both the fbi and cia independently looked into this brother and found no reason to continue their investigation. but it doesn't appear that either spoke to each other. what are you hearing about that? >> well, it seems like it's really two identical or nearly identical inquiries merely sent to two different agencies. the fbi responded. they went out, interviewed him. they did a background of all the online traffic to try to find out was there any information indicating that he had been radicalized as the russian inquiry suggested. and basically weren't able to find anything and they did a pretty thorough look based on this single tip. and, john, you've t got to keep in mind they probably get 10 to 20,000 tip or inquiries like this every year. so considering the volume and consider that they really didn't have much to work with they did a pretty thorough job. they went back to the russians and said we haven't been able to find anything. what have you got?

can you give us more to go on? and the russians didn't respond. i think they went back to the russians multiple times and were responded to with nothing but silence. >> and then though we learned the russians went to the cia with the similar request and the cia found the same thing. i guess what up saying here is, at some point should there have been some communication between the fbi and the cia on this or is this another example of what they scall stovepiping within te intelligence agencies? >> i don't think there was any indication of stovepiping. it was put in a database and shared among different agencies and shared with a joint terrorism task force. that's what should happen. i don't think this is a situation where either agency was withholding something from the other. reality is the agency that went out and did the investigation wasn't able to find anything. so i'm not sure what more could have been done, particularly in light of the fact that we just don't have the capacity to

surveil everyone we get a tip on and regrettably the fact that some of the foreign saths will share misinformation if they want to somehow impugn someone they consider undesirable. we have to look out for these false positives, as well. >> so you're suggesting that maybe you have to be careful with some of the information the russian government was providing? >> we do. there's no indication that that was the case with the tamerlan brothers. but we do have to take with a certain grain of salt some of the inquiryies that we get. and it's a question of capacity. there were a lot of people, suspects, that are much higher on the suspicion list than these brothers were. and that's where a lot of the resource get devoted. i haven't seen any indication yet that this is a failure to share information or the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. obviously the investigation is still at an early age and we're going to withhold any conclusions but some are racing to say that the fbi dropped the

ball or the agencies weren't talking to each other. that just doesn't seem to be the case. >> all right, congressman adam schiff, democrat from california. thank you so much for joining us. really appreciate your time this morning. >> thanks. aheard on "starting point," president george w. bush tells us what he thought when he heard about the boston marathon bombing as he prepares to open his own personal library. we'll have a live report from dallas in just minutes. and mind your business this morning, a boost for the economy thanks to prom? i'll explain right after the break.

minding your business this morning. dow futures up. 42 points in the premarket. optimistic, amazon, starbucks, exxonmobil, the big reports today. how's this for a quirky economic forecast here in the u.s.? call at this time prom indicator. for the second year in a row familys are spending more on prom. visa says the average u.s. household spends $1,139 on prom related expenses. that's up 40% from just two

years ago. parents pay 59% of the cost. teens pay 41%. but research says as long as mom and dad are paying more, teens have little incentive to cut costs on the dress, on the shoes, on the hair, on the flowers, on the limo. ahead on "starting point," following breaking news. parents of the accused boston bombers speaking out making their own allegations at this hour. details in a live report. then, five u.s. presidents will be in one place today. the opening of president george w. bush's library. find out what the president had to say about the terror t attack in boston. >> i was reminded that evil exists. >> a special report in dallas right after the break. (annoucer) new beneful medley's, in tuscan, romana, and mediterranean style varieties. ♪

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wrk back to "starting point." breaking news in mobile bay, alabama. dangerous dplflames have burnedl night. the barges loaded, we're told, with gasoline, exploded last night. firefighters forced to stay away because the flames were too hot. as daylight breaks, firefighters blan to get a better look at the situation. at least three people are hospitalized in critical condition. back to you in boston, john. >> we're also following breaking news here in boston. the parents of the suspected boston marathon bombers speaking out at a news conference this morning. the mother of tamerlan and dzhokhar tsarnaev claiming that the u.s. is accusing them of being terrorists and will not allow them to see their surviving son. nick paton walsh is live in dagestan with the latest.

good morning, nick. >> good morning. she had this press conference which i believe is still ongoing.she said she received gs from her lawyer and if she goes to the united states she won't be arrested on these outstanding charges to deal with shoplifting. that's odd to me because i spoke to her earlier on and she did suggest she was concerned about that. maybe she's trying to force the issue. she goes on to saying, according to my colleague, they showed a pictures of dead body of tamerlan. i did not look. i could not believe it was my son. she said, she mentioned that she herself feels accuse of being a terrorist and goes on to say, they already told us they will not let us see dzhokhar. now, that is also interesting because during the conversation i had with her she wasn't sure if that was possible or not. so it seems like a more emotional plea here trying to seem like the wrong party and perhaps push u.s. authorities into a more sympathetic reception on her arrival. >> nick paton walsh for us. we have nic robertson on the

phone. nic is inside that news conference. nic, what can you tell us about what the parents are saying? >> it has been at moments very emoti emotional. questions have been going back and forth between russian and english. what we have heard from in particular zubeidat, tamerlan and dzhokhar's mother, is that she is considering relinquishing her u.s. citizenship. she says that she would like tamerlan to be brought back to this region, to dagestan, to be buried. she said she's not sure that that's possible. she said at the moment somebody is working on that but if it doesn't happen, then this is in the hands of god. and she also says that at the moment dzhokhar is in hospital. she says he is unable to eat solid food, that he is being fed by a tube. she says her lawyers -- his lawyers have told her that. she's in regular contact with his lawyers.

she also says that he, dzhokhar, has not been formally questioned yet. this she says is according to dzhokhar's lawyers and she said she is talking to regularly. she maintains, as we have heard all along, that she believes her sons are innocent. she found in some parts confused about the different videos that she's seen, the different photographs, and does seem to hold to some sort of conspiracy theory that in some way that she can't fully explain her sons are being set up. her husband anzor has said that he will leave today for the united states. she is holding off on that, although she does say that she has guarantee if she goes she won't be arrested on the outstanding shoplifting charges. >> nic, you suggest that the mother is still maintaining the boys' innocence, suggesting they were somehow set up. you also say she's in conversation with dzhokhar's lawyers. are the lawyers giving them any

reason to believe that they believe there was some conspiracy? is that some kind of defense that they plan? >> she hasn't linked it to any kind of defense. it gives the appearance at the moment of being an emotional state of mind that she is in when it comes to focusing on the precise details of what happened. she hasn't said that this is how the lawyers will proceed and she hasn't given an indication yet how the lawyers will seek to tackle his particular case. >> clearly interesting though that she is speaking to the lawyers. i don't know if you brought this up, but did they indicate when the father does come to the united states as early as tomorrow, whether the father will look to somehow visit dzhokhar? >> he said he will try to do that. i'm going to ask him that question. will you speak to dzhokhar when

you go to the united states? will you try to speak to dzhokhar when you go to the united states tomorrow? >> yes. >> you will? you will speak with him. so i just talked to dzhokhar's father right there and he tells me he will try and talk and speak with dzhokhar when he goes to the united states. he just said that, that he expects to be there tomorrow. chris? >> all right, nic robertson for us in sdag stdagestan where thes were just giving a news conference right now. the father is intending to come to the united states. he could be here tomorrow. and nic just spoke to him, you heard him just say to nic robertson that he would like to speak to dzhokhar when he gets here. it will be extraordinary and shocking if the authorities here let that happen. again, the father did say he would try to do that. interesting, to say the least. let's go back to christine romans in new york with more of today's other top news. >> good morning, john. in three hours five living former and u.s. current presidents will stand together on the campus of southern

methodist university for the dedication of the george w. bush presidential library, america's 43rd president preoccupied these days with painting and being a grand new grandfather. he said the library is designed to show people what it's like to be commander in chief. brianna keilar is live in dallas this morning. good morning, brianna. >> good morning, christine. as you know, 9/11 unexpectedly defined george w. bush's presidency, and so it's very much represented inside of this museum which i had a chance to get a sneak peek at yesterday. 9/11 as well as the wars that followed. one of the most striking exhibits that you see in here is this sort of twisted hulk of metal that comes from the south tower of the world trade center. it's believed to be the point of impact of that tower. you also see the bullhorn that president bush used on september 14th at ground zero just a few days after the attack in a

speech that was so memorable, as well as saddam hussein's gun which he was found with when he was captured in 2003 is on display inside of this museum here at southern methodist university. one of the key parts of this museum is what's called the decision point theater. it's an interactive exhibit and it allows visitors to go in and make decisions like president bush did. the decisions that he considers his toughest on iraq, on lrn katrina, on the financial crisis. visitors can go in and getting actual advice from the real advisers to president bush. they can talk to military commanders. they might even get some input from the press, as well. and then they get a vote on how they would have decided. after which president bush will say what his decision was and why. and he spoke to john king about this. >> also points out that the dilemmas that presidents face. not just me but every president has got a series of conflicting

advisers. and you just got to pick and make the best judgment call you can. and hopefully people will go to the "decision point theater" and say, wow, i didn't understand that and now i understand it better pbet bett better. it's interesting to me they say how presidents make decisions and hopefully allow them to make better decision railroads since president bush was the president who dealt with 9/11, john asked him as well about the bombings in boston, and here's what he said. >> i was reminded that evil exists and that there are people in the world who are willing to kill innocent people to advance a cause. i don't know what this cause is, but we'll find out. during the same week in a town close to us at crawford, a plant exploded and both incidents remind me of how fragile life can be for some.

and both incidents, you know, made us weep, knowing that somebody was hurting a lot. >> reporter: and that was an interview conducted several days ago, ahead of the opening here of the library. this is going to be a huge gathering. the big thing, of course, is going to be the fact that you have all of the former presidents, as well as president obama, here. but there's also a number of current and former heads of state who will be attending. we just got an updated list. australia, korea, el salvador, italy, just to name a few. >> thanks so much, live for us this morning in dallas. stay with cnn in the next hour of "starting.," john king and former first lady laura bush take you on a personal tour of the library. at 11:00 a.m., wolf blitzer is your host for live coverage of the dedication from the campus of southern methodist university. new developments in the

ricin tainted letters sent to president obama and other officials. the fbi's focus has shifted and now searching the site of a former martial arts studio in tupelo, mississippi, and the home of a former politician who was an instructor there. victor blackwell following the developments for us here live in tupelo. have investigators found anything and have they been able to connect the dot here? >> no, and there are more and more dots every day. we do know there was one more search yesterday. i spoke with the attorney for that tae kwon do instructor/former politician and she says that the fbi wanted his car. so he took it to them for processing so they could search to find out if there was any connection to who is trying to or tried at least through those ricin tainted letters poison president obama. the home of a former republican candidate for the mississippi state house is now involved in a

federal investigation into who sent letters tainted with ricin to president obama, a mississippi senator and a county judge. federal agents in full body hazmat suits searched his home on tuesday. his attorney said it was related to the ricin investigation. in a youtube video posted this week the former candidate jay everett dutschke talked about the search. >> i met with the fbi and consented to a search, signed a piece of paper saying go ahead and search the house. >> reporter: on west agents spent several hours searching a thai kwan do studio dutschke had rented. it's not known if anything was found. the studio shut down after. the fbi has not filed any new charges in the ricin investigation and dutschke has not been named as a suspect. the charges against celebrity impersonator kevin curtis have been dropped. >> during kevin curtis' the ricin mailer, during his

pretrial hearing, his attorney accused me of being the one that sent out the ricin letters instead of him. >> reporter: his attorney told cnn dutschke had nothing to do with the letter bus earlier curtis told cnn he still believed he had been set up. >> i knew if -- it had to be or they just had the wrong person. >> i don't have anything at all to do with this. i don't hardly know the guy. in fact, we've only met on two occasions. >> reporter: curtis says dutschke has bad mouthed him for years and now implicating him in a plot to poison the president. >> that's serious. that's when someone says, we want him gone. >> reporter: we have put in a call to the u.s. attorney and fbi day after day and, thus far, over the last three days at least they have said very little, if anything, about this case. we'll try again today to see if we can get a connection if any from this man to this case. christine? >> victor blackwell, a mystery, quite frankly, in tupelo,

mississippi. in our a.m. house call, heart failure in merck expected to shoot up by 2030. the cost to treat it is expected to more than double. that's the word from the american heart association and it's warning that patients and dl doctors alike need to be better informed about how to prevent and treat it. a new study claims exposure to explicit material does not have as much impact on the sexual behavior in adolescence and young adults as previously thought. university of copenhagen researchers say exposures to pornography via the internet, videos and magazines is just one of many factors that may influence the sexual behaviors of young people. ahead on "starting point," president obama attending a memorial service for the victims of the fertilizer plant explosion. investigators hope to find clues into what caused that blast. we're live in waco next. one of the most anticipated new books, author and journalist brian stelter here live on the

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new dwochmentes this morning in the deadly fertilizer plant explosion in the small community of west, texas. today, president obama attends a memorial service in nearby waco for the 14 people killed there. cnn'sed lavandera is there right now for us. good morning, ed. >> good morning, christine. thousands and thousands of

firefighters are expected to attend the memorial service today for the 14 people who were killed in that explosion. this coming the day after we got our first up close look at the explosion site. >> a bomb has went off inside here. it's pretty bad. we've got a lot of firemen down. >> captured from firefighter radio transmissions, those were the frantic homes just after the west, texas, explosion sent a deadly shockwave through this central texas town. h is the first up close look at the blast site. this is the blast site here. you can see the crater which is 93 feet wide, 10 feet deep. that was part of -- one of the buildings that was on the ground here. investigators say they still don't know what caused the fire or what triggered the explosion about 20 minutes after firefighters were called to the scene. >> it's like putting a puzzle pieces together. reenacting that fire to see what transpired to cause the explosion. >> reporter: the damage is so

extensive that state and federal investigators are using shovels to sift through the debris, looking for clues to what ignited the fire that led to the explosion. >> it could be remains of the explosion. transfer could be remains of the building, electrical components, federal lieser remains, chemical remains, and it could be the way the material is stored, maybe you will find containers, pieces of containers, a whole list of things they are looking for. >> this is an aerial picture of the federal lieser facility before the explosion. this part of the building is where the explosion erupted. this is the site after the blast. the twisted and charred remnants of two fire trucks still at the scene. >> you can see the charred remains of a second building on this site. and between these two buildings we're told is where many of the firefighters and ems teams that were killed in this explosion were working at the time of the explosion. >> it's killing me. killing me bad inside.

i just want some answers. >> reporter: louise mills is still waiting for investigators to identify her brother's remains. 41-year-old morris bridges, the father of three children, he joined the west volunteer fire department three years ago. he was one of the first people on the scene. so you just pray he didn't suffer? >> yes. i do. every day. i know he didn't suffer. i know he didn't. we're suffering. we want him back. >> reporter: louise mills says her brother loved wearing his bright red firefighter shirt and showing off his bang. for more rhys bridges, jumping into harm's way is how you earned the firefighter's badge of honor. and, christine, that powerful display of solidarity, on full display later on today. we are seeing at the site of the memorial service will be held, firefighters showing up in fire trucks from around the region, thousands and thousands of them

are expected to attend. christine. >> thank our first responders, a real awareness over the past week or so, how important first responders are for all of us. thank you so much. ahead on "starting point," one of the most anticipated books about the drama and scheming surrounding network morning news. journalist brian seltzer with a live look at his new book "top of the morning." next.

something we personally here are quite familiar with, a new book, "top of the morning,"

inside the cut throat world of morning tv. brian stelter joins us. >> a hard job, one thing i learned. >> why morning news. you cover the media for "the new york times," why morning media? >> it's a time of day that's growing and people feel intimately connected to the people they watch, because they are waking up, half dressed, often in bed or making breakfast and want to know what's going on with the world and be entertained. a mix of information and entertainment. >> let me talk about how things have changed when i was a little girl. you started watching one of these shows, you watched for life. and the web, internet has changed the dynamic for these shows. the rules of morning tv were changing as cable tv, the internet and cell phones all gave people more choices when they wake up. why wait for al roker on today

when the weather channel phone app can tell you whether it's going to rain. what ining are we? >> the fourth inning. more morning shows ab than ever, more competition than ever, and every morning when i rolled over in the morning. i turn to my cell phone to find out did north korea set off that missile? first way to find out what's going on. morning television will have to be about the stories behind the stories, the information you can't get behind the story. >> and anchors make it look so easy. i don't mean to flatter you unnecessarily. hard work at a really weird time of day and people on air have to make it look effortless. >> i had take the flattery. i'll turn the tables. usually you write about the media, and one of the reviews, a breezy read with more than a little overblown prose, some of the just plain silly. how does it feel to have the tables turned on you.

27-year-old media critic. >>ith good for a reporter to be reported on. i expected a tougher view from "the new york times." if they renewed my book and worked there. a nice, pleasant review with lots of cheery language, people wouldn't believe it anyway. >> much of the book, the buzz about the book is the drama between gma and today. the 16-year run that is being exploited and turned around, undone by gma. what is gma doing right, what is "today" doing wrong? >> "today" got too comfortable at number one it happens in lots of industries and businesses. you get too comfortable at first place, that's when your rival creeps up. and that's what happened with the two shows. in the more and more competitive world, these are the two biggest morning shows and they have all of the others nipping at their heels. both they and "gma" are aware of how competitive it is "good

morning america" people say we are still acting as if we are losing by half a million. they won't talk about being number one, because they don't want to jinx it. >> what's the left for cable? they have been very niche products. what about cable? >> chemistry is more important than ever. if we are getting headlines on the web or cell phones, then the chemistry among co-hosts, relationships we wake up and see in the morning seem to be more important than ever. and "good morning america" got that right. maybe luck, maybe skill, got it right at a time when "today" got it wrong. >> it's a good read, the background stuff, what's happening behind the scenes, a very good read. thank you so much. nice to see you. next, breaking news out of alabama. a massive barge explosion. fire on the mobile river, and live to dagestan where parents of the alleged boston marathon bombers just held a news conference, speaking out on accusations and conspiracy at the top of the hour.

you are watching "starting point."

good morning, everybody. we begin with breaking news here in boston. the parents of the marathon bombing suspect, speaking out to reporters this morning, they are talking to us about allegations, made against them, and conspi conspiracy theories regarding their children. we'll go to dagestan with details on that. breaking news from overnight too. explosions and fire on barges, carrying fuel on the mobile river. at least three people hurt. plus, five u.s. presidents will be in one place today, for the opening of the president george w. bush presidential library. gives the former president a chance to reflect on his legacy. >> history will ultimately judge

the decisions that were made for iraq and i'm not going to be around to see the final verdict. >> later, the first images of the bush library and a tour with former first lady, laura bush. thursday, april 25th. this special edition of "starting point" begins right now. starting point this morning. major new developments in the boston marathon bombing case. the parents of the two suspects say the u.s. is now accusing them of being involved. speaking out in dagestan in the last two hours. the mother claims her family is not being allowed to speak. they were at the emotional news conference that ended minutes ago, and the father is flying to the u.s., could arrive tomorrow and will try to speak with his

son dzhokhar. nick joins us on the phone. what else can you tell us? >> reporter: we know that dzhokhar is too sick to be fed solid food in the moment. getting information from dzhokhar's lawyers. they say dzhokhar is not yet -- we have understood until now, the parents believe dzhokhar has not been officially questioned yet, they say this is according to dzhokhar's lawyers who they are talking with. they described conversations with the fbi saying that the fbi officials do not -- they have not been questioned yesterday, the fbi doesn't seem to have an indication of a lead, but they are asking them wide-ranging questions, but they haven't suggested to the parents a sort of avenue that they are following up in particular. but they did want to know who had been meeting with, where they had been going to pray.

they met with people with connections to rebels here in the country, but the parents both -- the mother in particular, seem to be in complete denial that their sons were involved in the bombings. and i'm suggesting complications, mixups and videos that they have been shown. one point they thought tamerlan, the elder son had been alive and then they saw he was dead and they can't understand it. so emotional, confused and denying their sons were involved. >> all right. our thanks to nick roberts on the phone with us. nick telling us, again, they had repeated contact with the lawyers, that's very interesting. >> and we will here for a while. and he talked with us about the mysterious friend named misha who she says influenced her son

tamerlan. >> misha, everybody is talking about misha. i don't know -- misha, yes. when misha was kind of -- he just opened our eyes. you know wide. about islam. he was really devoted and very good. very nice man. >> with new information we reported a while ago, the brothers may have used a remote control to detonate the bomb, the focus turns to how the bombs were constructed. they want to know if they got help from militants in dagestan. in here boston with the latest. good morning, miguel. >> reporter: a lot of important questions out there, john. i want to take you back to the beginning, the finish line of

the boston marathon, and where the first explosion happened on boyleston street happened. runners up and down here, also hallowed ground. >> investigators tell cnn and other news agencies at least one of the home made bombs was triggered by remote control, possibly a crucial clue. were the devices based on a blueprint in al qaeda's english language magazine "inspire" or similar to ones in camps run by dagestani militants. he and tamerlan tsavraev ever met, now one part of the massive worldwide investigator. ♪ >> he was born to be a police officer, and he lived out his dreams. ♪ >> thousands in attendance for

memorial for m.i.t. police officer sean collier. >> officer sean collier, we love you. >> reporter: in attendance, vice president biden who seemed to make news who seemed to suggest that the tsavraev brothers were self-radicalized. >> were they out of fatah or two perverted twisted knockoff jihadis. >> nothing is ruled out as boston takes another big step toward normal. >> i think life in boston is very important. the things move on, because everyone has been very much -- very upset for the past week. >> reporter: the urban flow returning to boylston street, except at the locations of each bombing. those places, luke a world still on hold. places of reflection, places

where emotion still flows. and at the measuremential to the victims, jill biden, wife of the vice president, stopped to pay her respects. >> another sign of just how strong boston is, this picture tweeted overnight, jeff bauman, the guy who had both legs taken off by one of those bombs, he is delivering an 18th birthday present to another bombing victim, it is great to see, great to be here on boylston street and we hopeful that this investigation will be done soon and understand a lot more. certainly here folks in boston certainly want to know, john. back to you. >> thanks so much, miguel. amazing examples of courage and compassion everywhere you look in the city. thanks, miguel. there is a new development in the boston bombing to tell you about this morning. senators john mccain and kelly ayotte want to know if u.s. intelligence officials had sufficient information that could have prevented the deadly

attack. sent a letter to the chair of the senate homeland security committee requesting a hearing in the matter. let's turn to chair of the house national security s subcommittee. he's been briefed on the marathon bombing. let me ask you about the news from senators mccain and ayotte, asking for a senate investigation into the intelligence here is that a good idea? >> of course, there will be a series of hearings. we are different in america, we look at this in an open and transparent way. that's justified and i'm sure the first of a series of hearings that will happen regarding this incident. >> what you can tell me about the information we are getting overnight, not just the fbi was informed or questions about tamerlan tsavraev by the russian intelligence service, but russians reached out to the cia about this young man. what can you tell us about that? >> the idea that the russians reached out to us is obviously

encouraging. not something that happens every day, and it needs to be taken very seriously. we have to learn more about that, the idea that they share information with a couple of different agencies, seems to make sense what do we do with it? was this there this stove piping? it needs to be explored. the fbi, cia and homeland security. we have 240,000 people engaged at the department of homeland security and they are very involved in a lot of this, and that portion knees to about explained. we got controversial testimony, as this is playing out, we have to look into it. >> whether or not he was pinged when he left the country to return to dagestan. let me ask you about this figure, misha that we keep hearing about lately. that somehow relatives of tamerlan and dzhokhar tsavraev,

says that this fellow misha helped to radicalize them. is this name coming up? >> it certainly is on cnn. a lot of times the media gets out ahead of these things. you don't want investigative agencies out there blurting this thing until they fully investigated it. news to me, but, you know, perhaps very good reporting by cnn and others. >> we appreciate that. thank you, congressman. what can you tell us what are you learning about where these men may or may not have been radicalized. working theory that they were self-radicalized by watching videos in the u.s.? >> i think it stretches the imagination to suggest that these -- particularly the younger one went to high school and watched videos and came to the point where they placed these bombs that killed people, maimed hundreds. that stretches the imagination. i -- i tend to think that there may be bigger issue behind this.

certainly being explored by the authorities, and what bothers me, so swiftly, authorities said there is no other connection i have to think that our starting point should be there probably is a connection, does it lead broader, more people radicalized, and then work backward from there? >> i should say, congressman, are you holding an unrelated hearing today? >> we are concerned about the amount of ammunition homeland security is purchasing. they can purchase up to 1.1 billion rounds over the next five years. a lot of ammunition for 70,000 people who carry guns in the department of homeland security. we'll dive a little deeper into that, that ammunition that is being purchased by the tens of millions of rounds. that seems a little bit odd to us. >> all right. we look forward to speaking about that issue going forward. jason chaffetz, thank you.

developing news out of mobile, alabama. christine romans back in new york with that and other top stories. >> good morning, john. a developing story in alabama. massive flames on two fuel barges dying down. all happening in mobile bay, alabama. the barms said to be loaded with gasoline, blew up last night. and one point, the fire so intense, firefighters set up a one-mile safety radius, unable to get near the flames. three people rushed to the hospital in critical condition, and now investigators have a first look at the damage. in all happening at the same facility where the crippled carnival triumph is docked. some 500 carnival employees evacuated from the triumph. the cruise ship under repair there after an engine fire left it adrift at sea with more than 4,000 people on board. that was back in february. happening now, following extreme weather around the country. cleanup under way in new orleans. a pair of back-to-back

tornadoes. storms ripping through the kenner neighborhood. damaging homes, knocking out powers for 30,000 customers. parts of the drenched midwest could see relief today while other areas are bracing for more flooding. and jennifer delgado has more. >> good morning, christine. they will see a break in the rainfall. things drying out, but it is still going to take a while before we see rivers receding across parts of the midwest. the illinois river and the mississippi river, we talk about two areas, including peoria, illinois. flood stage ten feet above where it should be. let's go to video to show you yearial footage what it looks like across the region. homes and businesses are flooded and roadways are impassable. and many areas, it's going to stay at moderate levels through early next week as i take you back over to our graphic. another area we're following this is right along the mississippi river, and cape girardeau, missouri.

we expect it to crest tomorrow. and residents could be evacuated. 100,000 acres already flooded and roads are impassable and that's because we expect it to crest tomorrow at 42 feet. christine, the good news, the rain is not going to be in the forecast today. that's the good news, we will have dry conditions including parts of the northern plains where they are waiting for snow melt, that happens this weekend. back over to you. >> jennifer delgado, thank you, jennifer. if a few hours, five u.s. presidents will gather for the george w. bush presidential library. the search moneys begin at 11:00 a.m. eastern in dallas. the nation's 43rd president is preoccupied with being a new grandfather and an aspiring painter. the new library is to show visitors what it's like to be the leader of the free world. >> the museum gives people an opportunity to hear the different points of view i got on these particular issues, the purpose is not to try to defend a policy, the purpose is

try-to-show people what it's like to be the president and how you make decisions. history will ultimately judge the decisions that were made for iraq and i'm not going to be around to see the final verdict. >> what a way to put it. >> in other words, i'll be dead. >> the nation does seem to be looking more favorably on the bush presidency. according to a cnn/orc poll, 68% of people considered his two terms a failure in early 2009. now that numbers has fallen to 55%ne 55%. in the next half hour, laura bush and john king will take you on a tour of the new library. and then we'll be joined by ed gillespie, former counselor to george w. bush. police search a new home in connection to the ricin-laced

letters sent to president obama and other officials. why is the focus on the former politician? you're watching "starting point." e that with olay facial hair removal duos for fine or coarse hair. first a pre-treatment balm then the effective cream. for gentle hair removal at far less than salon prices. there's no place like home.

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the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. welcome back. new developments in the ricin-tainted letters sent to president obama. the focus has shifted. they are searching a form every martial arts studio and the home of a former politician who was an instructor at that studio. victor blackwell joins us live. >> reporter: they are still searching. we are working to get answers. you mixed two new searches and a new person they interviewed. the wife of the former politician, from the attorney for there that politician. we're told that they both are cooperating this investigation. to try to fin out who tried to poison president obama.

the home of a former republican for mississippi statehouse is involved in a federal investigation over who sent letters tainted with ricin to president obama, a mississippi senator and a county judge. federal agents in full body hazmat suits searched his home on tuesday. his attorney said it was related to the ricin investigation. in a youtube video posted this week, the former candidate, jay everett dusky, talked about the search. >> i said go ahead and search the house. >> agents spent several hours searching a tae kwon do studio he rented until january. not known if anything found. the studio shut down after he was arrested on child molestation charges. his attorney says he is now free on bone. the fbi has not filed any new charges in the ricin investigation and dut.schke is

being searched. >> paul kevin curtis, during the pretrial hearing, his attorney accused me of being the one that sent out the ricin letters instead of him. >> his attorney says deutschke had nothing to do with the letters. >> i knew they had the wrong person. >> i don't have anything at all to do with this i don't hardly know the guy. in fact, we only met on two occasions. >> dutschke has bad mouthed curtis for years. >> that's serious, when someone says we want him gone. > reporter: attorneys tell us yesterday after a bolo alert, be on the lookout for dutschke's vehicle, took the vehicle to the fbi, which was processed, the

home search and former business search. the interview with him, his wife, to find out who tried to poison the three elected officials. >> victor, thank you. ahead on "starting point ", all about the benjamins and the new look. the design for the $100 bill is next. we've reduced taxes and lowered costs to save businesses more than two billion dollars to grow jobs, cut middle class income taxes to the lowest rate in sixty years, and we're creating tax free zones for business startups. the new new york is working creating tens of thousands of new businesses, and we're just getting started. to grow or start your business visit thenewny.com

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minding your business this morning. stock futures are higher. earnings reports rolling in from companies, markets overseas mixeded. a new report shows the uk narrowly avoiding a triple-dip recession as the economy grew slightly last quarter. a first look at u.s. gdp numbers

tomorrow, expected to be 3% growth. home prices slowing a bit. zillow says home values ticked it up 0.5%, compared to the fourth quarter of last year. but still up significantly from this time last year, and in march, prices rose for the 16th month in a row. if you live in these places, you saw home values slip in the first quarter. chicago, lost about a%, pittsburgh, new york, philadelphia, charlotte, cincinnati and st. louis. all real estate is local, of course. and they are seeing softening in prices. a lot of hope for strong spring selling season. inventories low. people need better prices to put homes on the market. high rollers, meet your new best friend. for the fourth time in history, the u.s. will get a new $100 bill. this has amped up security features, including a 3-d ribbon and images that change color

when the bill is tilted. all right. ahead on "starting point," brand new images giving us a first look at the bush library as john king talks with former first lady laura bush about her husband's legacy and leadership after september 11th. live in dallas. and reaction from the former counselor ed he gilespie. you are watching "starting point." tony used priceline to book this 4 star hotel. tell 'em why.

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2 1/2 hours from now, quite a site on the campus of southern methodist university. five former american presidents will all be on hand for the dedication of the new george w. bush presidential library. cnn john king live from dallas this morning and, john, a personal tour from a very special tour guide. >> i sure did, christine. good morning to you. a very impressive meeting if you agree with the president or disagree with the president,

george w. bush. i sat down with george w. and laura bush. it will restir the iraq debate, and the katrina debate. he says history will ultimately make the judgment. laura bush, the form every first lady took me on a personal tour of the library. striking when you walk through, you begin with the presidency, george w. bush thought he would have, and then how all of it changed on that crisp september morning. >> it's the turning point. this part of the library, the very beginning part, are the issues we thought we would be spending all of our time on. this is the state dinner with mexico, we thought, of course, our international relationships with central and south america would be the ones we would focus on the most and then, of course, we turn the corner here. and it's september 11th. so this big piece, this big is from the second tower. 83rd floor, the point of impact. and you can see it's really like

a sculpture, but it's one of the beams from the world trade center. >> you were with senator kennedy that day. >> that's right. i was with him and i have over on the wall the painting he gave me that day signed and dated september 11th. this display goes through minute by minute, from the first tower to shanksville and then day by day on this screen up until the joint session when george spoke to the joint session of congress. there is a little booth over here for people to record their memories of where they were on september 11th. so all of those memories can become a part of the archive here. >> and this -- >> that's the bu-- >> with the country at its lowest point, your husband hit the highest point. >> i think that was just another example of how his leadership

really helped us through those years and that time. people really pulled together. i remember those days after september 11th. flags were everywhere and they still are, when i drive in still to see my grandbaby, i hope i still see those flags everywhere. this is a replica of the oval office as it was when george officed here. >> what is the president like when he comes in here? >> i think he really likes it a lot. start barking out orders? >> still does that at home. not really. looks great, doesn't it? reproduction of the rug we designed and if you look up, you will see the seal on the ceiling, just like in the real oval office. and it's been fun to work on this. and people visit for many -- for many, many people this is their only chance to step into any space that is like the oval

office so it's fun to have it as part of the tour. >> he o talks to the president did about living in the people's house and then how extra special this space was. >> and he was very respectful of it, as you know. he -- he wore a suit when he came in to the oval office. he also -- he does the tour in here. it's his voice you will hear, and a lot of things about the oval office that he thinks represent what was important to him. obviously, there are paintings of texas on the wall, rio grand in that painting and alamo. prickly pare cactus from texas. two presidents, washington over the mantel and president lincoln, the president are you most aware of when you live in the white house, if you put the most influential presidents on the wall, because the most influential president for him, portrait hung in his heart, and that's his dad.

we're so glad his dad will be here for the library opening. >> christine, having covered the first six years of the bush presidency, when they say exact replica of the oval office, they got it just right. i was half expecting the staff to come in and ask me not to ask any questions. you can get the advice president bush received about iraq, about katrina, and make your own decisions about whether you would agree or disagree with the whez did. when are you in that war of terror room, the timeline from 9/11, you go seamlessly from the bullhorn to just steps away to pictures of saddam hussein. and the president knows he is trying to make his statement about how this will affect his legacy. they are also likely to stir up controversies as well. we'll discuss that more & more with former white house counselor ed gillespie who will join us in a few moments, christine.

>> it will be something to see. all of those presidents together. a real moment of history. no question. all right. we'll be watching all morning. thanks, john. continuing to follow breaking news in mobile bay, alabama. dangerous flames have burned all night aboard two funeral barges. finally died down this morning. loaded with gasoline, exploded last night. at least three people hospitalized in critical condition. we have a report from our affiliate wbar from mobile bay, alabama. good morning. >> reporter: now that the sun is coming up, it's clear what's behind us. multiple boats out there, one of which is the coast guard boat, another mobile fire rescue, starting to gravitate to the barrings, see what the investigation will entail for today. we have confirmed, there have been seven explosions that did occur throughout the course of the evening. they are still not sure exactly whether or not all of the flames are out at this time, they will

begin their investigation here in the next couple of minutes where they hope to learn exactly what caused the incident. new this morning, president obama attending memorial services in waco, texas, today in honor of the 14 killed in the fertilizer plant explosion in west, texas. investigators trying to piece together exactly what happened. they don't know what caused the fire or what triggered the dwedly explosion last week that leveled the plant and nearby homes and building. this morning, rhode island one step closer to legalizing same-sex marriage. the state senate approving a bill that extends marriage rights to same-sex couples and supporters are very happy. >> we did it together in solidarity with such phenomenal people. you never know what something will feel like. and it feels amazing. >> once finalized by the statehouse it will be the tenth

to legalize same-sex marriage along with the district of columbia. anthony weiner can't say we've seen the last of the infamous lewd photos. he says it's out of his control. stepped down from office two years ago after he was caught sending out racy pictures to different women. is he considering a run from new york mayor and despite the scandal, back on twitter, a valuable tool for those involved on government. like christmas in the nfl. the 2013 draft begins at 8:00 eastern tonight at radio city music hall. kansas city chiefs expected to take lake jochul from texas a & m. one of the most interesting stories, ziggy ansah from ghana. he has only playeded three years but is expected to be in the top 15 years. and a memorial service in waco, texas, today, honoring the

people killed in last week's fertilizer plant explosion. a well-known do it yourselfer, ty pennington, talking about a national make a difference tour. there he is. good morning, ty. you're watching "starting point." but i wondered what a customer thought? describe the first time you met. you brought the flex in... as soon as i met fiona and i was describing the problem we were having with our rear brakes, she immediately triaged the situation, knew exactly what was wrong with it, the car was diagnosed properly, it was fixed correctly i have confidence knowing that if i take to ford it's going to

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welcome back to "starting point." i'm john king. awaiting the dedication of the george w. bush presidential center on the campus of southern university. here with me is ed gillespie. he served as counselor in the white house. people will reflect back in the wake of the boston attacks. we'll be reminded of the response to 9/11. there was leadership, controversy when the administration took 9/11 response to afghanistan, went to war in iraq. reflection on what today means to that conversation? >> it's a significant feature of the museum and the library, the discussion of iraq and afghanistan, the events of

september 11th. you know, i think as we look at what happened in boston and the tragic circumstances there, and the attack there, we are reminded we're not safe as a nation, but we are safer today as a result of the steps taken by president bush. the increased surveillance, guantanamo, the detainee program and president bush kept much of the structure in in place today and that's why we had about 11 1/2 years without a terror attack on the homeland. and president obama deserves credit for despite having campaign and intelligence and briefings, maintaining much of the infrastructure. >> there is a concession, no weapons of mass destruction, and that was a key part of argument going to war. the president told me, he thinks this is much more objective library than many critics think. agree or disagree. listen to his take. on how history should judge him.

>> the museum gives people an opportunity to hear the different points of view, that i got on the different issues. the purpose to show what u.s. like to make decisions. >> reporter: the purpose of what it's like to be president. any president trying to shape the conversation about his legacy by starting the library, right? >> it's both. and i was fascinating by the tour yesterday. we got a sneak peek, and there is a theater where people can interact, hear advisers say you ought to take this step, that step and you get to make a decision. i thought that was pretty informative and informing, but at the same time, look, president bush rightly believes history will be kind to his presidency, two terms in office. confronted difficult challenges, beginning with the attacks of september 11th. and the wars in iraq and afghanistan, financial crisis.

historically consequential presidency. he acquitted himself and handled himself very well. those of us who served him are proud of his service to the country. it is both. u.s. a stateme it's a statement of why we took the steps we took and hearing the different points of view, and it's objective in that regard. >> this is the consummate texan, dead or alive, gruff, not known to intro specks. listen to the 43rd president of the united states on his new hobby. >> i relax, i see colors differently. i am -- i guess tapping a part of the brain that, you know, certainly never used when i was a teenager and i get the satisfaction out of completing a

project. and i paint people's pets and i love to give them their pet as a gift. and i readily can see the signature is more valuable than the painting. >> could you ever have imagined george w. bush turning into george w. rembrandt? have you had the gilespie family pet painted yet? >> i have two jack russell terriers and i was going to hint what a lovely painting they would make. he's very, very good. i don't know if you have seen the landscapes, portraits and the painting of the pets. >> his own feet in the bathtub. >> he's very good. and for those of us who have seen him relaxed and essentially, you know, kind of get away from it all, by pounding on the bike, the trails this is a different side of him, and, look, he's a grandfather now too. >> there is a sculpture in the middle of the courtyard of 41.

have you been active in politics a long time. where are these two so often treated as pariahs. a lot of republicans rarely if ever speak of the presidency. they credit ties the prescription drug benefit. why are they viewed so negatively by their own party? >> i don't accept the premise, i think both are well respected and liked. president bush 43 decided in his post presidency that the appropriate role of a former president is not to engage in the give and take of politics and engage to be in that fray. i respect that decision. i think a lot of people do. that's why we see his numbers rising as much as they have in the past. since he left office, more than doubled approval rating, and president bush 41 is a revered figure in the party. not everybody agrees with all of the steps they took. when are you in the seat, make the decisions that comes with the territory that you are going

to offend some people. they won't agree with everything you do. they run, get elected, make the decisions. >> throw partisanship out the window for a second. someone who loves politics, five presidents here today. three democrats, carter, clinton and president obama, two bushes, just what do you think that says? >> it's so historic and it really gives a very -- i mean, kin of feel the electricity of it, and, you know there, is the respect for the office that they share obviously and, you know, we're seeing that on full display today. and respect for the office of the american people share today as well. >> thank you for your time. as we go back to you. worth remembering. stir up some of the memories of george w. bush and use those through their own political prisms, but a pretty exclusive president. we'll have all five living u.s. presidents at this dedication today. >> when ed gets his jack russell terrier painted, we hope he can bring him on the show.

thanks. ahead on "starting point," typennington with a new passion project. is he here to talk about it live.

"starting point." ty pennington, former hose of tfrp v's "extreme makeover" teaming up with craftsman to rebuild community across the country. he joins us now to unveil the make a difference tour. good morning, nice to see you. >> go ahead to see you. >> you are going around the country. will start in new jersey, sandy ravaged town in new jersey and

you will do your best to renovate, rebuild. >> i tell you what. i have been blessed to have a career where i can be part of amazing renovations. whenever you can give back to the military, i jump at the chance. we're doing the craftsman make a difference tour. and kick it off on national we building day. down in new jersey, helping a military veteran. what is really cool about this, so many people have come together, have you craftsman brand, you have sears at home, rebuilding together, a nonprofit, and craftsman club, all the guys come together, crossing the country with the gigantic truck, full of craftsman tools. we are really helping out military veterans, doing community projects and it's something that everybody can be involved in. a real cool thing. >> the makeover and do it yourself shows, people love to see progress and love to see the look on someone's face when they

have -- >> the reveal. >> tell me what it's like being with the folks, like the folks in menaukee. what does it feel like? >> i have been part of some really amazing renovations. you can't help but get emotional. when you can give back to people who have given so much and have lost so much, i think that's the emotional part. it's not just us giving us something. it's seeing the community come together, that is what gets me. news from people who roll up their sleeves and put their lives on hold a couple of weeks. >> these are volunteers. >> you see more and more and more of that. it's great to be part of a show that really i think sort of started that feeling like you can do more in your community and that's really what the craftsman make a difference is all about. >> care more about fixing stuff than we did 15 or 20 years ago. >> what is more american than

fixing things and doing it yourself? so, yeah. >> 20 cities. big truck full of tools. >> 36-foot long truck with incredible craftsman tools. we're crossing the nation, doing community projects, and, youan, really helping out wherever we can. >> you are the reno expert, and so what -- >> if you want to raise more value, of course, it's the kitchens and bathrooms. >> the most expense you have reno. >> what the other thing, companion home, turn your dwraj into garage into an apartment because of economy and maybe help take care of your kids. >> hear that, grandma and grandpa? >> are you moving in. maximizing the space you have and whatever space you have. >> ty pennington, cool stuff. and you will start in new jersey tomorrow. >> if you want to join in, learn more, go to

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all right. this just in to cnn. the mother of the boston bomb suspects, tearfully speaks about sfwlok ar and t dzhokhar and tamerlan. listen. >> yes, i wish i was in america now. why did i even go there? why? and our kids, going to be safe. for any reason. but it happened. america took my kids away from me. only america. >> stsavraev's father arrives i boston tomorrow. he wants to try to speak with dzhokhar.

one of the victims of the attack has been invited to stop by the set of "dancing with the stars" next week. ahead adrienne haslett-davis is a professional dancer who lost her foot. >> one of the tougher ones, fast and beautiful and it's wonderful, wonderful dance, the waltz is the first dance i'll do. >> she has been invited to dance on "dancing with the stars" whenever she is ready. that is all from us here in new york. for "starting point," stay with cnn for a series of big events, at 11:00 a.m., the presidential library of george w. bush will be dedicated and five u.s. presidents attending from there, president obama will travel to waco, texas, for a 2:00 p.m. memorial service for the victim of that terrible fertilizer plant explosion. right now, cnn continues live team coverage of the aftermath

of the boston marathon bombing, continues now with jake tapper a brooke baldwin, here in boston. >> half a world away from boston, the parents -- the parents of the bombing suspects lash out. they say their lives are now in danger and their sons are victims of an elaborate hoax. good morning. welcome to a special edition of i news room" live from boston. i'm jake tapper. >> i'm brooke baldwin. busy morning of developments. let's begin with investigators looking into a bizarre and fascinating possibility that his older brother, a devout muslim, with fundamental