e... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro. welcome to the cnn newsroom. i'm carol costello live in boston. we begin with breaking news. a major break in the ricin letters investigation. james everette dutschke was

arrested. one other man was briefly under suspicion but was cleared. we have the latest. bring us up to date. >> reporter: carol, this is the latest twist and turn in this investigation. james everette dutschke was taken into custody by fbi agents. it it happened early this morning before 1:00 in the morning here at his home in mississippi. now dutschke has been turned over to the u.s. marshals office but we have been told by the fbi that his arrest is in reference to the ricin investigation. we first learned about dutschke at a hearing on monday that was for the initial suspect in this case. his name is paul kevin curtis. he said in that hearing he had been framed and he mentioned dutschke as a possible suspect. then on tuesday another twist. curtis was released.

all the charges against him were dropped and the attention at that point seem ed to turn to dutschke. now we have turn throughout the course of the week federal agents investigating this case. we have seen agents here at dutschke's house. we have also seen them searching at a former marshal arts studio. we don't know what they found at this point or if that's relative, but we know they were searching on location. now during the week, we have been in contact with his attorney. she said her client has nothing to do with the ricin letters. today in the morning when we reached out to her again to get reaction, she told us a brief statement. she said it was her understanding that authorities have confirmed that dutschke has been arrested and they have no comment at this time. carol? >> it's just hard to believe because aren't authorities alleging he did this because of a grudge against an

acquaintance, a neighbor? >> reporter: there has been some talk about the relationship between curtis and dutschke. at this point it's tough to tell what led authorities to make this arrest in this case. we're hoping to learn more details as the day progresses. >> all right, we're going to let you get back to reporting and check back with you. let's turn our attention to the boston bombings investigation. investigators are are new bedford, massachusetts, scouring a dump hoping to recover a piece of evidence. a law enforcement official says investigators went to the dump after getting leads from dzhokhar tsarnaev and others who may have played a part in throwing that computer in the dump. he's now being treated at a prison medical center. it's just about 40 miles west of boston. a law enforcement official says tsarnaev's condition is improving. he's able to sit up and able to write, but he's become a lots

less talkative since he was read his miranda rights. his father's trip to the united states has been put on hold for health reasons. his mother will not be coming to the united states at all because she's wanted here on felony char charges of shoplifting and also destruction of property. cnn's pamela brown is live at the medical center in massachusetts where dzhokhar tsarnaev is being held. let's first talk about the search that's going on in a dump. is it still going on or have they ended their search? >> reporter: carol, as far as we know, it's still going on. investigators have been combing through that landfill for three days now. there are dozens of investigators out there searching for what they believe will be tsarnaev's laptop that essentially authorities say he helped lead them to this landfill. there were certain tips that led them there and they were interviewing other people in the

investigation that also led authorities to this landfill. we know that they had some potential involvement with disposing this laptop a the landfill. at this point, nothing has been found. authorities do not want to give up on this. they believe they will be able to find clues to help them in this investigation. >> we also want to talk a little bit about tsarnaev's condition. he's sitting up and writing, but he's not talking, is that right? >> reporter: it does appear his condition is improving significantly. now we're hearing he's in fair condition. at this point we are told that he's not telling anything substantiative to authorities. ever since his miranda rights were administered to him this past monday. at this point we know that he's sitting up and writing. we don't know the exact details of that. we know the facility here behind

me where he's staying does provide long-term medical treatment, but they don't do any type of invasive surgeries. they only do small procedures. that's also an indication of tsarnaev's condition. carol? >> and when might the he appear in court? >> reporter: well, he was officially charged this past sunday. we have 30 days until an indictment with the grand jury is presented. after that, there will be an arrangement where tsarnaev will be expected to appear in court and enter a plea. it could be a few weeks from now. we don't know the answer to that question. but it's not far away from us. carol? >> pamela brown reporting live from devens, massachusetts. you heard her say that dzhokhar tsarnaev has not been nearly as generous with the clues like the trashed laptop ever since he was read his miranda rights. he's chosen to remain silent and

not incriminate himself. athena jones is live at the white house to get into that angle of the story. what can you tell us? >> reporter: i can tell you this is getting a lot of attention from members of congress including house intelligence committee chairman mike rogers. he wants to know a lot more about how this decision was made to read the suspect his miranda rights when they were read. he sent a letter to eric holder with a whole series of questions about, for instance, who made the decision to schedule this initial appearance at the specific time and place that it was scheduled on monday at the hospital while the questioning was still going op. he wants to know whether anyone from the department of justice or fbi raised concerns about the fact the suspect was going to be told of his right to remain silent and his right to a lawyer. we haven't heard a direct response from the department of justice to the long lis sn congs

letter, but fbi agents and prosecutors were notified that this initial appearance had been scheduled. this is something that had to be coordinated with multiple authorities. we also know at least one law enforcement source told susan candiotti that they felt the initial bedside interviews with the suspect were very thorough. they didn't feel hindered by the timing of the reading of the miranda rights to the suspect. but this is something that's going to continue to be looked at and questioned here in washington. >> absolutely. any word from the white house on this? >> we did hear from vice president biden about this. he was speaking at an event with john mccain in arizona. he did a little explaining about his comments when he called the subpoenas cowardly knockoff jihadists. he said they weren't professionals. let's listen to a little more about what he had to say about

this. >> the most difficult person to deal with is the self-radicalized or the one that is marginally assisted who is not directed specifically by anybody. because all the intelligence apparatus and all of the means by which we have to infiltrate or pickup the kind of signals we're able to pick up with our significant capabilities is rendered almost useless. >> reporter: it's interesting here that he talks about technological capabilities is because one of the signals from russia about the older tsarnaev's radicalization. there's discussion maybe those clues were ignored or not enough was done with them. that's something that's going to continue as well. lots of questions. we don't expect that to end any time soon. >> i bet not.

investigators also taking a closer look at a triple murder here in massachusetts. the reason is compelling. one of the victims, a close friend with one of the bombing suspects. 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,

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older brother who died in a shootout with police. deborah feyerick has more for you. >> reporter: it happened on this quiet street in massachusetts. the men nearly beheaded, their throats slit ear to ear. >> there was a girl running out of the house saying there's blood everywhere. >> reporter: the brutality of the murders didn't add up. not in a town like this. something else didn't m sense. the victims each killed in different rooms of the house were covered in marijuana. investigators describe it as a symbolic gesture. robbery wasn't a motive because police found thousands of dollars in cash. the theory is the victims knew their killers. >> we have no evidence of a break in the apartment. we have other that they were known to each other. we know there were at least two people not in that apartment now who were there earlier. >> reporter: that was 19 months

ago. but the trail went cold. no arrests, no named suspects. but the attack on the boston marathon revived interest in the case because one of the victims 25-year-old brandon mass was close friends with bomb suspect tamerlan tsarnaev. tsarnaev was a golden glove boxer. his buddy trained in mixed marshal arts. they would spend hours sparring . coaches describe tamerlan as confident, a man who hugged his coaches and competitors and bragged about his young wife and newborn daughter after competing in the 2010 o boxing nationals. a source says tsarnaev was one of the last people known to have seen mass alive and that he was never interviewed by police in connection with the murders. more curious, tsarnaev did not go to his friend's funeral or memorial service. based on text messages, police believe these three were killed on our around september 11th, exactly ten years after the

attacks on the world trade center. four months after the murders, tamerlan left for russia staying there six months. investigators searched the y last week removing boxes. the owner of the gym refused to speak to cnn. brandon's family has continued to push for answers as of the other victims. they spent time at this diner and were friendly with the owner. who says his son competed in mixed marshal arts with dzhokhar tsarnaev. >> i knew he was involved. so was brandon. but he didn't speak too much about it it when i was with him, but he did speak to my father. we did try to get my younger brother involved. it's kind of like a strange link between them. >> reporter: deborah feyerick, cnn, boston, massachusetts. i want to bring in tom fuentes, he's in washington.

welcome, tom. i want to start first with the cold case that deborah feyerick was telling us about. hindsight is 20/20, but should police have approached those killings in a different way? >> well, it would seem so, but the police need to explain how they conducted their investigation. they have three victims brutally murdered and normal procedure would be to immediately be contacting every person that was close to the victims. friends, classmates, neighbors, all the usual people. and if, in fact, tamerlan was best friends with one of the victims, then you would think he would be one of the first people that would be located and contacted. why he never was, i don't know. again, this is a local triple homicide so police would handle this on their own. unless there's evidence of organized crime or evidence of terrorism, it's going to stay at the local police level and not

rise to a federal investigation. >> so local police wouldn't have connected the dots when tamerlan tsarnaev? >> like i said, i don't know basically what were they thinking or what was the evidence or material that they were receiving pursuant to their investigation. that's just something that the police would have to explain why tamerlan never came up, why he wasn't contacted and interviewed. >> and i want to talk a little bit about this laptop that authorities are looking for in this dump. it seems kind of incredulous he would tell him that. these were not -- if they are guilty, they left behind plenty of clues but they made sure to throw their laptop in a dump. does that make sense? >> not necessarily, but we don't

know specifically how much they intended to leave behind or whether as things unfolded last thursday and friday they got panicky or in a hurry and didn't think to dispose of all the bombs except for throwing them at the police. as far as the laptop, that's one of the most critical pieces of evidence in any of these type of investigations. who were they e-mailing, who was in contact, who were they exchanging messages with by computer. which websites they had visited, had they downloaded instructions on making bombs or any other material. the computer of anybody in any major investigation is one of the very first things the authorities want to have and get a chance to analyze. so in this case, the question is he tells the investigators that he threw it it away. and then now they have to track the course of how trash is disposed of whether it was at dorm or on the campus or a street corner. they have to try to go back

through when was that can emptied into a bugger dumpster. when was that picked up by a larger trash truck, what landfill, what day was it it dumped there. really they are doing a hunt for the computer trying to track all that. . >> it's like finding a needle in a hay stack but i hope they find shotgun. thank you for joining us today. >> you're welcome. a big break in the investigation to that poisonous letter sent to president obama and several others. federal agents have a suspect in custody. a new suspect. we'll have a a live report for you straight ahead. matt's brakes didn't sound right... ...so i brought my car to mike at meineke...

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a suspect now in custody in the ricin letter investigation. federal agents arrested james everette dutschke.

letters contain iing the deadly powder was sent to president obama and a mississippi senator and a mississippi judge. one other man was under investigation. he was soon cleared but indicated dutschke has a subpoena suspect. what have you been able to find out, alina? >> reporter: this is the kind of story that keeps changing every day. as you mentioned, there was an initial suspect and now that man has been cleared. authorities have another man in custody. as you mentioned, that man's name is james everette dutschke. he was taken into custody here. this was his house. he was taken into custody early this morning before 1:00 in the morning. the fbi is saying that the arrest is in reference to the ricin investigation. now dutschke has been turned over to the u.s. marshals office. we first learned about dutschke earlier this week at a hearing on monday. that hearing was for the initial

suspect paul kevin curtis. curtis said he had been framed and mentioned dutschke as a possible suspect. on tuesday this case took another turn and he was released. all the charges filed against him were dropped. the attention seemed to turn to dutschke. that focus included several searches at places related to dutschke. he was associated with a marshal arts studio. that location was searched by fbi agents. and agents also were searching here at his home earlier this week. now we have been in contact with dutschke's attorney all week. she has told us in the past her client had nothing to do with the ricin letters sent to president obama as well as two government officials here in mississippi. today she released a statement just a little while ago saying that it is her understanding that authorities have confirmed dutschke's arrest. however, she has no comment at

this time. carol? >> all right, for more on the inveatet's turn to cnn law enforcement analyst and former fbi assistant director tom fuentes. welcome back, tom. hopefully you can hear me. what do we make of this investigation initially. authorities arrest one guy. he says, no, no, i think it's this other guy that has a long-time grudge against me that did it. what do you make of this investigation? >> i think, carol, what happens in this case is that normally you would be much more methodical or take more time to have a higher degree of proof that somebody has committed a crime before you would make an arrest. in this situation, though, they are weighing that versus that some individual out there could be and looks like is mailing material that the amount of

ricin that fits on the head of a pin could be fatal to an adult if inhaled. this isn't something that we take our time and make sure. it was when all the indications are from somebody who has mailed letters earlier who has come up in similar situations without the ricin but no with ricin and they had enough information to convince the u.s. magistrate he needs to get pked up while they look at this. it's because of the degree of lethality of ricin that led to that. >> so do they have the right guy this time or are they, again, rushing to judgment, so to speak? >> i guess we'll have the facts come out shortly. but they have been investigating it since dutschke's name has come up and been doing searches and analyzing things in his possession. whether or not he had ricin in one of his locations of his home

or business. we won't know that yet, but i think similar process that the u.s. attorney and the magistrate has looked at him now and said he's somebody that should be taken into custody and charged and curtis released and charges dropped. it's an interesting case, but again, it's being driven -- the speed of this is being driven by how dangerous ricin is. if it was cranky letters or thi things along those lines, that would be one thing. but something to fatal even to the postal workers handling it, it's never going o get to the white house or senate, but people at the post office where the letters are cleared are in danger. during the anthrax case of 2001 two postal workers in washington were culled. that's the main concern. >> absolutely. it just seems so unlikely. the first suspect under arrest was an elvis impersonator and this latest guy is a marshal

arts instruct would these people know about ricin? >> that's a good question. the investigation will help determine whether they did it. did they have help or why did the material when it went through the field tests at the mail facility test positive to even start this thing in the first place. that will be determined. you're right, it's a colorful cast of characters in this case. >> that's one way to put it it. tom fuentes, thanks so much. i appreciate it. how will history remember president george w. bush? we'll talk to an analyst. we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] the only patch for the treatment

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welcome back. i'm carol costello live in boston. let's talk right now about the 43rd president of the united states. because he is back in the spotlight. george w. bush was front and center at the dedication this week of the george w. bush presidential center. he was joined by all surviving u.s. presidents including his father george h.w. bush. how will americans remember the 43rd president? let's bring in our senior political analyst david gurgen.

55% of americans this george bush was a failure. so does time heal all wounds? >> maybe distance makes the heart grow founder. barack obama was elected in part because he wasn't george bush. and now george bush is benefitting because he's not barack obama. the divisions in the the country, i think, have helped to heal some of the wounds in regards to the bush presidency. usually in the haze of after a president is gone, people think a little more kindly of him. that probably is not going to change history, but public perspective has changed. >> george bush has not come out and harshly criticized president obama at all. he's remained classy, so to speak. and the paintings done that were

accidentally released and were on the internet and it made me think of george bush in a whole new way. >> i think that's right. i think he's been particularly wise to stay out of the counterassault back and forth, out of the line of fire of the obama presidency. he's shown a certain dignity. it would be easy to lash out. former presidents have. he's glad to be out of the cross fires. and there's a part of him, i think, wants to clear the why for his brother jeb in the event he. s to run. mother barbara resolute and strong, was wonderful to see her on the stage. she's maintained all along maybe the country is bushed out. but some think his brother ought to run. >> he said himself history has yet to judge his presidency. so i'll ask you as a man, i

think, with a little bit of experience with presidents past. how do you think history will remember george w. bush? >> well, you know, carol, there's an old thought here that it all depends on who writes it it. winston churchill said he expected to be well remembered by history because he intended to write it. in this case, george w. is facing a profession of historians which tepds to be much more democratic than republican. and in the early surveys, there have been a couple surveys since he left office asking historians to rate the presidents. in those surveys, george w. bush regular regularly comes out in the bottom half. in fact, well down the bottom half. maybe that will change. eisenhower's reputation certainly improved. truman's reputation improved. a lot depends on iraq. right now that's a heavy anchor

on his presidency as well as the financial collapse many 2007 and torture and other issues. >> and of course, iraq still has its ramifications today at this this moment. david gergen thank you so much. we're going to be taug about the white house correspondents' dinner. it's a place the president usually jokes with the media. maybe this year will be different because of what happened in boston. we'll talk about that next. you know how to mix business... with business. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you could. go national. go like a pro. how old is the oldest person you've known? we gave people a sticker and had them show us.

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ask kwin anyone it's one of the toughest responsibilities, being funny. but tonight at the annual white house correspondents' dinner the pressure is on president obama.

here are some memorable moments from past correspondents' dinners. >> members of the white house, correspondents association, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen -- >> here i am. here i am at another one of these dang press dinners. >> i'm absolutely delighted to be here. as is laura. >> she's hot. [ laughter ] >> for the men and women in. the armed services. that's a great thing. [ applause ]

over there fighting. that's just one job i couldn't do. i mean, if they recruited me, of course, i'd go. but i don't want to be in the military. if i did, it's one job i could do would be the guy that greets the president when he gets off the helicopter. that's it. i mean you get some tv time. mr. president, that's it it for me. i'm going to have some lunch. >> it's funny to me that they have never caught you smoking but they somehow always catch you with your shirt off. i know you're into this transparency thing, but i don't need to see your nipples. [ laughter ] is there a beach at camp david?

there was never a nipple portrait of lincoln. >> the jonas brothers are r here. they are out there somewhere. sasha and malia are huge fans. but boys, don't get any ideas. i have two words for you, predator drones. you will never see it coming. >> congress, there are a lot of things you want us to be impressed by that we are not impressed by. we are not impressed that you sat next to each other at the state of the union. the rest of americans call it politely sitting next to someone with wildly different plolitica views, thanksgiving. >> the white house correspondents' dinner is known as the prom of washington, d.c., a term coined but political reporters who clearly had never had the chance to go to an

actual prom. i really do enjoy attending these dinners. in fact, i had a lot more material prepared but i have to get the secret service home in time for their new curfew. thank you very much, everybody. thank you. [ applause ] >> presidents can be really funny. you can watch tonight's dinner at 9:00 p.m. eastern. we'll carry it live here on cnn. want to bring in our senior political analyst david gergen. hi, david. >> hi, carol. >> i guess my question being in boston, the president is supposed to go to this correspondents' dinner and supposed to be funny and poke fun. do you think he will be as funny in light of what's happened here in boston? >> i think the first question you have to ask himself is whether he wants to be funny at

all. it's interesting. last time conan o'brien was the comedian invited to speak it was 1995. that was just after the oklahoma city bombings. and president clinton threw out his jokes and went completely serious in light of the mood of the nation. the "washington post" reported one of his jokes he was going to use that night was apollo 11 had gone up with four men and came back with five. so there was good humor ha got thrown out. they are going to have to figure that out. do they want to go serious. my sense is if this was a week ago, they would have thrown out the humor at the white house. but enough time has passed. you have the sense of boston on the streets there. i live there and my sense now given the way boston has pulled together, the solidarity, the

brightness, that he will combine -- he will go funny in the beginning and then at the end he will go serious. this is an opportunity to talk, by the way, about the press coverage of the boston bombing and from my perspective, there were some notable exceptions. much of the press coverage, i think, was very responsible and restrained with regard to the muslim angle. the president may want to say something about that and the l importance of respecting people's religion. >> we'll see. i don't know. maybe the best thing to do would be funny at first and then be serious. boston really wants to get back to normal. boylston street, it's almost back to normal. stores are open, restaurants are open, it's full of people. there is this touch l memorial behind me. people are milling about, but other than that, the mayor of boston has asked people to shop and spend money and come down here.

parking is free for everyone. you can park however long you want as long as you spend $25 because people lost business while they were closed. >> don't you think there's been a little inspiration about the way boston has pulled together? i just felt people had a sense of renewed pride in their city and sense of community. >> absolutely. even, you know, there's a lot of thank you signs to emergency responders on buildings, but they are very small and restrained. there's no huge signs. it feels good being here. i got to say that. >> i agree. >> thank you for being here. learning how to make a bomb online. one terror group explains the how-to. why authorities believe it it it may have inspired those bombing suspects. we'll tell you about it, next. hello!

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story. tell us about this bomb and maybe its inspiration. >> carol, as authorities look to narrow down the motive behind the bombings, they may find some answers in this magazine. it's called "inspire." it's affiliated with al qaeda in. the arabian peninsula. this is their english-language effort on trying to get radical wanna bees on board with their jihad. it's catered toward western muslims about carrying out an attack. just how easy it is to find online is the scary part. we found this with a quick google search. but the pdf forms for this magazine are everywhere on the internet. you're looking at pictures of the co-founders. he's a foreign-born u.s. citizen with ties to north carolina. he's pictured alongside anwar al

awlaki. during the fort hood shootings, this is the cleric that communicated with nadal hasan before this was carried out. this was samir and they were killed in a drone strike in 2011 by the united states in yemen. a lot of people thought that was the end of the road for the publication which started in 2010. not so fast, carol. they still continue publishing online and they call it open source jihad, a resource manual for those who loathe tyrants and includes bomb making materials which is why investigators in boston and beyond are so interested in learning more about this magazine. it is a step by step guide of how to make chemical explosions, mechanical explosions, and as you begin to unfold the layers of these pages, this is from the first issue where they dedicated ten pages of how to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom. it says the ingredients are readily available and it is also important to put a quantity of small nails in the bomb. of course if you remember that

bomb used in the boston marathon bombings was a pressure cooker, pressurized cooker and goes onto say it is the most effective method. very alarming for authorities investigating the motives behind the boston marathon attacks. carol. >> wow. nick va lens a many thanks to you. talk about something normal for a second, shall we? new home sales are up. is it a good time to buy a house? we'll ask the real estate experts after the break. ♪ haters best get to bloggin' in it ♪ ♪ so hot right now that our designer ♪

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welcome back. i am carol costello. we want to talk about something, you know, normal right now. let's talk about home sales. good news in the home sale department. home sales are actually up. so is it a good time to sell? is it a good time to buy? let's bring in a man who knows, michael corbett, the author of

find it, fix it and flip it, a real estate expert. he joins us live. welcome, michael. >> hi. how are you? >> i am good. first of all, why are home sales up? what's the reason? i have heard investors are the people buying up the homes, not individual homeowners. >> well, what's going on is actually this new sales report that just has come in is actually for new home sales are actually up 18%. the reason for that is because existing home sales inventories are actually shrinking. there is a lot of foreclosures and short sales in many markets harder to find and also we have historically low interest rates, and a lot of buyers who have been sitting in on the market are kind of pretty much on the sidelines are now jumping back in. what does that really mean for home buyers right now? really, what it is going to tell you is that competition is heating up. you need to become the best

buyer you can be. how do you do that? one, you have to get your credit check. two, you have to be able to go ahead and get preapproved for a mortgage. you need to have that extra edge. you want to have 20% down. more importantly, with all of these new home sales, you want to have a little imagination. you may end up buying a house that's in preconstruction. you may buy one you haven't even seen finished yet. >> okay. i have heard from real estate agents that there are actual bidding wars once again which kind of scares me because we all know what happened when the bubble burst, right? so how much should you be willing to spend? >> you know what? you really have to be educated, and you have to do your due diligence meaning you have to know what actual houses are going for in your neighborhood. wherever are you looking, you need to have gone online and done a little research and see what things are really selling for. that's what's important. then that gives you the edge of saying, well, maybe i could

spend an extra five or 10,000 and bid a little higher if i need to. that's why you need to be the best buyer you can be and be prepared. >> all right, michael corbett. thank you so much for filling us in. we appreciate it. we'll be mac with more live coverage from boston right after this. with express deals, you can save big and find a hotel with free breakfast without bidding. don't you just love those little cereal boxes? priceline savings without the bidding. it's lots of things. all waking up. ♪ becoming part of the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything.

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it is a beautiful day here in boston as you can see by all the people around me.

boylston street seems to be back to normal. the investigation does continue. i want to thank you for joining me this hour. i will be back with more on the investigation and what life is like in boston today in just an hour, 3 p.m. eastern. your money starts now. the boston bombings, letters containing ricin, a foiled plot to attack a train bound for new york. i am christine romans. this is your money. online we face a different terror, the terror of seeing your wang account fall to zero or your savings swept away. we got a little taste this week. a hacker got into the twitter account, two explosions at the white house and barack obama injured. that tweet, a fake tweet, was up for just a few minutes before the account was suspended. the market responded in an instant. look at the drop. the dow fell about 145 points or 1%. even though the market bounced right