a bombing suspect. three of dzhokhar sarn naifr's friends arrested yesterday. two charge with conspireing to destroy or discard dzhokhar's laptop and a backpack containing fireworks. they were conspireing to do this allegedly after the attack. the third, the third man arrested for making false statements to federal investigators. you see him here in a yearbook photo. pamela brown is live in boston with these latest developments. good morning, pamela. >> reporter: good morning to you, john. as you said, these three suspects now in federal custody for what they allegedly did after the attack. following their arrest yesterday, the big question looms, will there be more arrests in connection with this case? the investigation continues to focus on the widow of tamerlan tsarnaev as new developments come to light. two cnn sources familiar with the investigation say catherine russell, the widow of tamerlan tsarnaev, spoke with her husband the night the fbi released video of him in connection with the

boston bombing. authorities questioning russell trying to determine the nature of that call, what was said, and why didn't she notify authorities. this as three friends and classmates of tamerlan's brother dzhokhar seen with the arrest. the third man arrested allegedly for making false statements to federal investigators. immediately thought one of the suspects looked like their friend dzhokhar. dias kadyrbayev texted tsarnaev texted tsarnaev saying he looked like the man on tv. tsarnaev texted back, lol. the accused three allegedly met at tsarnaev's dorm room where they received another text from him. i'm about to leave. if you need something in my room, take it. according to authorities, azamat tazhayakov never thought he would see his friend alive again. in the dorm the three find

fireworks in a backpack with the black powder emptied out, vaseline, and a laptop. authorities allege the three took the evidence out of the dorm room to protect tsarnaev. the complaint also say the men then took the items back to an apartment in new bedford, wrapped it in a garbage bag and put it in a dumpster along with some of their own trash. the bag with the fireworks later recovered by investigators after a two-day search at a local landfill. unclear whether the laptop has been recovered. this cnn exclusive video shows two of the men being taken into custody at the time on immigration violations. the third man, robel phillipos, is a u.s. citizen. at court hearings on wednesday the three agreed to waive bail. their lawyers say they did nothing wrong. >> he is just as shocked and horrified by the violence in boston that took place as the rest of the community is. he did not know that this individual was involved in a bombing. >> my client azamat tazhayakov feels horrible and was shocked to hear that someone that he

knew at the university of massachusetts dartmouth was involved with the boston marathon bombing. he has cooperated fully with the authorities and looks forward to the truth coming out. >> reporter: a month before the marathon tsarnaev told two of his friends over lunch that he knew how to make a bomb and according to the criminal complaint, one of those friends, the friend saw vaseline in his dorm room, he thought that it was used to make a bomb. we've been talking to experts and we're told that vaseline was likely used on the pressure cooker lid to prevent sparks which couldexplosives. >> how did the suspect know that vaseline was used to make a bomb. interesting piece of knowledge to have there. begs the question, who are these new suspects? a friend of robel phillipos says there's no way he would be involved. >> robel is a very good kid himself. he went to school, never got in

trouble. took care of his mom. played basketball. quiet kid. that's about it. >> meanwhile, massachusetts governor patrick reassuring people in and around boston the new arrests does not mean the threat continues. >> this should not raise any concerns in anyone's minds about continuing threat to the public. this is about getting all the way to the bottom of the story of what happened at the marathon. >> brian todd is in boston with us following the latest developments. brian, piecing together who these three guys are and relationship with dzhokhar tsarnaev. explain that to us. >> john, what we're geting are indications that these three guys who went to school with dzhokhar tsarnaev gravitated toward him. at least if two kazakhstani students did. they didn't know the language very well when they started going to the college. his attorney told us previously he kind of showed them the ropes, that he helped thems a

simulate into the culture in massachusetts and get used to the language and showed them around, did some things with them. the complaint said one of them, kaz ye kadyrbayev, met his family members. there's that picture of the three of them in times square in 2012. now the relationship between the third suspect, robel phillipos and dzhokhar tsarnaev, while friends, may not have been as close to them as the kazakhstani students were, john, but we're getting a strong feeling here, the impression that at least the two kazakhstani students were close to dzhokhar tsarnaev. could that have been motivation for them allegedly trying to cover his tracks? we'll find out more about that in the coming days. >> investigators clearly digging into every aspect of that relationship this they can uncover. in just a few moments we're going to talk with cnn's law enforcement analyst and former fbi director tom fuentes about the latest developments in that

case. chaos in the streets of downtown seat where a may day protest turned violent last night. police say demonstrators tossed rocks, bottles, fireworks, everybody a skateboard at officers who used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. zoraida sambolin here with more now this morning. >> fwood morning. seattle police say the demonstrators who marched last night did not have a permit. it followed an earlier may day demonstration in the city that was actually peaceful. for safety reasons, police officers gave the unauthorized demonstrators an escort as they headed downtown. but when the crowd turned violent and officers went in to make arrests things got really ugly. >> the crowd surged around several officers on foot. those officers felt that their safety was in danger so they deployed what we call a blast ball. that created some distance and we were able to then coordinate a response to the crowd.

>> police also used flash bang grenades and pepper spray to disperse the crowd. 17 people were arrested for property destruction and assault. eight officers sustained injuries but those are mostly bumps and bruises. one female officer was hit in a knee with a large rock. these may day protests happen all over the world. it's been national holiday in countries. hundreds of thousands take to the streets each year to celebrate the labor movement and demand better working conditions. this got out of hand. >> certainly did. thanks. also washington extreme weather this morning from fires to snow. strong winds and extremely dry conditions are fuelling a wildfire right now in southern california's riverside county. the fire has consumed 3,000 acres and it keeps growing. one home in the town of banning, california, has been destroyed. hundreds of others are threatened right now. cnn's lau is live for us in banning right now. good morning.

>> good morning, john. the home you were just talking about is this home right behind me. this is joe kiener's home and this is what a california wildfire can do in just a matter of minutes. this house completely gutted. you can see the roof. caved in right there. this fire peter saw coming. as i said, the house was engulfed in just minutes. and this is something that firefighters are really worried about today, that it may be repeated because the weather here is so extreme. high winds, low humidity, until 5:00 p.m. local time. here's what firefighters told us. >> because there's a lot of fuels out there, the grass, the brush, the trees, that have not had a lot of moisture. so they are like they would be toward the end of the summer already. they're dried out. they don't have a lot of moisture. and it's going to make it that much more receptive for a fire when it comes through. >> reporter: so that condition being today, as well as throughout the summer, john,

because there has been so little rain this year. firefighters anticipate that this is something they're going to have to deal with throughout the summer. >> in banning, california, thank you for being with us this morning. this was a scene in denver. denver yesterday, wild winter weather on the move. jennifer delgado tracking the storms for us. and jim is live for us in roberts, wisconsin. let's start with jen this morning. what are you seeing there? >> oh, my. john if jim can hear us. jim, are you there? >> the snow is so thick in wisconsin right now -- >> it's whiteout conditions here. we left minneapolis this morning where it was dry. as soon as we made it on 94 east, yep, as soon as we made it on 94 east, this intense, heavy

snow. take a look at this. i meerngs it's serious. six or even inches of snow on the ground at this point. still good snowball snow. this is not too bad really up here except for this driving when you get passed this. melting pretty fast. the warms are still warm. 30-degree drop in temperatures yesterday. the roads are still warm. a lot of this is going to hit downriver from here in missouri and illinois where they've already been dealing with flood conditions. that's going to be a major concern as this really crazy spring system continues to make its way across the country. john? >> all right. may 2nd, so wild. >> so thick it's obviously affecting our communication with jim. >> you know, the place he's talking about downriver, they didn't have any water last year. last year was a big drought and this spring they're getting a lot of water. for more, let's go to jennifer delga delgado. >> just a couple hours ago jim

was in minneapolis. minneapolis, they're t not going to get the snow today but you can see where jim is in roberts. they are getting pounded. look at the snowfall totals over the last 24 hours. 20 inches in buford, wyoming, as well as 5 inches came down in denver. still that snow coming down on the radar very good right now. for areas like wisconsin as well as into southern minnesota into des moines, look at the bright banding there. this is our cold front coming through and exchange that precipitation over to snow and some of these locations, 6 to 12 inches. i think, jim, you're going to be doing shoveling later in the day. as we zoom in a bit more, here's eau claire, you are going to dodge this one. as we go through today and tomorrow, still more of that snow. later tonight, that snow works into parts of kansas city. you know what, guys, the last time they had snow through kansas city was back in 2005, may.

they've only had snow fall down four times in may throughout the record books. four times. this is rare. >> may is not for snow. jennifer delgado, thanks to you. 11 minutes after the hour. a new round of tension to tell you about this morning with north korea after the sentencing of american citizen kenneth bae to 15 years hard labor. bae is a tour operator from washington state accused of attempting to overthrow the north korean government. our senior international correspondent dan rivers is live in south korea. dan, attempting to overthrow the north korean government. those sound like pretty serious charges against a tour operator. >> yeah, they are. and we don't really know what exactly he did to generate those charges. we know he's been in and out of north korea a lot running these tours from china where he lives. we know that he had a valid tourist visa. it's not like previous case where's people have either mistakenly wandered in or illegally entered north korea. he was -- he should have been

there, he obviously did something to anger the regime. there were suggestions from his friends down here in south korea perhaps it was something as nocuous as taking pictures of children becking on the streets which the regime thought he was going to use to criticize the regime when he left. we don't know for sure. all we know is the supreme court started this case on tuesday. already it's finished. already he's been sentenced. it gives you a kind of idea how justice goes in north korea. >> again, an american citizen i side the north korean prison right now. kenneth bae, 15 years. >> 15 years hard labor. trouble on the tarmac. two planes collides last night. united express jet headed to nashville and scandinavian airline flight headed to germany. the wing clipped the tail of the united jet. both planes returned to the gates and no injuries reported.

developing story out of southern kentucky. 2-year-old girl is dead accidentally shot and killed by her 5-year-old brother with a rifle that he received for his birthday. state police have ruled this an accident. cnn affiliate reports the children's mother was cleaning and had just stepped out of the house when she heard the gun go off. >> he just picked it up before he realized. >> just a tragic accident. just tragic. it's just -- it's something that you can't prepare for. >> i just know she's in heaven right now and i know she's in good hands with the lord. >> family members say the gun was kept in what they considered to be a safe spot. state police say children in that area are often introduced to guns at an early gauge. president obama set to announce two new members of the cabinet. he's chosen penny as commerce and deputy national security adviser for international affairs.

pritzker runs a real estate firm. 14 minutes after the hour new this morning, legal battle over plan b getting more complicated now. the justice department is now appealing a judge's ruling to force the fda to make the morning-after pill available over the counter with no age restriction. they say the new york judge overstepped his bounds. before that appeal, the fda itself relaxed rules concerning the mirnlg contraceptive allowing females as young as 15 to buy plan b without a prescription or without parental consent. ahead on "starting point," three of the tsarnaev friends in custody, is this a sign the boston bombing suspect did not work alone? we're going to talk to cnn's law enforcement analyst tom fuentes about that. and then jcpenney misses you. the company's new apology strategy to get you back. please, please come back. we'll tell you all about it. you're watching "starting point." [ man ] on in 5! [ female announcer ] it works as hard as you do... to outlast your day.

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good morning. three more arrests in the boston bombing investigation. let's bring in tom fuentes, cnn's law enforcement analyst and former fbi assistant director. good morning, tom. the issue here, what are you hearing from your sources about whether this is a conspiracy before the bombings or just a conspiracy by a few guys after the fact to try to keep they're friend out of trouble? >> good morning, christine. i think so far they believe it's after. and they helped him by disposing of some of the evidence, the incriminating material that he had in the room which the backpack which contained some of the powder and other paraphernalia, the fireworks, that they put that in a dumpster for him and removed his laptop. >> these charges have been described as easy charges to make right now and holding them on immigration charges up until this point. anything you're hearing that suggests there could be further charges? additionally, there could be other people involved other than just these three? >> well, there could be.

i think right now, you know, the charges that they brought on these three are to hold them. so they could add more charges to them at a later date. they obviously would keep investigating to see to what extent before the bombings happened that they might have been knowledgeable, that he intended to do the bombing, and not just were out with him doing fireworks together and talking about making bombs or that he knew how to make a bomb. so i think that part of the investigation, more of that will be revealed. but so far, it doesn't sound like that there's any indication that they helped him to do the bombing itself. that they knew that was going to happen. another interesting here is that the belief that dzhokhar was so much under the spell of his big brother and influenced by tamerlan and controlled by tamerlan, here you have him out with his other friends and they're using fireworks and they're involved in helping get

rid of the stuff afterwards. so you do see somewhat more independent knowledge or independent action on the part of dzhokhar as it's revealed by his friends. >> i think that's a great point. plus, dzhokhar had the fireworks. empty fireworks there. dzhokhar had a laptop. >> and vaseline. >> let's talk about the vaseline because one of the suspects, one of the three men just arrested somehow identified vaseline as a component that goes into making bombs or at least assist them. you know, i didn't know that. i've covered this type of thing for a long time. how did this college kid know that? is that in and of itself suspicious? >> that's a great point because people that work with explosives or know how pipe bombs and other explosives are put together realize a couple of grains of the gunpowder or the black powder material may be on the screw. so as you're screwing on the cap to create the pressure, to create the hold, if there's friction in the screwing process that might spark one of those things, ignite the whole bomb up

in your face. by putting the vaseline on the threads of the screw as you're putting it on, it lubricates it and keeps it from making that spark. in the affidavit, they mention they're aware of using the vaseline. the affidavit does not tell you how he knows that. the authorities would know because they would have asked them about that. but that will be revealed later. again, the complaints that are filed yesterday are just the bare minimum to maintain the charges, to keep them from leaving the country and fleeing prosecution. >> tom fuentes, thank you for that. we're going to talk next hour with former new york city mayor rudy giuliani and part of his reaction is the timing of this. when allegedly the guys were throwing the evidence was was before sean collier was killed. the timing of that is critical he says because if it's after the fact trying to protect your friend's conspiracy, another life was still lost after that that could have been prevented. we'll talk to him about it next

hour. come back. jcpenney apologizing to customers, begging, begging for their business. the company's new strategy, next. you're watching "starting point." i've discovered gold.

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welcome back. i'm christine romans. minding your business. yesterday a sell-off on wall street must have been too much because tech futures this morning indicating a higher open. it follows yesterday's drop on the dow. wall street will be watching for gm earnings, new jobless claims today as well. ford is boosting production. and that means more jobs. adding a third shift, hiring 00 workers in kansas city for the f-150 truck is made. the housing market is recovering. ford will also hire another 1100 workers at the same plant to make the transit cargo van. a public apology from jcpenney. airing commercials acknowledging it made too many changes too quickly and customers did not approve. and then it asks you this. >> come back to jcpenney. we heard you. now, we'd love to see you. jcpenney heard your wallet slam shut and now they're trying to get you to open it again. this comes just weeks after

former ceo ron johnson stepped down. he overhauled pricing, got rid of sales, got rid of some brands and got rid of a whole host of customers. result, the stock price tanked. you can see it there. that is not pretty. >> so sorry. >> they got rid of the some of the checkout registers because they wanted people to have the mobile payments and stuff walking around the store. and long-time jcpenney customers are like, where's my check out. it didn't work. it didn't work. 27 minutes after the hour. ahead on "starting point," when police went looking at dzhokhar tsarnaev's apartment, one man watched the whole thing go down and filmed it. he joins us next with his exclusive footage. then the unbelievable moment, a cargo plane crashes to the ground in afghanistan. seven americans dead. this moment caught on video. defining new is ais tick about the number of unmarried mothers in the united states. we'll tell you what it is, next on "starting point."

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welcome back. i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. let's update you on the boston bombing investigation this morning. three friends of the surviving suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev now suspects themselves. dias kadyrbayev around azamat tazhayakov are charged with trying to discard evidence. >> robel phillipos is charged with making false statements. tamerlan tsarnaev's widow spoke with him after the fbi released his photo and identified him as a boston terror suspect. again, the timing is very interesting. >> on the evening of friday e april 19th, in new bedford, massachusetts, residents were dealing with the tragedy of the boston bombings and then this happened. >> oh, my god. do you think it's him? >> keep your hands up. no one will get hurt. >> a s.w.a.t. team, fbi, local authorities lining the street.

resident grabbed his camera and began shooting the action taking place across the street from his apartment. he joins us here this morning to tell us what was happening there. it must have been just a surreal experience. tell me, why did you grab the camera, what did you think was going on? >> well, to be honest with, you i didn't know what was going on. i actually thought that they had the suspect in the neighborhood and that he was in the house at the moment. of course, i was very terrified. my children and i head downstairs in the basement closet and we were just wait for anything to happen, you know? >> you live in massachusetts, of course. i was there that day. i mean, so much of massachusetts was on edge, areas around boston, people told to stay home. was it a nervous time for you, knowing or at least suspecting that this whole thing was going down right in your neighborhood? >> yeah, i mean, boston is about an hour away from where i live so i thought, wow, you know, i definitely feel sorry for the folks in boston and everything. but i was like, you know, good thing it didn't happen over here because we're a pretty small

town. for this to happen, i mean, 40, 50 s.w.a.t. people and police and state police and everything to show up on your doorstep, rifles, you know, with a storm moving in, a literal storm, it really was one of the scariest homes of my life. >> that was two weeks ago. tell me, what's your reaction now to the news that three more suspects have been arrested, three acquaintances of dzhokhar tsarnaev, the youngest terror suspect, they have been arrested. what was your reaction to their arrest? >> i mean, i sincerely believe and my personal opinion i think that they may actually have something to do what what's going on only because they know the state that, you know, that america is in with, you know, terror and things like that. so why would you risk yourself, why would you risk your freedom, why would you risk your stay in the united states to cover up for your friend for whatalleged terrorist act. why would you do that.

>> how well do you know these guys? you live in that neighborhood. >> to be completely honest, it was kind of a hi/bye situation. you would see them every once in a while. but after talking to some of the neighbors nearby yesterday i was actually informed that they were kind of party animals. so i never knew that. they just seemed like nice kids to me who were cordial when i saw them. >> kind of party animals, that's what the other neighbors are saying? >> yeah, yeah, that's what i was saying. i never saw it because they lived in the building across the street from me. when i would see them, the cab would pick them up every single night. they would go to work and stuff. when i saw them in the day, i would say hi. there was never any hint that they were mean spirited. just seem to be nice kids. >> shot that video, thank you for bringing it to us. 34 minutes after the hour right now. an investigation under way to determine the cause of a cargo plane crash in afghanistan that killed seven americans. the crash appeared to have been recorded by a dashboard camera although cnn cannot confirm the

authenticity of the video. we want to warn you here, this video, incredibly disturbing. cnn's chris lawrence is in washington to piece this together for us. good morning. >> good morning, john. the ntsb is leading a team of investigators to try to find out what went wrong. i know you hear afghanistan and you think military aircraft, but this was a 747, like you and i might fly to europe. the video is dramatic and disturbing. a boeing 747 just stalls and falls back to earth in a massive explosion, just seconds after takeoff. the video purportedly shows a cargo plane that crashed monday near bagram air base in afghanistan killing seven american crew men, including brad hasler. >> if i could trade places with him so he could be with his family i would in a heartbeat. >> reporter: that's hasler's brother who said brad got

married just two weeks ago and his wife is pregnant with their second child. >> this is his daughter sloan, who is 2. and who we don't see in here is the baby that's on the way who we expect to see in october. >> reporter: the 747 was bound for dubai, carrying equipment as part of the u.s. military's drawdown from afghanistan. the civilian cargo plane was loaded with five mrats, each weighing 27,000 pounds. >> securing them is absolutely critical to safety. >> reporter: steven wallace is the former director of the faa's accident investigation unit. he says there's no forgiveness in a plane's center of gravity. >> it basically can only be so much weight at each part of the plane. >> so it's critical that the total weight be within the limit and the plane be balanced. >> reporter: the 747 can take off a couple of different ways. when it's carrying passengers, it will take four to five minutes to reach 15,000 feet. but in afghanistan, there's always the danger of being shot

out of the sky. so the pilots need to gain as much altitude as possible while they're still over bagram. a 747 carrying cargo can reach altitude almost two minutes faster. >> the typical concern with a cargo aircraft and this has caused accidents before is when the airplane is rotated with the nose up, the cargo moves aft if it's not properly secured. >> normally the cargo is chained down but if one of the chain attachments fails, it's possible that it could shift. look, this is just one possibility. in a massive shift of weight is much more difficult on a commercial 747 because the passengers and the weight are very evenly distributed in the speed. john, christine. >> again, those pictures are awful. thanks, chris. the fbi this morning releasing photos of three men who may have information about the deadly attack on the u.s. mission in benghazi last fall. they're not considered suspects

but the fbi wants to speak to them because they were seen on the grounds of the mission when it was attacked. four americans were killed including chris stevens, the u.s. ambassador to libya. big day of testimony ahead in the michael jackson wrongful death civil trial. on the stand yesterday an l.a.p.d. detective said dr. conrad murray was in desperate financial straits at the top of the death. suggesting it may westbound have been motivated by money concerns. after m.d. ministering an overdose of medicine. a number of new unmarried moms in the country is on the rise. according to the census bureau more than 60% of new mothers are single. up to a whopping 36%. they show why variations of unwed cite income, race, and location. the states with the most unwed mothers under 25 years old, mississippi, louisiana, and new

mexico. federal officials are warning consumers in health care professionals and fake botox. the fda say the bootleg botox comes in a counterfeit box and it's foreign and not approved for sale in the u.s. they warn these illegal imports could be counterfeit or compromised version of the real thing. autopsy will determine the cause of ded of kris kelly half of the duo kriss kross, he was found unresponsive in his home. known to fans as mac daddy, kris kelly was 13 years old when they were discovered by the producer germa germane dupree. they opened for michael jackson on his "dangerous" tour. kelly's mother issued a statement. quote, to millions of fans worldwide, he was the traend setting backwards pans wearing one half of kriss kross who loved making music. to us, he was just chris.

ahead on starting point, senator kelly ayotte confronted. we will speak to that woman about why she did this. and then unmanageable tragedy for one family after the shooting death of a toddler killed by her 5-year-old brother with the gun he was given as a gift. you're watching "starting point." okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge!

ó? ??çó listen, your story line, it makes for incredible tv drama. thing is, your drug use is too adult for the kids, so i'm going to have to block you. oh, man. yeah. [inhales] well, have a good one. you're a nice lady.

welcome back. checking top stories. tranlg city in southern kentucky

where a 2-year-old girl is dead. shot and killed by her 5-year-old brother with a rifle he received for his birthday. state police have ruled this an accident. shannon travis following developments for us. heartbreaking story, shannon. >> christine and john, i mean, this is really just one of those stories you absolutely never want to hear about, right? a child dying at the hands of another child. in this instance, as you mentioned, a 5-year-old boy killing his 2-year-old sister. her name was carolyn sparks. now, obviously anyone would want to know what happened here. here's what we understand. it happened at a home in southern kentucky on tuesday. the mother of the two children left them alone literally just for a few minutes after she went outside. unfortunately that was long enough for the boy to grab a .22 caliber rifle. listen to how relatives describe the horrible outcome. >> it's just tragic. it's something that you can't prepare for. >> i just know she's in heaven

right now. and i know she's in good hands with the lord. >> in the lord's hands. a kentucky state police trooper said this has been ruled an accident. he called it a nightmare. also, that rifle, it belonged to the boy, officials said. he got it for his birthday. one police official said it's common for young children in this part of kentucky to get a gun or rifle from their parents. in this case it appears it was one of those rifles specifically for kids. it did have a child safety lock, according to the local county coroner. and according to a local report, this family told officials they kept the rifle in what they thought was a safe place. john and christine? >> a reminder that with guns and kids, just a month ago we had a case where two 4-year-olds in two different cases were shot and killed. i know legal experts were saying it's rare to have any kind of charges of negligence or anything that comes up because das tend to think the family has suffered enough.

often happens within families. >> often ruled accidental. >> thanks, shannon. >> awful story. 45 minutes after the hour right now. closing arguments today in the jodi arias murder trial in phoenix. the prosecution and defense are expected to take four to five hours each, so this could spill into tomorrow. arias is accused of killing her boyfriend travis alexander in 2008. she insists she was acting in self-defense. a saudi arabian diplomat living in an upscale home in washington, d.c. suburb is a focus of a human trafficking investigation this morning. federal officials say they removed two filipino women from his home in virginia. they claim they were being mistreated, the women did. the diplomat has not been identified yet. the national rifle association getting a new president, alabama attorney jim porter will take over the top spot starting on monday. he will replace current president whose two-year term concludes this week at the nra's annual meeting in houston. porter has a long history with the nra. his father served as the nra president from 1959 to 1960. of course, often the public face

of the nra is the executive director, not the president. but jim porter is take over as president. 46 minutes after the hour. ahead, the daughter of the principal killed in the sandy hook shootings confronted senator kelly ayotte over background checks this week. >> i'm just wondering why the burden of my mother being gunned down in the halls of her elementary school isn't as important. >> she will tell why she's taking on congress one member at a time, coming up next. you're watching "starting point." ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] nothing gets you going quite like the power of quaker oats. today is going to be epic. quaker up.

on december 14th, erica lafferty lost her mother in the sandy hook school shooting. erica has fought for gun reform. >> at a town hall, she confronted senator ayotte, questioned why the senator believes background checks are a burden on gun owners. >> i'm just wondering why the burden of my mother being gunned down in the halls of her elementary school is not as important. >> i felt the enhanced

improvements to our background checks system, as you and i both know, the issue wasn't the background check system, the issue is sandy hook. >> the senator says she thinks the problem lies in the mental health system. she joins thus morning. you said to the senator, look, i don't think the burden for gun sellers, why is that the foblg us and not the burden on me losing my mother? explain what you said and the point to the senator? >> i had actually spoken with her the day after the vote, in her office in d.c. and she said that there was too much of a burden that was going to be imposed on people who were trying to sell guns. >> that bothered you. >> that's not good enough. >> what about the burden on the 33 people a day murdered in the united states? why is that not as important as

the burden that would be imposed from a background check, 90 seconds. >> you went to new hampshire, are you not from new hampshire is this something you will do with other senators? >> absolutely. >> what's the goal? >> to make them human again to let them know that this isn't a political issue. not about not wanting to agree with obama. giving hum a win. it's about people, it's -- it's the moral issue. it's not political. it's common sense and about caring and being human. >> you have confronted her twice. how long will this go on? you will continue to follow other senators too. >> absolutely. >> democrats voted against it as well. and the president has been criticized on many front. maureen dowd said the president should have done more to get this passed. do you think the white house is partially responsible for the failure of this bill? >> i believe that their support specifically to me has been phenomen phenomenal. their guidance has been great.

i do feel if we started earlier in trying to contact the senators we might have had a better chance with the vote a couple of weeks ago. >> maybe mishandling of the political process? >> yeah. my regret is that i didn't start earlier. >> how could you? it's been a whirlwind i'm sure. what do you hope your presence at the nra convention will do? >> i want to make my mom human, instead of another name on a list of people who were murdered. she was a great person. they need to know that. >> a lot of people at the nra convention don't agree with the position on this issue. are you nervous going in there? >> no. they are people too, and i am trusting that they are going to be respectful as i am. >> respectful maybe, but do you

think you can change minds there? >> i hope some of. >> one of the things interesting about this too, some have said that they worry -- people who are supporters of the measures worry that as every day and week passes since newtown, that somehow urgency goes away in washington, but you look, for example, at senator ayotte's approval rating, it takes a hit. 88% of new hampshire adults support background checks and a long-time democratic operative who says this hurt her. kathy sullivan, former head of the state democratic party told politico that it hurts. they are won with votes of independents, particularly independent women. independent will women will not favor a candidate who does not support background checks. will it be the only issue? no. people who are gun rights activists are calling her a hero for guns rights. keeping it in the public forum. do you worry that at some point, as more time passes that the

urgency of gun reform will change? >> i'm going to put every ounce of energy in my body to make sure that doesn't happen. >> can you show us your hand? we're looking at a tattoo on your hand? >> i don't know if you can see this. it's her mom's signature. mom, smiley face, heart, and mommy. tell us again this was a note she sent to you? >> seven years ago, she wrote me a note reminding me to stay safe. and i had her signature traced off of it, so i can have it with me and look at it hundred times daily. >> thank you for coming by. >> thank you. >> ahead on "starting point," three new arrests in the boston marathon bombing. is this a sign that the tsavraev brothers weren't acting alone? we'll speak with it with rudy giuliani. and the struggle to stop a california wildfire. you're watching "starting poi point."

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good morning, everyone. i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. our "starting point," free more arrests in the boston ma are on this bombing. friends of the surviving suspect, trying to get investigators off his trail. a wildfire burning out of control as flames force people from their homes. live from the latest to put this fire out. what -- >> violence during may day protests on the streets of seattle. at least eight officers hurt. controversy growing over access to over the counter emergency contraception for women of all ages, including

young teens. the obama administration is stepping in. thursday, may 2nd. "starting point" begins right now. >> "starting point," investigators in the boston marathon bombing, ziering in on the tsavraev brother's inner circle. tamerlan tsavraev's widow spoke with him after he was publicly identified as a terror suspect. >> two were charged with conspireing to dispose of a laptop and backpack with fireworks after a backpack. you can see them here in a year book photo with dzhokhar. we have the latest from pamela brown. >> reporter: good morning, christine. three 19-year-old suspects are in hot water for what they

allegedly did following the boston marathon bombing. following their arrests, the question, will there be more to come? the investigation continues to focus on the widow of tamerlan tsavraev as new developments come to light. two cnn sources familiar with the investigation say katherine russell, video of tindividual w tsavraev, spoke with him the night that authorities released video. they are trying to determine the nature of the call, what was said and why she didn't notify authorities. this as three classmates of dzhokhar are under arrest. two seen here with tsavraev on a trip to times square. the third man accused of of lying to authorities and the other two accused of tampering with the investigation. the three men saw sfwlok ar on

tv. dzhokhar texted back lol. they allegedly met at the dom room. a i am about to leave. if you need something in my room, take it. and asa mat tazhayakov never thought he would see his friend alive again. the three took the evidence out of the dorm rooms to protect czar evidence. the complaints also say the men then took the items back to an apartment in new bedford, wrapped it in a garbage bag and put it in the dumpster with some of their own trash. it was recovered after a two-day search at a holland fill. unclear whether the laptop was recovered. the cnn exclusive video shows two men being taken into custody at the time on immigration

violation. the third man, robel filipphil is an american citizen. >> he is as shocked by the violence as the rest of the community is. he did not know this individual was involved in a bombing. >> my client, azamat tazhayakov is as shocked and concerned that someone he knew was involved with the boston marathon bombing. he has cooperated fully with authorities and looks forward to the truth coming out. >> reporter: and interesting to note, christine and john, that according to authorities, one month before the marathon, tsavraev apparently told two of his friends over lunch that he knew how to make a bomb and that in the criminal complaint, it says one of the now suspects saw vaseline in tsavraev's dorm room after the attack and he knew then that the vaseline was used to make a bomb, we spoke to bomb

experts and we're told that vaseline may have been used on the pressure cooker lid to prevent sparks which would set off explosives. john, christine. >> thank you, pamela. who are the new suspects, a friend of robel philipos said no way he would be involved. >> robel is a very good kid himself. went to school, never got in trouble, took care of his mom. played basketball. quiet kid. that's about it. >> massachusetts governor deval patrick reassuring those in and around boston, saying they don't need to worry about more attacks related to the case. >> this should not raise any concerns in anyone's mind about continuing attacks. this is about getting all the way to the bottom of what happened at the marathon. >> brian todd in boston for us this morning, following the latest developments. what more do we know about the three suspects and the relationship with dzhokhar tsavraev? >> well, we know that they

became very good friends with sfwlok dzhokhar tsavraev when they started going to umass in 2011. the two students, tazhayakov and phillipos, and they gravitated toward azamat, they would hang out in his apartment and in dzhokhar tsavraev's dorm room. hung out socially a couple of days after the bombing. one of the suspect's, katyrbayev, texted him to come down, came down, hung out and dzhokhar tsavraev had changed his appearance, gotten a shorter haircut. details in the complaint and elsewhere that at least the two kazakhstani students were very

close. not clear what robel phillipos had to do with all of this. >> we'll speak with rudy giuliani. have you been sitting here and watching these stories. a suggestion of the lawyers from the three new suspects saying they couldn't be sorrier about what happened in boston, they didn't know what they were doing. almost grunting in disgust here. >> i am. because i think this has been treated as these were three young men wayward, just trying to help their friend. i have to go on the complaint. so let's assume the complaint is true. i -- i didn't investigate this, but they have done a heck of a good investigation. i have to assume most of the complaint is correct. these three young men could have prevented the deaths of officer collier, probably. aware by 6:00, 7:00 at night that these two guys were the bombers. if they had done what doesn't young men should do, which is

call the police, given the focus of the investigation, the number of resources they had in boston, given how effective they were in investigating, they probably would have gotten these guys in an hour or to. >> instead. they were more concerned about getting the stuff together. >> assuming the facts in the complaint were true, i would charge them as predicate acts of a conspiracy the murder of officer collier, the shooting of the other officer and the kidnapping. all of which were foreseeable consequences of their joining the conspiracy to help these guys flee. after all, that's what they are joining, right? by taking the computer and i would also question, why are they taking the computer? i imagine they are taking the computer because it might have evidence about them. look, you don't do this. just to help a friend. you don't help a friend that killed an 8-year-old boy. you do this because there is some kind of ideological

connection, joining of the cause. i don't buy that these are three kids that are helping a friend. >> and one of the students apparently also knew vaseline was somehow used in making explosives to me isn't a common piece of knowledge that everyone has. >> not common at all and they tell you a month before that they know how to make bombs. a bombing in boston. you make the connection right away. >> obviously, mayor, you were in law enforcement a lot longer than politics. there has been a suggestion, alan dershowitz, these aren't giant charges. prosecutors and investigators want to get more from these guys. what more do they want? >> they want to know the whole network, look, it's hard to believe that they did this all on their own. >> two brothers. pulled off the bombing too effectively. the whole escape plan was ridiculous. but the plan for doing the

bombing was excellent. we've seen expert terrorists not be able to detonate the bomb on the first try. they must have had help, where did it come from? they must have had financing, the older brother went to russia for six months, wasn't working. somebody paid for that. where did the money come from? i don't think these three men just spontaneously go ahead and put themselves at such grave risk. professor dershowitz, a good friend of mine, but i beg to differ with thumb. the consequence of this conspiracy they join is a death of a police officer. these men are looking at a long time in jail. i would seek 20 to 30 years in jail. >> the trip to russia for the older brother, you are critical that there wasn't a ping. clearly he must have been followed by russian security services, but he was on the radar. where was the breakdown? >> i don't know. i don't like to play monday morning quarterback, because i've been in this for too long and know i made mistakes at

different times as well. it has to be looked at things did go wrong, the system didn't work. now, let's fix it for the future. we can't fix it for the past. this guy should have been followed when the fbi investigated. stuck with it longer, when he came back, the fact that he went to russia, should have made him more of a suspect. somehow it made him less of a suspect. on the list when he left. wasn't on the list when he came back. he should have been moved up the list after going to russia here is a man who is suspected of being involved with chechen, dagestan terrorists. may makes train to russia he's not going to the moscow symphony. he's going to russia to go to dagestan. he should go up the list at this point. that corroborates what the russians were saying to us, this guy somehow involved with dagestan, russian, chechen, terrorists. so somehow the right hand didn't know what the left hand was

doing. look what happened with the skiing. the fbi is questioned. the fbi expects to question them two days, three days, all of a sudden, the justice department and magistrate not talking to the fbi walk in, and cut off the questioning in the middle of what the fib says is very fruitful questioning. you can argue the legality of that, but here is what's true. the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing. weren't communicating. >> one of the things that d.a. clapper will look at. thank you for coming in. we patrol appreciate it. high winds, low humidity creating a real fire danger in southern california. it has burned 3,000 acres in riverside county. not in time to save one man's home. that's where we have the latest. >> reporter: we just got the update from the fire department. they had a pretty good night. cautiously optimistic about further containment and we expect an update in the next hour or so. what they are trying to avoid is

this. this is that house that burned in the fire. this is the power of a california wildfire. all this damage happened in just minutes. the home engulfed. the homeowner was right outside in his car. that's why he believes he was able to escape. here is what he told us. >> thank god i wasn't in the house when it happened. thank god i was able to get my dog out, and my mom was watching over me and so were the neighbors that are around. i have good support. tonight, probably go over to my neighbors for an evening and collapse a little bit and cry a whole lot. but right now i'm not going to. >> so the big wild card today though is in the next hour or & a half when the sun rises, high winds will kick back up, christine and john, firefighters optimistic, but playing it safe because they are so worried about the low temperature, high

winds, and the amount of dry brush out here. >> thank you. stay safe out there. >> fire out there, and then snow, unprecedented spring snowstorm leaving denver, looking like it's the middle of winter. look at that. >> looks like a christmas postcard. >> not supposed to look like that in may. and now it has its sights set on the northern plains. jim spellman in roberts, wisconsin. tell us what's going on there. oh, my. >> reporter: take a look at this, john. a wonderful, beautiful scene for a wisconsin morning in maybe january, but not may 12nd. plows are coming through, keeping the roads clear. much different here than it was yesterday in boulder, where the roads were warm enough it didn't stick to the roads. on interstate 94, plows go back and forth.

traffic moving. but it's insignificant. six to eight inches of snow you can see here that has fallen on the ground. heavy, wet spring snow, a big pain in the neck. serious trouble in illinois and missouri, down the river system. dealing with flood condition there. all of the moisture making its way there. tomorrow, as the week goes by. just truly hard to get your head around that this is not the middle of the winter in wisconsin, but may 2nd. out here today in wisconsin and i'm still not used to it. >> jim spellman chasing snow blakes around the country. still working on his snow ball throw. >> this is why american midweste so optimistic. a may day protest in seattle turned violent last night.

police say demonstrateors threw rocks, pipes, even a skateboard that used pepper spray and flash bang grenades to disperse the crowd. eight officers were injured. one female police officer hit in the knee with a large rock. new this morning, north korea sentencing kenneth bey to 15 years for hard labor. he is a tour operator that is accused of attempting to overthrow the government of north korea. leaders haven't specified what crime he committed. tensions high between the u.s. and north korea. in the past, u.s. citizens have been detained as bargaining chips. two planes collided at newark. passengers on the united flight

felt the impact. both flights returns to the gates and no one was injured. ahead on "starting point," controversy over access to emergency contraception. the justice department fighting a ruling to let women of any age buy plan "b" did a judge go too far? a solar wave on the sun. what's behind the phenomenon, ahead on "starting point." the chevrolet malibu eco with eassist captures downhill energy, unleashing it later to help propel you uphill. ♪ it adds up to an epa-estimated 37 mpg highway... ♪ ...and helps defy gravity and gas pumps. ♪ that's american ingenuity, to find new roads.

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this morning, the obama

administration is challenging a ruling that would make over the counter emergency contraception available to all women. >> last month, girls and women of all ages were ordered to be allowed to buy plan b. we are joined live from washington. give us the read, laura. good morning. give us the read on what the administration's take on this? what the fight is about here. the administration wants to limit this, but having a hard time keeping that in place. >> it's interesting, have you a democratic administration overruling their own scientists and siding with social conservatives on the morning after pill. the fda recommended in 2011, the morning after pill be available with zero age limit, next to the tylenol. kathleen sebelius overruled that, and the judge is saying, you made that decision, based on

polit politics, not scientists. your old scientist said it would be available over the counter, and the administration is challenging that station. >> what does the science say? >> plan "b" one step, the brand in question of the morning after pill is safe for all ages, teenagers can use it as well as adults can. one pill taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. prevents pregnancy and less dangerous than tylenol. not any side effects that would be more dangerous than any other drug on the shelves at pharmacies. >> here is what the judge said. the administration is now challenging. it is hardly clear that the secretary had the power to issue the order. and if she did have that authorities, her decision was arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable. how far is the administration going to go on this? >> basically, the question, this political, or is this really about the morning after pill? they don't want girls under the

age of 15 to be able to access it without a prescription, or about the court tapping sebelius on the wrist? it's more likely the latter. the justice department pushing back, because they don't want the court to overrule hhs. >> interesting. laura bassett, thank you for joining us. >> still ahead, you may think you have the perfect baby name, but in new zealand, it may not fly. the government out with a new list of banned baby names. you won't believe what some parents are willing to saddle their children with. you're watching "starting point." scribe 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 be done correctly with the right parts and the right people. get a free brake inspection and brake pads installed for just

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trending this morning on the web, new information that jamestown settlers turned to cannibalism. an analysis of remains of a 14-year-old girl that suggests that her body had been scandalized after her death. 240 died. they called it the starving

time. settlers your honunder siege, n get food. >> the science is fascinating. i would encourage to you go to the website and find out exactly how they discovered what went on. nasa captured a massive solar eruption on the sun. this fired off a billion tons of matter at speeds that can reach more than a million miles an hour. eruptions are so powerful, they sxhukz. >> authorities have to sign off on a name for your baby. a new list of banned baby names. lucifer, mafia no fear, 4real, and the most popular banned name. justice. so names that did make it. midnight chardonnay, number 16 bus shelter and for twins, benson and hedges.

>> midnight chardonnay, just to prove it's okay. ahead on "starting point," controversy over this mountain dew commercial. listen to this. >> the one with four legs. >> i thought you were going to kiss me. keep your mouth shut. keep your mouth shut. >> no, no. >> why the company decided to pull this ad. >> outrageous dumb ads are contagious these days. a new search for the missing mother vanished working the late shift at a michigan gas station. we'll talk with the police chief leading that investigation. you're watching "starting point." [ male announcer ] zzzquil™ sleep-aid. it's not for colds. it's not for pain. it's just for sleep. because sleep is a beautiful thing™. ♪ zzzquil™. the non-habit forming sleep-aid from the makers of nyquil®.

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welcome back to "starting point." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. new developments in the boston bombing investigation. three friends of the surviving suspect, sfwlok dzhokhar tsavra now suspects themselves. dias katyrbayev and azamat

tazhayakov are charged with disposing evidence. >> and robel philipos is also charged. tamerlan tsavraev's wife also spoke with him after investigators were looking for him. >> and according to a new report by "time," americans are more worried about civil liberties and terrorism than freedom. >> a crock pot with the caption, it's a bomb, no, no, just pulled pork at the liberty grill. tick tock, tick tock. he insists he was not making light of the boston bombings. >> i wasn't thinking about that when i posted that.

a crock pot with pork in it. complete shock, but after i got to thinking about it, people are very sensitive about the issue right now. >> yeah, they sure are. collier will delete the defending post. >> the tick tock, tick tock. >> search is still on for 25-year-old jessa heeringa. a michigan woman who may have been accident ducted from her job on friday night. a detailed sketch of a man believed to be involved with her disappearance. according to witnesses, he was seen talking to her before she went missing. >> and a second video of a van driving away from the gas station. between the time of the last traction and reported disappearance. the northern shores, michigan, police department is investigating at this point. sir, can you hear me? >> yes, i can. >> oh, great. tell us, what is the status of the investigation at this hour?

>> well, what we're doing right now is tracking down tips, that -- that the public has phoned in to us, names, suspect vehicles and such, and verifying whether or not the person or the vehicle was involved in this incident. >> now, you released new video of a minivan apparently in question. how far away was the camera when this was from when she went missing? >> this is one mile or mile and a half north of the crime scene. as far as time frame, we believe it's about three minutes after she was taken from the gas station. so it fights right in our window that we're looking at as far as opportunity. >> have you also released a composite sketch. since you have released that sketch, have you had any calls, any uptick in the number of calls you are getting?

>> definitely. within the first hour after that sketch was released, we had 75 tips right away overnight, the number was more like 250 or more. >> and this sketch is of a man that you say witnesses or people who were at the store say was talking to her, seen in the store at some point that evening before she disappeared. tell us why the significance of that man? >> well, the sketch is actually of the driver of the minivan that was last seen leaving from the area of the scene about the time of jessica's disappearance. it's also believed that that same person may have been at the store about half hour or an hour before. so it is significant in that we're trying to find the driver to find out first if he saw anything, that could lead us to the person who abducted her or, second, to fund out what he knows about the abduction if he's involved. >> are you assuming, sir, you call it a crime scene.

are you saying this is an abduction, you think somebody took her away from there against her will, no question in your mind? >> without a doubt. based on the information we've received from the family as far as her personality and the fact that she would not have left her child behind. that coupled with the lack of physical evidence inside the building, but the evidence we have processed on the outside, does lead to us believe that she was abducted. >> let me ask you this, if people have information or tips, what do you want them to do? >> to please call our observer line, 231-72-crime, or call the norton shores police department, 231-733-2691. >> putting both of the numbers on the screen. so anyone who may have tips can call those in. police chief daniel shaw, thank you for joining us. best of luck in the investigation. >> thank you for having me. a court hearing for james

everett dutschke, the man accused of sending letters to president obama and two others tainted with ricin. these items that belonged to him tested positive for the deadly substance. the judge is expected to decide today if he should remain in custody. five people dead from a mysterious sars like virus in saudi arabia two others in intensive care. the saudi government is taking precautions against those exposed to the corona virus. little is known about the virus. president obama wheels up on a trip to mexico city. the president will meet with his mexican counterpart to talk about trade, security, and immigration. dan lothian live with a preview of the president's trip. good morning, dan. >> reporter: the economy will be an important issue as the president heads to mexico.

how to strengthen ties, and the president will talk about ongoing drug wars. tens of thousands killed in the war. u.s. and mexico have been key parts in the fight. but the president is likely to face a new dynamic on the u.s. involvement in that country. in an unusually close relationship, the u.s. and mexico have aggressively fought drug cartels, sharing intelligence and cross border training, but there is uncertainty as president obama head south to a new political landscape. his old partner, philippe calderon launched a major crackdown has been replaced by enrique penietto. >> we have seen signs that the new mexican government wants to scale back on cooperation. that's concerning to u.s. law enforcement agencies.

>> reporter: the mexican government is tightening the flow of intelligence and is evaluating whether the u.s. polygraph plan to root out corrupt mexican security officials. >> i won't say how this will alter the relationship until i hear directly about what they are trying to accomplish. >> reporter: mexicans overwhelmingly welcomed u.s. involvement fighting the drug war. 74% support assistance in training police and military. 5 % approve of giving money and weapon. but the president's institutional revolutionary party has historically been suspicious of outside influence and fiercely protects its sovereignty. >> ultimately the president will be tantamount to the mexican people as to how his policies will quell or suppress the

violence brought about by the cartels. >> reporter: the obama administration is downplaying the shift in security cooperations. >> our relationship with mexico is broader than that. deep, economic, cultural and familial ties with mexico. >> reporter: so the obama administration continuing to stress an important security relationship with mexico. something that they will continue to work on, a lot on the president's plate as he heads to mexico, but we can't forget immigration as well. the president will be touching on that as lawmakers in washington debate the best way to fix it. john, christine. >> dan lothian at the white house, big three-day trip taking off this afternoon. milestone in new york city. construction crews scheduled to raze the final sections of the spires at 1 world trade center. it was supposed to go up monday, but bad weather postponed it. it will be the tallest building in the western hemisphere and

third tallest in the world. this next story simply stunning. a 53-year-old mother of two from pennsylvania has been found living as a homeless person in key largo, florida. brenda heist disappeared on february, 2002, developing two children off at school. heist was worried about financial issues and an impending divorce when she left her family behind. >> i was shocked. our department was shocked. because i will tell you, i was convinced something horrible happened to her years ago. she said she thought of her family and children every day and her parents. however, she never acted on that and never made any phone calls. not one. >> detectives say heist spent years in florida, sleeping under bridges and tents and eating food thrown out of fast food restaurants before turning herself last friday. that is a long, long time. >> a bizarre story. another bizarre story. mountain dew under fire for an

ad some are calling the most racist ever. >> i don't think i can do this. >> just point to him. >> i'm a player. >> no. >> he's wearing the do rag. >> come on, the one with the four legs. >> thought she was going to kiss me. keep your mouth shut. keep your mouth shut. >> the ad createded by the hip-hop group odd future. it featured an all-black criminal lineup except for the goat. the company has pulled the ad, issued an apology, but not one blogger labeled 2 the most irresponsible piece of trash in the history of advertising. there this is this bat every te woman angle. very distasteful, top to bottom. never meant to be seen on television, but approved by marketing executives and created. i guess the guy who created it is a filmmaker. >> i have seen it twice. i don't get it at all.

what is looks like it tough to take. >> america's mayors need to figure out how to keep cities safe in the aftermath of the boston bombing. >> mitch landrieu weighs in on that, next. you're watching "starting point." new car!

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this morning, new developments out of boston. three friends of dzhokhar tsavraev have been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice as they threw out evidence. and mayors meet in new orleans to discuss how to keep their cities safe. mitch landrieu, a democrat from

new orleans, thank you for being with us. there have been a few big events in new orleans over time. you know, that little jazz fest, here and there, mardi gras. >> we had the great honor of hosting the first super bowl post september 1 11th and did it again last year. and we are in the middle of a jazz fest. 500,000 person event over two weekends. major sporting and cultural events are something we do a lot of. we are thrilled to have mayors from around the country and around the world. rio, brazil, to talk about how to secure major cultural and sporting events. >> did you tweak security for the jazz fest after what happened in boston? >> no question about it. we trained for almost the exact thing that happened in boston before the super bowl. you have to be -- you really have to think about things like that, unfortunately. our hearts out to the folks in boston. a tough situation. it seems to me that the homeland

security folks and the first responders were spectacular in boston. you want to try to prevent it from happening. we'll all talk, regroup. every time an incident happens, whether it's a natural disaster or terror attack, you have to go back look at what you did do, didn't do, plug gaps and get better. >> we want security, want to live in a free society, where we don't have people looking over our shoulder. that's the trouble for folks like you, balance that. when you look at cnn poll out about how people feel about their civil liberties, willing to give them up to curb terrorism. 40% are willing to give up some civil liberties to curb terrorism. in 1995, it was 57%. do we have the right balance? >> frank bruney wrote about this the other day. the challenge in america, where we all want to live in a free society and be protected of constitutional rights, how much are you willing to give up to be safe? that's the essential question that people have to ask.

it's a very difficult balance. a lot depends on who is being looked at, how they are being looked at. most have submitted to wonderful screenings from wonderful tsa agents. working hard to do a good job. a tough balance. we have a great group of first responders, we want to get this right. a very dangerous proposition. we understand that and have to do better. >> i don't want to ask you to play monday morning quarterback. did boston get it right beforehand? it's not like they did nothing. they had bomb-sniffing dogs that went through the area before the marathon, before the bomber showed up. could boston have done more here? >> listen this is not a place to do any monday morning quarterbacking. most experts would tell you that's almost possible to protect against. they did everything they possibly could do in that situation to thaw turned horrific. it points out how vulnerable we really are. the united states of america, london, other areas that have

seen this over time, we have to get more vigilant, get better, connect the dots quicker and every event will show how we can get better. >> mitch landrieu in new orleans, nice to see up. >> thank you. still ahead, call him obie, but don't call him obese. jeanne moos. that is one big dog. >> big boned.

welcome back to "starting point." i'm christine romans. stock futures jumped after the

european central bank cut interest rates. the goal was to boost the economy, dealing with record high unemployment. more than 12% unemployment, and also about jobs this week. minutes ago, we learned new jobless claims fell by 18,000. 324,000 people filed for unemployment last week. that's a five-year low. >> a good number. >> that's a good number. yesterday, another report showed private sector employers added only 119,000. not a good number. tomorrow, the big mac daddy of the numbers, we'll see what happened in the labor market. disney pulling out of bangladesh. 400 workers were killed when a clothing factory collapsed. disney pulling out because there is a string of problems there. you open up your closet, you will see a bran in your closet right now, a brand that has been

made -- garments made at that factory in bangladesh. a lot of household names. >> 52 minutes after the hour. once he was a portly pooch. but then obie the dachshund got skinned. jeanne moose more on the biggest loser. >> reporter: if you think are you sagging, consider obie, the obese dachshund. used to be you could actually hear his belly dragging. >> that's a good boy. >> but on tuesday, obie dragged himself to oregon expert vets and went under the knife after months of weight loss. >> it is a modified tummy tuck. we removed redundant skin and had to reconstruct. >> reporter: the idea wasn't to make mihm lose weight. he already done that, at his worst, screen left, he weighed 77 pounds. screen right, dropped 40. obie's previous owners were elderly and ill.

overfed him, practically killing him with kindness. he was adopted by a veterinary technician. she had to fight for custody of obie. he got praised to waddle down the ramp. his belly made him look like something that washed up on the beach. but thanks to an overweight management formula fed to obie, in a dish that slows the dog down as he eats, he started losing weight. didn't appreciate veggies. >> these are carrots. >> reporter: and he was too fat for the treadmill. demonstrated by norah's other dachshund. but over eight months, look at his weight go down on the scale. here is he at 41 pounds, by the time of the surgery, he weighed 37.5. but no way this extra skin and flab would ever disappear on its own, plus it was black frominfe.

in a two-hour operation. how much did you take off him? >> 2 1/2 pounds of tissue removed. >> reporter: the 7-year-old is recovering faster than expected. the goal now, to get obie lose another five pounds to be the perfect weight for a standard dachshund, 30 pounds. ob obie can see and lick his own paws. he's become what he is. a wiener dog and not a stuffed jeanne moos, cnn. >> if he can do it, anybody can to it. >> i have been to a doggie fat camp. it's hard for pets to lose weight. it's not their fault, it's the owners. >> you go, obie.

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a sighting at dodgers stadium. but is tommy lasorda's action made it incredible. psy came out, right next to w r where the 85-year-old lasorda was sitting. and he started dancing to his new song. check out tommy lasorda's face. there he is. look at that. so the hall of fame announcer, didn't seem teschly impressed. he was like 10 billion youtube views what do i care? the impromptu dance, not quite sure what psy was doing there. psy is happy, that's important. >> priceless. >> that's it for "starting

point." i'm christine romans. "cnn newsroom" with carol costello begins right now. >> happening now in the "newsroom" cover up. three of dzhokhar's buddies in custody. accused of throwing investigators off the trail. minute by minute details emerging. what they knew, what they did also, seattle on edge. may day protests getting violent. >> the crowd surged around several officers on foot. >> teargas, flash bang grenades, bottle rockets. >> i don't like the police we don't need them. >> organizers call it a march against capitalism. an american arrested in north korea. >> kenneth bae in the wrong