clean environment and on time. >> we live here. it is every day treatment. we want to fight. we're in this together. that's all i care now, my daughter's life. >> you're fighting for your child's life, nothing else matters. >> they pick us up in the morning and give us our ride back. >> they help us every step of the way. >> 70% of families are spanish speaking. i feel like it is my obligation to help them navigate the system. >> take good care of yourself. >> from someone who has been there. >> thank you. >> even though he passed away almost 13 years, he is the main force of this, and i feel that i am the right person to help. i am don lemon. "the situation room" with wolf blitzer begins right now. new details emerge about the boston bombing suspects, their alleged plot and hard partying

friends accused of a coverup. as the national rifle association holds a high profile meeting, we will look at the pressure gun control advocates are putting on senators that didn't vote their way. and a skull leads archaeologists to expose a shocking secret about america's earliest settlers and what they did to survive. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world, wolf blitzer is off. i am jim acosta, and you're in "the situation room." federal authorities are learning more about the boston marathon bombing suspects and their plans, including the fact that they initially hoped to launch the attack on july 4th. cnn's brian todd joins us from boston where he has been doing great reporting for us in the weeks since the bombing. brian? >> reporter: jim, what we're learning from a law enforcement official briefed regularly on the investigation, telling susan candiotti that the tsarnaev brothers originally contemplated carrying out a suicide bomb

attack in boston on july 4th. this was before though changed their plans, according to this official moved up the timetable because the bombs they were constructing were completed earlier than they expected. this official told susan that the boston marathon was chosen as a target only a day or two before the event. if they had carried out that attack in boston, a suicide bombing attack in boston july 4th, that's a huge event in boston, some 500,000 people gather on the charles river to watch fireworks and listen to music. you can imagine the carnage that could have been caused by that attack. now, the official told susan that the bombs were built in the apartment in cambridge, massachusetts where tamerlan tsarnaev lived with his wife and three-year-old child, but the official says it is unclear what, if anything, tamerlan tsarnaev's widow, katherine russell, knew about the attack. her attorney, jim, said she knew nothing about it. >> brian, what more do we know

about the friends accused of trying to cover up what the tsarnaev brothers were up to. what more do we know? >> reporter: we are getting new information about the bond between dzhokhar tsarnaev, and the students. it is a bond that brought them together at a small college not far from here, but also a bond that ended up with all four being jailed. they could related to one another from the start. russian speakers, immigrants trying to assimilate into american life. but one of them had been at it longer, and the other two gravitated toward him. dzhokhar tsarnaev's friends and acquaintances says was fully americanized. but the others struggled with english and school. he befriended tsarnaev because he had been in the u.s. a long time, spoke english well, knew

the ropes. but a fellow student says despite dependence on dzhokhar, the two students could create a stir on their own. >> they like to get noticed? >> yes. they had a black car and i saw their car multiple times last semester, and it was noticeable because they played loud music in their cars and used to screech their tires all the time. i felt that they wanted to be noticed. >> reporter: he didn't know the one suspect but knew them from parties they all went to. >> what were they like socially? >> they were social animals, used to dance, used to drink and they used to like to play games together with other people. >> what kind of games? >> like video games. >> reporter: the criminal complaint says he was closer to dzhokhar tsarnaev that he repeatedly met his home and met

family members. court papers say one set off fireworks on the banks of the charles river with tsarnaev, and he told them a month before the marathon attack that he knew how to make a bomb. but there's no indication any of the three arrested students knew about the marathon plot. before he was accused of obstruction, azamat's father said he couldn't be involved. >> we were shocked. everyone knows my son, never fought anyone, never been in touch with radicals. >> reporter: they were in the class of 2011 at cambridge latin high school. all four enroeltd at u mass dartmouth later. in a video he posted on youtube, he described a background. >> grew up in a mild mannered way of living, wasn't too poor, wasn't too rich, average guy. >> reporter: friends are trying to piece together how three average guys were caught up in the marathon bombing investigation and may wind up in prison. was it a calculated attempt to

deceive investigators? he thinks it may have been a clumsy effort to help a friend. >> they might have been scared initially because they're international students. they may have panicked. >> reporter: and their arrest unsettled the small college again two weeks after law enforcement agencies swarmed the campus and evacuated it after his capture. >> thanks very much. authorities were aware of the older brother tamerlan tsarnaev well before the bombings in boston, had indications he might be radicalized, and even put him on a watch list. so what happened? cnn's tom foreman looks into that. >> reporter: a curious trip to russia had visits to mosques, and had relatives disapprove. >> what i think was behind it, being losers. >> reporter: some was enough to

have tamerlan tsarnaev on one government watch list well before the boston bombings. rick nelson is an expert on government databases. why didn't the watch list prevent this? >> difficult for the watch list in and of itself to stop the attack, it is just data, it is information. >> reporter: there are many watch lists, from border patrol to the fbi to the cia. the older brother and his mother were on one called the terrorist identities data mark environment or tide a low level list. something that came to a first line of defense. there's no active surveillance of people on tide, names are kept in case they show up in connection with other serious threats. then they may be bumped up to no fly or selectee lists. where they would be scrutinized.

>> these particular suspects, there's nothing that they did that suggested that they were going to do something like this. >> reporter: that's the problem. lone wolves like eric rudolph and unabomber evaded capture because they didn't interact with others enough to reveal plans. >> at the end of the day it is very difficult. with many of the individuals, we don't know when they're going to cross the line from rhetoric to violent action. >> secure experts argue watch lists can be valuable to investigators tracking terror negotiation after an attack. but the fact that the boston bombings were the work of someone already on a list is now in itself being looked at very hard. tom foreman, cnn, washington. turning to what's a growing battle over gun control with the nra's annual meeting this weekend, gun control supporters this week deployed some of the

most powerful voices, family members of gun violence victims to confront some senators face to face. here is cnn's chief congressional correspondent dana bash. >> reporter: her son was killed in the colorado movie massacre. >> let him know that karen teefz was here again. >> reporter: she has been trying unsuccessfully to see her senator, jeff flake, since he voted against expanding gun background checks last month. to capture her frustration, the gun control group mayors against illegal guns tried again, this time inviting cameras. >> i want him to look the mother in the eye that's lost her child. i want him to see the pain. >> reporter: it is just one part of a coordinated effort to use this week's senate recess to keep the gun control issue alive, despite losing the pivotal background check vote. earlier this week, the same

group sent erica lafferty to new hampshire to confront kelly ayotte. they helped cnn get this footage. she also voted against expanded background checks calling them 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 isn't as important as that. >> i felt the enhanced improvements to our background check system. and as you and i know, the issue wasn't td background check system issue in sandy hook. >> reporter: to find 60 votes to overcome a fill busser, they have to change a half dozen senate minds going after republicans and democrats. montana's max back as one of four to vote no on expand background checks. a liberal group is trying to target him with a gun owning

grandmother. >> aimed my handgun at the door and waited. guns can protect us, but we're less safe with guns in the wrong hands. >> reporter: the nra isn't taking anything for granted, pushing just as hard to keep those senators in their corner, running radio ads, praising no voters. >> and kelly had the courage to oppose misguided gun laws. >> reporter: they say senators voted against background checks are taking a hit with constituents. a new survey by a prodemocratic polling firm showed ayotte's rating dropping and flake now the most unpopular senator in the country. prompting him to say that probably puts me somewhere below pond scum. outside flake's office, karen holds up a letter flake wrote before voting no, telling her strengthening background checks is something we agree on. >> after receiving this letter,

i would expect senator flake to look me in the eye and explain why he ignored me. >> reporter: a spokeswoman for senator flake said the reason he voted no is it was written too broadly, would encroach on private sales. she hopes it will change so he can support it. i am cold kelly ayotte will consider alternatives. to get the votes to pass, gun control advocates will have to accept something that is watered down, and it is an open question whether they're willing to do that. dana bash, cnn, washington. inside the mind of a killer, dr. sanjay gupta explains whether biology could explain the boston bombings. and chilling images of the final seconds of a doomed flight. do they contain clues about what caused the fiery, deadly crash? [ female announcer ] the only patch for the treatment

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patients may experience slow heart rate. free trial offer for them. nurses to talk to for you. visit exelonpatchoffer.com. ♪ we are following investigation into the fiery crash of a plane in afghanistan that killed seven americans. the stunning video of the plane falling from the sky has gone viral, may provide some clues. chris lawrence has the latest. >> reporter: there were thunderstorms in the area when the boeing 747 reportedly shown here stalled and crashed in afghanistan. whether it is one potential cause, weight is another. >> overall weight has to be within center of gravity limits. if cargo shifts, it is possible

it could go out of the limits. >> reporter: it is not just the total, but where that weight was positioned on the plane. as part of the draw down in afghanistan, the u.s. has been removing a massive amount of heavy equipment. so this takes off for dubai with five armored vehicles on board. each weighing 13 tons, has to be locked in a certain spot. if one of the chain attachments fail, one loose vehicle could push 20, 30 tons to the rear of the plane. >> a lot of people at home wonder what's the difference between this flight and a 747 they might get on? >> this is a 747 400. a widely used passenger airplane with an x excellent record. balance is essential. carrying space shuttle on its

back, this weighs less than 500,000 pounds. compare to the same plane with seats, passengers, food. it can weigh 800,000 pounds. they're so precise, they add five pounds to the weight in winter to account for heavier coats and boots. chris lawrence, cnn, washington. come up, inside the mind of a killer. could biology explain the motive for the boston marathon bombers? dr. sanjay gupta is investigating. air-fluffed pillows that are dermatologist tested to be gentle on your skin. face every day with puffs softness.

some of the most important clues in the boston bombing investigation may lie inside the brains of the suspects, possible abnormalities that experts say could have predisposed them to this kind of horrific attack. here is our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. >> reporter: in the wake of tragedy come the inevitable questions, what makes a killer? is there a switch that turns on a rampage? and why? why would someone do this. >> you can say the person's evil. i think that's 13th century thinking. i think we've moved beyond that. >> reporter: he is a criminal obviously gist. he spent more than three decades studying cold-blooded killers. he says there are biological explanations for violence, and rain is convinced brain dysfunction may in part explain the terror unleash in boston.

>> were they just completely normal people who decided one day you know what, we want to create mayhem, i don't think so. i think it is more complicated than that. >> reporter: he says he first saw echos of his own work with violent criminals when this image of dzhokhar tsarnaev was released. >> while others are running away, he was just walking away as cool as a cucumber. that struck me because i have seen this before in psychopaths and murderers in prison. >> reporter: then these photos of the brother that was killed, tamerlan tsarnaev, boxing. >> we have found a neurological abnormality in the brain that predisposes to violence and psychopathy, also found in boxers. during fetal development as the limb pick regions expand and develop, they compress or fuse

the leaflets together. for some people because of mal development, the gap never closes, and gives rise to lack of fear and psychopathic personality who could go and kill, you know, a number of people and maybe not have any sense of shame or remorse or guilt about doing that. >> reporter: another seed of fear is that structure here, the brain of a psychopath. according to his studies, the blue areas shrink in psychopaths and makes the area smaller. this part of the brain is very much involved in fear conditioning. you experience when you are thinking of doing something that's not right and then you get that awful feeling, no, i shouldn't do that. if that's broken, then perhaps an individual is more likely to perpetrate a horrific act like

the boston bombings. >> wolf blitzer has more on this story in this interview with dr. san gentleman gupta. >> sanjay is joining us now. how difficult was it, sanjay, for the expert to discuss these alleged bombers without actually examining their brains? >> yeah. there's sort of an emerging science quality to this, wolf. one thing that adrian rains looked at a fair amount is serial killers. he has evidence on terrorists being able to look into the brains of people who commit mass rampage like this. that's harder data to come by. so he's looking for similarities, for example, between serial killers and people who commit terrorism and seeing if there's some commonalities there. so it's not, you know, ironclad by any means, it is an emerging science, but he's the guy sort of trying to investigate this. >> what about the role of genetics, the two tsarnaev brothers obviously related, is there a connection here,

genetics and violence if you will? >> you know, when you ask researchers who look at how much of this is biology, how much is environmental, you get back the answer often it is about 50/50. there's 50% maybe related to genetics. you talk about brothers like this, it becomes a germane question. two ways to look at it, one to look at identical twins who may have raised in different circumstances, what are commonalities between them in terms of personality type, potential aggression, if there's a criminal record, but also people who have been adopted, here the question becomes if they were raised in a good home, have they had an upbringing that didn't raise any red flags, yet they still develop some sort of criminal behavior. going back and looking at the birth parents, trying to figure out how much of a role each played. i think right now safe to say genetics plays a significant role. they say half and half, wolf.

>> interesting stuff. sanjay, thanks very much. >> you got it, wolf, thank you. >> one of the boston victims gave a dramatic press conference at the hospital where he is recovering from shrapnel wounds. >> i stopped a split second to tell the young lady here, jackie, who is my friend's girlfriend, jackie, get your butt in the street, and boom. and i just remember feeling engulfed. and i got thrown out into the street, and just like the movies, all of the sound got taken away, and, you know, something inside me said get up, jared, get up, you're okay, get up. i stood up, i was pretty lucid. i remember like trying to count my fingers and feel my feet, and i'm standing, and thinking about like these kind of things that i've learned about over the years. i look at my hand, it was too

much to look at. so i tuck it in. i feel my legs, look down, i didn't want to look at those any more. >> doctors say they pulled 40 foreign objects, including nails out of his body. just ahead, syrians under attack and angry. why some are blaming the united states. >> they are kidding our people, even washington knows, washington knows they're tourists. at od, whatever business you're in, that's the business we're in

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massive and deadly car bombings in the heart of syria's capital are raising fear the country's two-year-old civil war is entering a frightening new phase. frederick pipe enwent to the scene of one attacks moments after it happened. >> reporter: the wounded were still being evacuated when we arrived at the scene, minutes after a car bomb ripped through the area in front of a government building. he was close by when the attack

happened. >> i saw several bags full of parts of human beings here, they are carrying them. >> reporter: a crater marks the spot where the bomb was detonated, apparently hidden in the mini bus. security forces are nervous after the blast. if you look at the building, you can see how bad the damage is, windows are blown out security fence blown away, there's a lot of carnage here. as the war clings on, many believe these terror attacks will be more frequent. some blame islamist extremist groups and the u.s. for supporting the opposition. >> they are killing our people, even washington knows, even the west knows that there are tourists.

why are they providing them. >> reporter: the u.s. says they provide only nonlethal aid. others are shocked at what is happening to their country. they're all our children, she says and it is sad. we are all syrians killing each other. if anything, the increased bombings appear to be strengthening the resolve of assad supporters. god, syria, bashar, and nothing else these men chant at the blast site while emergency workers are busy picking up the remains of those killed. fred pleitgen, damascus. >> the president doesn't know if the assad regime are responsible for these areas. >> we have to do everything we can to investigate and establish

with some certainty what exactly has happened in syria, what is happening in syria. we will use all of the assets and resources that we have at our disposal, we will work with the neighboring countries to see whether we can establish a clear baseline of facts, and we've also called on united nations to investigate. >> wolf talked about the president's syrian policy with a former senior adviser to the obama state department and author of a new book called the indispensable nation, critical of the administration's handling of foreign affairs. wolf began asking about the words the president didn't use. >> what do you make of this, vali? >> the president is very deliberate thinking about whether or not he is going to punish the assad regime for use of chemical weapons. there's a lot on the line. if it is proved chemical weapons were used, they would have to act militarily to punish the

regime, if they don't, the international credibility is at stake. it is also important what the president didn't say. he did not show a road map how the united states would get involved diplomatically in terms of a no fly zone, economically to address the myriad of problems arising in syria from the spread of al qaeda influence, extremism, humanitarian crisis. basically he says the united states only will get involved if it is to punish the regime for use of chemical weapons. >> when you say get involved, no one really believes the u.s. is going to get involved with so-called boots on the ground. do you think a no fly zone, air strikes, what the u.s. did in libya, do you think that's realistic? >> well, in response to use of chemical weapons, could use cruise missiles, targeted bombing of a site to punish the regime for this use of chemical weapons and deter future use, but actually getting involved in finishing this dangerous

conflict requires reviving diplomacy, requires addressing the humanitarian issue, requires talking to the neighborhood about how do we help the opposition in order to change the tide of the war. it requires much more american leadership than we're seeing. doesn't require boots on the ground, not now. >> you served in the state department, advised richard holbrook on afghanistan and pakistan. in your new book, you tell powerful stories about tension between the state department, pentagon on one hand and young aides in the white house. give us just a headline what you have there. >> in the context of what we're seeing, what richard holbrook would have stood for was that the president was handle syria the way president clinton handled bosnia, to empower america's diplomats to take leadership, to get the world community together, to create a diplom

diplomatic path for breaking the conflict and ending it. we have a structure to make sure the president doesn't take decisive action on syria, to ensure we stay out of the conflict, the consequence is snowballi snowballing. from the beginning, including secretary clinton in alliance with general petraeus, the united states should get involved in syria earlier onto protect america's interest and prevent this becoming the horrendous conflict it has become. >> certainly is a disaster. the book is entitled "the dispensable nation" american foreign policy in retreat, a powerful, powerful book. vali nasr is the author. thanks very much for coming in, congratulations on the new book. >> good to be with you. the reason north korea's kim jong-un has backed off after weeks of threatening the u.s.

did the obama administration play a role? [ female announcer ] the only patch for the treatment of mild to moderate alzheimer's disease is exelon patch. now with more treatment options, exelon patch may improve overall function and cognition. your loved one can get a free 30-day trial. and you can have access to nurses. it does not change how the disease progresses. hospitalization, and rarely death, have been reported from wearing more than one patch at a time. the most common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fall, loss of appetite or weight,

application site redness, and urinary tract infection. the likelihood and severity of these side effects may increase as the dose increases or if patients weigh less than 110 pounds. people at risk for stomach ulcers who take certain other medicines should talk to their doctor as serious stomach problems such as bleeding may worsen. patients may experience slow heart rate. free trial offer for them. nurses to talk to for you. visit exelonpatchoffer.com. ♪

iraq is making news again and it is not good. deadly violence between sunni and shiite muslims is skyrocketing. wolf blitzer talked with arwa damon about the turmoil. >> our seen i can't remember international correspondent arwa damon is on the ground in baghdad, has been there many, many times over recent years. arwa, how bad is the situation in iraq now? >> reporter: it's as bad if not worse than it has been in years,

wolf. many iraqis are understandably incredibly fearful the country is moving down a path that will see the type of violence that transpired here back when the attacks were at their worst, 2005 to 2008, although for many iraqis, tit for tat attacks, violence comes as no surprise. seeing a steady increase f attacks since the u.s. military withdr withdrew, those intensified in the last week. the tension that exists has also been intensifying, in part aggravated by actions of the predominantly shiite government. we have been seeing for months demonstrations in the sunni areas. we have been seeing clashes and right now, especially when we look at what's been happening in recent times, many people are warning that iraq really is at a

cross roads at this stage, wolf. >> and for this, the united states went to war, i guess a lot of people are wondering the u.s. lost thousands of troops, so many came home injured, spending a trillion dollars, something like that, and the situation there is as chaotic and brutal as ever, if you will. is that what i'm hearing? >> reporter: pretty much in a nutshell, yes. iraq has certainly not turned into a thriving democracy. the situation here is only further aggravated by what's happening in neighboring syria. not only does iraq have its own set of challenges to deal with when it comes to appeasing the sectarian tensions that exist, but in many ways, what's happening here and what's happening in syria is part of this greater power struggle between the sunni and shiite communities. >> and my fear is no matter how long the u.s. stays in afghanistan, the same disaster is going to be there as well.

all right, arwa, we'll stay in close touch with you. weeks of saber rattling by north korea, including threats of nuclear attack have mysteriously ended, but it is too soon to tell if it is because of pressure from china, diplomacy, or necessity. cnn foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty takes a closer look. >> reporter: the strongholds of our enemies will be turned into a sea of flames. after threatening to unleash nuclear war, why have north korea's young leader and his generals suddenly gone silent? the u.s. and south korea ended a massive two month joint military exercises that infuriated the north. experts say that might have helped. another possible reason. >> china and the united states must together take steps in order to achieve the goal of

denuclearized korean peninsula. >> reporter: secretary of state kerry's visit, pressing china's leaders to use leverage to get the north to cool it. >> and today we agreed to bear down very quickly with great specificity on exactly how we will accomplish this goal. >> reporter: korea watchers believe transfers of money from north korean entities in china back to pyongyang have been curtailed, and shipments across the border slowed. at least on the surface, no public signs china turned up the heat on kim jong-un. >> in terms of de-escalating rhetoric, it is a good thing. but the goal is denuclearization of the peninsula. >> reporter: one korean expert says it lies in the agriculture fields of north korea. >> in the past there have been cooling off periods that align with a time when manual labor is needed in north korea, and the biggest pool of labor in north korea in this respect is the

military. so right now we're seeing reports of soldiers going off for the planting season. >> reporter: he says other soldiers are needed to work in mining and manufacturing, some of the largest state trading companies are allied with the north korean military, the longer they stayed away, the less money they made. earlier this month, the north said it might return to talks on its nuclear program if the u.s. and south korea would end their military exercises, lift u.n. sanctions, and stop criticizing king jo-- kim jong-un. kerry says if the north continues to threaten, the u.s. has to continue maintaining a major military presence in the region, that's something beijing doesn't want. jill dougherty, cnn, the state department. when we come back, a horrifying building collapse

overseas is rever better ating in the united states. could influence some of the brand names you buy.

the fallout from a horrifying, deadly building collapse is reverberating in the united states. that could influence how the popular brands are made. here is mary snow. >> reporter: in bangladesh, a week after a nine story building collapsed, families still search for bodies of their loved ones. most were garment workers, earning as little as $38 a month. they were pressured to show up for work, despite a warning about a potential collapse. the public outcry that's followed includes the pope, likening their conditions to

slave labor. retailers with products made in bangladesh are facing scrutiny. disney is the first brand to pull out of the country's factories, saying in a statement disney is a a publicly held com accountable to its shareholders and felt this was the most responsible way to manage the challenges associated with the supply chain. the decision was made before the tragedy based on other disasters. it is less than 1% to have factors are located in bangladesh. children's place will not walk away from bangladesh. they have about 15 mrs. of their products made there and it will now work with other retailers and organizations to put in stricter safety measures. jcpenney, and sears have rereaffirmed their support.

one person says it's not enough, that the u.s. government needs to be involved. >> we need the right to know which garments are in which factories and we need to have laws, enforceable laws to protect the rights of the workers. >> reporter: among shoppers, one woman told us she'll no longer argue with the family about going with the cheaper response. >> why do you have to spend extra money, you're spending a 10 dplars backpack and it's costing 40 dollars. i'm beginning to understand why >> reporter: will you be thinking twice about where you shop. >> definitely. for people to die that way. people continue to shop in these places because the prices are so cheep. i would still do it. >> reporter: the garment factory makes up 7 % of the -- it's a

$20 billion industry. mary snow, cnn new york. up next a new discovery that goes back to the earliest settlers. turns out they had some se credits. [ horn honks, bump ] [ female announcer ] for everything your face has to face. face it with puffs ultra soft & strong. puffs has soft, air-fluffed pillows that are dermatologist tested to be gentle on your skin. face every day with puffs softness.

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>> archaeologists appear to have solved a 400 year mystery. it's a startling discovery about how some early settlers survived a brutal winter while others starved. >> reporter: they came by ship with their hopes. james town the first permanent english settlement in north american. it was long believed that james ford on the island had washed away. but in 1994 archaeologists work

in the area started finding the remains of the original fort. something more astounding wasdy covered last year. this skull belonged to a 14-year-old girl of. they are calling her jane. he was on board a ship that arrived in 1609. it couldn't have been at a worse time. the food supplies they were bringing in end los angeles were lost or spoiled in a severe storm. and the tensions were high between the indians and the settlers. >> the fort is cut off and these 300 men, women and children are trapped within the confines of the fort itself. >> it's been a mystery how did the settlers survive. they had only enough food to last two months just as winter were settling in. the winter known as the starving time of james town. >> in the records there were

account of the fact that when things were so desperate and it was very hopeless for the columnists that they resorted, some resorted to cannibalism. some believed it, some didn't. >> now they say they had evidence, the skull. it was found in an abandoned cellar of the fort. he says the cuts on jane's jaw were from a very sharp knife consistent with effort to remove fresh. >> i can tell you that violence in terms of the mutilation of the bones, the fracturing, there's in way that this is just trauma. they have a very clear intent and the clear intent in this instance is the need to remove thus for consumption. >> this discovery really to me has made such an impact on my empathy with the hard ships that the settlers went through for

that time period and how close james town came to failing. if it failed, the course of american history would be very different. >> reporter: november of 16 at there were 300 settlers. by the time more provisions arrived the next spring, 16 settler were left. >> one of the final pieces of the tallest building in the western -- >> it's what people record, the tall on top of the tree, the ball above times square and now new york's newest ornament has been lifted, the spire that will top off the world trade center. the antenna on the world trade center was the last thing to come crashing down and now we've come full circumstance wl a new spire going up with an american

flag attached. >> to see this come off and cap it off, it's a beautiful moment for everybody, not just new yorkers but america. >> reporter: workers applauded as the spire was lifted. it was serve as a broadcast transmission center. >> the beacon will be seen for miles around and give a tremendous indication that we're back and better than ever. >> reporter: workers took pictures atop the 104 floor building workers savered the moment with upraised arms and dangling feet. we just keep on getting up doing what we have to do. >> reporter: a giant crane lifted the section. the building will be 1776 feet, the date america declared its independence. this was the view from up there with the spire looking like a rocket suspended over manhattan,

lift off. >> you can follow what's going on in "the situation room." iej jim acosta in "the situation room." the news continues next on cnn. straight ahead on this hour of the cnn news room, did a top nra executive suggest that people in boston would have been safer two weeks ago if they had more guns? we're going to go live to the nra convention and ask. hands on with google glass. we've got them in the studio. are they worth the hype. i go one oun one with the top chef. all orb is the big wiper at the soggy kentucky derby. we're going to go live to church hill downs just