i'm jake tapper. i will leave you now in the very capable hands of wolf blitzer in "the situation room." he's just there next door. mr. blitzer, take it away. >> jake, thanks very much. happening now, the white house press secretary hit by a partisan slam that he calls amazing as a political controversy takes a very nasty turn. mrsalso, police, your dna a rights. and storm chasers become storm casualties. the death toll climbs in oklahoma. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." a nasty and personal turn in the controversy over the irs targeting of conservative groups. republican congressman darrell issa leading a house investigation is in a bitter war of words with the white house. the first bombshell aimed at the

white house press secretary jay carney. listen to what congressman darrell issa had to say about him on cnn's "state of the union." >> their paid liar, their spokesperson, picture behind, he's still making up things about what happens and calling this local rogue. >> president obama's unofficial adviser david plouffe tweeted this in response. strong words from mr. grand theft auto suspected arsonist insurance swindler and loose ethically today, referring to allegations issa faced decades ago. jay carney says he's staying out of it. >> darrell issa over the weekend called you a paid liar for the administration. i wanted to give you an opportunity to respond to that. >> i hadn't heard that. that's amazing. i'm not going to get into a back-and-forth with chairman issa. >> let's get a little back-and-forth here going on

with our cnn ibtor ryan land jon king. mr. grand theft auto, that's pretty ugly even under this partisan atmosphere in washington. it's getting nasty. >> it is. remember it was just a couple of weeks ago the attorney general of the united states turned to chairman issa and said his behavior in leading this committee and the investigations was shameful. part of it is just nasty partisan politics. part is a continuation of the polarization we can go back to our days covering the clinton administration. we saw this over monica lewinsky, others, in every administration since. however, both sides are using the tactic to try to achieve political gain. chairman issa is leading several important investigations, the irs controversy, benghazi, other

investigations as well. what he's trying to say is this is a hack partisan administration that won't be transparent, won't give me information. the white house on the other hand is trying to say this a hack partisan investigator who, no matter what he says, is not true. what he does is undermines both sides in the end in a sense that chairman issa, you saw what he said yesterday to candy crowley, perhaps out over his skis saying drawing conclusions about the irs before the information comes in, that gets dangerous. what does it do in the end? it denies the american people sort of confidence. confidence that at the end of these investigations they're getting findings, not politics. >> you did a really strong and very long article in the new yorker magazine about darrell issa, and you rehash yourself -- this a while ago -- that whole mr. grand theft auto issue, alleged arsonist, all these allegations that it came up 20 or 40 years ago. he's never been charged with anything. >> yeah. i didt use the phrase "grand theft auto. that was plouffe. >> right. >> all of this happened between

'71 and '82. issa has told me and other 0s he had a brother who was -- went to jail and was a criminal and stole cars. a few times issa got wrapped up -- this is issa's way of explaining it -- in what his brother was doing. so there are basically three incidents where he was accused of stealing someone's car. one was when he was in the military, another was accused of a scheme with his brother where his brother allegedly stole issa's car, sold it and they were accused of an insurance scheme, and there was another incident where he was pulled over and he had a concealed weapon in the glove compartment and he was arrested for that. that all happened in the '70s. fast-forward to '82. he's now a budding businessman out in cleveland, suburbs of cleveland. and his factory burns down under very mysterious circumstances, and the insurance company investigates it, and they think that it is arson and investigate him and the company pretty thoroughly and wonder about some

strange things that happened. >> but they got an out-of court settlement. >> in the end he went back to them -- in the end he won $25,000 from the insurance company so that's where what plouffe threw out there the other day, that's where this is all from, it happened '71 to '82. issa went on, of course, to be a very successful car alarm salesman and of course now in congress. >> eric holder, the attorney general of the united states, there was a story in the "new york times" on the front page suggesting even some obama aides in the west wing are beginning to have their doubts if he's really being effective, helpful to the president. jay carney responded to that report today. >> does the president feel like eric holder is becoming a distraction? >> it's important to note that i believe in the article you're referring to that the chief of staff was quoted on the record, and in that statement he spoke for the president and he spoke for all of us. and he she said that the presid and his team at the white house

believes the attorney general has the intellect, experience and integrity to efficiently run the department of justice and not get distracted by the partisans. >> one thing for conservatives to call for eric holder to step down. it's another thing to see a story like that in the "new york times." >> if you call around on capitol hill, the "new york times" quoted people in the west wing. if you call around, you will find democrats who say that even those who say eric holder is a friend who say he has not done the best job in the management of the justice department. they would point to the fast and furious controversy, now to the ap and fox news press investigations, leak investigations. many other things the attorney general -- however he has friends in this town and because of the polarized environment wear we're talking about, even if there was disappointed at the highest levels of the white house, this isn't the time you'll see it. jay carney very clearly saying the president has confidence in the attorney general.

>> where do we go from here? >> on holder i think it fends on how these investigations shake out. look, the main charge against him, the most serious thing republicans have alleged, and it's a very serious charge, is that he purgered himself. >> that he lied to congress under oath. >> yes. he said he had nothing to do with any prosecutions of journalists. that was before we found out that he signed off on an affidavit for a search warrant that alleged that fox news reporter james rosen may have committed a crime by getting classified information from a state department employee. now, to figure out if he purriered himself, you have to know what the conversation was inside the justice department about that affidavit. we'll see if the house of representatives is able to subpoena that information. >> they are trying to say it was about an investigation, not a prosecution. but that will be the question for congress. they won't stop asking it. >> thanks, guys.

other news we're following, including very important news. 3,000 people injured, yes, 3,000, at least one person killed, anti-government protesters in it turkey say they've been subjected to, quote, unprecedented violence by government security forces. but the target of their protests, the prime minister says that's not true. he calls the demonstrators extremists. our senior international correspondent ivan watson is joining us live from istanbul from the center of the protests. what's the latest, ivan? what's happening there now? >> reporter: well, as you can see, the scene here is pretty calm. it's a square full of thousands and thousands of people, all of them have come basically to make their voices heard to the turkish prime minister. just to give you a sense of place, i've always compared this to being the times square of istanbul, turkey's largest city. i have to walk through here every day and back on my way to work. it's full of tourists, commuters

coming to and from their jobs. and for friday and saturday, this place every time more than 50 people would try to gather here, the turkish riot police would blast them with tear gas and water cannons. now, finally saturday afternoon, after 36 hours of this, the riot police pulled back, and this is it the scene that you've had ever since. and the turkish government requests for the protesters to leave, have failed in part because they have come with staixts fr statements from the turkish prime minister denouncing a lot of these people, coalling them extremist, calling them members of marginal it groups. and a lot of the people i've met here are not affiliated with a political party. many of them are university educated. they come here after work and they want to tell the prime minister, we're not extremists. we want you to listen to us next time you try to tear up parts of our city for a construction project. ask us about it first. wolf? >> ivan watson on the scene for

us in turkey. we'll get back to you, more coming up later. turkey critically important nato ally in that part of the world. up next, a deadly chase in oklahoma. tornado researchers among at least 17 victims of the latest storms. and supreme court justices deciding whether police need a warrant to get your dna. (announcer) born with a natural energy cycle... cats. they were born to play. to eat. then rest. to fuel the metabolic cycle they were born to have, purina one created new healthy metabolism wet and dry. with purina one and the right activity, we're turning feeding into a true nature experience. join us at purinaone.com [ whirring ] [ dog barks ] i want to treat more dogs. ♪

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at least 17 people are dead and the rubble is being combed through for six people still missing after tornadoes pummeled oklahoma friday night. this time in a rare turn seasoned professionals who track these storms up close were among the victims. three legendary storm chasers died, chris young, tim samaras and his son paul all perished in action. twisted metal is pretty much all that's left of the mangled truck found at the intersection where

authorities believe they were killed. cnn just obtained this amazing video from national geographic showing some of the other powerful tornadoes tim has hunted down in his career. but, to be clear, this was not the one he died in. cnn meteorologist and severe weather expert chad myers was on the ground not far from that very location friday night. he's joining us now with the very latest. chad, what makes them do this, these professional scientists, and i think fair to say they're scienti scientists, the ones that risk their lives to get this kind of information. >> reporter: wolf, we still it don't know enough about tornadoes to get big enough, long ahead enough warnings for everybody to survive a tornado. and what these men were doing, they were getting research, they were getting more date at that to help the national weather service, the severe prediction center, do better forecasts, maybe even an hour in advance, if that's possible, when we get the right radar signature.

and this is all about -- it's all about the science for these guys, and it's estimated that tim had, in fact, 125 tornado intercepts under his belt with never being injured. and, in fact, you know what? the science is still very important. i talked to mike gales of weather decisions technologies about just that fact today. >> from a research standpoint, we still don't know everything about tornadoes and it's really important to measure because you can't measure it with a radar. you can see things aloft, you can't measure what's on the ground. very dedicated risk their life to do that. there's value created by that. we'll be able to model tornadoes better, be at some point have an hour in advance, give you a warning because it's just going to form. >> that's exactly right. he's predicting one hour in it advance in the coming years if we know the tornado's signature, we know what one looks like, when we know it's going to drop a tornado and we could have data

inside of it already. that's the key to saving lives on the ground, saving lives in the city, wolf. and that's what those storm chasers were doing. >> as this particular incident -- and obviously a tragic ending -- what do you think went wrong? >> reporter: i don't know what went wrong. there are searchers looking for the camera in fields south of here about three miles. and when they find the camera, if they do, we'll know a lot more. there may have been extenuating circumstances with this because tim would go back to help chasers that were in trouble. if that's what he did, he put his own life in jeopardy to go help someone else and may have gotten himself killed. that's one possibility. another possibility, wolf, is this storm made an entire left-hand turn, not 90 degrees but 60 degrees, got much wider and got much faster. and it almost caught our car. we were about a mile away, but that was still too close for me. for a while we were seven miles away and keeping pace with it. that's how fast this thing just picked up forward speed, and it

could have caught them either off guard or even putting down some of their equipment ready to go back up into the cloud hoping to intercept that tornado, the equipment that is, but unfortunately the car was intercepted, too. >> these are very courageous people who risk their lives for this kind of information. our deepest condolences to their families. amid all of the horrifying stories of those who lost their lives in friday's storm, there are also lots of stories of survival. nick valencia has this part of the story. >> reporter: we started out and we were just watching the storms out the bay doors right here and they said it was south ever the airport. so we didn't think a whole lot about it. then we started getting debris coming into the shop and the winds picked up, hail. so we came outside and rounded the corner, and that's when we saw the tornado. and it was probably just a hundred yards from us. >> reporter: what do you think? it was so close. >> had to stop and take a picture first. then we ran and got inside

there. and it was probably 20 seconds and it was shaking us and moving us around. we were scared to death. this was kind of our best place of refuge, if you will, out of everything else we had out here. >> reporter: when you guys are in here, you're hearing the storms, hearing the winds. what are you guys saying to each other? >> called my wife, said, baby, tornado is on us. love you. if we don't make it, tell the babies i love them. about that time, of course, i lost signal. we were hold on to each other, it picked the building up, started moving it around. that's when we freaked out. >> reporter: you saw the tornado coming. you knew you were going to take a direct hit. >> right. >> reporter: how long did it feel like -- >> it felt like it was ten minute it's was sitting here on us. we got done and we didn't have cell service to where we could call out, and so we started texting people. i texted my boss. he told me he was going to come get us. our trucks were totalled. he texted me about five minutes later and said, y'all will need to hunker down, there's another one coming. >> reporter: this is a pretty

small space. doesn't seem like there's much from keeping that door from blowing open or you guys getting sucked out. >> yeah. the doors were shaking pretty violently. on top of everything else, hitting the building. whenever the crane -- i guess it was a crane that did it. something fell on top of the building and then water just started pouring in here. oh, no, here we go. i've always wondered what those people thought when that stuff went on, but when you come out of it, you really know. >> reporter: does your family believe -- you go back to the story, show them the pictures, have they seen what you went through? >> my wife said, really, you took a picture of the tornado? well, babe, you never know. might be a photojournalist one day. >> reporter: wolf, david has been able to keep his sense of humor but he's lost a lot of street sleep. he says it's hitting him now. he said he was able to think so fast. he said years ago in west,

texas, in that incident the control room didn't suffer any damage so that's why he had his co-workers go into this control room. he's very happy to have made it out. >> thanks, nick. coming p you, can police take your dna without a warrant? a divided supreme court says yes to what one dissenter calls a terrifying principle. plus, a senator's death has big implications for a state, for the senate, possibly for the next race for the white house.

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happening now, police, your dna and your constitutional rights all in a supreme court decision with potentially huge impact. plus, a longtime u.s. senator passes away while still in office. why the task of naming his temporary replacement could be a major test for the new jersey governor chris christie. and time is quickly running out for a 10-year-old girl in desperate need of a new pair of lungs. now her family wants the government to get involved. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." all that coming up, but this just coming into "the situation room". new developments in the kidnapping of an american in mexico. a u.s. marine reservist and war veteran, the fbi is now asking the public for help with this case. our foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty is working the story for us from the state department. what are you finding out, jill? >> well, wolf, they are, the fbi is looking for any help that they can get from any person who

knows anything about this kid p kidnapping. it happened may 14th. the person that we're talking about is armando torres iii. he is a u.s. marine in the ready reserve, and he also is a veteran of operation iraqi freedom. and the fbi says that when he drove over the international port of entry bridge at progresso, texas, he was trying to visit his father's ranch, and as soon as he arrived at the ranch armed gunmen entered the ranch, took all of the three torreses by force and they have not been seen or heard from since. now, the other two people are mexican citizens, that is his father armando torres ii and his uncle salvatore torres, both of whom are mexican citizens. so, again, the fbi is reaching

out for information and just a couple of minutes ago i did get a statement from the state department saying that they are aware of these reports about an american citizen kidnapped, that the u.s. consulate is working with mexican authorities to try to get more information. but they said because of privacy concerns they it can't provide any more information. wolf? >> we've got to get more information obviously. this is an important issue, a u.s. marine being held somewhere, we assume, in mexico. as soon as you get more information, jill, let us know. we'd like this individual freed as quickly as possible. other news we're following, your dna and your constitutional rights are at the heart of a u.s. supreme court decision today with wide-ranging implications. the justices ruled 5-4 that police can take dna samples from suspects without a warrant, which one dissenter called terrifying. our crime and justice correspondent joe johns is joining us. he was at the supreme court today getting this latest

decision. what's going on here? >> wolf, dna is used as an investigative fotool all over t country. and the question has been, how far can the police go? the answer is pretty far. this is one of the most important search and seizure cases in years. the supreme court deciding that when police get a dna sample it's a minor intrusion to a person who has already been placed under arrest. it's not just csi anymore. all 50 states have passed laws allowing dna testing after a criminal defendant is convicted. but the deeply divided supreme court decision potentially opens up the floodgates, making it possible for police to take suspicionless dna samples from suspects without a warrant signed by a judge. a cheek swab for dna is now okay as long as the person being swabbed was arrested for a serious crime. the definition of which is now up for debate. murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping and arson for sure. but what else? >> the federal government does require dna testing of anybody who is arrested.

i would assume a lot of the states will now follow suit and expand their testing to include all arrestees. >> the case is an appeal of a conviction involving a maryland man who was locked up in 2009 on assault charges. he was later implicated by dna in a rape that occurred years earlier. five justices, including perennial swing vote anthony kennedy, the opinion's author, called a dna cheek swab a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the constitution's afourth amendment, which limits search and seizure. it's about the same as a booking photo or a fingerprint. >> it allows the police to search for evidence of unsolved crimes by taking dna samples from people who they have no reason to suspect have any relationship to those crimes. >> four justices dissented, including antonen scalia. he wrote, make no mistake about it, an entirely predictable consequence of today's decision, your dna can be taken and

entered into a national dna database if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, and for whatever reaso. >> i think that's the most important unanswered question after today's decision because the federal government has the broadest statute. it allows people to have their dna taken almost no matter what federal crime they're charged with. >> the conservative justice scalia sided with three liberal members of the court on this case, but given the subject matter it was not that big of a surprise. scalia has been an outspoken supporter of fourth amendment rights and protecting the accused against unwarranted intrusion by police. >> jeffrey toobin, our legal analyst will join us in the next hour. more on 0 this very important decision for a lot of our viewers. thanks so much, joe johns. a funeral is scheduled for wednesday for the democratic senator frank lautenberg of new jersey who died today at the age of 89. he was the last world war ii

veteran serving in the united states senate. he'll be buried at arlington national semtory. and his death could have major political implications. our national political advis correspondent jim accoosta is here. >> the death of frank lautenberg is a reminder of how much influence each individual senator wields. when one dies in office, lautenbe lautenberg's death could affect chris christie more than anybody else. after bouts with cancer and more recently viral pneumonia, new jersey senator frank lautenbe lautenberg's death did not take washington by surprise. but there could be twists and turns to come for the man with the task of naming the senator's temporary replacement, new jersey governor chris christie who gave an impromptu eulogy for lautenberg. >> i think the best way to describe frank lautenberg and the way he would probably want to be described to you today as a fighter. >> christie would know.

>> we had some pretty good fights over time. >> christie and lautenberg had sparred sometimes viciously for years. >> we're not going to listen to partisan hacks like frank lautenberg. >> he's a persistent liar. >> christie will, in a sense, have the last word, but that could be tricky. he is running for reelection this fall and perhaps for 2016. as democratic strategist david axelrod tweeted, fascinating dilemma for christichristie. christie has already alienated the gop base with his trips to the jersey shore to check on storm damage with president obama. still, christie's selection of a republican to fill lautenberg's seat changes the balance of power, eating into the democrats' slim edge in the senate. lautenberg was a trusted vote for his party despite being in poor health last april, he showed up for a crucial vote. >> he came out of his had sisic

in a wheelchair to vote on gun legislation. >> gun control advocates will miss him. >> for years he really stood up for common sense gun safety laws when many others in his party ran away from the issue. >> but there's more to lautenberg's political biography. he was perhaps best known for the law banning smoking on commercial airliners. but with the flags at half-staff across the capitol and the pow/mia flag, he was also remembered as the senate's last surviving veteran of world war ii. >> i think he fought harder for veterans of iraq and afghanistan because he had been there, in their shoes. >> law in new jersey gives christie a lot of power after lautenberg's death. not only does he get to name the temporary replacement, the governor has a big say in when an election will be held for the voters to fill that seat. could be this year 0 or next. no final word yet. wolf, we've been trying to find

out what they're doing next. they're just not saying at this point. >> a lot of names are already being floated, but it's up to governor christie and governor christie alone. >> and he could name a democrat, he could name cory booker who wants that seat. he could name lots of other figures, tom cain jr., son of the former governor. they're not tipping their hand at this point, i think the silence is an indication of just how critical this decision is for the governor. >> i don't know if you knew frank lautenberg well, i knew him quite well over these past 30 years or so, he was -- forget about his politics. always a very, very decent, honorable guy 0 wi ablabl ablab. he was always helpful if you needed any information. >> i covered him recently in the chatter over cory booker. it was interesting. he could be so nice to us in the media, but when it came to political sparring, he was one tough customer. >> he'll be missed. >> he will. >> frank lautenberg, a very, very good guy. thanks very much. coming up, the heartbreaking story of a little girl running out of time.

why she can't get the operation she needs to stay alive. plus -- newly revealed pictures of an up-and-coming model who went on to become a cover girl before being shot and killed by her boyfriend. the olympic athlete oscar pistorius.

this news just coming into "the situation room." the death toll in the oklahoma tornadoes stands at 18. the deputy fire cheer reports that an eight-year-old was found dead today near a local river. 18 deaths now in those tornadoes. other news we are following, new pictures surfaced of the model shot and killed by the yiek athlete oscar pistorius, facing murder charges for what he says was a tragic accident. here is cnn's robyn kurnow.

>> reporter: it was on the beaches of this south african town a law student aspired to be a model, posing for these amateur snapshots. a few years later she transformed herself into a cover girl. she might have looked different. but she didn't change inside, said a student friend, carrie smith, who took those pictures on the beach about eight years ago. >> if anything, that's riva in her natural beauty, not a stitch of makeup on, hair blowing in the wind, sunsetting behind her. >> another from the shoot. >> reporter: riva was a confident, professional model and ambitious, says garrett barkley who shot these photographs a few months before she was shot dead by her boyfriend, oscar pistorius. pistorius says it was a tragic accident, that he thought she was an intruder.

the state says it was murder. for now it is just images of riva left to explain the kind of person she was. >> those pictures are unedited, that's how she is. skin is great, beautiful eyes, beautiful features. >> reporter: she asked him to take a tattoo of this tattoo on her neck. >> for her, it was personal to her, she didn't speak about it or anything, she just wanted a personal photo of it. >> she had a tattoo that says only god will judge me in italian. do you know why she had that specific tattoo? >> that was something her grandfather had always said, was close to her. >> reporter: words she felt defined her, while oscar pistorius will eventually be judged in a south african court. cabin curnow, cnn, south africa. >> pistorius will be in court

tomorrow for a brief hearing, he has been in seclusion since released on bail four months ago. the trial probably won't start until september or october. when we come back, the clock is ticking for a ten-year-old girl in desperate need of a lung transplant. just ahead, why her family wants the government to get involved. plus, tiny little drones that could be the future for hurricane hunters in a hurricane season expected to be extremely active. more secure. [ whirring ] [ dog barks ] i want to treat more dogs. ♪ our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business? i need help selling art. [ male announcer ] from broadband to web hosting to mobile apps, small business solutions from at&t have the security you need to get you there. call us. we can show you how at&t solutions can help you do what you do... even better. ♪

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here's a look at some of the

other stories we are monitoring in "the situation room." ten children killed in a blast. they blame taliban militants for the attack, though the taliban hadn't claimed responsibility. separately, a police officer was killed and 16 others wounded in a suicide blast in eastern afghanistan. ford is recalling 365,000 cars due to a fuel leak that poses a fire risk. it includes the 2013 explorer, taurus, flex, fusion, inter accept tore and lincoln models. they're not aware of incidents or fire related injuries related to the defect but received hundreds of complaints from customers. president obama kicked off the national white house conference on mental health, emphasizing he hopes that will elevate the national conversation on the subject and bring it out of the shadows. >> you see commercials on tv

about a whole array of physical health issues, some of them very personal. and yet we whisper about mental health issues and avoid asking questions. the brain is a body part, too, we just know less about it. there should be no shame in discussing or seeking help for treatable illnesses that effect too many people we love. we have to get rid of that embarrassment, get rid of that stigma. too many americans that struggle with mental health illnesses are suffering in silence rather than seeking help. >> today's event which included a number of celebrities is part of the president's pledge to explore the relationship between mental illness and gun violence in the aftermath of the deadly shooting massacre in newtown, connecticut. and take a look at this. authorities in florida were called to a llama.

it hit the side of a bridge. three of the animals were okay, the fourth had to be extricated on a backboard. the driver of the truck is said to have minor injuries. time is quickly running out for a ten-year-old girl in desperate need of a new pair of lungs. why her family says her civil rights are being violated. and tiny little drones that could be the future for hurricane hunters in a hurricane season that's expected to be extremely active. that's just ahead. i love to eat. i love hanging out with my friends. i have a great fit with my dentures. i love kiwis. i've always had that issue with the seeds getting under my denture. super poligrip free -- it creates a seal of the dentures in my mouth. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. super poligrip free made the kiwi an enjoyable experience. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip.

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running out for a ten-year-old girl desperately waiting for a new pair of lungs. she has been on the list for a transplant for more than a year, but for adult organs and now her parents are asking the government to intervene. here's cnn's national correspondent jason carroll. >> wolf, they say this is about fairness for all children, not just their daughter, who they fear could now just have weeks to live. >> i lost two teeth. >> this new video capturing a tender moment with 10-year-old sara in her hospital bed. sara has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that attacks the lungs. she desperately needs a transplant and has been waiting 18 months for lungs to become available from another child. her parents say getting modified lungs from an adult would give her a fighting chance, but federal guidelines prevent her from getting priority on the

adult donor list. >> this isn't just about sara. this is about all children. they are not being treated fairly or equally. it's unjust. it's not within the constitution. my child's civil rights are being violated. all children are. >> the family has hired an attorney and today sent a letter to health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius, formally requesting her to step in and help, this after sebelius e-mailed the family last friday, telling them she did not have the authority to change the guidelines, writing i know this is not the answer you were hoping to receive and i can't begin to imagine how difficult this situation is. my prayers are with you. >> we were devastated, because now we're left with very few options to save sara's life. >> reporter: sebelius has asked for a review of transplant policy, but a change could take years. sara's family says action needs to be taken now, as time for sara is running out and she knows it.

>> she followed up and asked us, if i go to sleep, will i wake up tomorrow? as a parent, there's nothing more devastating to have a child look in your eyes and ask that type of question. she's very aware that this is a serious situation. >> reporter: despite her situation, sara says she still has hope. >> did you know that everybody sent in prayers for you? >> yes. >> what do you think of that? >> thank you for saying prayers. >> pennsylvania lawmakers now weighing in on the issue, including senator pat toomey from pennsylvania, saying he believes sebelius does have the authority to change the guidelines. also senator bob casey writing a letter to sebelius asking for clarification on the current policy on lung allocation and whether or not it's unfair to children under 12 years of age. also now, wolf, many in the

medical community saying that this story is an important reminder of how more organ do r donors are needed for adults and children. wolf? >> jason, thank you. jason carroll reporting. let's hope something positive happens and this girl can be kept alive. coming up, thousands of people injured as antigovernment protests spread in turkey. we'll take you live to the heart of it. plus, hurricane season is here. it's expected to be extremely active and whether researchers could soon be getting a new tool that could save lives. i want to make things more secure.

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the deadly tornado outbreak in the plains isn't the only severe weather concern right now. hurricane season officially began over the weekend and forecasters expect it to be, in their words, extremely active. but researchers in florida are developing a new weapon to better track a hurricane's path and strength. here's cnn's john zarrella. >> wolf, it's expected to be an active hurricane season, which means lots of hurricane hunter flights into storms to gather data, but in just a few years, a fleet of miniature aircraft, just like this, being developed

at the university of florida could revolutionize hurricane forecasting. if you didn't know any better, you'd easily mistake this for a model airplane club. but the tiny planes being developed here at the university of florida, they call them drones, are more than toys. some no bigger than a bat, so there's really nothing to it. it's got hardly any weight to it at all. >> right. >> could one day save your life. for decades, hurricane hunter eric craft had been flying into the hearts of the storms, gathering information to help determine a hurricane's path and strength. science has gotten increasingly better at forecasting the direction a storm will take, figuring out how strong it might get has been problematic. so, enter the drones. >> then you are using hundred of various small, cheap sensors. you could get actually significantly better result than a concentrated larger sensor.

>> in addition to a hurricane hunter aircraft flying the storm, you'd bombard it with dozens of drones dropped over the top of or around the outskirts of the hurricane. they'll be equipped with sensors to measure pressure, temperature, and humidity. data critical to forecasting hurricane strength. sounds great, right? but how come these featherweight flyers won't be obliterated, knocked to pieces? well, guess what, that's kind of how it's supposed to work. >> in fact, most of the flight they will tumble around and they get tossed around like they are debris. once in awhile we tell them to push yourself up a little bit. >> once in the right spot, researchers say the hurricane does the rest. its circulation draws the drones to the eye wall. all the time, they'll be relaying back data and most should survive the ordeal. >> your impact energy is proportional to your mass. >> bottom line, if they were big, they'd splat. because they are small, they won't. it really goes to that very

simple saying, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. >> exactly. >> right? >> absolutely. >> the drones will have company, too. miniature submarines under development would transmit back water temperature. the hurricane's fuel source. the drones and mini subs have military applications, as well. the researchers say some funding comes from the air force and navy, but for now, the enemy is the hurricane. researchers here say that within just two to three years, they should be ready for the first test flights into the eye of a storm. wolf? >> john zarrella in florida. they are getting ready there. i was just in florida over the weekend and i know. when hurricane season begins on june 1st, they are ready for it in florida. we wish everyone, not only in florida, but all along the u.s. coast, the best of luck with coast, the best of luck with this hurricane season. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com happening now, we're going to take you inside the life and death of three storm chasers. the danger finally caught up to

them. plus, we're at the scene of a raging california wildfire this hour threatening thousands of homes in los angeles. crews are trying to direct an attack on the blaze. plus, violence exploding in turkey. could have the same kind of impact as the arab spring. cnn is on the ground for you. i'm wolf blitzer, we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. you're in "the situation room." the death toll just rose again from the latest round of killer tornados to hammer oklahoma. authorities now say at least 18 people were killed, including an 8-year-old girl whose body was found today near the deep fork river. oklahoma city was hardest hit by the twisters that barrelled through the state friday night, less than two weeks after a monster tornado struck. since the storm passed, residents of oklahoma city have been dealing with a new threat,

flooding. eight to 11 inches of rain drenched the area. officials say the floods swept some victims' bodies up to five miles downstream. a painful and all too familiar process is just beginning for the latest tornado survivors, the search, the cleanup, and the early tally of how much was lost. here's cnn's renee marsh. >> reporter: wolf, the task for officials here in oklahoma today is finding the missing, and they are vowing to search and search until everyone is accounted for. >> this was the bedroom. >> reporter: bobby steinburg rode out the tornado in the basement of a neighbor's house, but when she returned above ground, the place she called home in el reno, oklahoma, was gone. >> i guess it was our time. so, you know, we just have to take it one day at a time. >> reporter: now she faces the same task that so many other people in the heartland are

facing. they are picking up, clearing out, and starting over. >> i have so many great friends and relatives that are helping get through this. >> reporter: the severe weather system broke out friday, tearing a path of death and destruction across the midwest. in oklahoma, three storm chasers died in pursuit of a tornado. flood waters swept people away in at least three states. the search continues for some people who sought shelter from the twisters in storm drains, but likely drowned and were swept away. >> it's a recovery, at this point in time, this happening friday night, the likelihood and chance of a survival of this would be slim. >> reporter: neighborhoods are in ruin, schools heavily damaged, cars smashed and trucks toppled. this will be a long recovery process, but with a little help, steinburg says a fresh start is possible. >> you have to have faith and hope and just, you know, not worry about the future so much, plan for the future, but not

worry about it. >> reporter: the pile of rubble that you see behind me, it used to be a school. they say that they will rebuild. they are actually speaking with officials from joplin, missouri, to figure out the best way to rebuild so that if and when another tornado blows through here, this structure is safe. wolf? >> renee, thank you. colleagues, meanwhile, are trying to figure out exactly how storm chasers who are used to dodging twisters were killed this time in oklahoma. crews found the wreckage of three storm chasers truck, it was crushed like a tin can, twisted beyond recognition. chad myers is in el reno, oklahoma, right now where the three men died. what a sad story this is. what do we know, chad, because i know you've been investigating. >> reporter: we know that the storm made an erratic left turn after it developed into a very big ef-3, and i don't mean a big

ef-3, because it isn't a 4 or 5, a wide ef-3. i believe that it was almost a mile wide of that wind circulating around and these men were caught in that circulation for some reason. we still don't know quite yet, but a lot of experts i talked to say at least some storm chasing is out of control. >> as you're watching mother nature at work and all the associated dynamics, fantastic. it's absolutely fantastic. >> reporter: veteran storm chaser tim samaras made a living getting inside the storm, studying tornados and their fury for the past 25 years. >> safest place to be is right here in this vehicle. >> reporter: the 54-year-old researcher and two others from his team, including his son, were killed friday when a tornado crushed their vehicle near el reno, oklahoma. his brother was shock. >> i didn't think it could happen to him because of his level of expertise, years of doing this. >> reporter: tim wasn't the only

storm chaser in trouble that day. >> turn now! if we don't stop, we're going to die! >> reporter: the erratic track of this storm caught many off guard. this map shows how popular storm chasing has become. each dot represents a vehicle. >> you put yourself 100 yards from debris flying, you put yourself in grave danger. >> reporter: he was part of the research team that the movie "twister" was based on. he thinks storm chasing has gone too far. >> no longer pictures of tornado people want, it's video of debris or buildings blowing up, trees blown around. people are taking big, big chances. >> reporter: thrill seekers hoping to capture chaos up close. tornado tours are big business in these parts. >> people go to see the whales and everything else, they want to see tornados, that's what we do, we take them out. >> reporter: for meteorologists and researchers, on the ground

measurements are vital, because so much needs to be learned when it comes to violent weather. >> we still don't know everything about tornados and it's really important to measure, you can see things aloft, can't really measure what's on the ground. very dedicated people that risk their life to do that. there's value created by that. >> reporter: and, wolf, i don't know if you can tell from here, but it's very windy today. for the past couple of days, the wind has been out of the north bringing in dry air. the wind today has shifted, it's out of the south, at least 30 miles per hour at times. tomorrow there will be severe weather west of here and wednesday it could be right back here in this location in central oklahoma. the heat, the humidity, and more dry air coming in from the west will clash and more severe weather is expected the rest of this week. >> severe weather, are you saying, i want to be precise, potentially more tornados in oklahoma, oklahoma city, and the area around there, which has seen such destruction over the past two weeks?

>> reporter: well, there's no way to predict this far out, 48 or 72 hours whether wednesday or thursday will be a tornado day, but there certainly will be severe thunderstorms, towers going up, 40,000, 50,000 feet high making wind and hail, for sure. there's a special kind of ingredient you need, that sheer, to get the tornado to go, but somewhere in the plains, texas, oklahoma, kansas, somewhere here there will definitely be tornados on the ground this week. i'm certainly not going to tell you it's going to be central oklahoma. that's just too small of a spot. there will be bulls eyes across the west, but probably not here. we'll have to watch it. obviously, part of the problem with oklahoma city getting hit, moore is getting bigger, oklahoma city is getting bigger. you put a bigger target, it's going to get hit more times. >> what a sad, sad story. chad, we can always count on you for the latest information. chad is on the scene for us watching this developing story. thank you.

all right, this just coming into "the situation room." look at these aerials, these live aerial pictures of a wildfire burning right now, look at this, in evergreen, colorado, only about 30 miles west of denver. evacuation orders were just issued for some residents to leave immediately. authorities say they are in danger right now. we're following this developing story. we'll have much more information as soon as it comes in that we're watching what's happening in colorado, not far from denver right now. from colorado, let's go to southern california, where a wild fire is raging right now, as well, at least 29,000 acres are scorched, as many as 1,000 homes have been threatened. it's in the palmdale area, that's north of los angeles. cnn's dan simon is on the scene for us. what's the latest, set the scene for us. >> reporter: this is one of the half dozen homes destroyed by this wildfire. you can see all the charred debris behind me. you can also see all this

charred vegetation, all these charred trees and bushes. this fire consumed nearly 30,000 acres. it was a fast-growing blaze that put a lot of people and homes at risk. >> the flames were 200 feet high. it was horrible. we couldn't breathe. it was nothing but smoke. >> reporter: more than 2,000 firefighters are now fighting this massive fire that doubled in size within 24 hours. >> i lost everything i own. i don't have any resources to rebuild my things over again. >> reporter: mo'nique hernandez was not one of the lucky ones. she lost her home. but hundreds of properties have been saved. firefighters using every tool in their arsenal to fight this fire by land and air around the clock. >> we have put everything that we have into this, including night air attack. >> reporter: the weekend's winds really complicated the efforts, as did the terrain, which is steep and rugged. >> this is an extremely old and dry fuel.

1929, that's how old that is. >> reporter: the outlook is ominous. take a look at this national fire interagency map. almost the entire state of california is above normal for potential wildfire threat. >> this summer we're going to have a very volatile fire season. our fuel moistures don't get to the critical stages until the fall when we have santa ana wind events, but we project those fuels will be at that critical state no later than july this summer. >> reporter: well, the good news is the crews are getting an upper hand on this fire. this fire is now said to be about 40% contained. you can see one of the helicopters making a water drop. we've been seeing helicopters all day long. wolf, the bottom line, this promises to be a very active wildfire season. this is sort of a preview, if you will. there's going to be a lot of fires across the west coast, a lot in california, and crews are trying to get residents to be

proactive, clear the brush around their homes to alleviate some of that risk. >> dan simon on the scene for us. these fires in california. up next, thousands hit the streets in a major city clashing with police, and you won't believe what started all of this. and president obama's press secretary, jay carney, responds to a congressman's provocative charge that carney is a, quote, paid liar. [ lisa ] my name's lisa, and chantix helped me quit. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix

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we raise black and red angus cattle. we also produce natural gas. that's how we make our living and that's how we can pass the land and water back to future generations. people should make up their own mind what's best for them. all i can say is it has worked well for us. president obama's press secretary refused to hit back this afternoon after a top republican congressman called him, and i'm quoting now, a paid liar. cnn's chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin, is keeping track in this nasty turn of investigation by the internal revenue service. >> reporter: in an escalating fight with congressman darrell issa, white house press secretary jay carney declined to take the bait.

>> i'm not going to get into a back and forth with chairman issa. i am not interested in a back and forth with the chairman. >> reporter: so, white house allies are slugging on his behalf. >> first of all, darrell issa should call carney and apologize this morning. >> reporter: on twitter, david plouffe brought up a decades-old accusation of illegal behavior by the former businessman. issa is chairman of the republican oversight committee. he started the spat on cnn's "state of the union" by calling jay carney -- >> their paid liar, their spokesperson. he's still making up things. >> reporter: issa claims carney misled the public about the irs scandal when he said tea party targeting was driven by the irs's cincinnati office. >> apparent conduct by irs officials in cincinnati. lying irs employees in cincinnati improperly scrutinizing organizations.

>> reporter: that's what the irs's internal audit found and carney said it was the basis for his remarks. >> those are the findings of the audit conducted by the independent inspector general, correct? those are the findings, right? >> reporter: now a statement was issued saying, no witnesses who have appeared before the committee have identified any irs official in washington, d.c. so where's the foul? issa says, he's still interviewing irs officials and the smoking gun is yet to come. meantime, the new acting irs commissioner appearing before congress pledged to repair the agency with their help. >> we're the weaknesses and how do we fix them? it's really not just me and the inspector general. it's a partnership with congress. >> reporter: wolf, senior republicans are cautioning

darrell issa to stay away from perm personal attacks as the investigation into the irs continues. i should point out this week congress will be holding no fewer than six hearings into wrongdoing at the irs. new acting commissioner danny werfel's top-to-bottom review of the irs is due in two weeks. wolf? >> pretty nasty stuff going on right now, even by washington standards. jessica, thanks very much. from the president on down today, democrats and republicans are sending condolences to the family of u.s. senator frank louthenburg. he died this morning. a statement from the president said the senator, quote, improved the lives of countless americans with his commitment to our nation's health and safety. the senator was the oldest member of the senate and last surviving world war ii veteran. his desk is draped in black with a vase of flowers. back in new jersey, even

lautenberg's political opposites had some nice things to say. >> i think the best way to describe frank lautenberg and the way he'd want to be described to all of you today is as a fighter. senator lautenberg fought for the things he believed in and sometimes fought because he liked to. >> very, very decent guy, senator lautenberg. although the senator was a democrat, the governor chris christie is expected to appoint a republican as a temporary replacement, then the governor will set a date for a special election. deepest, deepest condolences to his wife, bonnie, and the entire lautenberg family. her name was dragged into the spotlight during the david petraeus scandal but now jill kelly today, just a little while ago, has filed a lawsuit. coming up, we'll tell you about her explosive allegations. also, we're live at the scene of a deadly fire. why were the workers locked inside while their workplace

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former cia director, david petraeus, jill kelley, the woman often described as a tampa socialite and claims she was threatened by petraeus' mistress is accusing unnamed federal officials of wrongfully searching her personal e-mail and giving out what she says was false information to the news media. let's bring in our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin. you've been going through the court papers, the documents of

this complaint, jill kelley's essentially saying the fbi violated her privacy. what specifically is she alleging? >> well, just to refresh people's recollection, remember the chronology here is right after the 2012 elections, couple days after, general petraeus announced he was quitting the cia because he'd had an extramarital affair with a woman named paula broadwell. that affair had come to light, at least in part, because jill kelley had received a series of what she regarded as threatening e-mails and went to the fbi to complain about it. the fbi discovered that those were being sent by paula broadwell. in the immediate aftermath of the resignation, this, of course, was a big salacious story, and jill kelley's name leaked as the person who reported to the fbi that she had been receiving these threatening e-mails. in this complaint, she says that the fbi should never have

disclosed publicly that she was the complaining witness, and she says the fbi treated her as if she were a criminal and disclosed her personal information and that's why she filed this case. >> does she have a chance against the fbi in this lawsuit? >> based on my initial review of the law, i think it's very remote. i mean, first of all, she went to the fbi and disclosed these problematic e-mails and so there was not a question of them sort of going into her e-mail without her permission. the real gist of her complaint is that her name should never have become public. and she doesn't identify who was the person who leaked her name to the press. as far as i know, that's never been -- that's never been revealed. i don't think the privacy act, which is the federal law under which she's suing, gives her a right to sue the federal government on this ground. you can certainly be sympathetic that her name was dragged

through the mud, but as far as i'm aware, there's never been an award of damages for this kind of disclosure. >> and briefly, jeffrey, what rights do people have as far as their privacy is concerned when they notify the fbi of an issue like this? >> well, you know, i think like a lot of things in the electronic age, it's kind of murky what exactly your rights are, but here, what makes this a little easier than most, is jill kelley herself went and turned over her e-mails and said, look, please help me out here. now, the fbi did eventually identify who sent them, but they also behaved in a way that she said was inappropriate. this is an evolving area. i don't know for sure whether she'll win or lose this lawsuit, but it's awfully hard to sue the government, and most people who sue the government wind up losing. >> we'll see how it plays out. jeffrey, thanks very much for

that. still ahead, riot police, tear gas, and thousands of protesters flood a major city. how a peaceful protest led to these clashes. and the u.s. senator tests his survival skills again. we have the video. ♪ [ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good. ♪ [ agent smith ] ge software connects patients

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happening now, unrest, violence, and thousands of people injured. can the leader of a key u.s. ally hold on? new details of the cause of a deadly 747 crash and the heavy cargo that apparently brought down a plane. and a u.s. senator and his two sons went to a island to test their survival skills. i'm wolf blitzer and you're in "the situation room." very dangerous situation

unfolding in turkey right now challenging the leadership of a key nato ally and a u.s. ally. police clashed today with antigovernment demonstrators in the capital ankara. protests that began more than a week ago are now spreading across the country. a medical group says one person has been killed. more than 3,000 people have been injured in the past two days of unrest. cnn's senior national correspondent is joining us from istanbul. ivan, we're seeing thousands of people still on the streets. it's after 1:00 a.m. right now. this reminds me of what we saw in tahrir square in cairo two years ago. you were there, as well. >> reporter: that's right. there are some bizarre similarities. i'm going to get out of the way so you can see. it's thinning out a little bit. it is after 1:00 in the morning. it's been a predominantly peaceful day here in istanbul, but we're hearing about some clashes taking place not too far from where we are right now

between riot police and scattered groups of demonstrators. more ominous hearing of bigger clashes in the turkish capital, ankara, as well as in the border town near the syrian border, which has been a very troublesome area for months now. the biggest labor -- one of the biggest labor confederations, unions, in the country has announced it's going to launch a 24-hour strike tomorrow. i've had tourists operators calling me telling me what's that going to do to our business and the turkish stock market dropped 10% today. it shows all this unrest is having a major impact now, starting to have it, on the turkish economy. >> sure a lot of tourists are thinking twice about visiting turkey right now. what started all of this, ivan? >> reporter: you could argue that a mountain has really been made out of a mole hill. it started with a protest, a couple dozen people a week ago

that didn't want some trees to get bull dozed. they are the biggest antigovernment protests turkey has seen in a decade. an explosion of anger exacerbated by the turkish police, who have been criticized for excessive use of force. >> they are like monsters. >> reporter: it's hard to believe it all started barely a week ago with this. a couple dozen protesters camped out in a central istanbul park. they held a peaceful sit-in, protesting government plans to bulldoze one of the last green spaces left in the city center. riot police cracked down, hitting protesters with tear gas and pepper spray, and then something in turkey snapped. demonstrators began attacking the police, outraged by the behavior of the security forces. you can see here how the turkish

riot police are going after gatherings of people here in istanbul's square, in the heart of the city. come on over here. ordinary civilians being caught up in what's taking place here. an old lady knocked on the ground. by the water cannon. suddenly, it wasn't about the park anymore, it was about the prime minister. >> he has big ego. he has this napoleon syndrome. he thinks himself as an ex-sultan controlling all this middle eastern politics. he needs to stop doing that. he's a prime minister. we people elected him. >> reporter: turkey's prime minister has responded with characteristic defiance, ridiculing the protesters and defending a decade in office, during which his political party has won many elections. >> translator: he's a dictator.

if you are the kind of person that can call someone who serves their people a dictator, then i have no words for you. >> you have a prime minister who has done great deeds and he really does run the economy well, but you also have this paternalistic style, i know what's good for you, and i, as your father, can decide on the poor, the rich, the city, and the constitution. so i think people are just wanting to have a more -- more inclusive form of democracy in turkey. >> reporter: now, wolf, i think the past couple of days and this recurring images of police cracking down on demonstrators have pretty much hurt the image of the turkish prime minister, who has tried to portray turkey as a model muslim democracy to those arab countries over the last two years, the arab countries of the arab spring, where people rose up to overthrow their dictators.

in fact, he urged people like hosni mubarak, the president of egypt, to listen to his people. and now some of those same words are are being thrown back at the turkish prime minister himself by his own citizens. >> ivan watson watching what's going on in istanbul. thanks for that excellent report. americans in turkey are being warned to stay away from protests in turkey for their own state. secretary of state john kerry said he's concerned about all of this violence. >> and we are concerned by the reports of excessive use of force by police. we, obviously, hope there will be a full investigation of those incidents and full restraint from the police force, with respect to those kinds of incidents. and we urge all people involved, those demonstrating and expressing their freedom of expression and those in the government, to avoid any provocations of violence.

>> state department is also warning that even protests that start out peacefully can turn confrontational, possibly escalating into violence. we'll stay on top of this story. a key nato ally, turkey, has got some major problems right now. coming up, a huge plume of smoke and a horrible, horrible way to die. locked dozens of workers inside this burning plant. plus, we now know what caused a huge cargo plane to fall out of the sky and slam into the ground. copd makes it hard to breathe... but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can help make this a great block party. ♪ [ male announcer ] advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers

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at least 119 people died in an explosion and a fire at a poultry slaughter house in china. some of them reportedly trapped by locked gates. this is a horrific story, raising new and urgent questions about working conditions in china. our senior international correspondent, nic robertson, is on the scene for us in northeast china. nic, what do we know, what happened? >> reporter: wolf, the stories that are emerging from here, people are saying some of the doors when they were trying to escape the building, there were about 300 workers inside the plant almost 24 hours ago to the minute when the fire began. about 100 managed to escape, some of them with very harrowing accounts. and what they've been saying is as they tried to get out, only one exit was opened. several doors were locked. people described an explosion and the place filling with black smoke, the lights going out. if i just step out of the way a little bit here, you can see

what looks like large pieces of crumpled paper. that's actually the twisted and burned metal roof. the plant here stretches a couple of hundred yards parallel to the road and goes back inside sort of further behind that destruction that you can see for about another 100 yards. about 54 people injured, 119 accounted dead so far. the death toll potentially could rise. just a few hours ago we were talking to a man who said his wife had come to work in the morning, hasn't seen her sense, he was trying to get information about her here. the rescue workers were going in the building and pulling out by hand and groups of them the pieces of sheet metal to see if there was anyone left underneath, but the rescue operation seems to have slowed down in the last few hours and at the moment now, it seems to be a recovery operation, rather than a rescue. the police authorities say they

have detained some of the plant -- some of the managers responsible at the plant here. not clear how many people actually detained, but the chinese authorities say a full investigation is ongoing at the moment. but we're watching people here, local people, walk by on their way to work in the morning. they are all shocked. they tell us they are just stunned at what happened here. they can see this and it really has them worried, wolf. >> why they have to keep the doors locked is beyond me. nic, we'll check back with you, thanks very much, reporting from china. a horrific, horrific story. we're also learning right now about the cause of a fiery 737 crash that killed americans in afghanistan. barbara starr has this story for us. barbara, what are we learning? >> well, wolf, this is a tragic war zone accident that's being watched not just by military services, but by the aviation industry around the world. the boeing 747 flew for only

seconds before it crashed in afghanistan. it was a horrifying scene. now a new report from afghan civil aviation authorities suggests the commercially owned plane's heavy cargo load suddenly shifted, causing the plane to rapidly fall to the ground. >> you want all the weight basically centered so that it's easy for the pilots to control. if you have too much weight at one end of the teeter to thor, you can't get the other end down and that's basically what happened here. >> when the cargo jet took off from afghanistan to dubai last month, it had five armored vehicles on board, each weighing about 14 tons. they were strapped down in a precise way to keep the load balanced. on cargo flights, if straps break and the loads shift, disaster. >> what investigators are going to try to find out is how this aircraft was loaded initially, who loaded it, how much knowledge did these folks have

in loading it. >> u.s. government aviation experts are assisting the afghans. the report notes investigators will now look at cargo loading activities and examine recovered components. they want to know if the straps broke first, causing the vehicles to move, or if the plane was loaded wrong, causing tons of armored vehicles to shift position. >> the fact that the crew was unable to control the airplane was a result of some other failure, and that's the tragedy here, the crew really didn't have the ability to salvage a very bad situation. >> and the entire seven-man crew was killed in this accident. it comes as the u.s. military increasingly is relying on these commercial cargo planes to remove tons of equipment as the war in afghanistan winds down. wolf? >> barbara starr with that report. thank you. up next, he may be the only

united states senator who could definitely compete on the show "survivor." we have the video of senator jeff flake's new island adventure. plus, a new response from the taco bell restaurant chain to this disturbing photo. when we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals: help the gulf recover, and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i've been with bp for 24 years. i was part of the team that helped deliver on our commitments to the gulf - and i can tell you, safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge safety equipment and technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all our drilling activity, twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. safety is a vital part of bp's commitment to america - and to the nearly 250,000 people who work with us here. we invest more in the u.s. than anywhere else in the world. over fifty-five billion dollars here in the last five years -

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one u.s. senator has found the ultimate getaway from washington politics. we're talking about senator jeff flake of arizona. he took his two youngest sons on a survivalist adventure over the memorial day weekend, and now they are sharing their really amazing videos. you may remember senator flake tested his survival skills on a

deserted island nearly four years ago, but then did it solo. brian todd is here, has some of these pictures to share to our viewers. >> i will, wolf. he told us after the last trip four years ago, he was determined to share the experience with his kids. senator flake just returned with his youngest sons and he spoke to us about the adventure. they speared crabs in the surf, spear fished off breathtaking reeves, subsisted on what they caught, plus coconuts for four days. they marooned themselves on a deserted pacific island and lived to make an excellent video out of it, complete with a musical triumph. this isn't "survivor," and while this guy may look like matthew mcconaughey, this isn't hollywood's latest blockbuster, either, this is senator jeff flake on a survivalist trip last week with his two youngest sons, 15-year-old tanner and

13-year-old dallen. >> four years ago i took a similar trip to a different island and stayed for seven days and seven nights. my first thought after getting off the island is where is a cheese burger. just getting there was ambitious. phoenix to hawaii, to the tiny 1,000 foot wide, it was 10,400 miles round trip. what did they bring with them? >> we brought no food and no water. but we brought selaniator pumps. >> and a lobster trap lost to a shark. they also had the most dramatic moment. >> i speared a grouper, a big one. it got the spear out of my hand. i had to dive down about 20 feet to retrieve the spear with the fish on the end of it. by that time, four sharks had closed in on the fish. we were about 50 yards out. we didn't want to lose our meal. so we grabbed the spear and

dalon and i high tailed it for shore with the sharks in pursuit. >> they made it back safely, sleeping under the palms and stars might seem to most of us the best part. nope. >> the best part was actually every night we had to pump water for about an hour and both boys would sit down with a pump in their hand and the lead would be put in the ocean and we would just watch the sunset. and there were no cell phones, obviously. no texting. no distraction. >> flake and his wife have five children. the two oldest are married. the middle one is in college. during the last campaign cycle, flake wasn't around much and promised this trip to his two youngest boys. >> what does your wife think of all this? is this going to be a flake family tradition from now on? >> you know, she was obviously worried of the dangers. but she valued the time that i would be able to spend with the boys. more than the risks there. and so she was a good sport about it. she says i'll go back to that island when there is a hotel on it. >> in fact, senator flake says

the last time he did this four years ago he got some very good advice from his wife. she suggested he keep a journal and share it with the media to quell any skepticism about the trip. that's because that came just around the time that then south carolina governor mark sanford was caught lying about a supposed hiking trip and the appalachian trail when sanford was really in argentina with his girlfriend. wolf, senator and mrs. flake at didn't want any such rumors swirling about his survivalist trip to the pacific. >> he also tells a pretty amazing story about how aggressive the sharks were. zblun believable. the sharks that pursued them to shore with their fish. he said they kind of took shelter in a tidal pool and the son got the fish into the tidal pool. they were protected from the sharks by a rock formation. they came there and rested their heads there looking at them looking at the fish. they were that aggressive. you hear stories on the pacific where sharks are very aggressive. good story for the kids to tell. >> i'll wait until there is a

hotel myself. brian, thank you for that report. let's take a quick look at the other top stories in the situation room right now. the u.s. is sending a patriot missile battery and 200 military planners to jordan. the equipment is for a military exercise but given concern over serious civil war, there is still a chance it will stay longer. the military planners will work with the jordanians to develop a response to a humanitarian crisis for use of chemical weapons in neighboring syria. new executive orders for president obama targeting any global financial institutions that help iran with its kurn ency transactions where people do business with its auto sector. it's the latest u.s. attempt to isolate iran in order to stop the iranians from building nuclear weapons. just in time for summer vacation. the walt disney amusement parks raised daily admission. didz any world in florida now costs $95 for adults, $89 for

children. california's disneyland is slightly less, $92 for adults, $86 for children with meals and souvenirs, a day at disney can cost a family of four around $500. a picture going viral on the sweb giving taco bell officials a indication of indigestion. the company issued a statement promising, "swift action against those involved." the statement also says taco bell believes the photo is a prafrpg and the food was not served to any customers. in a minute, jeannie moos has the story of a fast thinking precushionist who had a little problem. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪

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...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. as all of us know, lots of things can go wrong when you're singing or playing the national anthem. jeannie moos found one you don't see every day though. >> reporter: oh, say can you see? the kid playing the symbols? so what's a 13-year-old to do, suddenly one symbol short, all eyes were focused on andrew,

practically see his thoughts racing. his desperate but well executed salute to the flag cracked up classmates at eisenhower junior high in daron, illinois, especially the girl playing the big base drum. >> just to be clear, andrew didn't drop the symbol. the thing broke. >> they have leather straps you hold on to. note how andrew is left holding the strap. you have ten seconds there. what were your options? >> i considered running to get a new pair. then i tried try to pick it up. >> but with various war veterans in the family history, andrew opted to salute and ended up bathed in internet glory. dude nailed it. that was the greatest save in the history of saves. musicians lose control of their symbols all of the time.

lotion a symbol is no reason to reach for cymbalta. the thing about andrew is that he used his head. actually, so did this guy. but nobody saluting him. andrew says he waept embarrassed, but his mom -- >> yeah, i was mortify. >> when in doubt, salute. let's salute patriotic symbolism. let's see it. he may seem klutzy, but he's a symbol turning fail into win. jeannie moos, cnn, new york. ♪ >> good job, andrew. andrew said he played the cymbals three times in his life. his mom says he's always great in a crisis. he came through. playing the cymbals, by the way,

not easy. i did it at my senior high school out of buffalo. i played the kettle drums, cymbals not easy at all. good work. thanks very much for joining us. i'm wolf blitz neer in "the situation room". six members of congress travel to russia with a 90s action movie star. is the u.s. vetting on our homeland security on stephen he is gal? plus, deadly tornadoes last week killed 18 people including three seasoned storm chasers. those moments in the eye of the tornado told by the men who knew them. and in michael douglas give a bedroom related explanation for how he got throat kanser? unfortunately he did. and it's vile. let's go "outfront."