begins right now with randi kaye in new york. hello, everyone. you are in the cnn "newsroom." i'm randi kaye. beginning this hour overseas where people are dieing in a country appearing to be on a fast track to all-out civil war. ukraine. the army trying to quash an uprising making them russian. it started and spread along the two country's border and now spreading more. the port city of odessa far from the border and now the center of the deadliest violence. nearly 50 people killed there in street fighting and in a fire witnesses say was started by activists throwing molotov cocktails. separatists say they'll ask the

people to stay ukrainian or join with russia. they plan a referendum next weekend. crimea was annexed by russia in march. prime ministers and diplomats are calling for calm and an end to the fight. officials of ukraine say they're out of power to stop the uprising. russian leaders say they're not supporting it. odes odessa, dozens of people locked up for fighting against riot police and today crowds of supporters stormed the jail and forced police to set them free. cnn's phil black is there. >> reporter: we have seen a lot of anger on the streets of this city since that fire and those clashes on friday. claimed so many lives, a big crowd gathered outside the police station, most were happy to stand in the rain and scream, demanding the freedom of the 60-plus people held inside. prohch rurian activists arrested after those street clashes but

some were determined to stage a breakout. they attacked the building breaking windows, security cameras, trying to get through doors, whatever they could. in the end they managed to break through into the inner court yard of the police station itself and then around that time the senior police officer inside tried to make it in. the city let all of those pro-russian activists held go. if everyone went home peacefully. and so, those activists started to be released and emerged from the station as heroes. it was an incredibly emotional scene. very loud cheers, crying, hugs, smiles as people were reunited with the loved ones and people welcomed back to the community. as heroes. >> cnn's phil black in odessa, ukraine, today. let's get perspective on this. joining me is christopher hill, a former u.s. ambassador to poland. ambassador hill, president obama along german chons lancellor me

take a listen to this. >> if, in fact, we see the disruptions and the destabilization continuing, so severely that it impedes elections on may 25th, we will not have a choice but to move forward with additional, more severe sanctions. >> ambassador, you have seen the pictures, violence today in ukraine, i guess the question is, why would the president wait three more weeks to take action here? >> well, obviously, he doesn't want to do it. it raises tensions with the allies. the one thing we've had going with the allies is the fact that we have agreed with them on this and presented a pretty united front so the president starts pushing for more sanctions, the europeans don't want, then we lose the united front, as well. nonetheless, i mean, these may be punitive sanctions but not

coercive. not going to really dissuade russia from what they're doing. >> it is so disturbing to see this video and what's going on there. i mean, seeing pockets of instability throughout ukraine. i guess is the country even capable of holding elections this month if they did go forward? >> i think the russians would like to say, no, they're not capable and not even capable of protecting their own people, et cetera. i think russia's very much in favor of creating this image of a ukraine that can barely do anything right. they can probably pull off the election. i sort of wonder what they'll be like in the eastern part of the country but what's so ominous is that looks like the beginning of a civil war. >> yeah. that's what i was going to ask you, actually. would you consider this a civil war right now or do you think is that where we're heading? >> kind of looks like where we're heading. obviously, rush why is a prime mover in there but i think as

your reporters found out, it's a pretty complicated picture there where there are many people who feel very close to russia. whether they speak -- prefer to spuk ukrainian or speak russian, they want to be close to russia so this is a very tough situation in the coming weeks and it's not at all clear how it's going to turn out. >> let's talk about the sanctions. i mean, the sanctions imposed against russia thus far don't appear to be working. what sanctions do you think would actually hit moscow the hardest? >> i think if there were some agreement with the europeans to go after the gas, oil and gas receipts and ban those purchases of russian gas or oil, yes, that would begin to hurt. but i'm not sure any sanctions even those would hurt in the short run. and what we really want to see is something that will dissuade putin from this behavior in the next few weeks and so far i

don't think there's much of a rabbit we could stuff down a hat there. i think it's going to be very tough to pull something out. >> ambassador hill, appreciate your time. thank you very much. now, to a developing story much closer to home. the ringling brothers barnum brothers circus is reeling. acrobats plunged to the ground. it was all caught on tape. we want to warn you here, the video you are about to see is graphic. >> suspended by their strength -- >> and this happened just hours ago in providence, rhode island. let's get straight to cnn's nick valenc valencia. what do you know about this? >> that video is very difficult to watch. you wince when you see that. at least 11 people were taken to the hospital because of that circus accident. we know, randi, nine of them

were performers, part of this acrobatic troupe. the hair hang troupe where they're suspended about 35 feet in the hair. we'll get into more about this specific act. ringling brothers act. first, let's bring in the spokesman for the parent company of the circus and hear what he had to say about the incident. >> this apparatus was used for multiple performances each week since the show launched back in january. and each and every time that we come to a new venue, all of the equipment that's used by this group of performers as well as all the other performers is carefully inspected. we take the health and safety of our performers and our guests very seriously. >> we know at least one of those performers arrived at the hospital in critical condition according to to a spokesman. the ten others listed in stable condition. we want to show you that video again at home, if you are sensitive to dramatic video,

please now's the time to leave the room. >> suspended by their strength -- >> randi, what we do know about this specific act is according to the spokesman this hair hang apparatus that something happened to that had been used about 12 to 14 times per week for the last several months since january. we know that six of the members of that troupe were added earlier this year. this is an event that is prided on its safety. on the website of ringling brothers, there's information about the event. the three riggs holding, three riggs were welded together by the founder of this troupe, something happened there. investigators are locking into the fact what went wrong but certainly a shock to all of those that were in attendance. some, i'm sure, thought that this was part of the show and it was only later that they realized that this was a terrible accident.

ringling brothers canceled the 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. show for later today. no word about the shows for tomorrow. >> nick, just to be clear, a hair hanging act, they literally hang from their hair, right? >> that's right. held and supported only by the hair. they're specifically chosen randi because of their height, weight and hair and on that website, information about this act, it goes very detailed as to the type of treatment that these performers take on their hair, that they use simple shampoo, not used to use hair dryers. it's a brand-new act, new members added and up until now, nothing had gone wrong. again, prided themselves on the safety of this act. clearly, something went terribly wrong. >> yeah. we'll continue to follow that and an eyewitness who was there during this accident and caught on tape we'll have him to talk with later on in the show. nick, thank you very much.

>> you bet. coming up, 11 suspected terrorists arrested in malaysia. were they questioned over the disappearance over flight 370? what authorities are saying next. plus -- >> we rolled out healthcare.gov. that could have gone better. >> we've got the zings, all the burns and all the flops from the white house correspondents' dinner. stick around for that. ♪ ♪ ♪ gigantic, gigantic, gigantic ♪ a big, big love

♪ gigantic, gigantic, gigantic ♪ a big, big love ♪ ♪ on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know that game show hosts should only host game shows? samantha, do you take kevin as your lawfully wedded husband... or would you rather have a new caaaaaar!!!! say hello to the season's hottest convertible... ohhh....and say goodbye to samantha. [ male announcer ] geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more.

it is an emotional day for the families of those aboard malaysia flight 370. the first service was held for the passengers. the relatives needed some type of closure from the 59-day nightmare. meanwhile, in a few hours, a crucial meeting to determine the next search phase. officials from malaysia, china and australia will attend that. we have learned the contract for the u.s. navy's underwater drone bluefin is extended to tend of

the month. also this, 11 suspected militants are under arrest in malaysia accused of being involved a group that plans terror attacks but malaysia police say there is no link between the 11 suspects and flight 370. here to discuss all of this, aviation analyst les abend and safety analyst david susi. welcome to both of you. les, talking about the suspected militants, 11 of them arrested. malaysia saying they're not connected at all. could we trust that malaysia would tell us the truth and open up to us if that was the case and connected? >> well, like you, my understanding is the fbi is involved. so, i would think that there's still consultation with the fbi and, yeah, i would think so. this seems unrelated. you know? the source, the sources of other things don't seem to be that reliable. >> doesn't make sense to you? >> doesn't make a lot of sense to me at this point. >> let's talk about this

trilateral meeting tomorrow, david. this is certainly a crucial time, again. we have china, malaysia, australia all meeting. what do you think needs to be addressed in that meeting and what even could come out of it? >> in every investigation, there's ebbs and flows and always said 70% of the time needs to be planning and 30% on the scene searching and investigating. so, this part right now is long overdue because they haven't had this much time to say what are we doing? are the tools we have working? this is a great opportunity for them to say, now that everything's settled down a little bit, let's figure this out, find out the right tools and get them and dispatched properly and at this point still convinced they're searching the right area. if they keep with that, they're going to need new tools and could take several weeks. >> do you think given that they're finally having the meeting, do you think that malaysia should continue to have a lead role here? >> i'm not sure that's the right thing to do.

an gus houston is doing a great job with the search and rescue part of it and i think if i was him i would be pleading for that. hard to be the search and rescue and not the investigation. so if i was an gus, i would be making that plea. it is in our area. let us take that over and malaysia certainly can delegate this investigation to australia. >> yeah. les, i want to ask you about the bluefin. they're extending it. $40,000 a day to operate the bluefin underwater and working like a lawn mower as you know to check the bottom of the ocean floor looking for wreckage and not found anything. is this a good use of money or waste of money, do you think? >> my understanding is the navy contracted with a particular company that operates that unit so i guess they have to fulfill their contract. you know, the trilateral meeting i think will involve more assets and i think it's important that they be deployed, you know -- i'm getting an understanding

like the rest of the world how it operates so it sounds to me -- but i think dave and i are in agreement of the data that even with the preliminary report indicates they're in the right place. >> the search of the bay of bengal where they're obviously sending some assets, not a lot of assets, but i mean, obviously, the families, you know, they would want to know there's nothing there and maybe some truth to it and cross that off their list. do you think that's a bad idea? >> i have mixed feelings about it. >> to take resources away doesn't make fun. ships have been there but, you know, it really is -- they're obligated at this point to give the families anything that the families need for appeasing where they are. >> right. >> i think that's one they can. >> you guy wills stick around and talk with you more later on so, les, david, thank you very much. president obama and comedian

joel mchale sling jabs and not all of them hit the mark. we'll have the best and the worst right after this.

true business-grade internet comes with secure wifi for your business. it also comes with public wifi for your customers. not so with internet from the phone company. i would email the phone company to inquire as to why they have shortchanged these customers. but that would require wifi. switch to comcast business internet and get two wifi networks included. comcast business built for business. welcome back. celebrities, politicians, the president himself, they all shared the spotlight at the annual white house correspondents' dinner. it is a yearly affair featuring lots of jokes at everyone's

expense. so let's talk about it with cnn political comment tayers mark lamont hill and ben ferguson and patrick gavin working on a documentary tracing the evolution of the din sbeer a hollywood-style celebrity event. good to see all of you. let's start with the president. he definitely lapded punches that hit close to home. take a listen to this. >> i am happy to be here. even though i am a little jet lagged from my trip to malaysia. the lengths we have to go to to get cnn coverage these days. i think they're still searching for their table. msnbc is here. they're a little overwhelmed. they've never seen an audience this big before.

let's face it, fox. you will miss me when i'm gone. it will be harder to convince the american people that hillary was born in kenya. >> i don't know about you but i'm glad to see he spread the jabs around. mark, did the president leave them laughing? >> i give him an a-minus and i think he's had better monologues in the previous years and set a great standard in the term and another awesome night. >> ben ferguson, what did you like or dislike about the president's remarks? >> you know, it's kind of fun to see a president of the united states of america walk out there, you can tell he was way more relaxed this year than in years past because he didn't have to worry about re-election. he mentioned that a couple of times in the monologue like, hey, guess what, i can say

whatever i want and no one can vote against me on this. you can tell that there was a couple of jabs in there that he really wanted to get in. i also think one of the greatest parts is actually when it looked like the video froze and he had kathleen sebelius say, i deal with this all the time. that's a way of saying i'm still loyal to kathleen sebelius and she doesn't have a job but i'll have fun with it tonight. that part i thought -- it was a little awkward for the crowd and not sure, like, is he really ripping on kathleen or -- how does this work? but i thought it was a great moment from the white house correspondents' dinner. >> self department ri kating on her part, right? >> that's awesome because -- >> if it's too partisan, people don't like it. if he's dishing it out to republicans and to himself and to members of his administration, then it makes it funny. seeing kathleen sebelius was the

perfect ending to the whole bit. >> a lot of fun to watch that. >> loyalty. >> patrick gavin, let me ask you. >> that's what people like. >> that is true. patrick, this dinner certainly changed through the years. 20 years ago, the president told maybe a few jokes about reporters and then sat down. nowadays, we have the videos, the long list of jokes about reporters. i mean, why the hollywood attraction? why's it grown so much? >> i mean, really did grow but this year a much smaller hollywood contingency. for a couple reasons. obama is not new anymore. two, i think that word is out amongst the celebrity crowd you get clawed at a bit. not always the most fun experience. tough do a thousand press lines and a thousand red carpets and if you don't do them, you're dinged in the press as being snobby and the fact of the matter is even though it seems quaint to some people here in washington i think for a lot of people, celebrities and reporters and political types, all across the bore, they like being in the same room as the

president. it's always a unique experience and so that kind of explains why there's still interest in this dinner both here in d.c. and out in l.a. >> chris christie, new jersey governor, quite a target last night. joel mchale was brutal toward the new jersey governor. let's listen to that and then we'll talk about that. >> governor, you want bridge or size jokes? i have a bunch. i know you like a combo platter. now, i get that. i'm sorry for that joke. governor christie, i didn't know i was going to tell it but i take full responsibility for it. whoever wrote it will be fired. but the buck stops here. so i will be a man and own up to it just as soon as i get to the bottom of how it happened because i was unaware it happened until just now. >> all right. so that was just a sampling. the way joeight jokes are funny are they fun sni. >> i love a good fat joke sometimes but i thought he went

too far. the particular joke you heard was a good one because it made fun of bridgegate but said buckle up, extended buckle up, i thought he went too far and one of the least funny bits that i have seen at the dinner in -- i think only jay leno had a worst one. >> ben, you want to weigh in? >> i think jay's is pretty darn funny. last night was a little bit i think mean spirited towards everyone. when he got up there. he was harsh at jessica simpson, at joe biden, he was harsh at hillary clinton. he was harsh at pretty much anyone and it was literally the point where i think he was hoping it would be, ooh, ow, that was low instead of people laughing at the jokes. i think he wanted to push the limit. i don't know if everyone loved it as much as maybe he thought they were going to. but he certainly last night made, you know, you have easy targets in the audience and he made sure he had it ready, aim

and fire for those willing to attend. the other thing is if you're going to go to the white house correspondents' dinner and been in the news in the last year, be ready for it to be mean spirited and i think some of these people know that coming in. i mean, if chris christie didn't want the want, don't come to the event. people are willing to go and be talked about. >> absolutely. let's show this un-funny segment to many people. joe biden, julia louis dreyfus. listen to this. >> like the sprinkles. >> the sweetest thing you can get in the executive branch. >> hey, guys. what are you doing? >> nothing. >> what's in your mouth? >> carrots. >> hey, don't talk. >> haven't you heard anything i said about healthy eating? >> patrick, did it work or were they trying a bit too hard there?

>> i thought it did and partial to the show "veep" and anything in that vein works for me. talking earlier about the dinner evolved, also in this area where videos, these kind of productions last year, at the "house of cards." they're the new standard. you almost can't not do it. it is interesting. part of the reason is a great opportunity, hollywood likes doing them. they play well in the crowd and interesting. i'm talking a lot about both current and former presidents of the white house correspondents association and say that the single best reason to have a video is to get the crowd to shut up and reality while it is entertaining, it is actually total crowd control what they're doing. just bang the gavel, no one's quiet. if you play a video, that might actually feature reporters themselves, they'll all shut up. >> they're on to something there, for sure. all right. thank you so much. mark, ben, patrick, have a great evening. thank you. the estranged wife of

clippers owner donald sterling speaks out for the first time. what she's saying and why it could be bad news for the nba.

the performance review. that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. and yet, there's someone around the office who hasn't had a performance review in a while. someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. i'm looking at you phone company dsl. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business.

the donald sterling scandal is ripe for mockery. the l.a. clipper's 80-year-old owner is permanently banned from the nba over his racial remarks. "saturday night live" took aim at the whole sterling mess. watch this. >> thank you, adam silver, who i thought was one of us. but let's just focus on the real victim here. it's me. my reputation has gotten a real black eye which we all know is the worst kind of eye. i have also agreed to put up $3 million to do my own version of the million man march so this

june donald sterling's million man cruise will take thousands of black men on a wondrous journey to the beautiful ivory coast of africa to never come back. >> now, the scandal is even more bizarre. his wife declaring herself co-owner of the los angeles clippers and distancing herself from her disgraced husband. shelly sterling said she supporting the nba ban on her husband and part of the statement right here, i spoke with commissioner adam silver this week to tell him i fully supported the swift and decisive action. as a co-owner, i'm committed to taking the steps to make the clippers the best team in the nba. weeks ago, she tried to sue her husband's female companion, the same woman who recorded the racist remarks. sterling's wife wanded her to return lavish gifts like

expensive cars including two bentleys and a ferrari. let's bring in holly hughes and psychiatrist dr. gayle saltz. holly, what is your reaction to sterling calling herself co-owner? and the bigger question is what legal claim might she have to the team? could she stop this forced sale? >> she could. what you are looking at is california is a community property state. they have been married longer than they have been owned the clippers. he didn't buy them until 1981. they have been married since 1959. so any of the property that was accumulated during the course of that marriage is considered community property, randi. she does have a claim. california's 50/50 state and don't forget sterling started his career as an attorney. as a personal injury and divorce attorney so he's familiar with the laws. so there may be a pre-nup in place we haven't heard about. there may be a legal document

drafted getting her to say i amy not part owner of the team and very interesting to see what documentation she is able to produce and what documentation he is able to produce to fight her on this. she stands a very good chance because if she files for divorce, this is a marital asset and you will have to divy it up according to the domestic laws in california. >> yeah. she is obviously learned a thing or two from him over the years. gayle, let's bring you in. the psychology of this is one we will analyze for a very long time. i want to play a clip, though, first for you and then talk about it. this is v. stiviano, the woman that recorded donald sterling talking with barbara walt earls. >> i'm mr. sterling's right hand arm, man. i'm mr. sterling everything. i'm his confidant. his best friend. his silly rabbit. >> his what? >> his silly rabbit. >> his silly rabbit? >> yes.

>> is that what he calls you? >> no. i call myself that. i joke around and i make him laugh. i do things that some people find very silly. >> his silly rabbit as she calls herself that. what do you make of this relationship with the guy who's 50 years older than she is? >> it's hard to understand the nature of a friendship when there is that big generation gap quite frankly. they have -- it seems nothing in common. i think we're all left in the dark as to what the nature truly is. it would be unfair to say it must be, you know, that she's after the gifts and so on. because we don't know that. all i could say is that it would be highly unusual to have a friendship because friendships are based usuall on mutual interests, mutual understanding, mutual backgrounds, similar values. so i'm not sure where that would

be coming from. she did receive unusual gifts within the context of any sort of friendship. >> yes. expensive gifts. >> expensive gifts, even if your friend offered you that, randi, right, you would say i can't accept that. the fact she accepted multiple of such gifts gives us pass. >> it will. >> as to the nature of the relationship. and, you know, for her, beyond gifts, what would she get out of it? you could wonder. sometime there is's a big gap with a dadly issues. right? you want someone to be that mentor for you. but i don't see any mentoring going on. >> right. it is a tough one to figure out. no doubt about it. gail and holly, thank you both very much. a horrifying stunt at a circus. more than a dozen people injured when acrobats fell from a device suspending them high above the ground. an eyewitness who saw it and has it all on video.

we'll show it to you next. narrator: this is the storm sea captain: there's a storm comin narrator: that whipped through the turbine which poured... surplus energy into the plant which generously lowered its price and tipped off the house which used all that energy to stay warm through the storm. chipmunk: there's a bad storm comin! narrator: the internet of everything is changing how energy works. is your network ready?" constipated? .yea dulcolax tablets can cause cramps but not phillips. it has magnesium and works more naturally than stimulant laxatives. for gentle cramp free relief of occasional constipation that works! mmm mmm live the regular life.

for as long as she can remember, natalie irish is passionate about art but diagnosed with type i diabetes at 18, that became a struggle. >> i can't keep my eyes open. i can't focus on my art classes. went to the doctor. check your blood sugar. september me immediately to the emergency room. >> the blood sugar was seven times higher than normal. doctors surprised she hadn't lapsed into a diabetic coma. >> everything changed. the priorities. the way i ate, lived my life. just starting from scratch. >> not long after, something else changed, too. her style of art. >> i was going to see a band so i was going to a show and put on the red lipstick an i blotted it on a piece of tissue and saw a lip print and pretty sure there

was an actual light bulb and i was like, i can paint with that. >> that's right. she painted with her lips. >> it's all lipstick. i make it myself. dollar star to boutique brands. this is just a different paint brush. >> kissing the canvas with full-on lip prints with the lips to smear, smudge and shade, natalie creates masterpieces. she said some sell for thousands of dollars and using that attention to help raise awareness about type i diabetes. >> i have a bit of an audience and i have people that, you know, like my work and then it's like, okay, let's talk about this, too. you know? >> the biggest message, fix the physical. but don't forget about the mental. >> there is a lot of self blame that can pop up in there and every day's going to be different. good days and bad days but it's not, you know, it's not our fault. >> dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. dear sun,

you created light. you are loved. celebrated. but things have changed since you got into this business. at philips, we're creating led light that people can color... adjust... even make beautiful sunsets. dear sun, you might be number one, but we're getting closer. innovation and you philips so, if you're what ysleeping in your is youcontact lenses,

ask about the air optix® contacts so breathable they're approved for up to 30 nights of continuous wear. ask your doctor about safety information as serious eye problems may occur. visit airoptix.com for a free one-month trial. oh no. who are you? daddy, this is blair, he booked this room with priceline express deals and saved a ton. i got everything i wanted. i always do. he seemed nice. eight acrobats plunged 30 feet to the ground in a ringling brothers circus today in providence, rhode island. the accident left as many as 20 people injured.

some in critical condition. the terrifying incident was caught on tape. now, we want to warn you before we show you that video, it is graphic. that video was shot by gabrielle la robia. her boyfriend joins me on the phone from providence. so, shawn, the two of you were at the show. tell me what it was like and how would you describe what happened? >> right now i've been able to hear that video gives me the biggest chills right now and goosebumps. but being there was just even worse, honestly. we were just sitting down, normal people, obviously. and there were these huge drapes, completely dark and then next thing you know the drapes

fall down and you see about -- what i saw was about 13 girls just dangling there and the ringmaster goes, and they're suspended by -- and then at the very moment they just fell. i want to say about good maybe 35 to 40 feet. and i want to say about -- it took me a good maybe 35 seconds just to finally realize what just happened. and the entire place was in complete chaos at that time. freaking out. people were grabbing their kids and i think they all left, honestly. >> did the crowd understand right away that this was not part of the show? >> it took me about maybe 13 to 20 seconds but then i think the crowd as far as the kids there, they had like no idea what was even like going on. so -- >> and how -- i mean, i assume

people were screaming. is that the case? >> kids were -- well, they weren't screaming at first but there was a girl that was right next to me that was asking her father if this was part of the act. her dad goes, i don't think so, honey. and then he grabbed his kids and left, obviously. there was one point there was just complete silence and you could physically hear the girls down there just crying. and screaming. and that's what finally hit me. that, wow, this just happened. and could you see the girls who had fallen? could you tell, you know, what kind of pain they were in or what it looked like in obviously they were taken away on stretchers. >> i could physically, yes. but at first, i couldn't because they actually had you completely darkened out the entire like the

entire ground level was completely dark. i want to say about maybe three minutes later they had the first responders there. and then they actually put both rescues on both sides so you really couldn't see that much afterwards. >> right. >> so -- >> i'm sure it was a horrifying experience. shawn, thank you so much. >> yes, it was. >> for sharing your girlfriend's video with us and also for talking with us. appreciate that. we want to let you know a circus spokesman released a statement to us. each and every time we come to a new venue, the equipment used by this group and others is carefully inspected. we take the health and safety of our performers and guests very serely and our company has a safety department that spends countless hours making sure that all of our equipment is indeed safe and effective for continued use. she's been called one of the most influential, intellectual and political figures of the last 50 years and some students

at rutgers university don't want her to speak at their graduation. we'll tell you who and why next. ñ

♪

what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together reliably fast internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! we must have encountered a temporal vortex. further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey.

[ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system. only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before. former secretary of state condoleezza rice says she will not give the commencement address at rutgers university. rice released a statement saying it had become a distraction. some students and faculty

protested her support of the war in iraq saying she played a prom nebt role in misleading the public about the reasons for the war. the university president says he stands by the invitation but respects rice's decision. let's bring in our panel. ben ferguson in dallas, good to see you guys again. ben, to you first on this. isn't a university setting i guess some might say the ideal place to discuss that kind of distraction and should rice have maybe engaged on the issue instead of avoiding it? >> no, i think this is incredibly classy move by condoleezza rice, a woman that spent a lot of her career teaching at universities. she realized there's a lot of people going to graduate that day that don't want the distraction to be about the speaker. and i think there's some students as well as some faculty that are out of line here. you're never going to agree with the commencement speaker 100% of student body, faculty or staff, but the way they're trying to go back and attack her because of the war in iraq. and she says, look, this is

about the students' accomplishments, them putting four or five years of their life there, people graduating with masters or doctorates and i won't take away from the day. for condoleezza rice, a classy move so they can enjoy the graduation of the students and the ones protesting or cause massive problems with noise at this ceremony, i think they should be ashamed of themselves for it. >> what? >> well, clearly mark does not disagree. mark, you want to weigh in then. >> the first amendment any more. i can't keep track of people on the right when it's okay to speak out about something and when it's not. if it's your graduation, you have a right to speak out and say i don't want her here. every time there's a commencement speaker there's some students that don't like it. the question becomes does this body represent the overall

number of people on the campus? for example, 100 students protested in front of the president's office when dr. rice was announced. i don't know if that hundred is representative of all people at rutgers or not. but there's a legitimate critique of rice and her part in the iraq war. okay for the students to protest that. condi wasn't just trying to respect the event. she didn't want to be embarrassed by getting booed while giving a speech. >> he's got tough skin, to say the least. she's been in tough situations before, mark. i think you know as a professor that she's not afraid to take the heat. look at her jobs on her resume. every one of them was a position where she was willing to take heat. she realized this was not the appropriate place to take away from the students' accomplishments. i respect her for that. this has nothing to do with free speech. students have the right to protest, as they did. the difference is when you're saying that you're going to ruin

the graduation ceremony on purpose as these students were saying, that's the problem. >> all right, guys. we're going to have to pick this conversation up at a later opponent. or you guys can just call each other. >> yeah, we'll do that. >> ben ferguson, mark lamont hill, thank you very much. honestly, i'm pouring everything i have into this place. that's why i got a new windows 2 in 1. it has exactly what i need for half of what i thought i'd pay. and i don't need to be online for it to work. it runs office, so i can do schedules and budgets and even menu changes. but it's fun, too -- with touch, and tons of great apps for stuff like music, 'cause a good playlist is good for business. i need the boss's signature for this. i'm the boss. ♪ honestly ♪ i wanna see you be brave ♪ honestly and i'm his mom at the dog park. the kids get trail mix, and here's what you get after a full day of chasing that cute little poodle from down the street. mm hmm delicious milo's kitchen chicken meatballs. they look homemade, which he likes almost as much as making new friends

yes, i'll call her. aww, ladies' man. milo's kitchen. made in the usa with chicken or beef as the number one ingredient. the best treats come from the kitchen. for $175 dollars a month? so our business can be on at&t's network yup. all five of you for $175. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line anytime for 15 bucks a month. low dues... great terms... let's close. new at&t mobile share value plans. our best value plans ever for business.

woman: this is not exactly what i expected. man: definitely more murdery than the reviews said. captain obvious: this is a creepy room. man: oh hey, captain obvious. captain obvious: you should have used hotels.com. their genuine guest reviews are written by guests who have genuinely stayed there.

instead of people who lie on the internet. son: look, a finger. captain: that's unsettling. man: you think? captain: all the time. except when i sleep. which i would not do here. hotels.com would have mentioned the finger. tomorrow is cinco de mayo, a time to honor mexican heritage. that's exactly what our anthony bourdain did. >> mexico, you know, you see it on tv. murder, corruption, mexico is a deeply troubled maybe even cursed land.

it is also just as deeply magical and enchanted. amazing, amazing country, incredible food, unbelievable music, old school colonial streets, mountains, beaches. did i mention the food? you should pray more attention to this place, man. it's our brother. it's right down there next to us. and it's really one of the greatest places on earth. >> and you can find out more tonight on anthony bourdain parts unknown. it airs at 9:00 p.m. eastern time only on cnn. hello, everyone. you are in the cnn newsroom. i'm randi kaye.