lauren. >> and that's how it should be. time for the "newsroom," carol costello. also known as chris. >> what? >> and every show, carol. just take it, please, and run. >> i will, kate. such good advice from you this morning. have a great day, tie goois. "newsroom" starts now. many in a massive worldwide string, hundreds of hackers accused of gaining control of your home computer and secretly snapping pictures of you without your knowledge. you might remember the story of cassidy wolf, ms. teen usa, a hacker got control of her webcam, snapped nude photos of her in her bedroom. she had absolutely no idea this was happening. then the perpetrators threatened

to put those photos online. >> i dropped my phone and i was screaming. i was on the phone with my mom and we were both crying. i really -- i couldn't explain the emotion i was going through. it was terrifying, absolutely terrifying. >> it is a story you'll see first on cnn. cnn justice reporter evan perez breaking down the developments. sean hennry, the former assistant director of the fbi will break down the investigation. he's also the president of crowd strike services, a company devoted to fighting cybercrime. evan, tell us about this crackdown. who is responsible? >> the fbi and police in over a dozen countries have been working on this case for a couple years now, and they basically in the last few days have done a roundup, over 100 arrests have been done. hundreds of searches have been done in europe, canada and the united states. wheel hear more about this later today, the justice department,

the u.s. attorney here in manhattan is going to announce charges against some of these individuals. what we're talking about is black shades which is a type of malicious software that was used against the former miss teen usa. it basically is used to hijack your computers. it can be done -- you can do everything from log your key strokes so they can steal your bank account information, your passwords. it can turn on your webcam. it's been used for everything from bank fraud to extortion, carol. >> so sean, i want to ask you about this device that these perpetrateders install on your computer. is it relatively easy? >> it's actually very, very easy. this is called commodity software, point and click. you can download it from the internet. you don't have to have any particular type of tefk cal skills. once you've got what we call this remote access tool, once you've got it on your computer as an adversary and deploy it, you have a screen and you can

actually click on the camera of the computers it's installed on. you can read the key strokes as these people type in their user names and passwords or where they're constructing e-mail, very easy to use, very easy to deploy. incredibly pervasive throughout the network. >> let me guess. you can buy it online, right? >> you certainly can, for about 50 bucks. >> just insane. evan, who are these people? some in the united states and some in europe, is that correct? >> that's right, carol. we expect the fbi and u.s. attorney here in manhattan will announce that they've arrested not only some of the cyber criminals using this software to hack into people's computers, but also some of the people who have been behind it. that's been an illusive thing for the last couple years. last week, cnn was allowed into the fbi's command center to take a look as they were trying to bring this operation down. we're going to have some more about that later this morning, but it is something they've been working on for a long time,

simply because they believe several hundred thousand computers around the world are infected with this malicious software. >> shawn, last question for you. how difficult was it for the fbi to round up all these people? >> this is a great example of international coordination. the fbi has a long, proud history of working collaboratively with law enforcement agencies around the world. to do attribution in these cases is often difficult because you have to identify not only the computer being used but also the person behind the keyboard. it really requires this coordination, collaboration. kudos to the fbi and law enforcement elsewhere globally. >> absolutely. evan perez, shawn henry, thanks so much. cyber spying is also making news on the global stage as the u.s. files its first ever charges against officials in china's government. all five of these chinese officials are military officers, accused of hacking into u.s. companies to steal trade secrets, a problem the united

states believes is both widespread and worrisome. attorney general eric holder will reveal more at the top of the hour. but let's get the latest from justice correspondent pamela brown. i know you're working your sources. good morning. what can you tell us, pamela. >> good morning, carol. it's called economic espionage. sources we've been speaking with say it's an epidemic. it's the first time the u.s. has brought charges against state -- chinese state officials. so what we have learned, carol, is the u.s. department of justice is filing charges against five chinese military officials essentially for hacking into u.s. companies and stealing trade secrets. we've talking about companies, trade unions, manufacturing, as well as steel companies. this has been going on for several years. we've been told by officials that they've suspected for a while that the chinese government was behind this, but it's the first time that we're really seeing those words

accusing china of hacking put into action with these charges filed this morning. carol? >> let's be realistic, though. the u.s. has filed charges against chinese officials in china. so what really will come of that. >> speaking to sources, carol, they're saying the idea of china expediting these officials, these military officials are slim to none. they're not going to do that. they're not going to appear in a u.s. courtroom to face these charges. this is just sending a strong statement to china. like i said, they're putting the gauntlet down saying we know what you're doing, we've heard president obama talking about it. china, we know what you're up to. now this is the first time they're putting those words into action, walking the walk and there could be implications. there's the diplomatic angle, policy, politics. essentially the u.s. government officials built enough evidence over the years to bring forth these charges and send the

signal. >> we'll see what happens. pamela brown live in washington this morning. logon, tune in, pay up. at&t wants to buy dircectv, the nation's biggest satellite tv provider. their promises are almost as big as the $48 price tag. the new mega giant could take tv and wireless to the next level, whatever that means. for example, you could soon watch the same things in your car as in your living room. right away at&t say it is new giant will give consumers one-stop shopping for phone, tv and internet service. that means we could bundle services from a single provider. consumer advocates say less competition will drive up prices for all of those things we see now as essential. christine romans breaks it down for us. >> reporter: nearly $50 billion. that's the hefty price tag at&t agreed to pay for directv. this deal just the latest in a

wave of media consolidation. comcast revealed its plans to buy time warner cable for $45 billion in february. and sprint parent company softbank has been expressing its interest in ceiling a deal with t-mobile. the inevitable concern, the new internet and video powerhouses could take more control over your screens, all of them. >> with that consolidation and that reduction of competition, we see fewer things happening and prices mostly going up for consumers and subscribers. >> reporter: potentially good for consumers, at&t and directv say the acquisition could mean new bundles that would bring tv and internet options across all of your screens, even those in cars and airplanes. the fate of this new alliance rests in the hands of the fcc. >> there is a proper role for the department of justice to look at this as an antitrust matter and for the fcc to look at this as is this in the public interest? i say no, this isn't in the

public interest and, yes, this is a violation of antitrust. >> christine romans is here right now along with matt wood. i want to start with you, christine. you know my prediction, soon there will only be four big companies in all of the united states. that can't be a good thing. >> that's what consumer groups have been saying. we think when there are fewer players, that means fewer choices for consumers. others who follow these companies say if you have the situation where comcast is in brutal competition with at&t, remember that other big deal announced earlier this year, maybe that could be good for consumers. what i can tell you for directv customers, nothing will change for three years, that's what at&t says. for at&t users, the company says you would be easily having these package tv and internet bundles, more choices. the question is do fewer choices

mean higher choices? prices have been rising. we use more media, we use it differently, we use it on a lot of different screens, that is not going away. we want it fast. we want it available on demand, and this is what we've been seeing for tv costs, the pay tv part of things so far. prices are not going to go down, carol. does this merger make it worse. >> matt, why do companies always tell us it will be good for the consumer when they know it won't? >> they always tell a different story in washington than on wall street. here it's about how hard it is to compete and up in new york it's about how much money this will make them. the competition is usually brutal for people like you and me who pay for the services, not the people who make these promises and all most never deliver on them. >> if they wanted to help the consumer gain faster internet service, why not install fiberoptic lines all over the united states instead of entering into these big mergers? >> exactly.

we've been playing that out for a while. between this one and the comcast-time warner cable, you can see the entire company wired with fiber. it makes wall street happy, the shareholders happy. the rest of us should not be smiling. it will mean fewer choices and higher prices. >> christine, is this a done deal? >> no. they have to go in front of regulators. i think you can assume they have really done their homework, they've tried to lay out a bunch of conditions they say they will meet, like getting broadband to 15 million rural households, something the obama administration has wanted, like keeping things the same for directv. you don't take a deal like this public and don't take it to washington until you've done an awful lot of work and you think you can get it through. ironically, some people this morning are saying this deal might make the comcast time warner cable deal, my grease the

skids for that, happened earlier this year. a lot happening in the space. i'm tells you carol, it is very competitive out there. they feel like they have to innovate or die. in the interim, at least they're coupling up. >> christine romans, matt wood, thank you for the insight. still to come in the "newsroom," a deadly respiratory virus spreading in united states and it has some serious and scary implications. senior medical cells spon dent elizabeth cohen is on that story this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. it's not just scary that it's spreading. it's how it's spreading. i'll have more after the break. [person]you know why so many of us here sleep on a tempur-pedic [person]it's all because of... sharon! [person]sharon... [person]...sharon... [person]she's our librarian. ...and not a very quiet one. [person]so...every monday morning it was... ...you know what's wrong with your life...

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checking top stories for you at 15 minutes past the hour. this morning firefighters in san diego might finally be getting the upper hand on a rash of deadly wildfires that swallowed dozens of homes and businesses. some 26,000 acres have burned, but governor brown is warning california's wildfire season has only just begun, and the drought-stricken state has a long and dangerous summer ahead. south korea's president is dismant mg the nation's coast guard in the wake of the ferry disaster that killed some 300 people. in a tearful and emotional apology, president park ginn hee took responsibility for the disaster. she slammed the coast guard saying it, quote, failed in its duty to carry out the rescue

operation. it may be where dreams come but only if you have the cash. california's disney land, aka the happiest place on earth raised ticket prices without notice. for anyone ten years and up, it will now cost you $96 for a one-day pass. that's up from $92. parking also went up a buck to $17. the price of a ticket four years ago, $72. when the theme park opened in the summer of 1955 it cost $1.00 to get in. wow. for the first time an player khan has contracted the mers virus without setting foot in saudi arabia. in the latest case an illinois man got it after a meeting with an indiana man. elizabeth cohen is tracking it

all. these two men just exchanged a handshake t. man who was not infected got it from just shaking the hand of the man who was. >> actually, carol, we or not actually sure how he got it. it may have been from a handshake, it may have been because they were sitting near each other and droplets from his mouth or nose got to the other man. getting mers from a meeting is a bit different -- actually i should say quite different from the previous two cases of mers in this country. the first two cases in united states were people who got infected in saudi arabia and got on a plane and came here. those cases were reported in indiana and florida. now health officials say an illinois man who had a business meeting with the indiana patient has also tested positive for mers. >> this potential person that is maybe the third case that was transmitted had just basically business transactions with this individual. so no unique travel history of

their own and no travel history since. >> the cdc says during a meeting on april 25th the two men were sitting within six feet of each other talking. the only physical contact they had was shaking hands. the next day they had another meeting, this one shorter. this was a week before the indiana patient was confirmed to have mers. >> a cdc doctor says the illinois man was never really sick, but now the cdc wants to test people he came in contact with, because even without symptoms, it's possible he could have spread the deadly mers virus. health officials have been talking about the close contact you need to spread mers, family members living with other, for example. two people having a meeting together. it makes you wonder is it easier to spread the virus than was previously thought. however, it is important to note this illinois man didn't get sick. so maybe this disease is perhaps a bit less deadly than we thought.

carol? >> but he didn't get sick, but he still might be contagious which is a little freaky to me, elizabeth. >> that's true. that's something the cdc is really going to follow. is there a group of people out there who aren't getting sick but who can get other people sick? carol, this disease is so new to this country, it just arrived in indiana a few weeks ago. in florida even more recently. there's so much they don't know about this virus and they're still learning exactly who can transmit, who can't, how easy is it to get sick from this virus. >> elizabeth cohen reporting live from atlanta. still to come in the "newsroom," days after "the new york times" executive editor jill abrahamson was abruptly fired, she is set to deliver the commencement speech at wake forest university. so what will she tell the graduates? we'll talk about that next. mine was earned in korea in 1953. afghanistan, in 2009.

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the morning the former fired executive editor of "the new york times," jill abrahamson, will make her first public appearance since her controversial firing last week. you're about to look at live pictures from wake forest university where any minute now abrahamson is set to take the stage and deliver today's commencement address. this as the times says in a sathing statement, the publisher arthur sulz berger says i heard repeatedly from newsroom colleagues about a series of

issues including arbitrary decision making, failure to consult and bring colleagues with her, irn adequate communication and the public mistreatment of colleagues, end quote. her critics say abrahamson was given the ax after she confronted top brass after finding out her male predecessor making more money. there you can see her going to the stage at wake forest. her daughter posted this photo to instagram, it showed abrahamson looking tough wearing boxing cloves, mom's bad ass new hobby. let's bring in alexandra field and brian stetler. >> abrahamson was set to receive an on air degree from brand ice university. she skipped that. i don't think most people expected her to give up this commencement speech. it's an opportunity to share your point of view uninterrupted. this is a woman who clearly has

something to say. i do think she'll discuss in explicit detail her departure from "the new york times"? i doubt it. the job of a commencement speak is to empower the graduates. i think she'll hit on the ideal optimism as well as by showing the graduates, a peek at the realities she confronted on her way to the top. >> i'm looking at the live pictures. those are their professor making their way to the stage. abrahamson is probably already on the stage. then they'll give out those on air degrees. brian, i would be stunned if abrahamson said anything overt because i think she'll sue. do you? >> i kd ken ol letta that, he first wrote about this issue of unequal pay between abrahamson and her predecessor. the new york sims said their pay packages are basically equal.

he said it's possible she could sue and abram done talked about the possibility. i think she'll make a couple of clever remarks about this. it's fun to be working at this commencement address. these students had no idea they'd be on national televisiotelevisiol. >> we're looking at jill abrahamson now making her way to the stage along with those professors. alex, young women who are graduating today. what will be the takeaway for them, do you think? >> this is going to be a really interesting speech for them. jill abrahamson was celebrated because she rose to the top of her field, the first executive editor of "the new york times." that's a really big deal. when we're looking at that level of journalism, it's a level dominated by men. the graduates out there, they might be thinking more about the ground level of the field. i think when they listen to

abrahamson, they'll be considering some realities which is as they enter the field of journalism they may very well confront disparities themselves. the pew research center points out men in journalism are still outearning their female counterpart. 2012 data shows that women are earning about 83% of what male journalists are earning. that's the reality. jill abrahamson is someone for them to look at. she had tremendous success in this field. whatever the reasons that surrounded her departure, i think the young women will want to focus on some of the successes she did have on her way to the top. >> i would only say brian, i think there is widespread interest, not just in the field of journalism, by objective standards, abrahamson did a great job, the paper won a pulitzer, sign up for digital access increased. the company's stock doubd. she was fired for being mercurial. i think more than one working woman in any field can relate to this. >> she was one of the most

powerful women in media. because the media is so influential, one of the most powerful women in the country. the editor in chief sets the agenda for the times. she held a very important, very powerful job. she did have a number of weaknesses as well as strengths. we all do. in her case it was her weaknesses that were eventually her downfall at the times. it's not the end of her. i imagine there are many, many offers or interests from other employers that she's already field sglg brian stelter, alexandra field. checking other stories, the department of justice filed criminal charges against five chinese military officials accused of cyber spying on u.s. companies. it is the first time the united states has filed such charges. the officials are accused of stealing trade secrets from a number of those u.s. companies. at&t set to acquire the naths's largest satellite tv provider, directv for nearly $50

billion. if approved, it would be the country's number one television provider behind comcast. at&t ceo says the merger would create new ways to deliver content through mobile deaf vitss, laptops and even cars. lts this morning we're learning about the first american to contract the mers virus without visiting saudi arab arabia. an illinois man got it after having a meeting with another man from indiana who got sick just days later. so far three people have tested positive for the middle eastern respiratory syndrome or mers. opening bell on wall street, executives from the investment firm merck ringing the bell this morning. stock futures pointing slightly lower with investors being cautious after last week's market highs. i'm back in a minute. [ laughter ]

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being investigated. also this morning we're able to cast some more light on this shadowy terror group. cnn's are wah damon spoke with two boka haram members. >> reporter: we meet in a safe house. speaking to us could cost them their lives, already at risk. >> this is the only way we will have future. >> mohammed and osama, not these two men's real names, are government informants on the fear of boka haram. they have seen the group spread and lure in their friends. >> after convincing you, they take you, once you move to their training camp, that is the end. you won't come back again. >> reporter: recruiting from among the poor who tend to make up their rank and file fighters and drawing in the educated, trained in explosives.

the two informants we met describe their links to boka haram as being to mid level fighters. they're not from the same state where more than 200 school girls were kidnapped. that is here, borno state. this its capital where boka haram's radical ideology was born. unchecked by the government, the group grew more violent and ruthless, kidnappings becoming common. >> take them to the bush and they force you to join. >> reporter: the informants heard of shadowy links to al qaeda, trained in sudan and somalia. they claim to know exactly where the camps are in their area. but for the most part they say, the government has failed to act. similar to the accusations that nigerian forces were warned in advance about the chibok attack. >> they will use them, they will use them to negotiate with the

government about those of their members that have been detained by the government or to use them as human shields. >> reporter: they've seen their friends slaughtered. they know the group will show no mercy. arwa damon, cnn, nigeria. >> hollywood stars and others continue to stri to raise awareness on those kidnappings in nigeria. sylvester stallone, harrison ford, wesley snipes walked the red carpet with their signs bring back our girls. they're in cannes promoting expendables 3. here at cnn we're not giving up on those girls either. we'll bring you the latest. if you would like to help girls worldwide try to overcome barriers to education, go to our website, the address is cnn.com/impact. i'll be back. captain: this is a tip. bellman: thanks, captain obvious.

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hillary clinton is all the talk and that could be a very, very bad thing. two influential democrats now worry clinton is shooting herself in the foot by putting herself out there so early if she plans to run for president. >> i do worry about the inevitability thing, because i think it's offputting the the average voter. i think that was an element of her campaign the last time. >> this is hard for me because i did talk with her and thought it would be better that she not get out there early because her favorability was so high, that all that could happen in this is go down because somebody would do the stupid things that karl

rove has just done. >> all right. feinstein is referring to republican strategist karl rove who put hillary clinton's melth the spotlight by hinting clinton may have suffered brain damage after a 2012 fall. all of this and hillary clinton hasn't even officially thrown her hat in the ring. joining me sally stone and patricia murphy. good morning to both of you. >> good morning, carol. >> good morning. >> sally, mrs. clinton was supposed to take it easy for a year. here she is giving speeches, bill is standing up for her. will this hurt her chances in 2016 if she decides to run? >> nobody knows, right? hillary clinton right now, if she does end up running, all the polls show she has a higher lead than any non-incumbent candidate this early out ever, since polls have been done. so we don't know if it's going to hurt. there's two things we do know. one, that folks like deval

patrick who are thinking of running if hillary doesn't get in, this sure is inconvenient for him, right? he'd like to know, he'd like to know so he can start putting his name out and campaigning. everybody is holding back. that's number one. number two, what we also don't know is should hillary decide not to run and say deval patrick and others get into the race, she could have ultimately helped them by taking so much of the heat this far out that then this -- we have these sort of incredibly long campaign seasons that can become incredibly ugly and she might help to shorten that for other folks if she choose z not to run. >> patricia, remember how tired we were in 2012. people aren't even interested in the end. come on. >> well, i mean is it ever too early to talk about the next presidential race? listen, i think the real danger for hillary clinton being out there is that the media doesn't like to have an anointed

front-runner. in fact, the further ahead somebody is, the bigger the bullseye on their back. that goes for republicans and hillary clinton as well. i think the feeling of inevitability, i don't think that turns off voters at all because there is still a lot of question about her candidacy. there's also an element of history making. >> she's going to run. everybody says will she, won't she. come on. she's going to run. >> we don't know and she hasn't said. what else is she supposed to do right now? i think we all know it's not in hillary clinton's dna to sit at home and watch soap operas all day. i don't know what else she's supposed to do. if she weren't on the stage and weren't giving speeches and weren't talking about policy, everybody would be talking about her any way. if she was not coming out in public, they'd say where is she? what's wrong with her? she definitely has brain damage. i don't know what she's supposed to be doing except going about her business.

>> sally, her approval rating haves gone down, although they're 64% approved which is good. but it's still slipped a little. it's not like republicans are going to back down. they doubled down on karl rove's intimation that hillary clinton could have brain damage. listen. >> a concussion is by definition a traumatic brain injury. >> any presidential candidate or vice presidential candidate is going to have to answer questions about their health. >> health and age is fair game. fair game for ronald reagan, fair game for john mccain. >> republicans are going to continue to harp on this and it could be effective, couldn't it, sally? >> that sweat you see on all their brows is desperation pouring out of them. i love you, karl. but when you're trying to connect what was a really offensive suggestion -- brain damage is a permanent condition,

it's not the same as a temporary concussion. when you're trying to make that connection in order to damage -- you're sort of relying on speculation to try and damage a candidate, well, not only is that sad and pathetic, it's basically the entire republican playing card trying to hurt hillary clinton. that's why they're going into benghazi, for two reasons. it's pure speculation at this point. they have the serious answers. they've resolved everything they can. they're trying to catch her with "what ifs." also, the longer they can focus on things like benghazi and trying to attack hillary clinton, the longer republicans can distract from the fact that they don't want to solve real problems in this country. they're happy to have her as a distraction. >> patricia, i will say that i think it's totally reasonable to bring up hillary clinton's age and her health. we do it with every other possible presidential candidate, so why not her?

i'm not into brain damage thing. that's kind of silly. other than that, i think it's reasonable to bring up the health of a potential presidential candidate. >> i think it's totally reasonable to bring up the age, totally reasonable to bring up the health. i do want to say i think the wild speculation is what's so offensive to people. i also think karl rove is not doing republicans any favors by making wild accusations that have nothing to do with reality. everybody knows, of course, is somebody healthy? how healthy are they? who is their number two joust in case. that conversation happens every four years. there's nothing wrong with it. the way the republicans are going about it and being by saying i'm not talking about age, i'm just talking about brain damage. i think it's ridiculous. it turns people off and tells them karl rove is not part of a serious effort or serious party and they don't have serious candidates to put up against hillary clinton. there's not much else they can do. i think for the good of the republican party, karl rove should do less wild speculation.

>> sally cohen, patricia murphy, thank you. still to come in the "newsroom," "snl" has a little fun with the leaked security video where jay z and his sister in long sol lang getting into the fight on the elevator. i'm j-a-n-e and i have copd. i'm d-a-v-e and i have copd. i'm k-a-t-e and i have copd, but i don't want my breathing problems to get in the way

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jay-z, beyonce and solange may have moved on but not before

"snl" took a stab at what happened that night. >> we got an exclusive video. this time with audio included. >> it tells a completely different story. >> what a great party. >> i know. >> there's a spider on you. >> get it. >> it keeps moving. >> kick it. >> great job. i love you, solange. >> i love you, too. >> thanks again for that help with that spider. >> no problem. let's go back to the party. >> that would be fun. >> i loved it when she said foot five. there's something else on the beyonce scene i have to tell you. the real beyonce and jay-z released a trailer for their upcoming on the run tour.

♪ >> it's cool, right? except it's not really a movie and it's not really real. we go live to los angeles. i want to start with the spider thing first. i thought that was really funny. >> they must have been listening to us on friday, right? you said i need to know what happened here. they said just for careful we'll let her know that it was actually a spider on jay-z's jacket that solange was trying to get off. who would have ever thought that? that was the only thing that happened there. she was trying to be helpful, carol. that's it. >> i loved it. it was funny. you have to go online and watch. >> she does a great beyonce. great to see her come back and reprise her role for the special engagement. >> let's talk about this strange movie trailer thing.

it's really not for a movie. it's for a tour. it's fake. what's up with that? >> well, it's good. movie but not the movie. the tour that is the tour and is going to happen this summer and this is the best promotional hype tool that you could have. it's working. of course we are talking about it. we're showing it right now. they put together this short film, beyonce and jay-z, to promo for their upcoming summer tour called on the run. if you blink, you'll miss all of the celebrities in this. it's 3:45 long. it's got so many hollywood celebrities in this. i'll run down a couple for you. sean penn is in it. blake lively. they all make appearances. diaz from "scandal." now, i'm going to take you back

a little bit. this is kind of the remake or sequel to the 2003 remake that they did of "bonnie and clyde." that's where beyonce and jay-z met each other on that song. it's where they started dating and making of that video. now here we go. we've got 11 years later. they are making part two of "bonnie and clyde" with this skit. it's kind of cool and paying hammaham a homage to where they came from and where they are as a couple. >> it's romantic to me of people shooting at each other. >> beyonce stripped down in the hotel room. >> nischelle turner, thank you so much. we're back in a minute. [ male announcer ] celebrate every win with nicoderm cq, the unique patch with time release smartcontrol technology that helps prevent the urge to smoke all day long. help prevent your cravings with nicoderm cq.

looking at our top stories at 58 minutes past. former executive editor jill abramson just wrapped up her commencement address from wake forest university and she jokingly referred to her firing "the new york times" many times. we'll get into specifics in the next hour of "newsroom." the department of justice fired criminal charges against five chinese military officials accused of cyberspying. the officials are accused of stealing trade secrets from a number of u.s. companies. eric holder will talk about the charges live at the top of the hour. kraft is recalling 1.2 million cases of cottage cheese that could spoil prematurely and cause you to get sick. the recall is precautionary after discovering ingredients used in three dozen cottage cheese products were not properly stored. the next hour of "cnn newsroom" begins now.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. we begin actually with two separate stories on computer hacking. a sobering reminder that any of us can be a victim at any time. take for example the case of cassidy wolf, ms. teen usa. a hacker took control of her computer and snapped photos of her in the nude in the privacy of her own bedroom. more than 100 people are now under arrest for allegedly using that same malware to hijack personal computers without the person's knowledge around the world. we'll have more on the fbi's global crackdown on that in just a minute. first, attorney general eric holder is about to hold a news conference and he's expected to announce a milestone in cyberspying. the u.s. files its first ever charges against officials in chinese government for hacking

into american companies. five military officers in china are accused of hacking into those companies to steal trade secrets. the targets included american trade unions and steel companies. the u.s. believes china's cyberspying is widespread and worrisome. cnn's jim sciutto dealt with this issue during his years in beijing. tell us more about this cyberhacking, jim. >> this is a huge deal. first thing to start with, it's a major problem for american companies. estimated that they lose $100 billion a year from hacking, stolen trade secrets, et cetera, that cost half a million jobs a year. this is a real problem. it's not a small one. the second thing is that it's not misbehavior by chinese companies. it's a view of the u.s. government that this is chinese government policy. this happens with the express approval and direction of the most senior leaders in china and

what you have here today is proof in effect so say american prosecutors that that's the case. they're going after five members of the people's liberation army in this building in shanghai secretive building exposed last year where investigators have traced a good portion of these cyberattacks. in effect from the view of the department of justice, this is the smoking gun they hoped to get out there to say this goes right to the chinese government, right to the highest levels of government and it reaches average americans. in lost money for u.s. businesses and lost jobs. >> the people the u.s. government is charging are in china so, i mean, how can they really punish them? >> well, that's a good question. this is less about putting these guys in jail and showing evidence that this goes right to the beijing government and in effect publicly calling the chinese government out for this. the first time the president did

this was last year. he met with the chinese president in the sunny lands summit, they met there. not official visit. relaxed. this is when the u.s. government was going to hit china hard on this hacking and call them out for it. bad timing because the very same week edward snowden releases his revelations about nsa spying and that undermine the u.s. government. u.s. government officials will say the nsa does this for national security and not for corporate secrets and there's evidence of that. but of course the timing undermine the u.s. argument. a year later you have another hit back from the usa saying we know you're doing this. we'll go public with it. we won't let this happen to u.s. businesses. that's really the intention. we'll see if it makes a difference. >> stay right there. eric holder has not yet began speaking, when he begins speaking we'll take those comments for our viewers live and i want you on the other side to help us understand. thanks so much.

another major hacking case you saw here first on cnn. the fbi swooped in and arrested more than 100 people in a worldwide sting. they're accused of hijacking victims' home computers and then using those home computers to snap pictures of them. you may remember the story of cassidy wolf, ms. teen usa. a hacker got control of her webcam in her bedroom and snapped nude photos of her. she had absolutely no idea. and then these hackers threatened to put these photos online. >> i don't know how i was hacked exactly. a malware was attached on my computer and was tracing what i was doing on my computer and watching my every move through a my webcam and of course this is obviously going to change the way i use my computer for the rest of my life. >> everybody else too, right. cnn justice reporter evan perez is following this developing

story. who's responsible for this? >> the fbi and police in 17 countries say that there's basically a cybercrime ring that's been responsible for this software called black shades. a software that was used to hack into cassidy wolf's computer and they've been working on this case for a couple years. as you said, they've done over 100 arrests and they've done hundreds of interviews and searches in the last few days in europe, in canada, and in the u.s. and we expect to hear more about this later this morning. >> where did they get this device that they can install on a person's home computer? is it easy to get? >> yeah. it's really easy to get. you can go on a website and download it and buy it for 40 or 50 bucks. this has been a huge problem. it's a booming business because basically it's off the shelf software like the software you buy to do your taxes. same thing. you basically just have employees who can help you figure it out if you have any problems.

we're told by law enforcement this is really easy to use and not very sophisticated and once it is in your computer, it can keep track of passwords and get passwords for your bank accounts and used for everything from bank fraud to extortion, carol. >> hopefully they'll figure out a way to remove it from the internet so people can't buy it any longer. that would be a good thing, right? >> yeah. absolutely. >> evan perez, thanks so much. i know you'll have more information for us later. there's a scary new development as a deadly respiratory virus sickens another person in the united states already worldwide close to 600 cases of mers have been reported. this virus has killed 171 people. now for the first time in the united states, a man got middle eastern respiratory syndrome from casual contact here in this country. he did not travel to the middle east. an illinois man tested positive

following business meetings with a man from indiana. that indiana man got sick just days later. dr. william schaffner is past president of the national foundation for infectious diseases and joins us for insight this morning. glad to have you back. i know you said we should not be freaked out by this but this latest case involved a handshake and one man shook hands with someone who had mers and contracted this disease. that's scary. >> i hope it's not too scary because sustained so-called casual or community transmission is not a feature of this virus yet. yes, there was a handshake but there were also two 45-minute meetings in which this person was within six feet of the other person. it probably was respiratory spread. the mers patient breathed out the virus and the other person breathed it in. this is still not happening

commonly either in the middle east or here and so far public health is tracking this very, very carefully. it's contained. it's not spreading like influenza. >> the other curious thing is one man got really sick and the other man, he just felt mildly uncomfortable. so why do some people get full-blown mers and others suffer mild symptoms? >> infectious diseases have done that. perhaps the milder person got a lower dose. also, perhaps the more sick person had underlying illnesses, diabetes, underlying heart disease or lung disease. certainly in the middle east, people with those underlying illnesses and if you are older, those are the people who get the more severe illnesses. >> so here's the thing i find most scary. sometimes the symptoms are so mild many people don't even know they have mers. that's problematic, isn't it? >> it is problematic in that

sense but we don't see that happening very frequently yet. that's why the studies are being done. so we all need to stay tuned as the cdc does its good work and let's us know what the issues are. so far, it is not spreading widely or wildly. >> i feel better now. you have a great bedside manner. thank you very much. >> glad to help, carol. >> thank you. still to come in the "newsroom," what do the words death trap, "titanic" and a have in common? why the auto giant is sending out strange new guidance. and within budget.timeln angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town.

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checking top stories for you at 12 minutes past the firefighters in san diego may finally be getting the upper hand on a rash of deadly wildfires that swallowed up dozens of homes and businesses. some 26,000 acres have burned. and in the wake of all their hard work, a picture of an exhausted firefighter is taking a much needed break has now gone viral. tim took this selfie in san marcos, california, this weekend to let his wife know he was okay when one of his friends posted it on facebook it had thousands of likes in just a few hours. >> it touched us so we just passed it on. they were just really grateful, the word that everybody is thinking is thank you, thank you, thank you. you can't really say thank you enough. >> that is a true story.

the firefighters have been battling the cocos wildfire since last wednesday. it's now about 85% contained. south korea's president is dismal dismantling the nation's coast guard in wake of the ferry disaster. park took responsibility for the pain and suffering but slammed the coast guard for its role in the disaster saying it failed to carry out its duty in the rescue operations. it may be where dreams come true but only if you have the cash. california's disneyland, aka the happiest place on earth, raised ticket prices. 10 years old and up, $96 for a one day pass up from 92 bucks. parking also climbed a buck to $17. the price of a ticket four years ago, $72. and when the theme park opened in the summer of 1955, make a

guess. it cost -- it's on the screen. it cost a buck to get in. amazing. we all know gm has problems. the federal government just slapped a record $35 million fine on the automaker for delays in reporting flaws in ignition switches. this morning more bad pr for the company. we uncovered a naughty word list distributed to gm employees. among words discouraged in an internal memo, death trap, widow maker and phrases like this is a lawsuit waiting to happen and unbelievable engineering screw ups. use phrases like windshield wipers did not work properly. let's talk about with christine romans. seriously? >> seriously.

this is from 2008. this predates those problems that have gotten gm in so much trouble this year resulting in millions of recalls. national transportation officials have said, gm, come on. they looked at this set of memos and said this is not cool. the point here that gm was trying to make is they wanted employees not to be judgmental when writing about a potential problem with vehicles and state clearly what the problem was so they could fix it and not say things like behindhindenburg. a new era and new gm and this language is not tolerated and position not tolerated and employees are encouraged to discuss safety issues. that's what gm says now. national transportation officials saying this memo from 2008 shows gm had a culture of not allowing a free discussion with their cars. >> you prohibit employees from using certain language, it's

hard to communicate exactly what you want at times. >> at the time what those gm lawyers were saying is if you say powder keg, that's not saying what the problem is. that's not saying a brake issue. that's a judgmental kind of thing. gm employees are encouraged to drive gm cars when they are in the process of being developed and when they will be marketed. you have a lot of gm employees driving cars. this is a company in a presentation trying to tell them how to describe your relationship with the car. it comes off very, very badly. comes off very badly. >> if i filed a civil lawsuit, i would use that. 13 people died because gm ignored these problems with ignition switches. how much money will gm have to dole out in the end? >> 35 million is this fine they agreed to last week. it won't end there. there will be other fines no question. and remember there was a criminal fine for toyota and its recall problem was $1.2 billion. that was a big criminal fine

that came through. the problems for gm happened before it filed for bankruptcy. it emerged from bankruptcy as a new company. all of the parts of gm that can be sued are pre-bankruptcy. that's a problem here. they have hired the one who did the bp oil settlement and that. they may decide to pay out compensation on their own. it would probably be the best pr move rather than shield itself by this bankruptcy filing and say we don't own it. >> christine romans, thank you so much. still to come in the "newsroom," amid a scandal for the nation's va hospital, a new headache for the white house with the 2007 campaign pledge made by then senator obama. we'll talk next.

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right to washington and the justice department where eric holder is talking about u.s. officials filing charges against chinese military members for hacking into u.s. companies' computers and stealing it trade jets. let's listen. >> united states steel, united steel workers union and solar world. this is a case alleging economic espionage by members of the chinese military. the range of trade secrets and other sensitive business information stolen in this case is significant and demands an aggressive response. the indictment alleges that these officers maintained unauthorized access to victim computers to steal information from these entities that would be useful to their competitors in china including state owned enterprises. in some cases, they stole trade secrets that would have been

particularly beneficial to chinese companies at the time that they were stolen. in others, they stole sensitive internal communications that would provide a competitor or adversary in litigation with insight into the strategy and vulnerabilities of the american entity. in some, the alleged hacking appears to have been conducted for no other reason than to advantage state owned companies and other interests in china at the expense of business here is in the united states. this is a tactic that the united states government denounces. as president obama said on numerous occasions, we do not collect intelligence to provide a competitive advantage to united states companies or to the united states commercial sector. our economic security and our ability to compete fairly in the global marketplace are directly linked to our national security. the success of american companies since our nation's founding has been the result of

hard work and of fair play by our citizens. this is how it ought to be across the globe. success in the international marketplace should be based solely on a company's ability to innovate and compete. not on a sponsor's government's ability to spy and steal business secrets. >> let's jump away from this press conference and check in with jim sciutto to parse this out outside. the united states is filing charges against these chinese military men for stealing trade secrets but what can they really do besides file charges? >> good question. one, publicly shaming does make a difference. the chinese government doesn't like it and responds to it when it is out there particularly in such detail. you have five individuals. they are with the peoples liberation army and senior officers in china's army and you have the specific six companies. when you look at the companies that he named.

let me just draw your attention to one. westinghouse. this company does a lot of business in china with nuclear power plants aggressively selling one of the more advanced designs there and that's one of the things hackers were going after. it shows you sensitivity of the technology that these companies steal that have business applications and it will disadvantage u.s. companies doing business in china and elsewhere but has security implications. a nuclear power plant. we know from past experience that hackers in china don't just go after things that are of use in business and trade, they also go after national security secrets. and this has really been a big priority for the obama administration to get this out there. as i said when we spoke earlier, carol, when they first tried to do this a year ago when president obama met the chinese president in california last spring, their argument was undermine because edward snowden revealed about nsa hacking and

that made it difficult to make this point. now they're coming back hard here. >> have companies made any moves to prevent china from cyberspying? >> they have. investing a lot in anti-cyberteanti-cybe anti-cyber technology. the guys are good. they have blessing in effect of the chinese government. one problem that has happened with this is that in the past u.s. companies even as chinese hackers have been stealing from them have been reluctant to publicize it and to go public with it. one, they don't want it known that some of their most valuable technologies have been stolen and if they go public they'll be blocked from the chinese market. this kind of thing happens there. it's not an open market. companies are very sensitive to that. some of them frankly write it off. it's a risk of doing business in china. they also try to protect themselves in many cases, carol,

by not bringing their best game to china. they won't bring their most advanced technology. they might bring their b technology. the trouble is these hackers come all of the way to the u.s. they are accessing computers here of many of these companies so you can't protect it. a case a couple years ago where chinese hackers accessed the servers of the u.s. chamber of commerce. that represents hundreds of companies and gets sensitive information. it's a real problem. cost a lot of money. you see the administration trying to make a difference. >> jim sciutto reporting live for us this morning. thank you. the retired veterans affairs doctor turned whistle-blower sticking by his claims that 40 people died while waiting months for care. despite an internal review of the department that cast doubt on that number. as the controversy swirls wound the white house and its handling of the problem, we're reminded of this 2007 campaign pledge

from then senator obama. >> when we fail to keep faith with our veterans, the bond between our nation and our nation's heroes becomes frayed. when a veteran is denied care, we're all dishonored. >> cnn senior investigative reporter drew griffin has been tracking this story and joins us live now for more. mr. obama pledged that his administration would be different but look at what happened. >> it's very interesting to see how this is getting all of the attention. we've been reporting this for six months. i want to point out the va's inspector general reports have been out for years now detailing this problem with wait lists and denied care which is why then senator obama made that pledge to the vfw back in 2007 that he would end these delays for care. and deborah draper, newest

reporting is that va's own wait list data is unreliable. that's not new either. the government accountability office and the person in charge of that, deborah draper, has been reporting on these problems with the reliability of the data for a decade at the va. which makes this sound we heard over the weekend about the president being mad just seem rather hallow. look at what his chief of staff said on sunday. >> the president is madder than hell and i've got the scars to prove it given briefings i have given the president and the conversations that he and rick and i have had on these matters. at the same time we look at accountability, we want to provide our veterans the services they have earned. >> if the president is truly mad as hell, he should be mad at himself and his staff for not only ignoring our reporting but the government's own reporting that shows this was a problem and in fact ignoring his own

campaign promise of seven years ago. >> drew griffin reporting live from washington. thanks so much. still to come in the "newsroom," jill abramson speaking out publicly for the first time since getting fired from "the new york times." she had some things to say at commencement speech this morning. >> reporter: good morning. a couple of personal antidotes and also she talks a little bit about her plans for what could be next. we'll talk more about it coming up. the day we rescued riley was a truly amazing day. he was a matted mess in a small cage. so that was our first task, was getting him to wellness. without angie's list, i don't know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley.

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moments ago the fired executive editor of "the new york times" broke her silence during a commencement address at wake forest university. it was her first public appearance since her controversial departure and abramson gave some advice to

graduates. >> talking to anyone who has been dumped, you bet not gotten the job you really wanted or received those horrible rejection letters from grad school, you know the sting of losing or not getting something you badly want. when that happens, show what you are made of. >> show what you are made of she said. abramson's dismissal from the "times" leads many to leave she was ousted for sexism. >> reporter: no details in this speech about why she was fired from "the new york times." we didn't hear her mount any kind of defense. she did acknowledge the situation right off the bat. one of the first things she did is the media circle that descended on wake forest university must have something to do with celebrating their accomplishments. themes of the speech included

resilience. you heard her talk about how to move forward following the sting of rejection. something she is now familiar with. she also at one point called the "times" an torn and irreplaceable institution. telling graduates it was honor of her life to lead there and why it would be a part of her. here's what she said. >> a couple of students who i was talking to last night after i arrived, they know that i have some tattoos. one of them asked me are you going to get that "times" t that you have tattooed on your back removed. not a chance. [ applause ] >> reporter: several times in that speech she did talk about being fired from the "times" at one point saying she says losing a job you love hurts. we didn't hear anymore of her side about why she was dismissed. >> i think that what she said

was really valuable to students and something that they really need to hear because we're going to fail at some point in our lives and can see this woman bouncing back. did she give any clues as to what her next step would be? >> reporter: she talked about being passionate about the work she had done and love of journalism and the work she would continue but what is next for jill abramson has an opportunity to insert a joke there. >> what's next for me? i don't know. so i'm in exactly the same boat as many of you. [ applause ] like you, i am a little scared but also excited. >> abramson said she would be stopping by the career counselors office before she left campus. adding a bit of light to what has been a dark week for her. >> it certainly has.

thanks so much. still to come in the "newsroom," a creepy performance of the billboard music awards. michael jackson makes his debut as a hologram. >> reporter: we all remember when michael jackson moonwalked into our living room but do you remember where he was when he hologramed into it? we'll dissect that coming up. i don't just make things for a living i take pride in them. so when my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis was also on display, i'd had it. i finally had a serious talk with my dermatologist. this time, he prescribed humira-adalimumab. humira helps to clear the surface of my skin by actually working inside my body.

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at last night's billboard

music awards, michael jackson made a creepy return to the stage as a hologram. ♪ >> creepy right? the reaction on social media ranged from joy to disappointment. nischelle turner live in los angeles. i don't know how i feel about this actually. >> i think this is going to be the dayside version of "cross fir "crossfire." i didn't think it was creepy but more fascinating. i was in a trance watching it. i do think that i have seen

better holograms done. i will give you this. the moves were eerie. he was performing his new hit "slave to the rhythm" off "escape" which debuted at number one in 50 countries last week. i saw a couple interviews with his brothers on the red carpet before the billboard music awards. they hadn't even seen the hologram. they were watching it for the first time there on the stage. it brought tears to the eyes of quite a few fans in the audience. you mentioned social media. reaction was definitely mixed there. i was monitoring last night. some people were expressing shock. they thought it looked very lifelike. others said they thought it was distasteful and disrespectful. this performance was the result of nearly six months of planning and filming but it almost didn't happen because just friday a judge dismissed a case brought

by the hologram company to stop this performance because they claim that billboard didn't have the permission to use this technology. it almost didn't happen. >> i just think that -- i know the family approved of this, right? michael jackson didn't have a say in this because he's no longer with us. it just seems wrong to me in a sense. >> i hear what you're saying. i understand where you're thinking especially when people are are hardcore fans of michael. i can understand how they would think it was very, very jarring. i'm a big fan of his. i didn't quite feel that way. you know, this isn't the first time that a performer has been kind of technologically raised from the dead. in 2012, there was a hologram version of the rapper that performed at the music festival. i thought that one was jarring maybe because it was the first time i had seen it. they also used it back in 2007

on "american idol" when they brought elvis out to sing. >> i did grow up with michael jackson. i went to one of his concerts on the bad tour and he was as terrific performer. >> me too. >> it was great. maybe i should be more generous and say at least people got a taste of what it might have been like to see michael jackson in concert. still, gives me goose bumps. >> the idea is jarring. it's jarring. you kind of want to let people rest in peace. i do get that. >> at least he wasn't selling chocolate. you know, like -- there's an audrau aubrey hepburn thing out where she's selling chocolate. all right. nischelle turner, thanks so much. still to come in the "newsroom," a megamerger takes shape and

christine romans will have more on what it could mean to you. >> good morning. watching your favorite shows now a very big merger. at&t, directv, what will it mean for your pocketbook? that after the break. (mother vo) when i was pregnant... i got more advice than i knew what to do with. what i needed was information i could trust on how to take care of me and my baby. luckily, unitedhealthcare has a simple program that helps moms stay on track with their doctors and get the right care and guidance-before and after the baby is born. simple is good right now. (anncr vo) innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

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logon, tune in and pay up. at&t wants to buy directv and promises are almost as big as the $48 billion price tag.

the new mega giant could take tv and wireless to the next level. that means you could soon watch the same things in your car as in your living room, which would be really, really safe, right? right away at&t says the new giant would give consumers one stop shopping for phone, tv and internet service and we could bundle services from a single provider. consumer advocates say less competition will drive up prices for all of those things we now see as essential. chief business correspondent christine romans is here to break it down for us. good morning, christine. >> what the deal means immediately for directv users is no change. that's what at&t is promising. no change for directv users for three years. same price packaging. same everything for three years. what their pitch is here for at&t users is more easily packaged bundles for tv and internet. it means fewer players in the markets where at&t and directv offer tv. the big question is do fewer choices mean higher prices?

that's something senatorial fra al franken is worried about. >> there's a proper role for department of justice to look at this as an antitrust matter and for fcc to look at this is it in the public interest? i say it isn't in the public interest. this is a violation of antitrust. >> he was on "new day" with us this morning. at&t trying to get regulators on its side promising to expand broadband to 15 million homes and buildings mostly in rural areas, a priority of the obama administration. prices have only been going up in this space for years. rates for premium tv are going up 6% a year. that's way more than general inflation. and there's really no promises here that they won't continue to rise. but could consolidation help? so one argument is bigger at&t would have power to negotiate better rates from content providers. doesn't mean consumers get that savings. consolidation is what's happening in this space. look at the different deals

we've had. comcast/time warner. rumors and talk about sprint wanting t-mobile and rapid consolidation here. i think that's definitely the path of least resistance for these companies. regulators have to approve this. that's a long road ahead. >> all right, christine romans. many thanks. moments ago a milestone legal case details were released. five chinese military officers have been indicted. it's believed to be a widespread problem. it's the first time the u.s. has filed charges against officials in china's government. american labor unions were also targeted by these chinese hackers. greens, fried ochra and

stereotypes about the area and tried unique foods you can only find in the delta. he talked with anderson cooper about his journey. >> it's a beautiful place. i like going to a place where it has nothing to hear from or learn from yankees. >> how was the food? >> it was awesome. it's great. not as awesome as new york. >> everything is covered in sugar and fried. >> that's not true also. where did the food that we call southern down home old school southern cooking, where did that come from? who created that food? what we call southern food now on tv, is it the real thing or is it a mutation? the traditional southern cooking? in its purest and earliest form and over time was a very different and often healthier

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checking top stories at 56 minutes, the terror group behind the kidnapping of more than 200 nigerian school girls is making a new threat targeting an all boys secondary school in the same state where those girls were abducted more than a month ago. nigerian police are ordered to tighten security boarding schools in the region. two bomb threats were called in so a girl's parents wouldn't find out she wasn't graduating. >> they said there was some kind of a bomb scare or a bomb threat and they moved it up here and so it was another delay, delay and everything worked out fine and we're just thankful that nobody was hurt and everybody understood. >> police say they were able to trace the calls back to the

woman's cell phone. the chrome quest for horse racing is back on after a decision by new york racing officials. the 3 year old will be allowed to wear the nasal strips that he has worn during a six-race win streak. if chrome wins next month's belmont stakes, he'll be the first horse to take the triple crown since 1978. good morning, brian. >> good morning. it's incredible. i didn't think they would allow him to wear nasal strips. two years ago i'll have another was on the brink of a triple crown and they asked if they could wear nasal strips and they said no. in the end it didn't matter because the horse had to pull out because of an injured leg. that's pretty interesting. this horse california chrome has become such a household name to the point where i'm a racing

connoisseur and the owner believed in the horse from the beginning before it was even born. >> i saw him when he was a day old. i saw him in a dream three weeks prior to that and he was exactly like my dream. i told my wife, i said, this horse is going to do big things. i don't know what but he's going to do big things. he's proven us right so far. we believe in our horse and in our trainer. he is proving to america right now that he's america's horse. >> a big name. such a huge name. california chrome will be the first cally bred horse to win the derby. on the precipice of winning the triple crown. very impressed with this horse. little guy. >> i'm impressed with the horse and the owners because they're so down to earth and the horse just cost 10,000 bucks and not millions of dollars like normal.

amazing. >> if you think about it, the owner looks like an owner of a horse. >> he does. thanks so much. thank you for joining me today. i'm carol costello. "@ this hour" with berman and michaela starts now. fbi agents kicking down some digital doors this hour busting dozens of alleged cybercriminals accused of invading your home through your computer and using it to steal from you and spy on you. it's not just phoenix. another va hospital is accused of keeping secret wait lists. a whistle blowing doctor says veterans waited months for care. the outrage growing. the virtual king of pop stunned at the billboard awards but five years after his death, did the hologram of michael jackson honor the legend or was it just unsettling?