ribbon just a few hours ago. be sure and watch, or set your dvr, for the premiere of the '60s, this thursday night 9:00 eastern and pacific on cnn. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'll be back 2:45 eastern for a special coverage of president obama's announcement of u.s. troop levels in afghanistan. newsroom with brooke baldwin newsroom with brooke baldwin starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com shall 45 minutes from now, president barack obama is expected to lay out his vision for u.s. military forces in afghanistan. and we will be hearing a number that a lot of people have actually been waiting to hear. the number is 9,800. that is the number of troops who stay in afghanistan, by the end of the year, which means more than 22,000 americans will be coming home. under the president's plan, just two years later, by the next

presidential election, the only american soldiers in afghanistan could be a pretty modest force protecting the embassy and capital of kabul. jim acosta joins me now. jim, we've heard a lot of numbers, in the recent two years. when i hear 9,800, that is new. >> reporter: that is absolutely new, brooke. when you consider that the president is going to be at west point tomorrow talking about his foreign policy for the next two and a half years of his administration, he was at west point a few years ago, laying out the surge in afghanistan, taking the force level up to 100,000 troops, and more. and so to hear the president come out today, as he will in the rose garden in about 45 minutes, and say that the u.s. combat mission is coming to an end at the end of 2014, we've basically heard that before from this president, but that he also is going to lay out the residual force level that's going to be in place from 2014 and on. and that is basically 9,800 u.s. armed forces, personnel, next year, about half of that in

2015. and then by the end of 2016, brooke, it will be down to just embassy security. and so he is bringing this war to a full stop before the end of his presidency. you know, essentially to make sure that a successor could not come in and perhaps ratchet things back up again. that's why you're hearing folks like lindsay graham saying the president is not ending wars, he's losing wars. but the -- there has been, i guess some divide on the republican side, house speaker john boehner put out a statement earlier today he welcomes the president's decision because he feels it's in line with what military commanders have requested. the military commanders have said they need at least 10,000 troops to keep a lid in al qaeda and help train these afghan security forces. all this, brooke, is contingent on the new afghan president, hamid karzai saying he's got a bilateral security agreement. but the two men who were vying to become the next president of afghanistan have said publicly

that they will sign that security agreement. that is why the president is feeling comfortable coming out today and making this announcement. >> jim acosta, we won't get too far from you. 40 minutes from now in the rose garden we'll be watching it live. a day of mourning all across the state of california. not just in the communities of islea vista and santa barbara. but university of california campuses northward to the bay area, they were sorority sisters, roommates and a visiting friend and college student shopping at the deli, just grabbing a sandwich. these six innocent young people caught in the middle of a young man's deadly plot of revenge. classes are canceled today at ucsb, set to resume tomorrow, as students prepare for exams, and graduation. a memorial service will take place on campus at 4:00 local time. and at ucla, the so-called sister campus of uc santa barbara, students there gathered just last night to show their

solidarity. there have been calls all across social media to keep the victims' names in the headlines, as much as the man who killed them. since the tragedy over the weekend, parents of the victims are speaking out. in fact, our own sarah sidener sat down with the father of monica weiss when he describes the moment he found out his daughter was dead. >> bob weiss had a special bond with his daughter, veronica. she was his firstborn child and he was a stay-at-home dad until she was 12. >> i changed her diapers, took her to preschool, taught her how to throw a ball. >> reporter: the two were almost inseparable. pictured here with her brother cooper. veronica headed off to university less than a year ago, and now her father is having to do something he cannot bear to do with her. bury her. veronica weiss was one of the six students killed in a

diabolical plan carried out by a disturbed 22-year-old. as soon as news of the shooting hit the airwaves, weiss began receiving messages. >> the first ones were things like, oh, we heard about santa barbara. everything's okay, right? well, no. it's not right at all. veronica's dead. >> reporter: he and his wife and sons raced up to the university when they didn't get a phone call from their normally conscientious daughter. while waiting for word from officials, they tracked veronica's cell phone. it was still on. it even began to move. but she wasn't answering. how did you know? how were you sure that she was gone? >> we got on her iphone, and located it in the middle of the crime scene. and then we actually were looking at the phone while they were moving her body away from the -- probably the -- to take her to the morgue.

we're seeing this little dot move across the screen on the phone, on a working phone, a phone she could have picked up and dialed us on if she was okay. >> reporter: they knew then that she was one of the girls who died here on the front lawn of this sorority. police say 22-year-old elliott roger carried out an attack on as many beautiful girls and popular boys as he could. the kind of people he perceived as having everything he had been denied. >> he was very troubled. another problem with the system is that -- to identify, and properly treat him, it was impossible the way things are set up, i guess. it's pre pop trous that a kid in that kind of shape could go to three different gun stores and buy an arsenal. but it happens all the time. >> reporter: weiss wishes roger had known the truth about who he actually killed. >> she was kind.

she was the person who would reach out to the kids who weren't the popular kids, some of the nerdy kids, some of the kids that were a little bit like this roger kid described himself as, being kind of a little bit of an outcast. >> does it strike you how terribly ironic it is that he then turns around and does this to someone like veronica? >> very much so. he had no idea who he was killing. because if he was able to communicate to veronica, she would have reached out to him. she would have tried to help him. and she would have tried to be friends to him. >> reporter: now the weisss and the other victims' families are left with only memories to turn

to, to remind them of who their children really were. >> this is something i don't have any experience this close to this in my life. the outpouring of support and love, i can say this, when somebody close to you dies, reach out to the survivors, because even though it feels awkward and you don't have anything to say, every little word, every little sentence on facebook, it all means something. it means you're not alone. >> reporter: cnn, west lake village, california. >> sarah, thank you. you heard him say, they're not alone. they're not. we'll talk to a student organizer from uc irvine, that campus holding a vigil, one of several tonight, the campuses across california coming together in honor of the young lives lost. after months of waiting, that raw data from missing flight 370 is now public.

here's the thing, families say something is still missing. plus, do diet soda drinkers lose more weight than people who drink other things? a new study is sparking all kinds of controversy on that one. and did the pope just open the door on allowing priests to marry? to have sex? hear what he said on a plane, coming up.

ugh. heartburn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief.

humans. even when we cross our "ts" and dot our "i's", we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. if you qualify, your rates won't go up due to your first accident. because making mistakes is only human, and so are we. we also offer new car replacement, so if you total your new car, we'll give you the money for a new one. call liberty mutual insurance at...

and ask us all about our auto features, like guaranteed repairs, where if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, the repairs are guaranteed for life. so call... to talk with an insurance expert about everything that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy?

you know, for 82 days now, families of missing on flight 370 have not seen, have not embraced, have not spoken to their loved ones. and for nearly as long, the families have made one very specific request. and today, that request was fulfilled. but here's the but. now loved ones say it's not complete. what am i talking about? the raw data between mrsat satellites and the malaysian airliners. 25-plus pages of log. it makes me think of my cell phone bill. but this is the heart of this plane's search. let me take you back. when the malaysia air flight first digs appeared, officials determined the plane could have traveled on the northern arc or southern arc from the plane's last known flight path. then based on analysis of these pages and pages of data, researchers concentrated to the south, specifically the waters off the coast of western australia. and since then, with no plane found, the question has been, how did nrsat pinpoint this

area. our aviation go-to guy, richard quest, he traveled to london and talked to the man behind the data in the satellite operations and asked him what his gut reaction was when he realized he knew where that plane most likely was. >> let's check this. let's check it again. because you want to make sure when you come to a conclusion like that, you've done the right work, the data is as you understand it today. >> was there a moment of disbelief? >> having messages of six hours is probably the biggest disbelief. in terms of what you have. >> he quickly realized the analysis of data from mh-370 to the satellite had produced an extraordinary result and needed to be tested. so they ran the model against other planes which have been in the sky at the same time on the night. and against previous flights at the same aircraft. time and again, they ran the

model, over dozens of flights. and the planes were always found to be exactly where they were supposed to be. >> the nose come up yet with the reason why it shouldn't work for this particular flight when it works for the others. it's very important, there are other people doing an investigation, experts who are helping in the investigation team, who got the same data. they made their own models up and did the same thing, and got the same results. and got roughly the same answers. >> so this is fascinating. this is what people have been calling for. we've grown accustomed to your face. you were once the inspector general for the department of transportation. and you heard that interview on -- with the mrsat vp saying roughly no one has come up with a reason why it shouldn't work when the series we saw with richard, they looked at other planes. but then you have, i'm sure, mary, family members saying at the end of the day, they haven't found the plane. is that fair?

>> well, certainly it's fair, because obviously the proof in all of these efforts and calculations and these trials and retrials, and the data would be to find the plane, except there's some limitations. and one of those is that they haven't mapped the ocean floor which they're about to do. the data they released, the 47 pages, is very interesting. you can see the key numbers, there's something called burst timing and burst frequency, but what matters is you can see at key events, they really are different. there's data differences and there's a whole lot of data there. but what's missing is exactly how they did their calculations. and what their calculations are. and that lies with the repose with the malaysian investigators. mrsat said it's up to malaysia. >> when i hear that, it makes me think of math class when the teachers say show your work. you have the solutions but you don't get the credit until they see the work.

so they want to see the work. some family members from the passengers are saying they want to take it, and they will take this data to experts for another set of eyes. should there be some kind of protocol to oversee that? because i can't blame the families for wanting to do that. >> you know, families do that in every accident, no matter what the cause of an accident. pilot error, icing errors, whatever. they want to find everything out. and particularly here, where they don't have the plane and they don't have their loved ones. that's to be expected. anyone who thinks it doesn't happen hasn't been around a lot of investigations. and australians say they continue to review the data. and they're also putting out bids for the next parts of the contract for mapping the ocean floor and for finding the plane. and those contractors who are bidding on this job will want to review the data, too, because they don't want to track for something they can't deliver on. >> do you think eventually, mary, if they show the work, and you see how they arrive from point "a" to point "z" and they

bring in a new set of eyes, that at the end of the day, does your gut tell you they will finally find this plane? >> my gut tells me they will. sometimes it takes an awful long time. and i worked on airfrance 447 on behalf of some families. and it may take that long, it may take longer. but i think that they will. and i think there's -- like i say, they've only produced the data, they haven't produced the analysis. but with so many eyes looking at it and the australians evaluating it and now the contractors are going to bid on the job, i think they'll have a pretty sense of competent when it's all said and done. >> mary schiavo, thank you. >> thank you. just ahead, pope francis, surprises reporters on his plane right home from the middle east, saying celibacy for priests is, quote, not a dog ma of fate. how about that? what could this mean for the church going forward? we'll discuss. also ahead, a new study paid

for by people who made diet soda, said, you guessed it, diet soda can help you lose weight. elizabeth cohen joins me next on their reasoning. you've reached the age where you know how things work. this is the age of knowing what needs to be done. so why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long- term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to you doctor.

the alarm bells are going off today involving a new study about what we drink. i'm sure you've seen the headline, we need to go deeper. it says diet soda may be better than any other drink if you're trying to lose weight. because folks who kept drinking diet soda lost about four more pounds than dieters who stopped cold turkey. elizabeth cohen joins me live. can you explain the reasoning here, please? >> okay. so brooke, as you said, it's

when people kept on drinking diet soda. this is not saying diet soda is better than other liquids when you're trying to diet. these are folks who love their diet soda. they drank a lot of it. and they needed to lose weight. so the researchers told half of them, keep drinking your diet soda and we'll also teach you how to eat well and exercise. they told the other half that we'll teach you to eat well and exercise, too, but you cannot drink diet soda. let's take a look at what the differences were. all of the folks started out about 205 pounds. the group that was allowed to drink the diet soda, they lost about 13 pounds in three months, the folks who were not allowed to drink the diet soda lost about 9 pounds. so a four-pound difference. not huge. not huge. >> this one got me, got a lot of us today. we're guilty of reading a headline of the story and not getting into the meat and

potatoes of something. let's call out the study, the fact that it's the diet soda industry behind the study. >> the beverage industry is behind the study. that was going to be the next thing out of my mouth, which it was put on by the beverage industry. but yes, they make a ton of money off of diet sodas. unfortunately, this is the way research is often does these days. we don't have the kind of money we would like to have from nih and other places, and industries of all kind funds a good number of studies. the researchers are highly respected. i interviewed them myself in the past. we ran this study by outsiders who said it was good work. the big point here that i think people need to listen to is these were folks who were already drinking a lot of diet soda. what it found is on average, it did not pay to give up that diet soda. and so here's what i would say. since there have been studies that go back and forth on this,

we as dieters can say this, look, i like diet soda. i'm going to keep drinking it and see how i do if i keep dieting and exercising. empower yourself to be your own study subject. you don't have to listen to the beverage industry. do it yourself and see what works best for you. >> i have my vices, but i tell you, i went cold turkey on any kind of soda some time ago. i felt it kind of made me nuts. elizabeth cohen, thank you so much for that. this is something really exciting here at cnn. coming up this thursday, 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific, make sure you tune in to the ten-part series called the sixties. it's a look at pop culture that changed the world. each episode is executive produced by tom hanks and gary guessman. here's a preview. >> our government is asking us as citizens to refrain from traveling to foreign lands. >> okay. all you guys in vietnam, come on

home. >> the times were changing so quickly. and the sixties, we didn't change them, we just reflected on them. >> what are you doing? >> i'm getting ready to go to college. >> cbs gave the smothers brothers that show, because they were clean-cut folk satirists. they wore blazers, they could sing well, they were funny. >> mom liked you best. >> you lower your voice. >> mom liked you best. >> the space race, civil rights and much more. the sixties premieres thursday night 9:00 eastern and pacific only here on cnn. coming up next, in the catholic church, should priests be allowed to marry. the pope may be opening the door here to change the rules. we'll tell you exactly what he said. plus, as the president gets ready to make a huge announcement about troop levels in afghanistan, the cia's top agent there is no longer a secret.

the white house outing the station chief, apparently by total accident. so what happens to that person's sources, connections on the ground? i'll speak live with a former cia station chief himself. [ man ] look how beautiful it is. ♪ honey, we need to talk. we do? i took the trash out. i know. and thank you so much for that. i think we should get a medicare supplement insurance plan. right now? [ male announcer ] whether you're new to medicare or not, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. it's up to you to pay the difference. so think about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. i did a little research. with a medicare supplement plan, you'll be able to stay with your doctor. oh, you know, i love that guy. mm-hmm.

[ male announcer ] these types of plans let you visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. and there are no networks. is this a one-size-fits-all kind of thing? no. there are lots of plan options. it all depends on what we need and how much we want to spend. [ male announcer ] call now to request your free decision guide. it could help you find an aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. what happens when we travel? the plans go with us. anywhere in the country. i like that. you know what else? unitedhealthcare insurance company has years and years of experience. what do you say? ♪ i'm in. [ male announcer ] join the millions already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. remember, all medicare supplement plans help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay and could really save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. you'll be able to choose your own doctor or hospital as long as they accept medicare patients. and with these plans, there could be low or no copays.

you do your push-ups today? prepare to be amazed. [ male announcer ] don't wait. call today to request your free decision guide and find the aarp medicare supplement plan to go the distance with you. go long.

the sixties premiere thursday night at 9:00 on cnn. bottom of the hour, i'm brooke baldwin. even after an exhausting whirlwind three-day trip to the middle east, the 77-year-old pope francis still managed enough energy to make some stunning news today. speaking with reporters on that plane for about an hour back to rome, the pope told them that

allowing priests to marry some day isn't out of the question. >> translator: celibacy is not a dogma. it is a rule of life that i appreciate very much. and i think it is a gift for the church. but since it is not a dogma, the door is always open. >> the door is always open. john allen is our senior vatican analyst and associate editor at the "boston globe." you were on that plane, you heard him say this. and all of this, of course, comes after we talked about the letter that the pope got from the priest's girlfriend, wanting to change the girl on marriage and sex. can you interpret what the pope was really saying there? >> reporter: well, first of all, brooke, just indicate how remarkable this was. you indicated this came at the end of the three-day, incredibly difficult trip to the middle east. you know, the pope came out to do this press conference. he was into it for about a half hour. his spokesperson tried to cut it off at that point and the pope said, no, i want to keep going.

these comments about celibacy came on the other end of that attempt to wrap things up. his reservoir of energy is remarkable. he's the energizer bunny of popes. >> i'm going to quote you on that, john allen. >> reporter: please do. but to come to this point about celibacy, look, brooke, we should say this is absolutely nothing new. anybody who has commented in officialdom on the rule of priests and celibacy will tell you, this is a discipline, not a dogma. that is, it's a tradition, but it's not something that comes from the law of god. in fact, the catholic church already has married priests. there are 22 eastern churches, that is the great catholic church in the ukraine, for example, or the church in egypt, that has married clergy. they're also in the united states, a few hundred priests who came into the catholic church either from the episcopal yan church or lutheran church

who were married before they came into the catholic church and were allowed to remain married. it's simply a question of whether you want to expand that precedent. you asked me to interpret what france is was saying. i think what he was saying is he's not ready to expand that precedent right now, but he's open to the possibility of doing it somewhere down the line. >> thus leaving the door open. can i just ask you, because i've never been on a plane with the pope, john allen. of course, we remember that plane trip leaving brazil, heading home, when he made the news talking about homosexuals, saying, who am i to judge. and after this whirlwind trip to the middle east, talking not just about priestly celibacy and sex abuse and his retirement, his reservoir, as you point out, is this totally unprecedented? >> reporter: well, it's not exactly totally unprecedented. in the early john paul years, john paul ii would come back to the press compartment of the papal plane, and he would move

around by language experts. he would do a few minutes with the italians and a few minutes with the english speakers and a few minutes with the french and so on. but i will tell you, that in recent experience, because, of course, as john paul got old, that was no longer possible. during the benedict years, he would do brief encounters with the press, but they were often choreographed affairs. but with the pope addressing the entire press corps, and taking any question under the sun, that is unprecedented. when you cover the vatican you lay awake at night dreaming of these moments where you'll have these no-holds barred of completely unfiltered and unscripted moments with the pope, to talk about what's on his mind. with pope francis we've gotten them. all i can say, is god bless him for doing it for us. >> john allen, you have an amazing beat, especially with this pope right now. thank you for joining me from rome. i truly appreciate it tonight.

president obama gets ready to make a huge announcement about afghanistan. the cia's top agent there is no longer under cover. the kabul station chief's name appeared on this list of people who briefed president obama during a surprise trip over the weekend to meet with those troops. it was a "washington post" reporter who was a student, that caught the error, but not before the white house blasted the list to more than 6,000 media. former cia officer worked as a station chief in africa and the middle east and joins me now. gary, welcome. >> pleasure to be with you. >> you not only worked for the cia, you spent a significant amount of time working in afghanistan. we don't know this individual who has been yanked out of kabul. you know, put in hiding presumably perhaps. the white house is declining comment. what would you think is probably happening with this individual right now? >> well, let me just say first off, it was a mistake, it wasn't malicious. >> right. >> unfortunately, these types of

things do happen. but i'm not seeing it on a scale where it was sent out to 6,000 people. that's taking it to a new height. but that individual's career will be negatively affected. they won't be able to serve in certain places around the world which might have been a follow-up assignment to that assignment. look, there's no secret the cia operates and is involved, especially involved in the invasion that the cia had a presence there. and the area that the agency operates, within the official, you know, green zone there, sort of area, you know, they continue their assignment. the station chief is in charge of the ambassador. i expect they should be able to continue to play that. but it will hurt that person's individual career long term. i don't see it anywhere near as damaging as what happened to edward snowden. snowden's 1,000, this is a 1.

>> but on this 1, as you point out, it would affect future assignments, i'm also wondering, because you have to assume this person has created inroads on the ground there, connections to sources. how much of that effort would it affect? >> with a senior person like that, a senior cia officer managing major programs, they're not going to be running around meeting with people in cafes. they're there ming the major program, advising the senior staff, and senior military command there. they're not going to be out on the streets alone. they would have significant security. they can manage this thing. the director of the cia has been around a long time. so it's yet a career in the agency. it's an unfortunate thing that happened. and things like this do happen. unfortunately, it's human intelligence and people make mistakes. but in my career, mistakes were never made in the congress, in the sense that the house select

committee for intelligence, we didn't have mistakes there. mistakes were traditionally made out of the white house, young staffers that did not have experience in washington. that's almost always the case. >> so if that is the case, just quickly, what degree of punishment do you think this person should receive? >> well, someone will probably get at least a security violation. they'll probably lose their job for what's happened. >> okay. >> probably lose their job. >> gary berntsen, thank you for your perspective there. former cia. coming up next, we're watching the white house very closely. live pictures from the rose garden, because the president will be making an announcement there regarding the war in afghanistan, involving specific numbers when it comes to american troop levels. we will bring those comments to you live right here on cnn. stay with me. when jake and i first set out on our own, we ate anything. but in time you realize the better you eat, the better you feel. these days we both eat smarter. and i give jake purina cat chow naturals.

made with real chicken and salmon, it's high in protein like a cat's natural diet. and no added artificial flavors. we've come a long way. and whatever's ahead, we'll be there for each other. naturally. purina cat chow naturals. at any minute... ...you could be a victim of fraud. most people don't even know it. fraud could mean lower credit scores, higher mortgage rates... ...and not getting the home you really want. it's a problem waiting to happen. check your credit score, check your credit report, at experian.com. america's number one provider of online credit reports and scores. don't take chances. go to experian.com. whon a certified pre-ownedan unlimitedmercedes-benz?nty what does it mean to drive as far as you want... for up to three years and be covered?

it means your odometer... is there to record the memories. during the mercedes-benz certified pre-owned sales event now through june 2nd, you'll get complimentary pre-paid maintenance and may qualify for a two-month payment credit. only at your authorized mercedes-benz dealer. with lobster! don't miss our first ever lobster toppers event! 4 delicious entrees topped with sweet, succulent maine lobster starting at just $15.99! like savory new wood-grilled shrimp topped with maine lobster in a citrus hollandaise... or the new ultimate: lobster-topped lobster -- 3 split maine lobster tails topped with maine lobster in a creamy white wine sauce! four choices, for a limited time, starting at just $15.99! everything's better with lobster! come in now, and sea food differently. does your mouth often feel dry? a dry mouth can be a side effect of many medications but it can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath. that's why there's biotene. available as an oral rinse, toothpaste, spray or gel,

biotene can provide soothing relief, and it helps keep your mouth healthy, too. remember, while your medication is doing you good, a dry mouth isn't. biotene -- for people who suffer from dry mouth. a dry mouth isn't. honestly, the off-season isn't i've got a lot to do. that's why i got my surface. it's great for watching game film and drawing up plays. it's got onenote, so i can stay on top of my to-do list, which has been absolutely absurd since the big game. with skype, it's just really easy to stay in touch with the kids i work with. alright, russell you are good to go! alright, fellas. alright, russ. back to work! afghanistan, in 2009. orbiting the moon in 1971. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation.

because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. i'm wolf blitzer in washington, for cnn special coverage. president obama only moments away from a historic milestone. the lectern out in the rose garden for the commander in chief to announce to the country, and indeed to the world, that america's war in afghanistan, he said america's longest war, only months away from concluding. under the plan, america's force structure in afghanistan, still about 32,000 troops, would shrink going into the start of 2015, to 9,800 u.s. troops. they would be there for training purposes only. plus, some specific

counterterror operations. by 2016, he's planning to cut that force under 5,000 troops. they would be stationed solely in the capital of kabul, as well as the bagram air base. beyond that, normal embassy security personnel with special provisions for security in the afghan capital beginning in 2017 would continue. this is the war that started less than a month after al qaeda, using afghanistan as a launching base, launched the attacks on september 11th, 2001. nearly 2,200 americans have died in the war in afghanistan. the war also has claimed the lives of an estimated 20,000 afghan civilians. there's lots to understand right now. let's bring in our senior white house correspondent jim acosta, jake tapper, chief washington correspondent and political analyst gloria borger, as well as nick payton walsh, and our pentagon correspondent barbara starr. jim acosta, you're the man at the white house right now. set the scene for us, the

president about to walk into the rose garden. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. we'll hear the president a few moments from now. he is expected to be on time. expected to lay out what will be the final chapter in the war in afghanistan. you laid out the four-structure schedule for the next several years, 9,800 troops, next year half of that, by the end of next year. embassy personnel by the end of 2016. wolf, that is bringing a full stop to the war in afghanistan. and we just heard over my shoulder a few moments ago, a two-minute warning to the president. a couple of things important to point out. officials just wrapped up a conference call with reporters in the last several minutes. and during that conference call, a senior administration official made it very clear that afghan security forces, wolf, will be responsible for the security needs of the afghan people starting next year. that the u.s., as you just said, wolf, will be there for training purposes, and specific counterterrorism operations. but they're not there to fight. the u.s. combat operation is

coming to an end at the end of this year. and of course, all of this depends on the next president of afghanistan, hamid karzai the current president said he's not signing that bilateral security agreement. the next president, and there's going to be a run after next month between two men, who indicated they will sign that agreement. but during the conference call, senior administration officials said absent that bsa, that bilateral security agreement, there will be no u.s. forces in afghanistan at the end of this year. so the president going to lay that all out on the table before he goes up to west point tomorrow to put this announcement for afghanistan in a larger foreign policy picture. that speech at the commencement at west point tomorrow morning, wolf. >> the president will simply make a statement now, jim, he's not going to answer reporters' questions, right? >> reporter: that's right. but i think you can expect several of us to try to ask him some questions before he leaves here. we do think that this will be a lengthier statement than you might typically see here in the rose garden. i don't think this is going to

be a brief statement, wolf. this could go on for several minutes as the president tries to lay out specifically how this will all work. it is a complicated plan. there are still critics up on capitol hill who are saying, and lindsay graham, republican senator from south carolina, was tweeting earlier today, the president is not ending wars, he's losing wars. he's sharply critical of this plan in afghanistan. so is john mccain as well, that this rapid drawdown over a two-year period from 100,000 troops from a couple of years ago to zero by the end of 2016, except for embassy security. that's a pretty dramatic end to the war in afghanistan, wolf. >> stand by, jim. we're going to talk to you after the president's speech. jake tapper is here, and gloria is here. jake, is this what they wanted for next year in afghanistan? >> the military doesn't -- here's the president. >> as you know, this weekend i traveled to afghanistan to thank our men and women in uniform, and our deployed civilians. on behalf of a grateful nation,

for the extraordinary sacrifices they make on behalf of our security. i was also able to meet with our commanding general and ambassador to review that the progress that we've made. and today i'd like to update the american people on the way forward in afghanistan and how this year we will bring america's longest war to a responsible end. the united states did not seek this fight. we went into afghanistan out of necessity, after our nation was attacked by al qaeda on september 11th, 2001. we went to war against al qaeda and its extremist allies with the strong support of the american people and their representatives in congress. with the international community, and our nato allies. and with the afghan people who welcomed the opportunity of a life free from the dark tyranny of extremists. we have now been in afghanistan

longer than many americans expected. but make no mistake, thanks to the skill and sacrifice of our troops, diplomats and intelligence professionals, we have struck significant blows against al qaeda's leadership. we have eliminated osama bin laden. and we've prevented afghanistan from being used to launch attacks against our homeland. we've also supported the afghan people as they build a democracy. we've extended more opportunities to their people. including women and girls. and we've helped train and equip their own security forces. now we're finishing the job we started. over the last several years, we've worked to transition security responsibilities to the afghans. one year ago, afghan forces assumed the lead for combat operations. since then, they've continued to

grow in size and in strength while making huge sacrifices for their country. this transition has allowed us to steadily draw down our own forces, from a peak of 100,000 u.s. troops to roughly 32,000 today. 2014, therefore, is a pivotal year. together with our allies, and the afghan government, we have agreed that this is the year we will conclude our combat mission in afghanistan. this is also a year of political transition in afghanistan. earlier this spring, afghans turned out in the millions to vote in the first round of their presidential election, defying threats, in order to determine their own destiny. and in just over two weeks, they will vote for their next president. and afghanistan will see its first democratic transfer of power in history.

in the context of this progress, having consulted with congress and my national security team, i've determined the nature of the commitment that america's prepared to make beyond 2014. our objectives are clear, disrupting threats posed by al qaeda, supporting afghan security forces, and giving the afghan people the opportunity to succeed as they stand on their own. here's how it will pursue those objectives. first, america's combat mission will be over by the end of this year. starting next year, afghans will be fully responsible for securing their country. american personnel will be in an advisory role. we will no longer patrol afghan cities or towns, mountains or valleys. that is a task for the afghan

people. second, i've made it clear that we're open to cooperating with afghans on two narrow missions after 2014. training afghan forces, and supporting counterterrorism operations against the remnants of al qaeda. today i want to be clear about how the united states is prepared to advance those missions. at the beginning of 2015, we will have approximately 98,000 u.s. -- let me start that over. just because i want to make sure we don't get this written wrong. at the beginning of 2015, we will have approximately 9,800 u.s. service members in different parts of the country. together with our nato allies and other partners. by the end of 2015, we will have

reduced that presence by roughly half. and we'll have consolidated our troops in kabul, and on bagram airfield. one year later, by the end of 2016, our military will draw down to a normal embassy presence in kabul, with a security assistance component just as we've done in iraq. now, even as our troops come home, the international community will continue to support afghans as they build their country for years to come. but our relationship will not be defined by war. it will be shaped by our financial and development assistance, as well as our diplomatic support. our commitment to afghanistan is rooted in the strategic partnership that we agreed to in 2012. and this plan remains consistent with the discussions we've had with our nato allies. just as our allies have been with us every step of the way in

afghanistan, we expect that our allies will be with us going forward. third, we will only sustain this military presence after 2014 if the afghan government signs the bilateral security agreement that our two governments have already negotiated. this agreement is essential to give our troops the authorities they need to fulfill their mission, while respecting afghan sovereignty. the two final afghan candidates in the runoff election for president have each indicated that they would sign this after take office. so i'm hopeful we can get this done. the bottom line is, it's time to turn the page on more than a decade in which so much of our foreign policy was focused on the wars in afghanistan and iraq. when i took office, we had nearly 180,000 troops in harm's

way. by the end of this year, we will have less than 10,000. in addition to bringing our troops home, this new chapter in american foreign policy will allow us to redirect some of the resources saved by ending these wars to respond more nimbly to the changing threat of terrorism, while addressing a broader set of priorities around the globe. i think americans have learned that it's harder to end wars than it is to begin them. if this is how wars end in the 21st century, not through signing ceremonies, but through decisive blows against our adversaries, transitions to elected governments, security forces who are trained to take the lead and ultimately full responsibility. we remain committed to a sovereign, secure, stable and unified afghanistan. and toward that end, we will

continue to support afghan-led efforts to promote peace in their country through reconciliation. we have to recognize afghanistan will not be a perfect place. and it is not america's responsibility to make it one. the future of afghanistan must be decided by afghans. but what the united states can do, what we will do, is secure our interests and help give the afghans a chance, an opportunity to seek a long overdue and hard-earned peace. america will always keep our commitments to friends and partners who step up, and we will never waver al qaeda the safe haven they had before 9/11. that commitment is embodied by the men and women in and out of uniform who serve in afghanistan today, and who have served in the past.

in their eyes, i see the character that sustains american security, and our leadership abroad. these are mostly young people who did not hesitate to volunteer in a time of war. and as many of them begin to transition to civilian life, we will keep the promise we make to them, and to all veterans, and make sure they get the care and benefits that they have earned and deserve. this 9/11 generation is part of an unbroken line of heroes who give up the comfort of the familiar to serve a half a world away. to protect the families and communities back home and to give people they thought they'd never meet a chance to live a better life. it is an extraordinary sacrifice for them and for their families. but we shouldn't be surprised that they're willing to make it. that's who we are as americans. that's what we do. tomorrow i'll travel to west

point and speak to america's newest class of military officers, to discuss how afghanistan fits into our broader strategy going forward. and i'm confident that if we carry out this approach, we cannot only responsibly end our war in afghanistan, and achieve the objectives that took us to war in the first place, we'll also be able to begin a new chapter in the story of american leadership around the world. thanks very much. >> so there he is, the president of the united states, wrapping up an announcement, saying that the u.s. combat ongss in afghanistan for all practical purposes will be done with at the end of this year. he's reducing the number of u.s. troops who will be in afghanistan starting next year to 9,800. they'll be backed up by a few thousand nato troops, and then under 5,000 in 2016. all u.s. troops will be out of afghanistan by the end of 2016, according to his timetable laid

out by the president. we've got our reporters and analysts standing by for a full analysis of what we just heard from the president. jake tapper and gloria borger is with us. let's go to you jake first. you spent a lot of time in afghanistan. you've written a book about fighting going on there. what do you make of it? >> it was interesting that he mistakenly referred to 98,000 troops being there at the beginning of next year as opposed to 9,800. because president obama is the president who tripled the number of u.s. troops in afghanistan. it was about 100,000. and according to conversations i've had with aides close to him, i don't think he would do that again today if he knew then what he knows now. he wouldn't have done that. he has come to believe that there are limits to what u.s. military force can do. the concern that many experts have, many in the military have, is not so much with afghan security. president obama said he was reassured after being in bagram

over the weekend. it's the logistical support. this is not a sexy issue. but anytime you send 5,000 troops, you need 3,000 troops to support them, the resupply of ammunition, the medical and food. the concern that i heard, when i was in afghanistan last, was that the afghans were not up to the task. one night i was embedded with a medevac unit and we picked up a security guard, border security guard, and it took half an hour sitting on the tarmac at this afghan base for the ambulance to come out. and that is where there's going to be a lot of work by this residual 9,800 force in the support for afghan troops. i don't know if they'll be able to get up to speed from 2015 to 2016. >> the criticism already coming in from republicans. john mccain issued a statement along with lindsay graham, saying the president's decision to set an arbitrary date for withdrawal of troops from afghanistan is a monumental mistake in a triumph of politics

over strategy. this is a short-sighted decision that will make it harder to end the war in afghanistan responsibly. you're not surprised by that criticism? >> no, i'm not surprised by that criticism. i think that's why you heard the president say it's harder to end a war than it is to begin a war. this is a prelude to the president's speech tomorrow at west point. this is a president who says he's looking for sort of that middle point between interventionism and being isolationists. i think what you see today is the president saying, look, this is what i promised you i would do. five years ago, and by the end of this year, we'll be down to less than 10,000. and i think this is a president who's going to make his case. he's been under a lot of dr criticism lately, a lot of people saying what is america's leadership role in terms of foreign policy. they believe this is a president who is sending drones and on the other hand he's taking troops

out. i mean, what is his, kind of overall vision. so i think is the prelude saying, this is what i'm doing in afghanistan, and in iraq, and let me tell you tomorrow at west point, what our larger vision is. i'm sure it's not going to please everybody. but i think there's a sense inside the white house that they do need to kind of lay out the strategy. >> barbara, how is the military likely to respond? i know there were recommendations from some high ranking military officers, some wanted to keep it as high as 20,000 troops next year. and they didn't want all of those troops to be withdrawn over the following two years. they wanted it to be open-ended, no deadline in minds. >> certainly, wolf, there were a lot of different things on the table being discussed, different options. but i have to tell you, in recent weeks, this is pretty much what it came down to. the u.s. military has a very clear understanding right now of one crucial fact, and that is

that american support for continuing a war in afghanistan, some 13 years later, really is dwindling. if you do not have american support for this war, you really can't realistically continue. they know that old saying, america supports the troops, but not the war. they understand all of that. they know that americans' patience with all of this and the money being spent is really running out. if you just want one measure of how much time and effort the u.s. military's put into all of this, consider this. a 19-year-old soldier that may be killed in the -- on the battlefield today was a 6-year-old little boy on the morning of 9/11. that gives you a sense of the time that has passed. and the utter exhaustion in the military in continuing to deal with all of this, wolf. >> barbara, stand by. jim acosta is over at the white house. jim, the president made it clear that from his perspective, the war, for all practical purposes,

would be over. but if you have 9,800 troops in afghanistan next year, there's going to be still plenty of combat there. so for a lot of these troops, the war might not necessarily be over. >> reporter: well, certainly if the troops come under attack, wolf, the war will not be over for them. but the president insisted during his remarks, he's anticipating some of this criticism, that they will not be serving in combat roles, they'll be serving in advisory and training roles, and in some cases counterterrorism roles. i think what we heard the president say that's important to stress, that afghanistan is not going to be a perfect place and it's not the job of this nation to make it so. that is an indication, wolf, that he does anticipate that there will probably be some violence in afghanistan, as the u.s. extricates itself from afghanistan over the next few years. the drawdown plan in afghanistan is similar to the one in iraq. leaving just embassy -- >> we unfortunately just lost

jim acosta in the rose garden. let's check in with nick payton walsh, our senior international correspondent. he's joining us from ukraine right now. but he spent a lot of time in afghanistan. you heard the president, nick. what do you think? >> reporter: very carefully core yo graphed messaging here, repeating similar comments the other day. this message both says they'll keep 9,800 troops, sense of support for the afghan government, and bringing them out very fast indeed. you have to bear in mind, they have 32,000 troops there right now. just getting them home, dismantling the bases, bringing them back to kabul and bagram, months, possibly year-plus-long process, dwindling down that decade-long war. this is in fact many must say the zero option many talked

about, the absence of the american presence, just a slightly longer timetable. also, too, it lays out the white house's cards, say what they want for that new afghan president to consider before he signs the bsa, the vital security agreement. you have to bear in mind, the afghan security itself is already in a state of not collapse, but deterioration. the americans are out there. they can't provide that sense of firepower and support for the afghan forces themselves. kabul increasingly unsafe. we're going to see within six months or so, american troops moving back to those two key centers, the capital where they have very well fortified bases, and bagram a fortified complex for years now. they'll be back from there, absent in the rest of the country, and at some point during 2016 simply down to marines protecting the embassy there. the american presence will be very small. i'm sure there may be some counterterror efforts that continue off the books, as it were, from the military intelligence professionals

working there. but this is a stark decision to end the war in afghanistan, pretty quickly. the messaging is there to suggest they want to continue the presence and continue to thwart the insurance for the white house. in reality, this is really simply saying that the american public opinion has not been in support of the war in afghanistan for years now, and this is the political reflection of that, wolf. >> nick, stand by. jake, the president ran when he was running for office, he promised the american people he would work to get troops out of iraq and afghanistan, end the wars in both of those places. now five and a half years later, iraq is already history. there are no u.s. troops left in iraq, and afghanistan at some point down the road laying out a timetable there will be no troops left effectively in afghanistan. >> what will be interesting will be in 2016, when the final u.s. troops, except for the guards at the embassy, leave afghanistan. because obviously that is a big presidential election year. i suspect you will hear the democrats say president obama

did the right thing. the question for the republicans is, how many of them are going to say, no, we need to send more troops into afghanistan. i suspect even the most interventionists, even the most supportive of the efforts in afghanistan will not be running on that platform, because as nick said, the public has turned against the involvement in that country. >> iraq right now, you and gloria, and everybody else knows, it's a serious mess right now. but no one is calling for the reintroduction of u.s. troops in iraq. >> if you look at mccain's statement and he's very critical of the president, no one has come out and said, we need to keep more troops. what mccain is saying is, don't give them our exact timeline. but he's not saying, let's keep 32,000 troops there. the interesting part about the presidential campaign is the republican party is now got a large strain of what i would call neo isolationists, i guess i would put it, people not for

military intervention. 78% of the american public is against intervention in afghanistan. so i think that if you're a politician, who wants to get elected, it's very hard to run on a pro-war footing right now. troops on the ground, nobody's talking troops on the ground in syria. i mean, it's just not a topic of conversation anymore. >> the attitudes have clearly changed. everybody stand by. much more special coverage coming up. the president of the united states making an historic announcement moments ago in the rose garden at the white house, outlining a withdrawal of u.s. forces from afghanistan over the next two years. much more coming up right after this. people join angie's list for all kinds of reasons. i go to angie's list to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact

i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. ♪ honey, we need to talk. we do? i took the trash out. i know. and thank you so much for that. i think we should get a medicare supplement insurance plan. right now? [ male announcer ] whether you're new to medicare or not, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. it's up to you to pay the difference. so think about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. i did a little research. with a medicare supplement plan, you'll be able to stay with your doctor. oh, you know, i love that guy. mm-hmm. [ male announcer ] these types of plans let you visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients.

and there are no networks. is this a one-size-fits-all kind of thing? no. there are lots of plan options. it all depends on what we need and how much we want to spend. [ male announcer ] call now to request your free decision guide. it could help you find an aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. what happens when we travel? the plans go with us. anywhere in the country. i like that. you know what else? unitedhealthcare insurance company has years and years of experience. what do you say? ♪ i'm in. [ male announcer ] join the millions already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. remember, all medicare supplement plans help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay and could really save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. you'll be able to choose your own doctor or hospital as long as they accept medicare patients. and with these plans, there could be low or no copays.

you do your push-ups today? prepare to be amazed. [ male announcer ] don't wait. call today to request your free decision guide and find the aarp medicare supplement plan to go the distance with you. go long.

welcome back. we're getting reaction to president obama and his historic announcement moments ago at the white house that all u.s. troops would be out of afghanistan, certainly by the end, he says, of 2016. right now, about 35,000 or so troops still in afghanistan, will be down to 9,800 in 2015. and just under 5,000 in 2016. all are supposed to be out by the end of 2016. barbara starr is at the pentagon, jake tapper is here, gloria borger is here with me as well. barbara, any estimate how much it will cost u.s. tax parsz to keep about 10,000 u.s. troops deployed in afghanistan? >> not at this time, wolf,

nobody's talking about the money involved. and it's not going to be as i think jake was pointing out just the actual cost of keeping those boots on the ground. it's that additional cost of bringing in food, fuel, transportation, all of it. you have to keep that going. and, you know, you're going to keep rotating troops in and out. it's note going to be the same 9,800 people for the next two years. so the costs will still have to be calculated and funded by congress. but i think there's another wrinkle here as you gather reaction to all of this. people in congress know full well that part of this was a nato decision. because the president, along with the nato member countries, came to this framework basically some time ago. this timing that combat would end in afghanistan. one of the things the u.s. had to do was keep enough troops there to encourage nato to keep some troops there.

you don't want to wind up this with solely being a u.s. occupation force, even though the numbers would be very small. they had to make sure other countries in nato would still be willing to make up the balance of some of those troops. the nato numbers will be very small, but at least they will be there, wolf. >> and there will be, as you point out, private contractors supporting those 9,800 u.s. troops. we have no idea how many private american contractors will be on the ground in afghanistan, do we, barbara? >> we do not. and i think this gets you to another key point. there will be support outside of afghanistan. the president talked repeatedly, and i thought this was a very key phrase that he used, about the regional issues. regional support, regional considerations. there is still an al qaeda and taliban and militant element along the afghanistan/pakistan border. once the u.s. loses the bases

inside afghanistan, how they decide to conduct perhaps drone operations against targets inside pakistan remains to be seen. there will have to be some understanding of how these counterterrorism operations will be carried out. if you find an al qaeda or taliban cell, or operation along that border region, and you do not have u.s. forces in afghanistan, how are you going to go after that terror target. pakistanis are very sensitive about it. look down the road for u.s. drones to be stationed somewhere else in the region, and be able to go after those terror targets when they find them, wolf. >> good point, barbara. jake, a lot of us remember that when the u.s. sent the special operations forces into pakistan to kill bin laden, they all came from afghanistan. >> they came from jalalabad. one other point is that it is a great neighborhood to have a base. i'm not saying whether or not we

should have troops in afghanistan. but when you think about it, there's pakistan, there's iran, china. now, you can solve the problem of iran from a u.s. military standpoint because we have so many troops in the gulf. you can solve the problem of wanting to be near china because of the troops we have in japan. and the troops we have in south korea. but what about pakistan, the point that barbara just made, how do we get drones inside pakistan, how do we perform counterterrorism operations. those are the questions that the military has got to be asking themselves. >> that's a question that i think the president has to answer in his speech tomorrow. he's clearly going to talk about u.s. leadership in the counterterrorism role. and the question is, about drones, which is a very controversial issue here at home. where do you -- how are you going to do that in this new world. there's also a question, once you leave afghanistan in 2016, how do you leave afghanistan. our global affairs correspondent just e-mailed us saying, do we leave afghanistan in the same way we left iraq. which is just with a small,

small presence there. no different from anywhere else we have a presence. or will our presence in afghanistan in the end be larger, precisely for the reasons that jake pointed out. >> elise was talking about the diplomatic effort, how much is the united states government going to be engaged with what's going on in politics. obviously not going well in iraq. one other point, wolf, we were talking during the break about those who argue, how can you give a date certain, all al qaeda has to do right now is just wait. they know that the u.s. is not going to be -- have any serious troop presence after 2016. that was asked on a conference call with senior administration officials. and what the senior administration official who answered the question said, we never signed up to be a permanent security force in afghanistan against the taliban. the point was to disrupt al qaeda and train afghan security forces. he said he had no compunction about giving a date certain. >> one of the criticisms is al qaeda, and the taliban, they're

patient, they'll wait out the u.s. withdrawal and do, in two years, if the u.s. were to withdraw completely tomorrow, they would do it right away. but they'll wait a couple years. >> the administration argues that they have struck significant blows, and that al qaeda is not very well equipped at this point. and that -- so they have done damage to them. and that is why if there is a deadline, it's not going to -- >> except, the major al qaeda presence in iraq. but in iraq right now, and also -- >> and syria. >> -- and syria coming in from iraq. >> and plenty of other countries in the region. you know, a lot of depend -- let's go back to our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, a lot of depend, barbara, is whether the afghanie fu leadership, and there are two candidates emerging to succeed hamid karzai, if they will in fact deliver, will they step up to the plate militarily and politically? are officials at the pentagon

100% confident that they will do what hamid karzai, the outgoing president, has refused to do, sign that so-called bilateral security agreement? >> wolf, i think they're as sure as they possibly can be. the administration feels they do have assurances from both candidates, whoever wins, that they will sign this bilateral security agreement. but even a new afghan president, he can sign it, but can he actually deliver security. you know, this is the big problem. you can train all these afghan military forces. the afghans are very tough fighters. there is no question about that. jake and i both have traveled around afghanistan with them. they are tough. they will fight. but afghanistan is a country that does not have a tradition of recognizing a strong central government. so the big security issue perhaps are the police forces out in these remote towns and villages, in mountain valleys, along the border, deep into

southern afghanistan, where there is very little concept of a central government, even today. and there are police forces with huge issues of corruption, who run operations in their areas, as they see fit, who are very much in many cases aligned with taliban elements in those regions. so will those police forces be able to maintain security in their areas, or are we going to see them sort of chip away in the coming two years and after that? big question, wolf. >> barbara starr will be following this story, obviously, for a long time. barbara, thanks very much. jake, i know you have more coming up at the top of the hour. >> correct. we have a visit with sebastien younger about his film, which takes place in afghanistan. and it takes place in eastern afghanistan. >> gloria will be with us. i'll have tony blinken joining me at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "the

situation room." we'll continue to cover this, and all the day's major news. brooke baldwin getting ready to pick up our coverage. >> thank you all so much. we'll stay tuned to all the coverage coming up in the coming hours. but we have to go back to california. a day of mourning in california. you have students all across the state, they're coming together at several vigils this evening to honor those young lives lost over the weekend in the shooting rampage. and stabbing rampage. we will talk live to a student who has organized one of those gatherings for tonight. also ahead, the raw data used to calculate the possibly location of that plane released to the public. what are we learning from it? can it finally help find this plane? that's next.

humans. even when we cross our "ts" and dot our "i's", we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. if you qualify, your rates won't go up due to your first accident. because making mistakes is only human, and so are we. we also offer new car replacement, so if you total your new car, we'll give you the money for a new one. call liberty mutual insurance at... and ask us all about our auto features, like guaranteed repairs, where if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, the repairs are guaranteed for life.

so call... to talk with an insurance expert about everything that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? welcome back. i'm brooke baldwin. did is a day of mourning all across the state of california. not just in those communities of santa barbara and islea vista, but california campuses from san diego north to the bay area. when you think about these young victims, they were sorority sisters, roommates, a visiting friend and a college student just stopping by to grab a sandwich at a deli. these six innocent people caught in the middle of a young man's deadly plot of revenge. now grieving parents are bracing to do the unimaginable, bury their children.

the mother of george chen, one of elliott rogers' roommates, said she would do anything to trade places with her son. >> we would die a hundred times, a thousand times, but we don't want our kids to get hurt. it shouldn't happen to any family. it shouldn't happen in the united states. >> we need to stop it. it shouldn't have happened. >> his mother also left asking why. >> every time when i think of him, i feel heart broken. i go to church a few times a week. i don't understand why this happened to me. >> a memorial service will take place on the usb campus at 4:00 local time today. janet napolitano, the uc president, said the entire university of california system

will keep flags lowered to half staff through sunday. and it sounds all too familiar, a young man with mental health issues, socially isolated, angry, depressed, takes revenge on a world he somehow feels wronged him. the story of elliott rogers seems familiar, but the solutions are far more complex. in the wake of this tragedy in islea vista, liza long wrote this, quote, it seems as if after newtown, we just gave up. we decided that this is the kind of society we're going to live in, a society that has too many guns, and a society that chooses to ignore people with mental illness and their families at great cost. liza long is good enough to join me now. she's the author of "i am adam lanza's mother." you've been on the show a number of times. always, sadly, in the wake of tragedy, but welcome back. >> thank you, brooke. thank you for calling attention to this issue that affects so

many families. >> absolutely. and that's why we want to talk about this. i read your most recent blog post in the wake of the shootings over the weekend. you wrote specifically talking about your son. that it usually takes two to three police officers and a tranquilizer to get him into care, liza. can you remind us of you and your son's story? >> sure. so i wrote, i'm adam lanza's mother after the newtown tragedy, which has so many echoes to this current situation. i was frustrated by my inability to get help for my child. we all want what any parent would want for their child. just a happy, productive life. but our mental health care delivery model is so broken, as this latest tragedy reminds us. in my own case, my son is a sweet, wonderful, promising child. i hope the world for him. but when he goes into a manic rage, it's nearly impossible to control him.

i know i speak for many parents out there, who go through the same personal tragedies every single day. that only become highlighted when we have this very public tragedy of a newtown or east islea. >> each of these cases is entirely unique. i want to make that clear. but i know -- i think you felt the same as i did when you really get into reading about the shooter over the weekend in santa barbara, you know, he had been seeing therapists since he was 8. apparently he had had two therapists. his mother was vigilant enough to see something he had written or posted online in april, called the therapist who then called police. there was a welfare check. i could go on. it seems like the red flags weren't missed. yet liza, he was able to do what he did. >> right. and this case may be more so than some of the other cases, again, highlights those major gaps in our mental health care

delivery model. first of all, that we have to rely on the police, the first responders for mental health crisis. that's a huge burden on law enforcement. and sometimes they lack the training. i believe all law enforcement officers are heroes. but sometimes they don't have the training that they need to spot something like when they did that welfare check. and it's really not even fair that we've chosen to treat mental illness through law enforcement, through prison when there are other options. >> so let's talk about that. in the blog, you talk about the two bills in congress to help, specifically i want you to tell us about helping families in mental health crisis act, presented by congressman tim murphy. what is that proposing in talking about narrowing the gap we talk about. >> >> i was one of the parjts who testified in a forum after newtown about what parents of mental illness need. we still did not have a diagnosis for my son after more than eight years. representatives murphy's bill is

really drilling down on some of the issues that would help families like mine, and children like mine to be happy productive members of society. one of the things that might have helped in the roger case is called assisted outpatient treatment. i believe in california, there's laura's law that has been put into place in some communities. and what that requires is that when elliott roger was prescribed medication, he would have had to take that medication to remain in the community so that he could be safe, so that the entire community could be safe. that's one provision that would really help families. another one that concerns us are the current hipaa laws, which are well meaning, meant to protect privacy. but in the case of a child like elliott roger with mental illness, 22 years old, because of privacy laws, parents may not even have had access to knowledge that would have helped them to help their son. for me personally, my son is 14. i'm terrified of what happens when he turns 18, and i can't help with his care anymore.

so these provisions alone are reasons to really look at helping families in mental health crisis. it really gives our communities a chance to prevent tragedies like these, and again, like you said, brooke, every situation is unique. these are outliers on the vast majority of people in mental illness are not dangerous. but we so owe it to our children to make our communities safer. >> yes. >> for all children. >> i so appreciate you coming forward, sharing your very personal story. and just for folks to be able to read in congress, helping families in mental health crisis act, the one proposed by congressman tim murphy. liza long, thank you, thank you, as always, for coming on the show. >> thank you. coming up next, after months of waiting, this raw data from missing flight 370 is now pub c public. but families say something is still missing here.

♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.

[is engineered for comfort.hing that goes into a lennox system like parts that create your perfect temperature and humidity or the parts that purify the air. together these parts can cut your heating and cooling bills in half. which is quite comforting. and here's the best part... call now to get up to 1,700 dollars back or special financing on select lennox home comfort systems. offer ends june 13th. plus download our free lennox mobile app with an energy-savings calculator. if your current system is 10 years or older, start planning now. and take advantage of special financing. so call now to get up to 1,700 dollars back or special financing on select lennox home comfort systems. offer ends june 13th. and download our free lennox mobile app. lennox. innovation never felt so good.

the release of that raw satellite data on malaysia's missing airplane is finally ended. back and forth over who should have disclosed this information in the first place. but these 40-plus some pages open up new questions. how were these numbers used? how did they arrive at these numbers? and what models did mrsat apply to conclude this jet went down in the indian ocean off the coast of western australia? one son of a missing passenger said more information is needed.

>> we asked for some of the -- we are calling for more people who are experts in mathematics or physics to tell me. the raw data is not there. we want the formula they are using. >> you remember why the data is so crucial, because the logs of communication between satellite and this plane are really the only clues as to where this airliner went down after taking off back in early march with 239 people onboard. the data is the reason the search headed south, and not north. joining me now, cnn aviation analyst, jeff weiss. you've been calling for this to be released. now we have the numbers, not the analysis, but the numbers. is that good enough? >> you know, they say, brooke, be careful what you ask for. in this case, it came true.

because we've been asking for the raw data. it turns out that the data is a little bit too raw. but we don't have the context that would give it meaning. what we have is a car without a spark plug. we don't know, for instance, what the frequencies that the data was transmitted after so we can't derive the speed the plane was traveling at, to determine for ourselves why the authorities think the plane wound up where it did. >> when do we get the spark plugs? >> we're going back to the well, after complaining for all these weeks and months about please give us the raw data. you gave us the raw data. now give us the context that will make it meaningful. i don't know really why they're dragging their heels like this. you know, please help us to understand. don't just give us numbers and dump it in our laps. especially the families of the passengers, they really just want a sense of understanding what happened. can you help us to understand at least what's known. >> and ultimately finding the

plane. let's assume since the cries for data in the first place was answered. let's assume in time that the spark plugs, if you will, will be released. then what? who takes a look at that? should it be fresh eyes to finally find this plane? >> of course, you've got the official authorities who are running an official search operation. >> sure. >> and they need -- they're in charge and they need to decide amongst themselves who is going to be providing the leadership, and what model to follow, where to look. then we have the public, the media, the families. and the people who are just trying to understand for themselves, did it go into the ocean, where in the ocean did it go, do we have a hope of finding it or not. big questions. this is an extraordinary situation, brooke, where the entire fate of this plane hinges on this handful of numbers. no wreckage, no clues, no calls from terrorists claiming responsibility.

we have nothing. and so there's a real need to try to understand the math. >> that's why we will stay on this. we will keep this conversation going, and call for more information. jeff wise, thank you as always. >> thanks, brooke. donald sterling has mere hours left to tell the nba why he should get to keep the los angeles clippers. he has until the close of business today to explain the racist comments he made on that released audio recording. meantime, the nba is moving ahead with its plan to force sterling out. and could vote in one week on june 3rd. but behind the scenes here, sterling's wife, shelly, is trying to swing a deal to sell the team. and there is no shortage of buyers. one possible bidder here, the former microsoft ceo, steve balm year. forbes is estimating his net worth at $20 billion, give or take a few hundred million. so yes, he could afford to buy

the team. howard beck is a columnist for bleacher report. howard, how can the sterlings sale the deal. do they have to do that? >> it looks like they're moving forward to do just that. but a sale takes time. the nba has to vet a possible new owner. there's a process to go through that takes weeks or months. that's not going to happen by the time the vote occurs next tuesday. the nba has made it very clear they are still holding that hearing next tuesday. they're going to have a vote. and at that time, i think most of us expect that the nba is going to have a majority of the other 29 owners to force the sale. now, that doesn't mean that the sterlings can't voluntarily move forward to sell it under their own terms. >> do we know what these different owners would be looking for potentially in the next owner of the clippers? >> obviously somebody who's going to have to fork over quite a big number. >> yeah.

>> estimates by all accounts will push up possibly past $1.2 billion, closer to $2 billion potentially. no shortage as you've seen, the group that involves oprah winfrey, magic johnson, former nba star grant hill. there are no shortage of groups with high-profile people that have the means to buy the team. there's no question, the clippers are going to sell, they'll sell for a record price, that will be to the benefit of the other 29 owners. the ultimate benefit, which the nba wants, is to get donald and shelly sterling out of the league. coming up, a controversial study involving weight loss. some researchers say drinking diet soda will help you shed more pounds by drinking that than something else. we'll talk to the health expert to get the real takeaway on this to get the real takeaway on this one. itmore than something to share? what if a photo could build that shelf you've always wanted? or fix a leaky faucet?

or even give you your saturday back? the new snapfix app revolutionizes local service. just snap a photo and angie's list coordinates a top-rated provider to do the work on your schedule. the app makes it easy. the power of angie's list makes it work. download snapfix for free.

[ chainsaw buzzing ] humans. sometimes, life trips us up. sometimes, we trip ourselves up.

and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance. save up to 10% just for combining your auto and home insurance. call liberty mutual insurance at... to speak with an insurance expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. personalized coverage and savings -- all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. call... and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy?

we've all been on a diet here and there. a new study says if you take two group of dieters, side by side, one group gets to drink diet soda, the other does not, who will lose more weight? the answer is kind of revealed in the new study just published by the journal of obesity. the results caused a firestorm and according to the research, the diet soda drinkers did better. and the study was paid for, let me be clear, by the beverage association. so joining me now, noted physician, dr. ann smith, the author of shred, the revolutionary diet. so dr. ian smith, nice to have you back on. i'm sorry, i'm kind of rolling my eyes over this study. am i wrong? >> well, you know what, brooke, everybody's rolling their eyes over this study. about 300 people, a small study. it only lasted for 12 weeks. anybody who knows anything about diet and weight loss means

weight loss is not a sprint, it's a marathon. secondly, you look at the weight difference. the group that drank diet soda lost 12 pounds, the other lost 8 or 9 pounds. it's not a huge difference over 12 weeks, and definitely not for the long term. study after study, large studies of thousands and thousands of people have shown not only does that not happen whereas when you drink or use artificial sweeteners, you lose more weight, in fact, studies show you end up gaining weight and inches around your abdomen. absolutely. let me tell you why. this is key. the key is not because the artificial sweeteners are causing weight gain, it's because people tend to eat things, or drink things lower in calories, but then they go and drink or eat more calories elsewhere. so the caloric intake of the day is greater while they're still drinking or eating these artificial sweeteners, so they overcompensate. >> there are so many different artificial sweeteners out there.

we all have our vices. i tried to quit diet sodas, because i swear to you, splenda specifically, i swear, my eyes would keep twitching. what is in this stuff? >> it's interesting. this is a whole documentary basically about artificial sweeteners. a lot of these artificial sweeteners contain chemicals, believed to be carcinogenic, which means cancer causing. most of the studies are done in rats. they looked at rat physiology to see how it affects them. some of these artificial sweeteners, 7,000 times sweeter than sucrose, table sugar. they add all these additional chemicals which may have some side effects you may have described. >> okay. just things to keep in mind. we like to look at the headlines. you need to read deeper into some stories to get to the meat of it. dr. ian smith, thank you very

much. >> thank you. have you heard about this? the actor helped police on a stabbing case. he invited officers into his manhattan townhome monday to show his surveillance video of this fight. and apparently it was over a stolen computer next door. the lapd said before they got the video they only had witness accounts to go on. thursday night, 9:00 p.m. eastern, a new series, make sure you watch the sixties. a ten-part series for a look at pop culture and the music, and the politics of the decade that changed the world. each episode is executive produced by tom hanks and gary guessman. and here is a preview. >> our government is asking us, as citizens, to refrain from traveling to foreign lands. >> okay. all you guys in vietnam, come on home. >> the times were changing so quickly. in the sixties.

we didn't change them. >> we just reflected on them. >> what are you doing? >> i'm getting ready to go to college. >> the cbs gave the smothers you know, they wore blazers, they could sing well. they were funny. >> you lower your voice. >> free love, civil rights, so much more. "the sixties" premiers here on thursday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific only here. quiet! mom has a headache! had a headache! but now, i& don't. excedrin is fast. in fact for some, relief starts in just 15 minutes.

excedrin. headache. gone. means working efficiently. working together and a lennox home comfort system may just be the perfect example. its air conditioner works together with the furnace, and that works together with the air purifier, and that works with you by saving you up to half off your heating and cooling bill. call now to get up to 1,700 dollars back or special financing on select lennox home comfort systems. offer ends june 13th. plus download our free lennox mobile app with an energy-savings calculator. ♪ if your current system is 10 years or older, start planning now and take advantage of special financing. so call now to get up to 1,700 dollars back or special financing on select lennox home comfort systems. offer ends june 13th. and download our free lennox mobile app. ♪ lennox.

innovation never felt so good.

the university of california at santa barbara is getting ready to hold a memorial to remember and an nor those six students killed in friday's deadly rampage. and today people are posting

messages and memories of the victims on these massive boards all around campus. >> these are six real people, member of our ucsb campus that are no longer with us and it's about remembering the time that we had with them. we really need the community to have the community and forum to reflect on what has happened here. walking around and seeing bullet holes in places i frequent daily, i eat dinner with, i go with my friends to these places. i'm still trying to come to terms with it emotionally and i think once i have time to sit down and catch my brelath, i'll have that experience. >> we can tell you that the uc santa barbara community and all of those students are not grieving alone because college students across the state of california are offering support with the #weareallone. kevin, nice to have you on.

welcome. >> thank you. >> i hate the circumstances surrounding you coming on in the first place. i know you have friends at ucsb. clearly this is reverberating through the whole uc system. what are the plans for the vigil at your campus? >> well, we just wanted to have a space of healing for students that have been affected because the violence that occurred at ucsb, we think it's important to understand the solidarity katie cooper, ve rchl onika wchl eiss, christopher martinez, for those affected we want to offer a space of healing and to honor them. >> in the days since the shootings, i'm sure you've been part of conversations with young people.

what is the overarching message or concern that you have here? >> well, people are definitely affected by this issue. right now it's a lot of grieving, a lot of focusing on healing but i think that something i've noticed is that there's a lot of talk about gun control laws, mental health issues and i believe those are important issues, but someone that has been working with the campus assault resources center for three years now, without a doubt is an act of gender-based violence. it's about male entitlement. if we don't focus so much on mental health and gun violence, men feel that they are an entitlement and women are not

obligated to give that to them in return and we're taught if we don't get it, if we're denied, we punish those that deny it or to take what we want forcibly. i think it's important the people that i talk to that like after we honor the victims, to continue to honor them, we need to reframe the discussion that we're having. it's more than gun violence and mental health issues. if we really want to honor katie cooper, veronika weiss, christopher martinez and george chen and weihan wang and chong yuan hong, we need to keep talking about this. >> kevin, thank you so much. just hours before this vigil.

before i go, i wanted to share this. after this ex mauhausting three trip to the middle east, pope francis had enough energy to speak to reporters for an hour on his ride back to rome and said that allowing priests to marry some day is not out of the question. >> translator: celibacy is not a dogma. it is a rule of life that i appreciate very much and it's a gift for the church. but since it is not a dogma, the door is always open. >> just a short time ago i talked to cnn senior vatican analyst john allen who was on the plane when the pope said that. >> well, first of all, brooke, just to indicate how remarkable this was, you indicated that this came at the end of the three-day incredibly difficult

trip to the middle east. you know, the pope came out to do this press conference. he was into it for about a half hour. his spokesperson tried to cut it off and the pope said, no, i want to keep going. these comments of sell celibacy at the end of trying to wrap that up. he's the energizer bunny of popes. >> i'm going to quote you on that, john allen. >> please do. but to come to this point about celibacy, brooke, we should say, this is absolutely nothing new. anybody who has commented on the rule of celibacy will tell you, it's a discipline, not a dogma. it's a tradition but is nothing that comes from the law of gau . god. >> the pope had already made news on the trip calling for recognition of palestinian state and calling for the rights of

each other to live in peace. and he invited israeli and palestinian leaders to the vatican, a move that could possibly restart peace talks. i'm brooke baldwin. thank you so much for watching. we'll see you back here at the same time tomorrow. in the meantime, let's go to washington. "the lead" with jake tapper starts right now. almost all american troops out of afghanistan by 2016. will the afghans be ready? i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the world lead. a major announcement by the commander in chief. the next to zero option, combat operations will finish in afghanistan by the end of this year. they will soon head for the exits as well. critics ask, what happen if al qaeda comes back? the national lead. what caused the man that killed six people in santaba