great many could benefit from a friend like this. is this how robots will take over the world? >> um-hum. >> reporter: and it's good. >> it's good for autism. >> reporter: tom foreman cnn, washington. that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper. turning you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." happening now, nuclear deal. the u.s. and other world powers agree on a blueprint agreement to keep iran from building nuclear weapons. president obama says if the deal is carried out, the world will be safer. but what if iran cheats? university attack. terrorists strike before dawn targeting christian students in the slaughter that takes nearly 150 lives. u.s. bomb plot. two new york women, they're accused now of an isis inspired plot to build a weapon of mass destruction. even as another american citizen with alleged al qaeda ties is charged with conspiring to aid a terror group. and premeditated murder.

that's how one official describes the actions of the co-pilot who brought down flight 9525 amid stunning revelations from prosecutors that he researched cockpit doors and suicide methods. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we are following multiple breaking stories right now. world powers led by the united states reach a framework nuclear agreement with iran an agreement that president obama says shuts down iran's path to a bomb. iran will get relief from crippling sanctions in exchange for huge cuts in its nuclear program if and we are repeating the word if the deal is finalized. critics are already sounding the alarm all of this as al qaeda linked terrorists launch an attack on a university singling out christian students for slaughter in a university in kenya. close to 150 are dead.

al qaeda's branch in yemen also struck today, freeing hundreds of inmates, including one of their leaders, in an attack on a prison. federal prosecutors reveal two alleged plots right here at home. a u.s. citizen is charged with plotting to aid terrorists and two new york women, they are accused of planning to build a bomb. our correspondents analysts and guests they're all standing by with the latest developments. i will speak live this hour with the white house press secretary, josh earnest. and republican congresswoman martha mcsalley of the armed services and homeland security committees. let's get the very latest from our senior white house correspondent, jim acosta. jim? >> reporter: president obama is describing this as an historic deal. now he has to sell it. the question is whether republicans and even some nervous democrats in washington will buy it. just when the iran nuclear talks appeared to be going nowhere fast top diplomats in switzerland revealed a potential breakthrough. moments later, out came the salesman in chief. >> after many months of tough

diplomacy we have achieved the framework for that deal. and it is a good deal. a deal that meets our core objectives. >> reporter: the tentative deal reached by iran the u.s. and other world powers is specific. iran must slash by two-thirds the centrifuges needed to produce the fuel for a nuclear weapon. its breakout timeline or the time needed to obtain the material for an atomic bomb is extended from just a few months to one year. international inspectors must have access to all nuclear facilities and only when compliance is verified does iran get sanctions relief. >> if iran cheats, the world will know it. if we see something suspicious, we will inspect it. so this will be a long term deal that addresses each path to a potential iranian nuclear bomb. >> reporter: but hold on. this is only the framework agreement that was due march 31st. the technical details of the deal still have to be worked out by june 30th. if iran starts playing games,

the white house says tehran could face more sanctions with military options also on the table. skeptics from both parties in congress will be watching. >> we need the inspectors to have the ability to go in there and verify and until that happens, it looks to me like we are being rolled. >> reporter: secretary of state john kerry, who led the switzerland talks, said the agreement is proof diplomacy can work. >> simply demanding that iran capitulate makes a nice sound bite but it's not a policy. >> reporter: for the president, the nuclear deal could achieve a goal he announced at the start of his presidency to reach out to countries like iran. >> for those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history. but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. >> reporter: either way, mr. obama's legacy could well be on the line. >> you've got quite a

significant accomplishment. is it perfect, no. he bet a lot on this and he's wrapped the last remaining 20 months of his presidency in what could be the most significant accomplishment on foreign policy if in fact, all of this holds. >> reporter: the president now has a lot of calls to make. he has already spoken with saudi arabia's king. he is scheduled to talk with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and congressional leaders today. house speaker john boehner released a statement saying the parameters for a final deal represent an alarming departure from the white house's initial goals. the president in addition to that will hold a summit with gulf state leaders at camp david later this spring. every step of the way, doubts will be raised. even the iranian foreign minister is tweeting he wants to know when the sanctions will be lifted. the pressure is coming from all sides. >> as you point out, he becomes salesman in chief. selling this framework agreement. jim, thanks very much. more on the iran deal coming up. but there is other critically important news we are following. they struck before dawn

shooting students and seizing hostages reportedly singling out non-muslims. close to 150 people are now dead in an attack by the al qaeda linked group al shabab. on a university campus in kenya, it's the same group that carried out a bloody mall attack in kenya and has called for similar attacks in the west. let's get the very latest from our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. barbara? >> reporter: wolf, the assault went on for hours starting in the early morning when al shabab gunmen part of an al qaeda linked group in east africa attacked this university in southern kenya. kenyan authorities are reporting by the time it was over 147 dead more than 500 actually nearly 600 students finally accounted for. at least four gunmen dead. the gunmen began bicepy separating out the christian and muslim students and killing many christian students. so this has just been a devastating attack. it's another attack by this

group which has been on the run somewhat against one of the so-called soft targets. universities shopping malls, people who are just going about their daily business and there's really no practical way to fully protect them from a terrorist attack. the white house condemning it. the president of kenya coming out, reassuring his people telling everyone to stay calm but also asking if anyone has information about the attackers to please share it. wolf? >> tell us a little more about al shabab. the notion that they would take the christians separate the christians and hindus for example, away from the muslims, lets the muslims live but start killing non-muslims. they did that at the mall attack as wemll didn't they? >> reporter: this is a group that is hardcore hardcore islamist group with al qaeda links. they are feeling a good deal of pressure because they have been pushed out of their strongholds

in next door somalia so they have been reacting against the kenyans. i will tell you, the u.s. military has launched several raids in recent months to kill top al shabab leadership. the group reacting against that. it was in february that they put out a video threatening the mall of america in minnesota, threatening to attack other american and european malls. that threat thankfully did not come true. there was no attack. but there is ongoing concern that this group is able to reach out and recruit young somali americans to their cause, possibly even inspire lone wolf attacks. so while it's in east africa it's something that's really resonating with law enforcement and intelligence authorities here in the united states keeping a very close eye on what they are up to and in fact the u.s. embassy in kenya has been repeatedly warning americans in that region to remain vigilant. >> only this week the white

house announced the president would be making his first visit to kenya later this year. we'll see how that unfolds as well. barbara, thank you. meanwhile, there has been a bold attack by an al qaeda group half a world away and it may increase the threat for americans even here at home. the terror group has taken advantage of the chaos and violence in war-torn yemen, targeting a prison there and freeing hundreds apparently including one of its own leaders. let's bring in our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. he's got the details for us and the enormous implications. >> no question. i spoke to a u.s. counter terrorism official today who called the situation in yemen dire and says there's no indication things are going to get better soon. keep in mind yemen, home to al qaeda in the arabian peninsula which along with the khorasan group considered the two most threatening terror groups to americans, including the u.s. homeland and now dozens of their fighters are free. as yemen continues to unravel, al qaeda in the arabian

peninsula is capitalizing on the chaos. attacking a prison freeing an estimated 270 inmates. one-third of those prisoners believed linked to the terror group. a senior aqap figure is believed to be one of them. u.s. officials consider the group linked to the "charlie hebdo" attack and the underwear bomber as one of the biggest terror threats to the u.s. now these escaped prisoners are poised to strengthen the group just after u.s. special forces tracking them were evacuated from the country last month. a u.s. counter terrorism official tells cnn quote, long term the instability has reduced counter terror pressure on aqap potentially giving them greater freedom of action to carry out attacks. aqap's master bomb maker remains on the loose and now even more difficult to catch. >> it certainly put us in a

different posture right now. it's much more challenging today than it was when we had people on the ground. >> reporter: now there are concerns that saudi air strikes backed by u.s. intelligence are continuing to destabilize the country on the brink of civil war, leaving even more of a vacuum for terror groups such as al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and isis. >> they are going to be in a situation where they can control not only the territory but potentially use that territory as a springboard for attacks in other countries. >> reporter: caught in the middle of the saudi bombardment, an american imprisoned in yemen on suspicion he's a member of al qaeda. a new jersey resident shareef mobley who tells his lawyers on a phone call obtained by cnn that he fears for his life as bombs seem to land near the prison where he's held. >> i don't know if i'm going to make it out of here alive. last night there was a bomb in here. it hit the base. very scary. it made the whole building

shake. >> reporter: a senior military official tells barbara starr that the fighting in yemen may for now cause aqap's overseas plotting to be sidetracked but medium and long term there's no question there's less counter terror pressure on that group there. that's a real concern to u.s. officials going forward. they have eyes and ears they have satellites they have drones et cetera but very different from having the partner forces and having those u.s. special forces on the ground. >> i've got to agree with that official. the situation in yemen right now, dire. i think that's a fair assessment. awful assessment but fair. >> in private, i will tell you they use stronger terms. >> i can only imagine. thanks very much for that jim sciutto. joining us republican congresswoman martha mcsalley of arizona. she is a member of both the armed services and homeland security committees. she retired from the u.s. air force as a full colonel. she was the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat. congresswoman, thanks very much for joining us. you agree with that counter

terrorism official that the situation in yemen right now is dire? >> yes, absolutely. my last assignment at u.s. africa command, i was overseeing our counter terrorism operations in africa and i will tell you we worked very closely with central command dealing with aqap as they were growing and metastasizing and now there's a vak vacuum of ungoverned spaces that is quickly spiraling into chaos. aqap is a very sophisticated threat that is now taking advantage of that. >> you served 26 years in the u.s. air force as a fighter pilot. you think saudi air power can get the job done in yemen? >> well again, what we're seeing is a larger strategic concern where we've got elements of sunni non-state actors like aqap and then we've got shia non-state actors in the houthis and iran is backing them up so now there's the potential to have a proxy war going on in

yemen that is backed by iran on the other side. so it's a complex situation but if you are trying to take out military targets, command and control and destabilize their ability to be able to communicate and achieve military objectives, you can certainly do that using overwhelming air power. not like by the way, what we have used against isis. >> let me get your thoughts on this framework agreement on iran's nuclear program. you with the president on this? >> no absolutely not. look the president's strategy has been absolutely incoherent in the middle east in general. he is pinning his legacy on this agreement. this should be about the legacy of the free world and the future of our interests and stability in the middle east and a generational struggle we are having against the largest state sponsor of terror that i believe still is going to be marching towards a nuclear capability. the devil will definitely be in the details. but i'm very concerned about what is not in this agreement, and that obama is doing whatever it takes to get an agreement at

the risk of our strong ally israel and stabilization in the region and you know american citizens and our own national security. >> what is it in the agreement that you want? >> so i have read through the four pages, again, there's a lot of vague terms, but i'm still concerned that iran is the largest state sponsor of terror. they have been exporting terror around the region and around the world. they still chant death to america. they are still responsible for the deaths of american soldiers. none of this addresses their other irresponsible activity as a state sponsor of terror also does not address their weaponization capability. it still allows them to have an infrastructure and there is a lot of technical concerns about what do you mean by continuous monitoring versus access. we have watched north korea march towards a nuclear weapon so inspectors don't stop it from happening. >> congresswoman, we are only getting started. we have a lot more questions on what's going on not only in iran but throughout the region. i want touyou to stand by.

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make your move. ask your doctor about crestor. we are back with republican congresswoman martha mcsally of arizona, a member of both the armed services and homeland security committees. congresswoman, president obama says if you guys in congress were to kill this deal by imposing new sanctions or refusing to ease existing sanctions, assuming iran goes ahead with what it's supposed to do and if you don't offer any alternatives the u.s. will be blamed for all of this. that could lead to a disaster. your reaction? >> well my reaction is that he is a co-equal branch of the government and he needs to be working with congress on many

different things to include this and he has to answer to the american people not to the u.n. security council. so we should have been having the dialogue hand in hand and congress should have a voice related to what is really an arms control agreement that impacts the future of national security and security of our citizens. >> are you going to at least wait until the end of june to see what the details are, or will you push for strengthening sanctions right now? >> well i will be working with my colleagues and the leadership when we get back to washington, d.c. these are the types of questions that we need to have. again, all we have seen is a four-page document that still raises additional concerns whether they are going to 'fess up to their previous military activities potentially in the nuclear realm, the limits of their research and development, how long ten years, 15 years, whatever is on this four pages that i read. there is still tremendous concerns that we are basically legitimizing a state sponsor of

terror. we have to work for our colleagues and we are the voice of the american people so that's an appropriate role that we play. >> the president says this deal will halt iran's capability of becoming a nuclear power for at least ten or 15 years. if the u.s. were to launch air strikes, he said they could come back within a few years, a couple of years, and rebuild their capability. this is a better way to stop them from building a bomb. that's what he says. >> well you know the president is the leader of the free world here the leader of the united states and he is saying things like this is our best option. look our best option is to have a coherent strategy in the middle east which is what he's failing to do right now. it's our best option not to capitulate to state sponsors of terror taking them off the terrorist list and negotiating with them from a place of weakness which appears to be what this is. even the language that he's using is like this is all we can get out of them. look we are america and we should be leading our allies in order to strengthen our position so that we are not negotiating with terrorist countries or

state sponsors of terrorism like this. i think this is a weak response but is very similar to what we have seen in his failed foreign policy around the globe and the region for sure. >> let's shift gears and talk about what's going on in kenya, an awful situation. at least 140 students murdered after an islamist gunman burst into a university campus separating christians from muslims, killing the christians. here's the question, because a lot of people are worried here in the united states. put on your hat as a member of the homeland security committee. how vulnerable are soft targets, whether shopping malls, universities right here in the united states especially since this very same al qaeda affiliated group, al shabab has threatened to go after u.s. malls after that shopping mall attack in nairobi. >> well when i was overseeing our counter terrorism operations at u.s. africa command from 2007 to 2010 we were watching this organization al shabab train thousands of fighters in training camps out in the middle of nowhere in somalia, and we

went up the chain of command with plans to say we have got to take these out. this is a destabilizing force in the region and potentially for us in america, and the obama administration failed to acknowledge that. wouldn't even call al shabab an al qaeda affiliate and allow us to even use force for several years. so we watched this threat grow under his watch and it is a serious threat. we have seen it now with two strikes in kenya. these are the same fighters we watched graduate and then spread out and continue to threaten our interests. we have soft targets in america that are certainly in danger not just from organizations like this but from home-grown threats. those that are inspired on the internet by isis and other jihadists around the globe. look we don't want to live in fear but we need to be vigilant that this is definitely a concern. we have got potential foreign fighters that are flowing into these combat zones, then can flow back to us. we also have the home-grown threat like we saw with the boston marathon bomber. we all need to be on very

vigilant alert and as a member of the homeland security committee, i'm very concerned about this threat. >> i'm sure you are. there's another very concerning development today in new york city two women in queens queens in new york they were arrested for allegedly plotting to make an explosive device to use right here in the united states maybe at herald square in new york city. how close was this plot of a bombing actually to becoming reality based on what you are hearing? >> so what i'm hearing so far in the initial reports is that they were being monitored and communicating with some undercover agents so we were monitoring their activities but it looked like it was fairly not sophisticated but fairly far along. certainly they had the ideology of jihadists for the last several years. so this is a good example of a potential home-grown threat for maybe not a typical profile person right, coming from a woman, not to make gender generalizations but we have got

to be making sure our law enforcement have the tools they need and we intercepted this one. the biggest concern of law enforcement in the briefings we have had both classified and unclassified on the homeland security committee is the ones that we don't know about. the ones that are out there being inspired bringing potentially off the shelf capabilities to bear and then going after soft targets. so i'm on the task force for combatting terrorist and foreign fighter flow was appointed to that and my colleagues and i are looking at these very threats. again, those flowing into the united states from training but also those who are right here at home in our communities. we don't want to be living in fear but we have got to do what it takes to defend americans. >> congresswoman martha mcsally thanks very much for joining us. >> thanks wolf. >> you prefer being called congresswoman or colonel? >> martha is fine. congresswoman right now. >> we will call you congresswoman for now. thanks very much for joining us. we will get the obama administration's response when we come back. the white house press secretary josh earnest is standing by live. we will ask him to get his thoughts on what's going on

about the concerns expressed by the representative other members of congress what the israelis are now saying. we just got a statement from a senior israeli government official. also today's stunning breaking news from the germanwings crash investigation. the co-pilot actually did research on ways to kill himself and he also did research on cockpit doors. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel.

kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift? ah, nothing much. just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big things that move an economy. see you tomorrow, mac. see you tomorrow, sam. just another day at norfolk southern.

we are covering multiple breaking stories, including president obama's announcement just a little while ago that the united states iran other world powers have now agreed on what's being called a framework agreement, a deal to prevent the

iranians from developing nuclear weapons. joining us now is the white house press secretary, josh earnest, joining us from the north lawn of the white house. josh, thanks very much for joining us. i understand the president now has had his conversation with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he was aboard air force one flying to kentucky. what can you tell us how that conversation between the israeli prime minister and the president went? >> well i don't want to reveal too many details of their private conversation but i can tell you that the president made a powerful case to the prime minister that he has in public many times which is that the president strongly believes that diplomacy is the best way for us to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon that's clearly in the best interests of the united states it's clearly in the best interests of the united states' closest ally if the middle east which is israel. the other thing we will insist upon is we will insist upon the most stringent intrusive inspections regime that has ever been imposed on a nation's nuclear program to verify their compliance with the agreement. >> i just got a statement from a

senior israeli government official in jerusalem who says iran will still have extensive nuclear capabilities it will continue to enrich uranium, it will continue its centrifuge research and development, it will not close even one of its nuclear facilities including the underground facility this and more. they don't seem to be very impressed by this deal. >> well listen people need to look at the details of this deal before they reach a conclusion. the fact is just to take a couple of those things right on in terms of the plutonium reactor, the core of that reactor would be removed, destroyed and shipped out of the country to ensure that weapons grade plutonium could not be made at that facility and they wouldn't be allowed to build any other facilities like that for more than a decade. in terms of the fordo facility they would not enrich uranium at that facility. we would have inspectors there on a daily basis to confirm that. the fact of the matter is we have shut down every single pathway that iran has to a nuclear weapon and they have

agreed to inspections that would verify their compliance with the agreement. now, there are more details to be worked out and that's what our experts will focus on over the course of the exnext couple months but based on the framework that has been established, we have set out a path where we can use diplomacy which is the best way for us to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. >> the oth thought is bottom line this deal ensures the full removal of the sanctions against iran's nuclear program while assuring it will keep its r capabilities. there is no demand that iran stop its aggression in the region its terrorism around the world or its threats to destroy israel which it has repeated again -- repeated again over the past several days. >> well, wolf we have been very clear that what we are trying to do is to build support across the international community to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and there is no case in which we have made the case that the united states is going to -- that this agreement is going to resolve all of the

concerns that we have with iran. we know that iran is supporting terrorism around the world. we know that iran is fomenting instability in the middle east. we know that iran is making terrible threats against our closest ally israel in the middle east. we know that iran is actually detaining unjustly some american citizens inside of iran. those concerns still persist and they would not be resolved in the context of this agreement but here's the thing. this is precisely why it is so important for us to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. if iran had a nuclear weapon they would be more dangerous in supporting terrorism. a nuclear armed iran would be able to more dangerously menace israel. if iran were able to obtain a nuclear weapon it would be even more destabilizing to the middle east. so we recognize we have got a long list of concerns with iran. that is in fact why we want to take steps to ensure that iran is not able to acquire a nuclear weapon. >> do you have any commitments from the iranians as part of this deal that this deal will stop the iranians from funding or supporting terrorist

activity? >> that's not part of the deal. but we regularly insist and continue to insist that iran not support terrorism, that they not create so much instability in the region and that they cease their antisemetic threats against israel. there are a whole host of sanctions in place through the international community against iran for those reasons. those sanctions will remain in place. what we are focused on right now is dealing with their nuclear program and making sure that this dangerous country doesn't get access to a nuclear weapon and it's precisely because they are so dangerous and because they are so menacing that we want to make sure that they don't get a nuclear weapon. so that's why this deal is so important. it's why it's critical to the national security interests of the united states. that's why we clearly believe it's in the best interest of israel. >> because the critics, there are plenty of critics on the hill including some democrats who say billions of dollars that are going to be flowing now into the iranian economy once the sanctions are eased, once many of them are lifted a lot of that money is going to be used to promote international terrorism around the world.

>> well the fact of the matter is that right now, what we want to do the most important thing we can do to deal with iran is try to prevent them to ensure that they cannot develop a nuclear weapon. we do not want them to acquire a nuclear weapon. that's exactly what this agreement would accomplish. there is no question that all of iran's bad behavior would only be worsened if they are nuclear armed. that's why this agreement is so important. it's also why we have got more work to do. we want to make sure we will go through the details here have our experts have the opportunity to sit across the table from iran's experts and verify in very detailed fashion that they are going to comply with the agreement and as it's implemented, that it can achieve our goal of assuring iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. >> i know the president and other top officials, secretary kerry will be briefing members of congress the house and senate but what is the specific role that congress has in all of this other than just going along with it? >> the fact of the matter is congress has had an important role since early on in this process. one of the reasons we have succeeded in bringing iran to

the negotiating table with the international community is because congress was instrumental in passing very difficult sanctions against iran that had a terrible impact on their economy, their currency was deeply devalued their oil exports plummeted and we saw that the economy has weakened substantially because of these sanctions. now, we put these in place in conjunction with the international community to really maximize the impact of those sanctions. congress was integral to that work. what is also true is as we implement this agreement, at some point down the line congress will have to make the decision to vote to remove those sanctions. but here's the thing, wolf. the administration does not believe that congress right away should remove those sanctions. what we want to see is what we want to see over the course of a sustained period of time not just days or weeks or months but over the longer term that iran is actually living up to the terms of the agreement and if they demonstrate over the long term that they will comply with the agreement, then congress should consider whether or not it's appropriate to

remove those sanctions. >> would that be a year from now, five years from now when would you ask congress to go ahead and remove those sanctions? >> tease arehese are some of the details still under discussion. what we do not envision is over the course of a couple weeks or a couple months basically saying okay iran the toughest thing, the toughest punishment we have imposed on you in terms of compelling you to the negotiating table with the international community, we are ready to take that away. we are not going to do that until iran has demonstrated look iran is a country that for years has sought to evade detection, they have tried to work around inspectors. we want to make sure through the course of this historically intrusive inspections regime that we can keep tabs on their nuclear program and if we can verify their compliance over the longer term then congress should do the rightful thing and consider whether or not it's appropriate to remove the sanctions regime that's been instrumental to getting this agreement in the first place. >> josh earnest, the white house press secretary, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf.

>> very busy day over there at the white house. up next other stunning developments that we are following, including the airliner crash investigation. not only have searchers now found the plane's flight data recorder they have discovered that the co-pilot had researched cockpit doors and ways to commit suicide. i'm caridee. i've had moderate to severe plaque psoriasis most my life. but that hasn't stopped me from modeling. my doctor told me about stelara®. it helps keep my skin clearer. with only 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses... ... stelara® helps me be in season. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and increase your risk of infections. some serious infections require hospitalization. before starting stelara®... ...your doctor should test for tuberculosis. stelara® may increase your risk of cancer. always tell your doctor if you have any sign of infection, have had cancer, or if you develop any new skin growths. do not take stelara® if you are allergic to stelara® or any of its ingredients. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems- these may be signs of a rare,

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we are also following the breaking news in the crash of

germanwings flight 9525 including startling new evidence that the co-pilot recently used the internet to look for ways to kill himself. let's go to germany, where our justice correspondent pamela brown has been getting new information for us. it's pretty startling to hear this. tell our viewers, pamela, what you have learned. >> reporter: absolutely wolf. we are learning more about the actions of andreas lubitz in the week before the crash and officials say it shows it was premeditated. he searched not only ways to commit suicide, different methods, but also cockpit doors and security measures. officials say when you look at this evidence coupled with everything else we have learned, with his psychological issues that he was coping with before that it's growing increasingly clear that this is a deeply disturbed man who was trying to hide a dark secret. we learned from a source close to this investigation that he had been doctor shopping in the months leading up to the plane crash, that he had had a relapse of severe depression in 2014 and

that he was going from doctor to doctor. a neuropsychologist, an eye doctor a sleep specialist because he was having trouble sleeping. sources i have been speaking with say it seems as though one of the possible motives is that he was very afraid to lose his medical license -- his pilot license as a result of his medical issues and he apparently told his doctors this as well wolf but officials are not yet ready to come out and say they have reached a conclusion. >> we know, pamela that they found the cockpit voice recorder badly damaged but still usable very very quickly, but now they have finally found the flight data recorder as well. tell us about that. >> reporter: and this is key. we heard from the french prosecutor today that a female french police officer was there helping with the rescue efforts and she found the flight data recorder under about eight inches of debris there and that it was burnt but that of course the hope is they will be able to

still retrieve data from that recorder and perhaps give us better answers as to what exactly happened in those final moments before the plane crash, wolf. >> let's hope. thanks very much pamela brown reporting. coming up we also are getting new details now on today's deadly terrorist attack on the university campus. at least, at least 147 people are confirmed dead. across america, people are taking charge of their type 2 diabetes... ...with non-insulin victoza. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza. he said victoza works differently than pills and comes in a pen. victoza is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once a day, any time. and the needle is thin. victoza is not for weight loss but it may help you lose some weight. victoza is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it is not recommended as the first

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breaking news in the latest political scandal to hit washington. u.s. senator robert menendez pleaded not guilty to corruption charges.

athena jones has more on latest. >> reporter: we're talking about influence pedaling conspiracy bribery. these are not the words polls ss politicians want attached to their name. senator menendez began his career four decades ago. now he is facing corruption charges in the fight of his career. >> these allegations are false, and i am confident they will be proven false. i look forward to doing so in court. >> reporter: a defyiance defense from robert menendez facing corruption charges for using his office to help a friend and donor in exchange for lavish gifts. it outlines 14 counts including eight counts of bribery from accepting gifts, including flights on his private jets a state at a luxury hotel in paris, use of a villa at an

exclusive resort with golf courses, spas beaches and even polo fields. and money, lots of it. including $750,000 in campaign contributions in 2012. another $600,000 in donations to a political action committee that benefitted menendez. in exchange menendez among other things intervened in a dispute over millions of dollars in medicare payments to the doctor pressured the statement department to convince the dominican republic to honor his contract there and helped his foreign girlfriends to get visas. menendez repaid him $58,000 for the flights after word of the investigation became public. he insisted wednesday that the feds got it wrong. >> prosecutors at the justice department don't know the difference between friendship and corruption. >> reporter: his republican

opponents pounced. the senate campaign arm saying in a statement, his actions reinforce all that the american people believe is wrong with washington democrats. menendez has been one of the white house's top critics on foreign policy slamming the president's approach to nuclear negotiations with iran. he co-sponsored bills that would impose new sanctions. he has criticized the decision to ease the trade embargo with cuba. >> we got nothing in terms of democracy and human rights. >> reporter: the charges forced menendez to step down as the top democrat on the senate foreign relations company. he called it a temporary move and insists he will be vindicated. his next court date is april 22. the trial is set for july. >> we will see what happens. thanks athena jones reporting for us. led by the united states, world powers have reached a

blueprint arrangement for a nuclear deal with iran. president obama says it shuts down iran's path to a bomb. can iran be trusted to shelf most of its nuclear program? horror on campus. al qaeda-linked terrorists attack a university singling out christian students for slaughter at the school in kenya. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel. kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift? ah, nothing much. just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big things that move an economy. see you tomorrow, mac.

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happening now, nuclear deal. new reaction tonight to a just-reached agreement aimed at preventing iran from developing a nuclear bomb. will it make the world safer or create new dang sneakersers.

stand by for an interview with john kerry. dozens are dead after terrorists storm a university slaughtering christians while letting muslims go free. tear an american linked to al qaeda faceing charges while isis inspired aid bomb plot leading to the arrest of two women in new york city. crash discoveries. the missing black box has been found. it was buried and burnt. investigators say they found shocking new evidence suggesting the co-pilot had been planning the crash for some time. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you are in "the situation room." we're following several breaking stories tonight. president obama declaring a deal with iran is a good deal. >> it would cut off every pathway iran could take to

develop a nuclear weapon. if iran cheats the world will know it. >> hours after negotiators announced the breakthrough an israeli official is warning against celebrations arguing iran has refused to make concessions and is still a threat to the middle east. terror around the globe. from the deadly attack at a university in kenya to an al qaeda prison break in yemen. terror charges against americans in two new cases here in the united states. senator angus king he is here. the leading member of the arms services and intelligence committees. our correspondents and analysts are standing by covering all the breaking news. first let's go to our global affairs correspondent at the site of the nuclear talks in switzerland. you sat down with the secretary of state john kerry for an interview, tell us how it went. >> reporter: wolf he talked to me about the negotiations and

the deal he got after 18 months of talks. the hard work starts right now. this is a lot more than you thought you would get. >> well no it's what we knew we wanted to get and had to get. but you never know in a negotiation if you will get it. but we knew we were going after something important. i've said continually, we can't -- we have to have a good deal. and we have to close off those pathways. and that's what we've been working to do. >> reporter: what's to say iran won't come back when you do final negotiations and try to reopen this? >> then they don't get an agreement. i'm confident about the parameters as they have been articulated. they will have a narrative that is different from ours obviously. we will have what we have. >> reporter: several members of congress are coming out against this agreement. they seem to have a veto-proof majority for a vote for a stay.

they could kill this. >> no i don't believe so. i think on close inspection i don't believe that will happen. that would be very irresponsible to make politics trump facts and science. and the realities of what is possible here. and it would be irresponsible door it when you have six nations p-5 plus one. permanent members of the security council plus germany, china and russia which don't have common interests with us in everything that they are dedicated to the enforcement of this. so i think that really some of our senators and congressmen need to step back take a deep breath -- >> reporter: you spent more time with the iranian foreign minister than most foreign ministers you have been meeting with. certainly more than any u.s. official has spent with an iranian official in 30 years. what was the most surprising thing about these negotiations?

take us inside. >> i think there was a seriousness of purpose. people negotiated hard. it was tough, very intense at times. sometimes emotional and confrontational. it was a very intensive process. but because the stakes are very high and because there is a long history of not talking to each other for 35 years we haven't talked with the iranians directly like this. so we're not basing this on a naivete or trust or some element of good faith. this is based on real steps, real accountability real measures that have to be implemented and on accountable if they are not. >> reporter: does this help with other -- >> we didn't talk about it. iran has a lot of challenges right now with the rest of the community in that region. we made it clear that an iran without a nuclear weapon is

better than given some of what's happening in the region and iran with a weapon. focused on trying to deal with the nuclear issue, and we will continue as i made very clear tonight as the president has made clear to be focused on the other issues of what iran is doing within the region. >> reporter: now the hard work begins as i said. the negotiators will have to go back to the drawing board and fill in all the blanks. this was just the backbone of the agreement. now they have to fill in all the technical details of those broad strokes. this deal that's due at the end of june is still far from certain. members of congress already coming out disparaging the agreement, saying that they have close to a veto-proof majority wolf to have a congressional say on this deal. far from certain, wolf. >> they have three months to finish all the details.

let's see what happens. thank you. let's bring in jim sciutto. he has more on the iran nuclear agreement. how much of a turn around does this represent in fact from the earlier talks? >> reporter: it's an enormous turn around. in the last few days if you believe the public pronouncements of disagreements just this week up until the final moment you had disagreements on the pace of sanctions relief. you had disagreement on the disposition of iran's huge stockpile of enriched uranium. they have come to agreement on that. it's also a turn around as you look forward. here the west is going to give up assuming iran complies with the deal with a sanctions infrastructure that's taken years to create involves an incredible collection of allies in this the west but also countries like china squeezing iran. that's an enormous stick to take away in terms of leverage. i suppose the bigger picture and secretary of state referred to ades

where you were barely talking to each other. it was two years ago they had secret meetings the phone call in september 2013. now, less than two years after that after months and months of negotiations you come to what appears to be if you sign all those, if you dot all the is and cross all the ts, a remarkable agreement. >> they are celebrating in the streets in iran? >> reporter: they are. we have pictures as well. we saw earlier today there was a twitter trend of people taking selfies with president obama. iranians state television played his statement in the rose garden live on iranian state tv. that's unprecedented. the iranian people this is more than about the nuclear program. it's about opening their economy. it's about going to schools they want to out the country, buy the cars they want to buy, get the medicine they want. this is a country that has been under that regime for so long.

i've been going there for years. people are desperate for this kind of change. it's why they elected the president. >> that's why they made the concessions they made. billions of dollars will flow into the iranian economy if all those sanctions are removed, presumably will be if the iranians live up to their part of the bargain. let me shift gears. a disturbing development in yemen. al qaeda, the forces there, they went into a prison. they freed almost 300 prisoners, many al qaeda terrorists. tell us about that. >> reporter: a u.s. counter owe fushl tell fishl tells me the situation is dire. aqap seen by the u.s. as one of two terror groups most capable of attacking u.s. soil attacking a prison in the south freeing an estimated 270 inmates, one-third believe linked to aqap. and a senior al qaeda figure believed to be one of them. they added this warning,

long-term the instability has reduced counter terror pressure giving them greater freedom could to carry out attacks. they are the reason airport security checks mobile devices. they nearly had success with another kind of bomb on christmas in 2009. a senior u.s. military official says the fighting may in the short-term actually cause overseas plotting to be in the words of this official sidetracked. you have to think that medium and long-term without u.s. special forces on the ground they have been evacuated, with the u.s. embassy closed and its intelligence gathering presence taken away with u.s. intelligence officers no longer on the ground, you don't have as many vision as you had in the past. u.s. officials admit it and it's something they will have to watch. >> no yemeni personnel assisting

the united states. >> reporter: it was a key relationship that the president highlighted as a success. >> hasn't worked out that well. thanks very much jim sciutto reporting for us. now to the terrorist slaughter on a university campus that apparently targeted christians. barbara starr is following this breaking story for us. barbara, tell us what you know. >> reporter: good evening, wolf. at this point, kenyan authorities say four gunmen have been killed. at least nearly 600 students accounted for. but it was a very difficult situation most of the day as this assault went on. it's a blood bath at a college in kenya. 147 people killed and dozens injured when armed gunmen from an islamist military group stormed a university.

an eyewitness reported the attackers burst into early morning christian prayers and then began separating muslim and christian students killing the christians. not a surprise the terror i haves went after a large student population nearly impossible to fully protect. >> kenya is such an important target for them because kenya has been the primary driving force behind operations against al shabab in the region. they are the biggest, biggest enemy for al shabab. >> reporter: troops have taken the lead in attempting to push al shabab out of its traditional strongholds in is a mallsomalia. kenya's president calling up more police recruits. >> i urge kenyans to stay calm as we resolve this matter. >> reporter: the siege going on for hours as kenyan security forces fired back and rescue

forces tried to move in. >> we have been sharing gunfire. they moved into the military compound. >> reporter: the u.s. targeted several top al shabab leaders, killing the group's leader after several failed attempts. he was allegedly behind 2013's deadly four-day siege of the west gate shopping mall in kenya which killed at least 67 people something u.s. officials fear could happen here. in february an al shabab video threatened to attack the mall of america and other u.s. targets. >> if anyone is planning to go to the mall of america today they have to be particularly careful. >> reporter: that in february. thankfully since then no attack at the mall of america or any american shopping malls. look this is a group that has u.s. intelligence and law enforcement deeply concerned, concerned that they are able to

potentially recruit young somali americans and inspire them to lone wolf attacks. >> thank you. joining us senator angus king from maine, a leading member of the armed services and intelligence committee. thanks for joining us. how vulnerable are the so-called soft targets like universities here in the united states especially -- al shabab has threatened u.s. malls in the past. >> that's an issue for sure. combine it with other news today of the two women that were arrested in new york for plotting a bombing attack somewhere in the u.s. the so-called lone wolf the people who have been radicalized over the internet or through friends, something like that these women were connected apparently to aqap which is one of the most dangerous groups. they are the ones that seem to be working on the most advanced

bomb technology. you know we have an open society. we can't have policemen by our side at every stop and every place we go. but i think the good news is that this plot in new york was thwarted by our counterterrorism efforts. the bad news is we don't know who else is headed in that direction. >> al shabab do you believe they are interested in and actually capable of launching an attack here in the united states? >> well i think that would be a stretch for them. it's hard to say whether they can do it indirectly through radicalization of people who are here or through connections they have in the country. i think aqap is frankly a greater danger in this country. what kind of people are these that divide people by their religion and arbitrary murder people? we haven't seen anything like that in the west for 500 years.

it's shocking. to do it in the name of some kind of god -- there's no god i know of that would countenance anything like that. >> don't forget i'm sure you won't, during the holocaust, the nazis slaughtered the jews. they separated jews out from christians. that was 70 years or so ago. that is part of history as well. >> sure. absolutely. we are -- civilization isn't easy wolf. it takes a lot of work. it has to go from generation to generation. it can slip away mighty fast. we have to keep our guard up. it's a combination of intelligence military and all the efforts. we can't -- we can never breathe entirely freely i don't think. but that's -- that's part of who we are as a free people. >> i will have you stand by. i want to talk about this framework for an iran nuclear deal. we're getting reactions, some

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back with senator angus king of maine. a member of the armed services and intelligence committees. senator, president obama says the iran deal isn't based on trust, it's based on verification. if iran cheats the world will know. you are on the intelligence committee. will the world know it? >> well certainly looks that way from the agreement it went to the heart of the agreement.

it's all about verification and inspections and international inspection and accessibility that goes on for some period of time. i frankly think the deal looks better to me than i expected. there's caveats there. one of the first principles is nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. there's a lot of detail to be worked out. the limitations on getting rid of their enriched eded uranium and centrifuges. it's not a matter of trusting or being naive. that's what's going to make it happen and that's the heart of blobbing ing blocking iran's path to a bomb. they have taken the negotiations seriously. you have seen the reaction there. they want to get rid of the sanctions. wolf the sanctions don't go away until iran performs. the way i read it the sanctions will snap back if iran violates

any part of the agreement. so far, what i see is as i say, somewhat better than i expected. the duration parts are ten years, parts are 15. one part is actually 25 years. it's the framework for a deal. the other thing you ask is what's the alternative? if this isn't done what happens? that makes us -- that focuses on what the real terms are. >> you are impressed by what you saw today. here is a question. the role of congress the senate the house of representatives, as you know the president says he will go for a vote before the u.n. security council. white house officials say the only role congress will have -- you will be briefed on it -- will be when you go ahead and ease the congressionally mandated sanctions. then you will have to vote on that. he doesn't want to see this as a treaty. no resolution voting for it. what's your reaction to the really restricted limited role that the congress will have?

>> interestingly enough the way you just stated it is essentially what the bill is. the chairman of the foreign relations committee has been working on a bill. i think it has 18 or 19 bipartisan co-sponsors. it focuses on the congressionally mandated sanctions. you have to remember wolf all this discussion acts like it's just us and iran. the truth is they are five other major countries involved in this. it is their sanctions, places like india and china and japan and europe that have really bitten as far as iran is concerned, into their economy. they are part of this deal too. they have to be -- they have to go along as well. the bill talks about the congressional sanctions, not the entire deal. i think that's important to remember. he will be having hearings on that bill in a week and a half. i think there's going to be discussion and debate. my position is -- i'm a

co-sponsor of the bill. if i see this slipping toward pure partisanship and we will try to embarrass the president i'm off the bill. i think it's a role that should be played soberly, not based on politics and trying to make trouble for the administration. this is too important for that nonsense. >> senator angus king the independent senator from maine. it caucuses with the democrats. good to have you here in "the situation room." thanks very much. >> thank you, wolf. just ahead, americans arrested on terrorism charges. new details. stand by for that. one official says the co-pilot of flight 9525 committed premeditated murder. we are learning about new evidence that's coming in as part of this investigation.

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breaking story involving terrorism charges against americans. we are learning about two new york city women accused of plotting to unleash attacks on american soil. federal authorities say at least one had a direct link to al qaeda and both may have been inspired by isis propaganda. jason carroll is joining us. what have you learned? >> reporter: wolf both suspects made their first court appearance earlier this

afternoon. they stood before the judge. when the judge asked them if they understood the charges they were facing they both answered yes. the most serious charge conspireing to build a weapon of mass destruction. they are u.s. citizens who live in queens, new york. the two women identified in a federal criminal complaint as 28-year-old noelle velentzas and 31-year-old asia siddiqui. the u.s. attorney details how the women allegedly expressed their support for "violent jihad." they researched and acquired material to make bombs, including verdict lies erinclude ing fertilizer and propane tanks. >> my client will enter a plea of not guilty, even when there

is an indictment. she and i will address everything in the courtroom where it belongs. >> reporter: authorities say the suspects were not after civilians but the police and military. even taking inspiration from the funeral of slain police officer ramos believing a police funeral would be an easy target. they said they considered osama bin laden her mentor. she was obsessed with pressure cookers, since the boston marathon attack. prosecutors say asia's ambitions were just as strong. she had contact with al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and she wrote a poem which appeared in a jihadi magazine. lines such as no excuse to sit back and wait for the skies rain martyrdom. the pair had been on the radar

since may 2013. the women came to the attention of investigators through another terrorism investigation. people in the neighborhood tell us noelle is married with a young daughter. sheing or ing orargued with her husband but there was nothing to indicate she had jihadist leaning. >> i would never expect that. i saw the fbi this thorn ingis morning. that's crazy. >> reporter: at one point, noelle velentzas, between 2008 and 2009 was homeless according to a local islamic transitional center for women. they released a statement saying noelle velentzas was a homeless woman who sought refuge in our shelter. during this time she completed studies to become a home healthcare provider. the next court appearance is

scheduled for may 4th. wolf? >> jason carroll, thanks very much. more information now about a texas native with alleged ties to al qaeda. he appeared in a new york city courtroom after being deported from pakistan. let's go to evan perez. tell us about this case evan. >> reporter: wolf he is 29 years old. he was born in texas like you mentioned. then grew up in jordan. what makes him interesting, according to u.s. officials, is that he was studying at and disappeared to join al qaeda. he has been the subject of debate in the u.s. government because there was some in the u.s. intelligence community who believed that he was high-level official inside al qaeda and deserved to be put on the u.s. kill list. because he is an american citizen, there was debate as to

whether or not there was enough evidence to warrant that wolf. in the end they decided not to kill him. he was arrested by the pakistani government a few months ago. when they realized he was an american they turned him over to the fbi. he was brought to brooklyn. he appeared here in federal court today. he is due back after more questioning from the fbi, they want to know more about exactly who he was hanging out with in al qaeda and whether there's more information he can provide about that. >> evan perez, thanks very much for that. let's bring in our military analyst, mark hertling philip mudd and robert baer. i take it you are familiar with this case? what's your reaction when you hear what's going on? specifically will the u.s. be able to get good information

from this guy? >> i remember this case. i sat at the table at the fbi when he disappeared. we sat back and said what do we have on our hand snz will he come back to u.s. soil and commit an attack? he became with a we call a facilitator in pakistan. between the al qaeda leadership and also operatives from places like the united states or canada. you asked will he provide intelligence? he already has. he has been in custody for a while. as soon as people like this get out of that protective bubble among their friends, they will get nervous. we don't need to know only immediate information like where is the next attack. you want to know who have you communicated with in the united states? how do you communicate? how do you facilitate travel? this guy say lotis a lottery ticket. >> he has a lawyer. who is to say he will cooperate? he could remain silent. >> he could in the furture. if you read the reports, he has talked to a new group of people that is combined interrogation

teams that include the cia and fbi. a program we try to set up. my guess is he is talking because he is nervous. >> what about that? is this an indication that the u.s. is doing a little better in terms of finding these guys in pakistan specifically? >> it's not only that but it's the passing between governments. it's strange enough it's the pakistani government. i remember this guy as well. he came across our radar in intelligence circles. this is a hardened operative doing interesting things. when you compare somebody like this that the government has been watching in the intel channels with the two women who were arrested for probably an immature approach to terrorism, it just kind of shows you the terrorists are among us. we have to -- there's no category that you can put all of them in and say, this is where we have to look. it's everywhere. that's the importance of having the precise intelligence network that phil was talking about. >> peter, the two new york city

women who have been arrested supposedly had somebody for al qaeda but were reading isis material. isis and al qaeda are on two different pages. what do you make of this? >> right now, at the top levels, they are having a dispute. the women admired bin laden, according to the complaint. isis continues to regard bin laden as a heroic figure in their propaganda. it's not that unusual that we are seeing women who are drawn to isis. we have seen females from colorado from chicago, you know, being drawn to isis' propaganda propaganda which is a new development. it goes to the point that there is no particular profile. >> bob baer let's talk about the al shabab attack on the university campus in kenya. they separated christians from the muslims in today's attack killed almost 200 people over there, young people. they slaughtered the christians

i should point out. what does this tell you about al shabab and their goals? >> wolf we have been conducting drone attacks against them for years. we have successfully decapitated the organization on several occasions. it regrows leadership. these drone attacks are only so useful. it disrupts planning for a while, slows them down. at the end of the day, this virus that is going through somalia, like syria and iraq it's hard to stop. when you have vulnerable targets like the university they are easy to get to four guys trained in weapons in combat can take over a school like this just as we are vulnerable in this country, the same sort of attack. by no means is this war going to get over quickly just because we -- the baghdad government took tikrit and there are gains. but at the end of the day, it

seems to metastasize and move wherever there's a power vacuum. >> horrible situation. they ask if you are christian or muslim. if you are christian, they kill you. if you are muslim they put you to the side. awful, awful situation. stand by. just ahead, the second black box from flight 9525 has been found but it's badly damaged. plus the incriminating new evidence found on the co-pilot's computer. his shuffle from doctor to doctor.

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tonight we're getting more information about the flight 9525 investigation. there's new evidence suggesting the co-pilot had been planning to crash a mraepplane for some time. the second black box has been recovered. our justice correspondent pamela brown is working her sources. she's joining us live from dusseldorf with the latest. pamela? >> reporter: wolf sources i have been speaking to who are part of this investigation say it is becoming increasingly clear to investigators that lubitz was very afraid as you point out, to lose his pilot license because of the medical issues he had been having in recent months.

they believed that he seized the moment as soon as the captain left the cockpit. tonight, new evidence reveals ss lubitz planned to crash the plane. today, a prosecutor said investigators found a tablet in his apartment including his browsing history from the week right before the crash. a european official tellesss cnn, his actions were premeditated. a french prosecutor said lubitz voluntarily brought the plane down. >> translator: he would have had to have acted twice if the final minutes of the flight, not only the loss of altitude but adjusting the speed of the plane. he was alive and conscious until impact we are almost certain. >> reporter: investigators finally recovered the charred

flight data recorder. it was found in the ground. the data will include information about whether the plane was on autopilot or whether lubitz manned the controls all the way. >> translator: the speed of the plane, the altitude the power of the engine, these elements are absolutely vital in order to ascertain the truth. >> reporter: a law enforcement source says after a severe depressive episode in 2009 he relapsed in 2014. he was shopping around for doctors, seeing at least five including a sleep specialist an eye doctor and a neuropsychologist. lubitz told some doctors he was fearful of losing his pilot license because of his medical issues. investigators say that remains a leading motive for the deadly crash. we have learned from a source in this investigation that he had had a lot of medications found in his apartment, including a very heavy depression medicine. wolf, investigateors talked to a pilot who flew with lubitz the

day before the crash. he told investigators he acted normal. they had a regular conversation. there's the question mark as to why he did what he did, wolf. >> pamela brown with some good reporting for us. appreciate it very much. thank you. let's bring in tom fuentes, peter goelz and the clinical neuropsychologist gary kay. tom, lubitz was apparently researching cockpit doors, researching suicide, how to commit suicide, if you will. it all seems so premeditated. >> it does. it seems pretty unnecessary. he should have known that the cockpit door would be virtually impenetrable. it's common knowledge without being a pilot. and then ways to commit suicide, given the way he did, how much research did that take? >> he clearly didn't only want to kill himself, he wanted to kill everybody else on the plane. >> he knew there were people behind him. he was organized, alert,

oriented. he was able to communicate with the captain, go through security, everything showed that he was with it that day. >> he didn't know -- it was a two-hour flight they were on. he didn't know the pilot, the lead pilot would have to go to the bathroom midway through an hour into that flight. what would have happened if he wouldn't have gone to the bathroom? would he have waited for another flight? >> i don't think we know. obviously, he had been studying what to do. this was a method that he had come up with that seemed to work. that cockpit door we have to remember in the case of the jetblue plane, kept out of the cockpit a captain who was having a psychotic episode. it worked in favor of those passengers. this time it worked against them. >> he was planning all of this. peter, the investigators say they have found the flight data recorder. the voice recorder they found quickly. what will the voice -- the flight data recorder show us that the voice recorder may not have shown us?

>> it's going to give us precisely the steps he took to drive that plane into the ground. when it is synced up with the voice recorder you will have a second by second picture, including the sounds and the manipulation of the flight controls that will show us exactly what he did. >> the data recorder was badly burned in the crash. is it possible investigators won't be able to retrieve the data from it? >> no. no the data recorder is very robust. it was scorched. the type of fire that could damage a data recorder is a long intense, high heat flame. that was not the case here. i think they'll be able to recover the data accurately and they'll be able to do it in a timely manner. >> let's wrap up this whole issue, tom fuentes, of the cell

phone video that supposedly was taken over the last few seconds, if you will of that flight. the publications the german publication, the french publication, they're standing by it. i spoke to the editor. he says he must have watched it a hundred times. he said it was maybe 20 to 30 seconds. they're not going to release it they're not going to show it. he also said they didn't pay for it either but they're not going to make it available to investigators because that could compromise potentially the source how they got that information as journalists, they don't want to compromise that source. who do you believe in this case the publications that say they have actually seen it or the investigators who say they're not sure they don't believe it? >> wolf i don't know how the investigators can prove a negative in this situation. how can they say it doesn't exist, because it might exist. other sim cards have been recovered in earlier crashes, have been recovered intact despite how horrific the crash might have been. they can't say categorically there is no existing sim card. whether these guys are lying or

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look you've already got a lot of response from people like senator john mccain raising questions about it predictably. you've got jeb bush a member of the 2016 field obviously raising questions about it calling it a flawed agreement saying nothing that he heard today would justify lifting sanctions. but on the congressional level, what you've got is people saying look we just don't want to have oversight on this. we want to actually be able to review this and to vote on this and to approve of this. now, the president says he's got the authority to do this on his own and they say, no you don't. the president says this isn't a treaty i can do this on my own. who knows, it could end up in the courts wolf for all we know. but you've got democrats saying you've got to go slow and also unanswered questions. for example, when will sanctions be eased? there's no direct answer. >> at some point the president will have to go to congress

because congressionally mandated sanctions can't be eased by himself. >> he talked in the rose garden today for 20 minutes beginning his case. the first thing to watch for is on april 14th. that's when the senate is going to vote on a bill that would require this 60-day review of this. so democrats that i have spoken with as well as republicans are also raising questions. so it's not just republicans on this. that's the white house's potential problem. it's very fragile but i think it would be hard pressed for me to see this congress blocking something like this. >> do you have any reaction yet, gloria from any of the republican presidential candidates? >> yes. jeb bush has said it's a flawed agreement. most who have spoken today call it flawed. that's quite predictable. in congress though on the democratic side you have seven democrats who have signed onto this legislation that jeff was just talking about. there's one another thing we

have to consider here which is the american public. 60% of the american public believes that congress ought to actually approve any kind of deal. they don't trust the president to do it on his own, they don't trust the iranians to do it. by the way, it's not that they love congress but this is kind of their balance of power argument here. and so if congress is asking to approve it they right now have the american public on their side. >> as you know jeff a lot of republicans are not happy with this deal but there's a bunch of democrats as well who have been very skeptical of what the president is trying to achieve. >> no question. you said seven democrats in the senate. but i think it is important to take stock of this moment for the president. this is one thing he campaigned on back in '07. he said he would open up a relationship with the -- specifically on iran. he was mocked on this at the time so this is pot of legacy building. it's far too early to know if this deal is going to hold of course. a lot has to happen between now and june. but i think this is a moment for this white house.

this is a -- he has made his case on other things. i don't expect many more democrats to raise questions. they know he wants this and they have got a lot more expected than any of us thought. >> for secretary kerry, this potentially they see a legacy for them. >> well this is a total legacy issue. this could be the biggest diplomatic achievement of their administration as they see it. the irony here is that it rests on domestic politics with those same people that the president has been charged with not engaging enough over his presidency. now this legacy issue lands with them in the congress. >> let's see if the iranians now live up to their part of the deal. >> that's right. >> they have got to cross the ts, dot the is the next three months. there's still a lot of work that has to be done but a major historic moment at least on this day. we'll see how it plays out. thanks very much. remember you can always follow us on twitter. tweet me @wolfblitzer tweet the show @cnnsitroom.

you can watch us live or dvr the show so you won't miss a moment. thanks very much for watching. i'll be back filling in for anderson 8:00 p.m. eastern, one hour from now. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. outfront tonight, breaking news. break-through. are the u.s. and iran really signing a historic nuclear deal? will it actually shut down iran's path to a bomb? plus the co-pilot who crashed flight 9525. we now found out he was doing research about cockpit doors and suicide before the crash. one official telling us it was premeditated murder. two women allegedly inspired by isis arrested in new york charged with attempting to build homemade bombs and launch attacks in america. let's go outfront. good evening, i'm erin burnet