alisyn camerota and michaela pereira. up first this morning american warships a fleet are heading to the waters off yemen. the u.s. believes iran is sending arms to houthi rebels in yemen. they are sending in this show of force to say don't do it. but what happens if those ships continue and defy the americans? is this going to be the first possibility of conflict in the situation? >> this comes of course at a sensitive time with iran. ongoing nuclear negotiations set to resume tomorrow. and at the same time iran is charging a "the washington post" reporter with espionage, a move the u.s. strongly condemns. we begin our team coverage with cnn foreign affairs correspondent elise labott. >> reporter: that's right. that crisis in yemen taking a new turn this morning as u.s. warships joining other nations off the coast of yemen in a rapidly escalating situation. the obama administration

deploying an aircraft carrier and guided missile destroyer in yemeni waters to join nine other american ships in the region in a strong signal to iran. all prepared to intercept iranian vessels if they proceed into yemeni waters where countries like saudi arabia egypt and other partner nations have a presence. the u.s. fearing the iranian ships may be carrying arms for houthi rebels fighting u.s. allies in yemen. the heightened military response comes at a sensitive time in u.s.-iran relations with delicate nuclear negotiations st to resume wednesday and as iran's foreign minister is calling for a diplomatic solution in yemen in a "new york times" op-ed. >> it's a little ironic for the iranian foreign minister to be calling for a diplomatic resolution to that situation while at the same time his country continues to supply arms to one party -- >> reporter: all this less than a week after the united nations security council approved a

resolution to choke off weapon flow to houthi fighters. yemen continuing to descend into chaos, the scale of destruction widening as saudi-led air strikes on a houthi weapons depot tear through the country's rebel held capital of sanaa. the explosions that killed dozens of people and wounding nearly 300, flattening homes, gutding buildings and sending plumes of thick smoke hundreds of feet in the air. a humanitarian crisis at the epicenter of the raging conflict. thousands fleeing the country as seen in this exclusive cnn video. and dangerously low supplies of food, medicine and water plague the already-impoverished country. and even more devastating situation lacking leadership since yemen's president fled the country seeking safety alisyn. >> such sensitive dealings there, elise, thanks for breaking that down. iran not responding kindly to the u.s. display of military

might. cnn's senior international correspondent frederik pleitgen is live for us in tehran with that part of the story. good morning, frederik. >> reporter: good morning, alisyn. iranians say they have no intentions of delivering any weapons to the houthis. they have heavily criticized the u.s. and saudi involvement in that conflict. they call what the saudis doing genocide of course that setting off another tension between those two nations as well. iranians for their part are saying the ships in the area are there to fight piracy. but they also say they're not going to take any cues or lectures especially from the united states. i want to read you a sound bite that we got from the head of the iranian navy who talked to us just a couple days ago. and he said we don't let anyone give us warnings and threats because we are working according to international law and regulations. we work for the security for our country and for other countries as well. so this is something that they

said, again, they say they have no intention of delivering weapons. of course the u.s. says something very different. one of the things the iranians have done this morning is they let us visit an aid center a place where medical supplies were being gather today go towards -- they also say that they haven't been able to do that since the conflict broke out. so we'll wait and see if any of that will actually reach its destination, chris. >> all right. here to explain our cnn global affairs analyst, bobby gauche and lieutenant colonel. gentlemen, thank you very much. when we talk about iran and the u.s. conflict this will be the biggest moment of possible exchange tweez thoo two countries that we've seen so far, right, bobby? >> yes, indeed. you have a situation where there's a lot of tension and someone tossed a hand grenade into the situation. and with these large naval

vessels, there's not -- it's not as if they can turn on a dime. >> once you're all there you're committed, lieutenant colonel. we see on the map, obviously not this scale but iranian ships going in seven to nine they say they're operating within national law. the concern among allies for the u.s. here is they're bringing arms to the houthis. let's believe they have actionable intention. they did just board not too long a panamanian ship because they thought this was true. this is a big commitment. if they come into conflict with these iranian ships, what would happen? >> chris, there's an escalation that could happen and has to escalate in steps. the worst case scenario is there's a sea battle that happens here. but i don't see that happening. >> why not? if they're coming and the u.s.

comes over the radio and they say we need to stop and they say they're not stopping. >> that literally puts everyone into huge risk if we go into battle. we literally become we stop those ships. if i'm the iranians, i'm packing those ships with humanitarian aid also. then i have to ask permission to board, if we even want to board. which the iranians are going to go it's not happening. so then we have to go into this continued big propaganda and all the aspects and rhetoric goes back and forth. and then we have to make a decision what's next. iranians going to sit in the water and we're going to sit in the water off yemen and becomes -- >> standoff. but now you have other players also. that's what you're looking at right now. those numbers represent the number of ships urn the color of each of those flags, china, iran russia saudi arabia in there. bobby, who are the teams here? who's on whose side? >> you always have a lot of military hardware floating on those waters. those are among the most

important sea lanes in the world and in recent years because of increased piracy. even if they seem like they're flying very different flag -- >> they won't be cooperating in this regard. >> no they'll probably stay well out of this. they'll leave this particular situation to the americans. >> who's that? you think china and india stay out of it? >> absolutely. i can't imagine a situation where they're going to pick a side in this. >> so they're just there but not necessarily relevant unless there's a chain of events that changes the situation. >> unless there's a tragedy. and at this point it's a little early to go that far. >> so they're there but not necessarily relevant. so let's got to the wider region and keep this discussion going. tell me if i'm wrong, colonel, but i am more worried about this in terms of the possibilities than anything that's been going on in yemen to date. it's horrible it's obvious civil war we're just not calling it that. they believe iran is behind the houthis. we haven't had the best work up of intelligence on that.

but there hasn't been any real risk of u.s.-iran conflict this seems like it could be. >> the order of effects come into piece here are huge. like bobby said the other -- the saudis, my assumption is the saudis asked us to do this. we're not doing this unilaterally. the saudis asked us to do this. now saudis put us in a position because we're their ally. also puts us abreast of now iran who also have russia as an ally. >> if the saudi ships are near the u.s. ships, how do we know russia doesn't send this ship over by iran under the same thinking? well they're a friend of ours we want to make sure everything's okay just like you guys. >> we'll know that. and the whole region the best way to describe it i think it's like an airport. you know there's all these dimpt assets that are moving. right now you have the american battle group, seven to nine it's a battle group size iranian group coming towards them. then you have all these other coalition ships and doing u.n.

mandate. remember we have fifth fleet that's in bahrain. those ships will steam right past fifth fleet. you have these conflicting aspects coming together. >> does the u.s. have military superiority even if it's equal numbers numbers? >> yes, we have the air superiority off that battle group. >> last question, bobby, we're supposed to be negotiating at the table with iran right now. supposed to be getting back to it today. how do you do that in the midst of this? >> as if we didn't have enough tensions already over nuclear negotiations this is going to make things even more complicated. in the past the negotiators seem to have been able to seal themselves off. >> separate what iran is doing elsewhere in the world with nukes. but now? >> and the iranians in particular wanted to sale it off. >> right. but people say they're doing that as a license to create chaos elsewhere. >> that's exactly right.

now if there's anything more than ships that sail in the night, if we get into a situation where there's a standoff it's hard to see how that does not in some way impact the discussions at the table. >> so let's end on a sober mind here. what's the chance something horrible happens here as opposed to more politic sns. >> very low. >> good. >> both sides do not want to go toe-to-toe on this. back to this really quick. >> quick. >> the negotiations with a peep p5 plus one this is u.s., iranian, saudis in the water. breaking overnight, a captain and crew member arrested on suspicion of human trafficking after a boat carrying hundreds of migrants sinks in the mediterranean sea. hundreds are feared dead. now, new information on what may have caused this tragedy. i want to turn to cnn senior

international correspondent ben wedeman track inging the latest for us in italy. ben. >> reporter: yes, michaela. we have two different differing versions on what may have caused this catastrophe. on the one hand italian officials are saying they believe it was indeed when they -- portuguese merchant vessel was coming to the rescue of this ship in distress when many of the passengers rushed to one side of the ship and caused itd to capsize. however, there may according to other u.n. officials and one official from the international organization for migration that i spoke to, he said it may have been caused by that migrant ship accidentally ramming into that portuguese vessel. but what we're seeing is you just look at the numbers of people crossing everyday the mediterranean, this problem is only getting worse. this morning a desperate fight for survival. playing out in international

waters. thousands of migrants fleeing homelands gripped by poverty some escaping the brutal advances of isis. according to the international organization for migration more boats may be in distress in the mediterranean. this as horrific tales begin to emerge from 25 migrants arriving at a port in sicily monday night. surviving what may be the worst migrant disaster at sea between africa and europe ever. >> we lost a lot of friends. so they are in shock. >> reporter: survivors telling officials that human traffickers stuffed up to 850 of them from sub saharan africa pakistan and syria in a fishing boat only 65 feet long. the bottom level, they told officials, was locked leaving most with no way out when the boat capsized in the middle of the mediterranean sea on saturday. >> i had the feeling that they feel like lost you know? it's something they have been

really through a huge stretch -- >> reporter: italian police arresting two survivors on suspicion of being part of the human traffickers cramming these migrants onboard. since the beginning of this year more than 35,000 refugees and migrants have crossed the mediterranean. the majority landing at italy and greece. a staggering number that european governments worry could surpass last year's total. when approximately 219,000 refugees and migrants sailed across the mediterranean, the u.n. refugee agency estimates nearly 3,500 of those migrants died at sea. and already today the italian coast guard is reporting that they have rescued 446 migrants off the coast of ka lab ra. among them 100 women and 50 children alisyn. >> the numbers are staggering ben. thank you for that. back here at home president

obama getting a big boost in his approval rating in a new cnn/orc poll out just this morning. white house correspondent michelle kosinski is live to parse the poll reports. >> reporter: they're always interesting, right? right now 48%, 47% americans approve of the job president obama is doing. that may not seem like a reason for him to throw a party but keep in mind this is the first time in two years that number approve, it's now at the same level president reagan was at at this point in his presidency. to compare that clinton was at 60%, george w. bush at 36%. and more people are also feeling good about the economy. right now 52% of these people polled said they feel the economy is in a good place right now. well that is the first time in obama's entire presidency that a significant number more feel

that way than feel the economy is doing poorly. more people also feel like they're doing better now than they were a year ago. and 60% feel like the economy will be doing better a year from now. and because every poll kind of has that sad trombone moment, the wa-wa-wa the approval rating for congress right now 28%. chris. >> michelle thank you very much. we're going to look inside those breaking numbers in just a bit with our political analyst. there are stories there for the upcopping election. we have breaking news out of egypt. former president mohamed morsi sentenced to 20 years in prison. he has been convicted on charges of inciting violence after protesters were killed outside the presidential palace in late 2012. he was forced from office the following summer. still faces trials for thousands of other crimes along with thousands of members of the muslim brotherhood. we have a big recall to tell you about this morning. blue bell is recalling every single one of its products ice

cream, frozen yogurt sherbet, everything because of a dangerous bacteria listeria was found in some of its products. martin savidge is live for us this morning. sold in a lot of places across the u.s. >> this is serious. after weeks of smaller recalls, blue bell has now had several positive tests for listeria in different places and different plants. so the company is recalling its entire line of ice cream, frozen yogurt sherbet and other frozen snack which is are on sale in 23 states and internationally. blue bell's ceo and president paul cruz spoke outd monday saying the company is taking all of its products off the market until they are confident that they are all safe. >> we're heartbroken over this situation. and apologize to all of our loyal blue bell fans and customers. our entire history has been dedicated to making the very best and highest quality ice cream we possibly could. and we're committed to fixing

the problem. >> so far blue bell has documented eight cases of listeria five in kansas three of which were fatal. and three others in texas. listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in people with weakened immum systems. and here's an odd twist. most of the people diagnosed in kansas were served the ice cream while in the hospital being treated for unrelated illnesses. alisyn. >> oh that is terrible. martin thanks so much for that warning. well we have some incredible video to show you of police in texas saving a man from a car engulfed in flames. watch this. >> come on! >> stay with us! >> come on ma'am! >> this happened sunday after the driver slammed into a road sign. his car erupting into a ball of flames. police on the scene scrambling to pull the unconscious man from the inferno. the 25-year-old suffered burns and internal injuries but is expected to pull through.

>> such a terrifying scene because you just don't know if the car's going to blow entirely. it's already on fire. you don't know how much time you have. >> that's right. i mean that's what makes it so heroic to rush in and save the person. >> because they're not thinking about that. they're thinking about what they need to do and you hear one of the officers screaming at the man inside stay with us stay with us don't louis consciousness. >> hopefully he doesn't have much memory of that. meanwhile, six somali-americans arrested before they could join isis. peer-to-peer recruiting, what is that and what can be done to stop it? big political news wisdom and warnings in the new cnn poll numbers. where are the hearts and minds of the voters? and what polling on the president could mean for candidate clinton ahead. this allergy season, will you be a sound sleeper, or a mouth breather. a mouth breather! well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. allergy medicines open your nose over time,

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we have a terror recruiting problem in minnesota. and this case demonstrates how difficult it is to put an end to recruiting here. the person radicalizing your son, your brother, your friend may not be a stranger. >> that was u.s. attorney andrew luger reacting to the arrest of six american men accused of planning to link up with isis. we're learning ne details about the suspects busted in minnesota and san diego. and the plot is shedding light on peer-to-peer recruiting. it's a huge problem among somali immigrants in minnesota. let's bring in cnn's counterterrorism analyst and former cia counterterrorism official philip mud. >> good morning.

>> peer-to-peer recruiting what does that look like? is that online or in person? >> i would say both. you mentioned this was a problem in the somali community, i would say it's a problem across the board in the world of counterterrorism. the reason is simple. we talked about why people are influenced in the past by isis ideology. we don't talk enough not about the internet but about human interaction. that's a big brother, a respected member of the community, a friend from school. and most of the situations i saw when a youth was recruited there's an intermediary somebody that youth respects who brings them in. in this case you saw one of their friends out in syria saying hey, things are okay out here. come out here and travel. one more thing, you'll remember just in the past week or so we saw a defense in the boston bombing case where the younger brother who lost his older brother in that bombing said hey, i was brought in by my brother. that's another version of peer-to-peer. >> that's interesting, phil. because we tend to think of it as there has to be this charismatic imam somewhere.

but of course with teenagers and young 20-somethings, peer pressure is always the, you know, fear that parents have of them -- of leading them to risky behavior. it just stands to reason it would work here as well. >> i think that's right. you know when you look at the influence of isis ideology among youth, jihad has become sort of cool. i've referred to this in the past as pepsi jihad. in other words kids saying this is really an attractive ideology and they're brought in not by an internet image but by somebody who says to them yeah you're right. by the way, one of the most important impacts of the internet that is 15 20 years ago if you thought this ideology was interesting, you couldn't get face-to-face with somebody who had the same beliefs as you did. today you can just get on the internet if you're 15 16 20 years old and find somebody who validates what you think. the power of the internet is getting somebody who might have been isolated a couple decades ago to believe that the idea that isis is okay is actually a valid belief. >> these six suspects were all

19 20 21 years old. do we know what their plans were? how close they were to actually joining isis? >> well as we know one of them made it out there. i think the fbi's been on these guys for some time. interesting the reason you see that happen the reason you see the fbi sit on a case for so long is partly because obviously the fbi wants enough information to go in front of a judge and jury and say, look these guys weren't just thinking about this they're actually going to move. there's a second intelligence reason something i followed for years at the bureau when i was there on loan from the cia, and that is before you take a network like this down you want to ensure you don't just take down the core of the network. you want to take down the entire spider web. so you want to look at the case for a while to see, for example, is there a radicalizer you want to take down? is there somebody providing money or tickets? even beyond when you can make a case in a federal court, you want to watch the guys operate to see if there's other players you might have missed earlier on. >> i guess the good news about

teenagers being impressionable and unpredictable is that sometimes it works in favor of the investigators. listen to what the u.s. attorney had to say about one of the teenagers starting to cooperate. >> one friend in this group decided to leave and to cooperate with the fbi. that cooperating witness agreed to record meetings of the co-conspirators and some of the information gathered through these conversations is set forth in the complaint. >> so he became an informant. how rare is that phil? >> that's not rare. the best informants are people who get disaffected with the organization. you're talking about somebody in minneapolis. we also saw this when i was at the cia within the al qaeda circles. people who thought initially that al qaeda had a message of standing up to the united states of offering a better solution for the middle east saw violence against muslims, saw car bombings suicide bmings. and they would step back and say

the organization i thought i was joining does not offer the future i thought it offered. come into to us as the cia, that's the best source you can get, somebody a made man already. that's the same thing you see in this case. a cooperating witness somebody in this circle who initially said hey, maybe there's a better way of life a purer way of life out in syria. he saw reality on the inside and he flips. that's a terrific source. the best you can get. >> that's what you hope for they will have an awakening when they see what it's about. philip mudd thanks for your e per tees. over to alisyn. president obama showing some second-term strength in the cnn/orc poll. what could it mean for a democrat waiting in 2016? we're going to break down numbers next. ♪ if you're looking for a car that drives you... ...and takes the wheel right from your very hands... ...this isn't that car.

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breaking news. we have brand new numbers that show optimism about the economy, the country, even the president. all in this just-released cnn/orc poll. 48% of americans now approve of the way the president is handling his job, 47% disapprove. why celebrate?

well it's a sad commentary in what passes for progress these days. nevertheless these numbers will effect the state of play in the race especially for clinton. let's figure out how. bring in cnn political analyst and editor of the daily beast, mr. john avalon and margaret hoover. let's deal with why the democrats may be drawing some energy from these numbers, jon. what do we see in them? 48 47 the average person says. >> why are you happy about that? >> context, why are they happy? >> context is whenever the president in the second term gets his head above water in the polling is a good day for administration. and it's always the economy, stupid. when the economy improves approval ratings improve and sets up something fairly positive for potentially the next democratic nominee. democrats feel good about it. sentiment siemans to be rising in the country. >> yes, margaret?

>> you would think hillary clinton would take this as ammunition to run on the obama record. she hasn't. she's in new hampshire saying the economy has stalled out. she wants to get it going again. the middle class isn't working. there's really a stagnation in the middle class. she sounds like a republican running against the obama economy rather than a member of president obama's cabinet defending his record. >> have we shown the numbers yet on the economy? >> not yet. came out as a banner. but put up the poll. >> what's interesting is you haven't seen this level since september of 2007. so 52% today believe that the economy is good 48% believe it's poor. so did she just not get the memo yet? why isn't she touting this more? >> if you dig deep into the numbers while failures of small businesses are nowhere near where they were during the start of the great recession, there's still a stagnation better said a squeeze on small businesses. and they haven't really received the kind of relief or bailouts or support that big businesses have. >> i'm shocked --

>> are you shocked and appalled or just shocked? >> it's been everyone saying the economy is great and it's been republicans who said comparatively this has been a sluggish recovery. >> what do you say? >> capital is on the sideline investment is not what it was, recovery isn't nearly as strong as it should be yes, we're recovering. that's great. all says hillary clinton has a totally tenure to the economy and i'm not sure what her strategy is. the other thing interesting about this poll to me while finally for the first time his numbers are -- they're better than they are worse. >> he being the president. >> the president. it doesn't ask about foreign policy. and the average of foreign policy numbers has the president way down. isis hasn't been in the news iran hasn't been in the news in the last week at least during the time -- >> don't you watch "new day"? >> in the time that this poll was taken iran was on top of the news foreign policy wasn't top

of the news. i think those numbers are impacted by foreign policy when isis videos are out and things like that happen. >> if you look at why these numbers improve, there are a couple key indicators. the president is doing better among his base. that's not always translate to a general election stability for a next nominee, but that's significant. that would indicate certain policy decisions and second half of his term appealing to his base. the other key thing is follow the independents. what michelle called the sad trombone at the poll, i thought was funny, 21% among independents. so while, you know margaret makes passionate points which i think there are real issues for the middle class and small businesses which haven't recovered as fast there's no doubt there's improved sentiment and hillary clinton has a very difficult line to walk. but distancing herself from simply not running as a carbon copy of the president and continue those policies but

folks need relief and middle class has been squeezed for administrations, plural not just this one. >> let's give the numbers historical context so we can see how presidents normally are, where they are at this point in their second term. so as you can see president obama's at 48%, president bush at this point was at 36%. president clinton was at 60%. >> after being impeached. >> but many think this was backlash. this was the because he was impeached and then ronald reagan exactly the same as president obama, 48%. >> george bush just needed a good impeachment. >> the same numbers are not always the same circumstances. >> right. iran was pulling down the reagan presidency. he ended around 60% -- >> to your point about foreign policy. >> yeah. but in terms of really heavy scandal weighing down administration. but for a long time until recent months conservatives have been crowing about how obama and bush are running in parallel. at this point in the administration you see a strong divergence divergence. it wasn't just the unpopularity

of iraq he'd lost the center of the country at this point, george w. bush. >> and he'd begun to lose his base. the fiscal conservatives and faith-based conservatives and started to break away and that was the before the surge in iraq. >> you see this perilous path for hillary even though these numbers are promising. look at con gregs gnat numbers. republican congress now 28%. >> it doubled. >> good news. >> there's a pony in here somewhere. >> when you look at the republican versus democrat. >> the last republican congress polling was 13%, chris. they've truly doubled the number. >> 28% is bad. you have the democrats in '07 were 49%, do you see that as a relevant comparison? >> get past your partisan jaundice. >> the country is more polarized. that's what you see reflected in those numbers. >> what does this mean for the republican candidates? >> thank you, alisyn. >> there is republican brand

damage. >> brain damage? what did you say? >> brand damage. >> you've got to be clear here. >> i want to make sure all of our listeners know you said brand damage. >> republicans have to know this is a strong headwind. nobody's signing up to be a republican. very few people are signing up to be republicans right now. the tried and true people like me but we even know if you're smart enough to know you can't just run on being a republican. you've got to be for ideas and appeal way more broadly. >> that's why there's a fundamental problem with three first-term senators running right now. they're directly associated with this congress which is not popular. most young americans are identified as independent yet the whole primary process about playing to the base very narrow constituency. >> i must say i am meeting more and more margaret hoovers, literally. people by the exact same name. >> that's creepy. >> i'm meeting republicans who are saying to me they are so open to ideas from their own. they don't want to hear it from the democrats. you've had your eight years. we're not happy where we are. what do you have for me within

my own party? >> this is an opportunity for republicans to win over independents and centerists. >> we have to go. there's only 566 days left until the election. >> giddy up. >> we should have jack on the scale of where will the sun be when the actual election is. be sitting there throwing a baseball in a mit. >> where are my parents. great to see you. >> we can track growth with the calendar. i think we can do that. tv's dr. oz going on the offensive against a group of physicians calling his credentials rather into questions. he plans to answer his critics on his show later this week. what exactly is he going to say? we'll discuss ahead.

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american warships could be on the brink of conflict with iran. this is off the coast of yemen. the u.s. now deploying ships trying to stop iran from supplying weapons to houthi rebels in yemen who have sent yemen into a downward spiral. american allies saudi arabia and egypt, already have ships off yemen with crews prepared to board iranian ships.

something the u.s. crews are not authorized to do. meanwhile, the captain and crew member of the boat packed with migrants capsizing in the mediterranean sea, they've been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking. european officials are working now on a proposal to address the ongoing crisis. we are learning the boat may have capsized after being touched or bumped by a cargo ship that had come to its aid. there's new video of a baltimore police action that left 25-year-old freddie gray dead. 25-year-old gray suffered a severe spinal cord injury while in custody. and the video shows the handling of the limp young man and his fueling outrage. the circumstances vountd surrounding his death still a mystery. six officers have been arrested and suspended. baltimore's mayor and police chief have promised a thorough and transparent investigation. in a few hours the same jury that convicted boston marathon bombers dzhokhar tsarnaev will decide if he will spend the rest

of his life in prison or die by lethal injection. his lawyers and federal prosecutors presenting their opening statements in the trial's penalty phase. prosecutors expected to say that the attack was well-planned and cruel. his defense will argue he was only 19 at the time and under his brother's influence. and several bombing victims have voiced their belief that tsarnaev should get life in prison not death. that's interesting. >> all about why, right? why are they saying it? >> are they philosophically opposed? >> they believe he'll be caught in appeals forever with the death penalty and they want to put him out of their minds. they think going to prison will be the best way to do that. >> yeah, that one couple said they don't want to give him the opportunity to have this story told on his terms instead of theirs. and they feel that a death penalty would give that. which is really interesting. i never really considered that. >> those victim impact statements are really powerful and it's a great thing they are included in the sentencing process.

>> well i mean that's what the death penalty really is about at the end of the day, is giving some sense of closure or satisfaction to victims' families. >> ideally. >> but that satisfaction is a function of time too. you want your life to move on preserve your memories of your loved ones a certain way. this is not a moral argument they're making. it's a practical one. >> will impact a little bit with our legal analyst coming up next hour of course. right now let's talk about weather. we have situation going on with mother nature a wildfire burning nearly 2,000 acres in south florida west of miami. fire officials say the fire right now is 50% contained. we know a school in the area has been closed as a precaution. jennifer grey our meteorologist is on standby looking at this watching the conditions there. what do we know jennifer? >> yeah well those fires about half a mile from structures and due to the wind direction we have seen smoke in portions of metro miami-dade. once this front passes through later today, the wind direction's going to change. some of that smoke could spill a little bit more south.

we are still soggy across much of the northeast. you should get a little bit of a break from the rain today, but then another round of showers coming on wednesday. and much cooler air behind that second front. in fact places like minneapolis already running about 20 degrees below normal. so temperatures are going to stay pretty close to average over the next couple of days. we really take that dip on thursday where temperatures will drop about 10 or 15 degrees for your high temperatures. of course across the south we are still warm. temperatures around 72 in atlanta, 77 tomorrow. average mid-70s. this is going to be the driest day we've seen. we have seen clouds and rain for the last nine or ten days straight. so it will be nice to get a little bit of a break. but it's not going to last long. we do have another round of severe weather already tomorrow. we have an enhanced risk. it's about a 3 on a scale of 1 to 5 and that does include dallas for wednesday, chris. jen, thank you very much. we'll stick with you to find out how that progresses. when we come back, dr. oz says

he is no quack. doctor's critics say he is a sellout. oz is now getting ready to defend himself. we're going to test the situation. we have both sides. you decide coming up. ♪ where do you get this kind of confidence? at your ford dealer... that's where! our expert trained technicians... state of the art technology and warranty parts keep your vehicle running right. it's no wonder we sold more than 3.5 million tires last year and durning the big tire event get a $120 mail in rebate on 4 select tires. ♪ the world is filled with air. but for people with copd sometimes breathing air can be difficult. if you have copd, ask your doctor about once-daily

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celebrity doctor and talk show host dr. oz is fighting back against a group of physicians surgeons and group of professors calling for him to lose his position at columbia university's medical school because they say he promotes "quack treatments for financial gain." dr. oz's producers say he'll respond to those critics on his show thursday. we want to discuss this with cnn senior immediate kal correspondent host of "reliable sources" and author of the division of medical ethics at nyu langone medical center. this is right in your wheelhouse. so we'll talk to both of you. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> i think we should probably start this off with bringing

people up-to-date with what's going on with this letter. i want to read in part what it says. dr. oz has manifested e junior collegeous lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal gain. members of the public are being misled and endangered which makes dr. oz's presence on the faculty of a prestigious medical institution unacceptable. they said it. what do you think? >> look they're not going to fire him. that isn't going to happen. but there's a course correction that's appropriate for dr. oz. he has been out there a little bit on some of the health food claims he's been out there too far when he has the psychic surgeon come on when the guy who talks to the dead appears. it does seem to be me he needs to be reigned in. is he harming people with what i'll call fairy dust kind of stuff? yeah i think sometimes they don't get to the real doctor. they think i'll swallow a pill and this will help me get healthy. on the other hand we were just talking about this. dr. oz has been on for a while.

he's got a lot of shows. how many times are you going to come on and say lose weight, wear a helmet. >> is there any there there? you're making money and not disclosing it that would be the baseline charge. >> dr. oz tries to be on the up and up. you go to his website and see his trusted partners listed. that's an example of something some doctors wouldn't do to go that next step and have that relationship. you know seems to me like he's going to go on the offense here. he's been on the defense for several days. some of these doctors and physicians seem like they've got sketchy pasts, pointing out connections and ties to the gmo industry. they seem to not like the fact -- >> that's interesting. the ten accusing him of quack medicine he's going to expose something this week about them maybe. >> at least some of the ten. that's what dr. oz's people are saying. some have these industry ties. they say they don't like dr. oz's stance on gmos.

>> chasing down all the conflicts of interest kind of loses the message here about is this guy giving us straight answers about health. i'm going to say sometimes not as much. he's getting better. i mean if you look at the show maybe a year or two back there was a lot more kind of woo-woo stuff out there. he's doing a little better. but i think he does need a course correction. i hope we doept get lost in the he said/she said and who's paying you kind of thing because the issue is the american people watch this guy. he's the number one doc in the country. that's what they listen to. >> i don't think he'll say this but i think what he could say privately is the criticism makes me better criticism makes the show better. >> there will be people that say, look the fact he is not necessarily promoting everything that western medicine aligns with he brings in maybe some older school ideas, some traditional eastern method -- >> he's got -- >> absolutely. so there will be people saying these are just haters that are trying to say we should steer towards western medicine.

is there anything there? >> the british medicine journal said half the stuff dr. oz was talking about wasn't valid. we've seen a congressional hearing that called him out and said you're promoting stuff that isn't legitimate. so i think those criticisms have merit. >> because it's such a squishy area when you're talking nontraditional medicine now we're calling holistic medical practice practice. do they know they're not valid but more certain about other things? >> fair enough. i think the evidence is strong a lot of this stuff isn't going to cure your cancer or get rid of your parkinsonnism. >> but say cure your cancer with this? >> close enough to make you nervous. >> he also touts, as you said things like green coffee extract, raspberry tablets. >> he's big on berries. he loves berries. >> there's nothing wrong with berries. >> i don't know. >> the thing about these things do work in an alternative way, do we know if he's making money,

brian? >> coffee beans is an example where he had to come back last fall and say the study i based my report on has been retracted, more research needs to be done. >> but is he getting paid? does he disclose that? what does trusted partners mean? >> i think he is getting paid for product. what you see is it boosts his ratings. he drives it up there's something called the oz efblgt. he endorses something on that show the next day they sell out. it helps ratings. >> we understand thursday he's going to come out. >> yeah. people are going to get a preview later today. >> this end up being the he said/she said? >> he said he's going to respond to the critics, but i wish he'd have the critics there. >> that's interesting. >> he'll be taping it. we'll get a preview tonight. he said he wants this to be about exposing intimidation. he says these doctors are trying to intimidate him into not talking about gmos. he says he's going to go on his show and talk about it. that's unusual. people who watch his show trust him. the fact he's going to go on his own show to defend himself.

>> it will give him the benefit of the doubt. they better make a strong case against him. >> big sweep for season ratings starts next thursday. >> brian, always a pleasure to have you here. great topic for us to discuss. if you want to get in on it tweet us your take on this topic by using #newday. this story is moving but there's a lot of news for you this morning so let's get right to it. american warships are heading to the waters off yemen. >> prepared to intercept any iranian arm shipments to the shiite rebels. >> this is more of a message to the iranians that says be careful. >> the new book clinton cash. >> are they taking money and potentially getting influence bought? >> the republicans seem to be talking only about me. i don't know what they'd talk about if i weren't in the race. >> six police officers suspended in baltimore. >> i don't believe that you can have police officers investigating their own. >> when mr. gray was taken out

of that van he could not talk and he could not breathe. >> some marathon bombing survivors have appealed for tsarnaev to be spared the death penalty. >> the penalty phase expected to be extremely emotional for all the survivors. >> i had to cross the finish line. i had to. i can't feel sorry for myself for one second. this is "new day" with chris cuomo, alisyn camerota and michaela pereira. good morning everyone. welcome back to your "new day." weeks after finding their first common ground in decades, the u.s. and iran staring each other down once again. this time it's in the waters off yemen where the u.s. is sending military ships to help stop tehran from arming rebels. >> and this is a critical moment. 24 hours is the window for potential action. all this comes as nuclear talks with iran are set to begin again tomorrow. more fuel to the fire iran now charging a "the washington post" reporter with espionage. the question is are they trying to blow up the talk sns our coverage begins this morning with cnn global affairs

correspondent elise labott in washington. what do we know? >> reporter: chris, the crisis in yemen is taking a new turn this morning as u.s. warships joining other nations off the coast of yemen in a rapidly escalating situation. the obama administration deploying an aircraft carrier and guided missile destroyer in yemeni waters to join nine other american ships in the region in a strong signal to iran. all prepared to intercept iranian vessels if they proceed into yemeni waters where countries like saudi arabia egypt and other partner nations have a presence. the u.s. fearing the iranian ships may be carrying arms for houthi rebels fighting u.s. allies in yemen. the heightened military response comes at a sensitive time in u.s.-iran relations, with delicate nuclear negotiations set to resume wednesday and as iran's foreign minister is calling for a diplomatic solution in yemen in a "new york times" op-ed. >> it's a little ironic for the

iranian foreign minister to be calling for a diplomatic resolution to that situation while at the same time his country continues to supply arms to one party to that dispute. >> reporter: all this less than a week after the united nations security council approved a resolution to choke off weapon flow to houthi fighters. yemen continuing to descend into chaos, this scale of destruction widening as saudi-led air strikes on a houthi weapons depot tear through the country's rebel-held capital of sana. the explosions that killed dozens of people and wounding nearly 300, flattening homes, gutting buildings and sending plumes of thick smoke hundreds of feet in the air. a humanitarian crisis at the epicenter of the raging conflict. thousands fleeing the country as seen in this exclusive cnn video. and dangerously low supplies of food medicine and water are

plaguing this already-impoverished country. and even more devastating situation lacking leadership after yemen's president fled the country last month seeking safety chris. >> and the suggestion is the iranians may say that's what they're carrying on ships is humanitarian aid complicating the situation. elise, one thing is for sure iran not responding kindly to the american military move saying "we don't let anyone give us warnings and threats." let's turn to cnn senior international correspondent frederik pleitgen live in tehran with that part of the story. fred what are you hearing there? >> reporter: hi chris. one of the things that's happening here is that the iranians are flatout denying that they are supplying weapons to the houthis. as you said they say all they want to do is supply humanitarian aid. interesting because i'd say about an hour and a half ago they took us to a red crescent center where they said they were preparing aid for yemen, but they also said they hadn't been able to deliver any at any point since the conflict has started. they say that the warships that

they have in that area that those are only there to fight piracy and that those are there in accordance with international law. and you started out talking about the commander of the iranian navy. i want to read a little bit more of that quote because that was something he told us just a couple of days ago when we met him. he said we don't let anyone give us warnings and threats because we are working according to international law and regulations. and we work for the security of our country and other countries. so again that flatout denial. however it's no secret that the iranians are on the side of the houthis that in that conflict they have very heavily criticized saudi arabia and all of this of course is taking place in a very sensitive region in the gulf of aden there where you have saudi arabia and iran and very close proximity you already have the water way to the suez canal. explains why egypt is interested in this it's a delicate region where you have a lot of warships right now.

again all of this of course happening while u.s. and iran and other countries are trying to hammer out the nuclear agreement. the iranians you can really feel it here are trying to compartmentalize one. where on one hand they're trying to isolate the talks about the nuclear program away from the conflict going on because of the yemen conflict there. alisyn. >> fred, thanks so much for helping us understand just how dicey this is. joining us for more context is lieutenant general military analyst and former commanding general for u.s. army europe and seventh army. general, thanks so much for being on "new day." so how significant is it that the u.s. is now sending this aircraft carrier to join nine other ships? >> moving the theodore roosevelt into the arabian scene, gulf of aden is significant, alisyn but it's not a prelude to war. interesting enough the crew of the roosevelt call themselves by their nickname the big stick. i think that's a little bit ironic too given the situation. >> it's not a prelude to war,

but it is a prelude to the a game of chicken, is it not? and why is iran engaging in this game of chicken just when it seemed like u.s.-iranian relations turned a corner? >> well you know, it is not a prelude to war. but certainly i'm sure the captain of the ship and the entire carrier strike group have been given the mission of maritime security operation. that can go in a lot of directions. again, this probably isn't going to be a warship-on-warship confrontation if there is a boarding procedure. it's going to be more of a warship on a cargo ship. but there's certainly going to be a lot of iranian warships in the area that will contest that. so yes, it partly is a game of chicken, but these are the kind of things that occur in international waters when you're trying to maintain security of the seas and support a conflict from one of our coalition partners. >> so, general, if iranian warships head into international waters and get close to yemen, what's the u.s. plan? >> again, alisyn this is a

tough situation. the captain, the admiral that's part of the carrier strike group, will make some decisions. he will try and first shape the situation, influence those iranian ships, deter them from doing further action along the gulf coast. again, they're out of international waters and potentially going into the territorial waters of yemen. and if he has to he's going to dissuade them from doing any further action. again, it's an escalating conflict. it is in your words a game of chicken. but it's tough military actions. and that's what happens. >> you heard frederik pleitgen's reporting there. he said the iranians say they're not sending any weapons to the houthi rebels. in fact they're sending aid. so who can confirm what's on those ships? >> well that's the issue. and that's sometimes why you have to board ships. we've seen this before with iran sending arms to the gaza strait and into lebanon. we've seen this with hamas and hezbollah in the past.

and it's just one of those kind of situations where you have to pull that cargo vessel over and say we're going to inspect you. that's when it really gets contentious because by rule of sea you can inspect another ship. it's international law that you can do that if you think that they are contributing something evil to a territory. but again, that's where the tough part occurs and that's where the thinking of the commanders on the scene are going to be challenged. but they'll do the right thing. >> so just to be clear, you're saying that u.s. soldiers can board an iranian ship? >> international law says that you can request boarding to inspect cargo when you're in national waters. yemeni waters. it's based on the government authority. again, that's challenging. again, who gives the authority, when can they do that is there a cargo ship involved or is it a warship? you're not going to see a u.s. navy ship boarding an iranian navy ship but you can certainly

board cargo ships to determine what the cargo is to determine freedom of the seas. >> general, look you've been in sensitive military situations like this. if you were the commander in charge if you were the general there, how would you be handling this today? >> well this is a situation -- and we've had these kind of crises before. the biggest historical example is what happened off the coast of cuba when there was a blockade in the early '60s. when you're trying to prevent weapons from going into a country, it's tough. that's what these military commanders do. these individuals on this ship this strike group, have been trained to conduct these kind of operations. it's very challenging. it's very difficult. alisyn i'm not a navy man. i love the navy for 364 days of the year but truthfully it's a tough mission. intervention and blockade is a tough mission. there are going to be some very sensitive moments in the coming days. >> so in your experience usual that this may escalate? >> i don't.

again, i think the transfer of the theodore roosevelt to the area is significant. but when you've got a u.s. aircraft carrier with several other ships from various coalition navies in the area working as one, conducting an interdiction mission, i don't think it's going to be escalating. that's a tough thing to go through. it's tough to run a blockade from those kind of ships. so i think in territorial waters of course the iranian admiral said i've got freedom of the seas just like anybody else. but when they get into the limit of the yemeni waters that's when a coalition force can blockade and interdict. >> thanks so much for all your expertise. >> thank you, alisyn. >> let's get over to michaela. it is day two for hillary clinton with new poll numbers showing more positive view of president obama, what does this mean for clinton's campaign? we're live from concord, new hampshire this morning. good morning to you, jeff. >> reporter: good morning,

michaela. you're right. it's not just president obama who's watching his poll ratings. it's hillary clinton. her fortunes are unmistakably linked to the president's as she's asking voters to do something they've rarely done in modern times, elect two democratic presidents in a row. let's take a look at poll numbers. he right now is at 48% approval that's the highest he's been in nearly two years here. but take a look at this number. 52% of the economy -- or 52% of people say the economy's good right now. but even more important the clinton campaign is watching 60% of the people responding in our poll say that the economy will be good in a year from now. so that is the best news for clinton in this poll of course several other factors aren't so good for her. as we saw her campaigning yesterday in new hampshire she did something she has rarely done. she took a bit of a stab at her rivals, her republican rivals who are starting to promote a book that is raising questions about the foreign donations that are given to her family's foundation. let's take a listen to what she

said. >> we will be subjected to all kinds of distraction and attacks. and i'm ready for that. it is i think, worth noting that the republicans seem to be talking only about me. i don't know what they'd talk about if i weren't in the race. >> reporter: she's right about that. republicans are talking a lot about her trying to raise questions over trust and credibility. she of course is pushing back at that. chris. >> jeff thank you very much. we'll follow that race for sure. it just keeps going and going. we have 566 days to go. emotions running very high in baltimore following the still-unexplained death of 25-year-old freddie gray who suffered fatal injuries while in police custody. that's what an autopsy now shows. we have new video of the arrest but also new questions. so let's bring in cnn's suzanne malveaux following developments live in baltimore. this new angle of video also adding fuel to the fire because how it appears that the limp

freddie's body is being handled by police yes? >> reporter: yeah absolutely chris. and, you know as much as the frustration is among the community and the family of freddie gray they want these answers right away. they're going to have to wait a bit longer until next friday that's the deadline for baltimore police to complete their investigation. it will go on to the d.a.'s office and then state's attorney office. but in the meantime chris, we have been able to piece together a little more information about how this tragedy unfolded. this latest video of freddie gray on the ground being dragged by baltimore police raising new questions about conflicting accounts from police and what bystanders say they saw. >> they tase you like that you wonder why he can't use his legs. >> reporter: the man recording says gray was tased. but authorities say he was arrested without the use of force. and that a taser was never deployed. and exactly how gray sustained the deadly injury to his spinal

cord nearly severing it has yet to be determined. >> there was no physical bodily injury that we saw, nor was it evident in the autopsy of mr. gray. none of his limbs were broken. >> reporter: baltimore's mayor suggesting gray was injured during transport. >> it's clear that what happened happened inside the van. >> reporter: at 8:39 police say they spotted gray and give chase. by 8:42 police call for a transport van. and gray requests an inhaler. new details from police reveal that at 8:46 the van stops to complete paperwork. gray is described as irate and placed in leg irons. about 30 minutes later paramedics are called to transport gray to a hospital. the day of gray's autopsy police reveal this surveillance video, the camera constantly scanning the area is the only one believed to have captured a few seconds of gray's encounter with police. authorities say it shows no

wrongdoing. each day the demand for answers and accountability grows louder as all six officers involved are suspended with pay. and the attorney for the gray family, william murphy jr.'s expected to get the results of the autopsy later today about 9:00 in the morning. also the family expected to receive the body of freddie gray. and they also will go ahead and start to make those funeral arrangements. michaela. >> all right, suzanne, we'll stay on top of that story with you. thank you so much for that. meanwhile, the captain and a crew member of the capsized boat packed with migrants in the mediterranean sea has now been arrested the two of them on suspicion of human trafficking. at least 28 people survived the horrifying ordeal. hundreds more are feared dead or still trapped inside that boat. this as we learn the ship may have capsized after being touched or bumped by a cargo ship that came to help.

blue bell please listen up if you use blue bell products. they are issuing a massive recall. i mean every single one of its products because of potentially deadly listeria. it was found last month but has now popped up in other facilities. we have cnn's martin savidge on this with the latest. martin what do we know? >> reporter: this is an amazing recall actually. just by the sheer scope of it. after weeks of smaller recalls, blue bell has now had several positive tests for listeria in different places and plants. so the company is recalling, as you pointed out, the entire line of its ice cream, frozen yogurt sherbet and other frozen snack which is are on sale in 23 states and internationally. blue bell's ceo and president paul kruse spoke out monday saying the company is taking all its products off the market until they can be confident that they're all safe. >> we are heartbroken over this situation and apologize to all of our loyal blue bell fans and customers. our entire history has been

dedicated to making the very best and highest quality ice cream we possibly could. and we're committed to fixing the problem. >> reporter: so far blue bell has documented eight cases of listeria five in kansas. three of which were fatal. and then three others in texas. listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in people with weakened immune systems. there's an odd twist to all this because most of the people diagnosed in kansas were served the ice cream while in the hospital being treated for unrelated illnesses. alisyn. >> okay martin savidge, thanks so much for that report. well jon stewart will sign-off as host of "the daily show" on august 6th. stewart announcing the date of his final episode during last night's show. comedy central has not announced a date for the premiere of stewart's replacement, trevor noah. who will make fun of us after august 6th? >> he will. this guy that we just saw there. that handsome young man. >> so he will be as much of a

watchdog of cable news as -- >> doesn't happen overnight. >> as jon stewart has been? >> i'm curious. this always takes a while for a person to develop their own personality. look the way it's taken our show time to find its feet. >> instantaneous. >> but you know what i mean. it takes a wliel to see how it goes. and he'll have the big presidential race to playoff. >> to focus on. >> watchdog not the word i would use for what he did with cable news. but that's another time. >> there are some sensitivities here. we have much more for you on outrage in baltimore after the death of that young man in police custody. police say they're not hiding anything but not everyone is buying it. we will talk to the mayor of baltimore about that situation next. we have new poll numbers and they give a good read on what makes hillary clinton formidable at least among democrats. but there's also a new unknown, allegations could donations to her family foundation be a real problem? we'll get into it.

people ship all kinds of things. but what if that thing is a few hundred thousand doses of flu vaccine. that need to be kept at 41 degrees. while being shipped to a country where it's 90 degrees. in the shade. sound hard? yeah. does that mean people in laos shouldn't get their vaccine? we didn't think so. from figuring it out to getting it done, we're here to help. 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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the death of 25-year-old freddie gray in baltimore is not going away. and because there are just too many questions and a lot of resulting outrage. what we know is that freddie gray had his spine severely injured at some point while he was in police custody. six officers have been

suspended. city leadership is vowing a transparent investigation. and the head of that will be the mayor of baltimore, stephanie rawlings-blake. the mayor joins us now. mayor, you are uniquely positioned to do this. you have extreme mandate. 87% of the vote you were elected in with. you are also a lawyer by training. the community trusts you. they want answers. it seems the big question is what happened in that 12-minute window? we'll put up the timeline as we discuss this. go ahead to have you on the show. do you know what happened in that window? >> we still have questions. we still don't know exactly what happened. that's why this investigation is so important. my pledge to the community is i'm going to make sure that as we get information that we can confirm, we're going to put that information out in the public. i want people to understand that i have no interest in hiding information, holding back information. we want to make sure that we're able to confirm what we're putting out there so we're not confusing anything.

we're not giving people the wrong idea or jeopardizing the investigation. but as we get information, i ensure that we will get that information out. and that's why, you know within about 24 hours or so after mr. gray's unfortunate death we were able to talk very preliminarily about some of the autopsy results as well as make sure we give a timeline. >> what do you see in that autopsy? what's the headline out of it? >> the autopsy leaves us with just as many questions as it answers. we know just what you said that mr. gray was put in the van. you know he was dragged a bit, but then you see him using his legs to get into the van. so we know that he was able-bodied when he was in the van. and we know that when he was finally taken out of the van he was unresponsive. we know that he asked for medical attention. we know that that medical attention was not immediately requested for him. >> mayor -- >> we know that was a mistake.

uh-huh. >> mayor, when you say able-bodied, is that just the question of language? he does not look able-bodied. he's at best limp when he's put into the van. why do you say able-bodied. >> he was dragged to the van, but then you see also when they get him to the van he's using his legs. i'm not -- the actual injuries that's for the medical examiner to determine. i'm just looking at the pictures. i am not making a declarative statement. i'm just saying we know he was fine getting into the van, but we know when he was coming out of the van he was unresponsive. and the autopsy results so far leave us with just as many questions. >> and that's a little confounding to people right? and frustrating, which you can understand. how hard is it to know? he was on the street corner he was not injured. they come and get him whether they suspect him of activity or

whatever they're saying why they stopped him. at some point after contact with the police he suffers a catastrophic spinal injury. how hard will it be able to find out what happened to him and when? >> i don't necessarily think it's hard. i just think it takes time for the medical examiner to do the thorough investigation, a thorough examination. what we got yesterday was very very preliminary. so i'm not -- i'm determined to get to the bottom of this question. i'm frustrated. i want to know why he was stopped. i want to know why when he asked for medical attention he wasn't given medical attention. we have a lot of questions. i will say the commissioner put in place some policies procedures and training subsequent to the incident to make sure that officers understand what to do when a suspect or someone in custody requests medical attention. but there are a lot of unanswered questions. and my commitment to the community is we'll get to the bottom of it. and we will go where the facts lead us. just because we don't know today what caused it doesn't mean

we're not going to find out. and it certainly doesn't mean that if we find out that someone needs -- someone or someones need to be held accountable, that they won't be. we will hold people accountable if we find there was wrongdoing. >> and you know look this happened on your watch, but there was so much history before your watch that obviously is really generating a sense of concern and distrust as to what's going to happen. are you worried that having the police essentially look at themselves is a block to progress here? do you think it has to be an outside agency or entity that does an investigation like this? >> i absolutely believe we need to have an outside investigation. listen we have a very challenging history in baltimore when it comes to police misconduct brutality. and i, as mayor have been determined to make progress. the number of lawsuits brought against the city -- against the police department under my

administration has gone down. discourtesy complaints excessive force complaints all gone down. i went to annapolis to fight for stronger laws to hold officers accused of wrongdoing accountable. because i'm fighting to bring back the trust between the police and the community. we have a long road ahead of us and it will be difficult. but i believe baltimore's up to the challenge. and i know that by ensuring every step of the way we have transparency and there will be accountability we're going to get there. >> all right. mayor rawlings-blake, thank you for joining us on "new day." >> thanks chris. all right, chris. hillary clinton has put some distance between herself and the president, but could new polling on the economy have her shifting course once again? we're going to take you through the numbers ahead. i care deeply about the gulf. i grew up in louisiana. i went to school here. i've been with bp ever since.

today, i lead a team that sets our global safety standards. after the spill we made two commitments. to help the gulf recover and become a safer company. we've worked hard to honor both. bp has spent nearly 28 billion dollars so far to help the gulf economy and environment. and five years of research shows that the gulf is coming back faster than predicted. we've toughened safety standards too. including enhanced training... and 24/7 on shore monitoring of our wells drilling in the gulf. and everyone has the power to stop a job at any time if they consider it unsafe. what happened here five years ago changed us. i'm proud of the progress we've made both in the gulf and inside bp. thank you for being a sailor, and my daddy. thank you mom, for protecting my future. thank you for being my hero and my dad. military families are thankful for many things.

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i work some long hours keeping my clients wrinkle free, and back when i had fios that meant falling behind on my shows. so i switched to xfinity. their cloud-based dvr is perfect for me 'cause it lets me take my recorded shows anywhere i go. see? [program: "not on my watch..."] see? [program: "not on my watch..."] [laughing] [laughing] where do they come up with this stuff?! new headlines for you here. the u.s. sending a show of force to the waters off yemen. two additional warships to stop iran from providing weapons to houthi rebels. american allies saudi arabia and

egypt already have ships off yemen's coast with crews prepared to board iranian ships. something u.s. crews are not authorized to do. this latest dust-up between the u.s. and iran comes as nuclear talks are set to resume. a captain and crew member of the boat packed with migrants capsized in the mediterranean sea now arrested on suspicion of human trafficking. hundreds are feared dead. this as we learn the ship may have sunk after being touched by a cargo ship that tried to come to its aid. pope francis accepting the resignation of kansas city's bishop the first-ever to be found guilty of a criminal charge. failure to report an accusation of child abuse. the bishop was convicted in 2012 for waiting several months before telling authorities explicit images of young girls were found on a priest's computer. he will remain a bishop but he will not lead a die owe cease. willie nelson launching his

own brand, what do you think, guys? yes, cannabis. the 81-year-old who has made no secret of his love of marijuana says he's partnering with some of america's master growers. it will be sold in colorado and washington state where it's legal. >> reserve meaning that which he hasn't smoked. >> he has purchased so much of the years it was time to start selling it. >> i love willie nelson so much i may start smoking pot. >> really? >> yeah. if he says it's good then i may -- >> just as good a reason as inany. >> anyone else just hear -- >> cannabis is the new name. cannabis investing. >> if willie nelson likes it i will like it. >> you know i'm a little jet lagged. did this just happen this morning? wow. a turn on "new day." >> let's move on with the news. >> let's do that. >> something else surreal politics presidential candidate hillary clinton speaking out

about the new book "clinton cash." it claims foreign donors who gave money to the clinton foundation received favors from the state department while clinton was secretary of state. >> we will be subjected to all kinds of distraction and attacks. it is i think, worth noting that the republicans seem to be talking only about me. i don't know what they'd talk about if i weren't in the race. >> so what impact could this book have on her campaign? let's bring in a democratic strategist served as a senior adviser to hillary clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign. good morning, kiki great to see you. >> good morning, good to see you. >> so this book seems like it could present a problem for hillary clinton. i mean the "new york times" is about to feature some of the contents of this book. >> look i think mrs. clinton said it best yesterday, which is this is the first in what will be a lot of attacks coming at her. i think we know a couple of

things about the book's author that he's a conservative activist he's got a record of getting the facts wrong, retractions and apologies have been made before for things that he's written. i think what's really interesting in this whole back-and-forth over the last week is about the idea of spending time about what people who are sitting down with hillary clinton want to talk about, right? they want to talk about the economy. they want to talk about the chance their families have in the future. and that's really the conversation that i think will drive voters. i think it's what will drive the campaign for mrs. clinton. this is just, you know, one more in what we know will be a string of attacks. >> i'm not sure you can dismiss the author of this book as just a right wing hack. yes, he has retracted some things. however, he was also featured on "60 minutes," which is obviously no you know, right wing outfit. it heavily vets its stuff for one of his investigative books. furthermore, the "new york times" has entered into some sort of exclusive agreement with

him because they believe his reporting on this one is solid. >> well look alisyn news organizations get to use whatever sources they want. they're the professionals. they get to pick. but they also i believe, have a responsibility to make known the fact that there's a bias or where that source's point of view comes from. so readers and audience members ought to know the whole story about this guy. just because you're in the "new york times" or on "60 minutes" both of which are terrific news organizations, doesn't mean you ought to be. the reality is there's a record he has a point of view. it's going to be one in a long string of attacks. again, i'd go back if i were in the press, which i'm not, but i'd wonder what people are wanting to talk with her about. what it is they want to know about their future and what they're hoping to get from their presidential candidate. that seems to be the news to me. >> let me tell you a couple contents we know are in the book and get you to respond to them. allegedly this author says that there was a free trade agreement with columbia that benefitted a

major donor to the clinton foundation. this is while she was secretary of state. second there was $1 million worth of payments to president clinton by a canadian bank and a major shareholder in the keystone oil pipeline around the time that project was being debated in the state department. look this goes to trust. you're shaking your head but these are things if voters knew about it would they feel differently? >> i think voters know what they want to talk about. voters want to talk about the economy, their families their chance for a kid to get an education. and that's what they're talking about when they sit towndown at the table with her and i presume republican candidates for president. what i can tell you about the clinton foundation is this is a global philanthropy saving lives every day. hillary clinton does what she believes is right and represented an administration as secretary of state. but in this campaign the conversation isn't about republican or conservative attacks on hillary clinton. the real conversation happening in new hampshire, iowa south

carolina all across the country is what chance people and their families have in the future. and that's what this conversation's really about. the everyday americans you heard hillary clinton talk about, they have things they want to discuss. and i think that's what she'll focus on. >> so let's talk about some of the things she has focused on on the campaign trail in new hampshire. just yesterday she was talking about the economy. let me play you a sound bite from that moment. actually here's a poll. i'll show you that right now because cnn has a new poll out this morning about the state of the economy. 52% of respondents believe that today it is good. that has flipped. this was under water the last time this poll was taken. so now 52% believe it's good only 48% believe it's poor. that is a good trend. now let me play you what mrs. clinton said yesterday in new hampshire. >> i want to be sure that we get small businesses starting and growing in america again. we have stalled out.

>> okay. so she says we have stalled out. some pundits say that shows she isn't sort of where the american public is in terms of optimism. >> i think she is an optimistic person. i think that's why she's running for president because she believes that things can get better always. 52% shows we're headed in the right direction. but we're not there yet. that's 48% who aren't having that experience. you heard in that sound bite she talked about small businesses. well she understands that. she's the daughter of a small businessman. she gets how important that is to the backbone of the country. and that you have to keep fighting and working for those folks. that's really what the conversation's about today. >> let me show you another one of the poll findings. these are hillary clinton characteristics. democrats were asked about her and what they like about her. and 88% felt she was a strong leader 88% felt she had a good vision for the future. 82% believe she cares about people like them. 82% believe she represents the

democratic future. 75% believe she's honest and trustworthy. those are generally very good numbers. >> they are. >> does the 75% concern you? >> the 75% doesn't concern me at all. and for that last 25% i think they'll get to know her through the course of the primaries and the campaigns. and i suspect you'll see that number go up. i think any hard core strategist would beg for a set of numbers like that. but what's really important is where the course of this conversation goes. it's not about where she is today. it's going to be about where she is and her relationship with american voters on election day. >> kik,i mclean thanks so much for being on with us. >> thanks. let's get to chris. alisyn, opening statements begin today in the penalty phase of the boston bomber trial. prosecutors say he deserves the death penalty. could survivors help spare the boston bomber's life? and why would they do that? we have answers ahead.

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today, jurors will begin hearing arguments for and

against putting the boston bomber to death as the sentencing phase -- or the penalty phase gets underway. several survivors of the attack have now written op-eds in support of sparing the bomber's life. what impact will that have on the jury? here to join us joey jackson, paul callan. gentlemen, good to have you. a lot of things to discuss. professor paul i'll ask you to give us an idea of what this penalty phase will look like. will it be similar to other trials? how long can this last? >> we're going into what's a very solemn part of the trial. >> very emotional. >> yes. whether he will be put to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. and we're going to hear about mitigating factors, meaning are there things in his life that should cause you to say he doesn't deserve the death penalty. we'll hear about his upbringing you could hear psychiatric testimony that he was under the influence of his brother and also aggravating factors, the

cruelty of the killings the nature of the killings. all of the things that they're common sense things about why this is a case that is so cruel and so horrible it deserves the death penalty. and in the end those factors get weighed and the jury makes a recommendation. >> so to be sure this is going to take some time. >> at least -- >> the hard stuff is not behind those jurors. the jurors are doing god's work here. joey we know that two different op-eds have been written from survivors. and both making the point that they believe tsarnaev's life should be saved. >> yeah. >> and should be given life in prison instead. one of the u.s. attorneys sounded off and said she cares deeply about the views of the victims and survivors. could the opinions of these survivors actually affect or influence the end game of the prosecution? >> i don't think so michaela. here's why. first of all, what kind of humanity do you have to have and what kind of wonderful individual do you have to be to be so forgiving under such tragic circumstance?

and it speaks volumes about these families and who they are and they would have the ability to write an op-ed. however, this phase we're moving into, mimichaela is not a referendum on the death penalty or individual opinions. those individual opinions are consulted and considered when the prosecution decides to bring forth the capital case. but that ship has sailed. >> right. >> and understand that -- >> we're here now. >> and on the witness stand the prosecution is not going to be illiciting opinions in terms of death, they're going to be elise-- how has this impacted your family. what has this done to the fiber of you and your community? that's more of what we'll hear. we won't really hear about what they're pining in terms of the penalty. >> but we know the judge has already told members of the jury to stay away from the boston marathon itself to avoid all press, et cetera et cetera. they don't want them to be influenced yet there will be victim impact statements in

court. how do those get decided? who will be allowed to speak? and how those will influence the jury? >> i think it's a great question. a lot of people wonder about this because let's say the majority of the victims say we don't want the death penalty. >> right. >> now, massachusetts is a state where most people oppose the death penalty. this is a federal case and that's the only reason why it's even in play. so shouldn't that be many important that all the -- i'm sure prosecutors have kind of gotten a consensus and they know. but this isn't up for vote. it's people of the united states against tsarnaev. so the jury doesn't even hear what the opinions are on the death penalty from the victims. they'll only hear one thing. what has the impact been on your life then the jury makes its recommendation based on the circumstances of this case. >> well we have a new cnn/orc poll about the death sentence with boston. i think we can pull that up with this case.

and it's very interesting to see 53% of people polled are for a death sentence while 45% aren't. now, should the jury have the right to know do you think, joey? >> no. >> keep that out of it. public opinion should not matter. >> michaela there's a couple important points to be made. first, the only real opinion poll that matters are the 12 members of the jury. we have to understand their opinions may vary drastically to what the public is. remember anyone on that jury has said not that they will impose a death penalty but they have the ability to impose it during the appropriate and proper circumstances. and so the other issue then becomes, you know do you want the jury to base the decisions on what they hear in that courtroom or what they're hearing outside of it? historically it's what happens in that court that's relevant and probative to the issue of death. >> joey jackson, paul callan great to discuss it with you. alisyn over to you. parents, big change coming to one of your kids' favorite

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i care deeply about the gulf. i grew up in louisiana. i went to school here. i've been with bp ever since. today, i lead a team that sets our global safety standards. after the spill we made two commitments. to help the gulf recover and become a safer company. we've worked hard to honor both. bp has spent nearly 28 billion dollars so far to help the gulf economy and environment. and five years of research shows that the gulf is coming back faster than predicted. we've toughened safety standards too. including enhanced training... and 24/7 on shore monitoring of our wells drilling in the gulf. and everyone has the power to stop a job at any time if they consider it unsafe. what happened here five years ago changed us. i'm proud of the progress we've made both in the gulf and inside bp.

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it is time for cnn money now, and cnn money correspondent is in our money center. christina, you are money, so tell us about the big change for google search this morning. >> if your web traffic plummets in the next few days here is why. the search will focus on friendly devices on your mobile. the site will rank lower if it is not easy to read. another company making big changes. kraft. kraft will remove artificial preservatives using real spices instead, of course this in response to parents that want healthy and simple food to their children and but kraft says

don't worry, it will taste the same? >> you are meaning to tell me that bright orange is not natural? >> turmeric will be used. >> that's good for you. u.s. war ships moving into position trying to stop iran from supplying weapons to rebels in yemen. what will the u.s. try to do is iran tries to dock? introducing new flonase allergy relief nasal spray. this changes everything. new flonase outperforms a leading allergy pill so you will inhale life. when we breathe in allergens our bodies react by over-producing

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iran not responding kindly to the u.s. display of military might. >> prepare to intercept any iranian shipments. >> the worst disaster involving migrants crossing from northern africa to europe. >> more than 1,500 people have died so far this year alone. >> and they are arrested two of the 27 survivors. >> and optimism about the economy and country and even the president. >> it doesn't ask about foreign policy. >> this is "new day."

>> good morning, and welcome to your "new day." it's tuesday, april 21st, 8:00 in the east. here is your headline. american warships are closing in on yemeni this morning and a conflict with iran could be right around the corner, literally within 24 hours ships will come into view of one another, and it's a force to choke off rebels. >> and nuclear negotiations were set to resume tomorrow adding to the tension, a "washington post" reporter now facing espionage charges in iran. the crisis in yemen taking a new turn this morning as u.s. warships joining other nations off the coast of yemen in a rapidly escalating situation. the obama administration deploying an aircraft carrier

and guided missile carrier to join nine other ships in the region, all prepared to intercept iranian vessels. the u.s. fearing the iranian ships may be carrying arms for rebels fighting u.s. allies in yemen, and the heightened military response comes at a sensitive time in u.s. and iran relations, and as iran's foreign minister is calming for a diplomatic situation in yemen. >> it's ironic for the foreign minister to be calling for a diplomatic solution to that situation while his country continues to supply arms to parties that dispute -- >> all this less than a week after the united nations

approved a plan to choke off the fighters. >> the scale of destruction widening as saudi led air strikes. the explosions that killed dozens of people and wounding nearly 300, and flattening homes, and gutting buildings and setting plumes on thick smoke hundreds of feet in the air, and a humanitarian crisis at the epicenter of the conflict and thousands seen fleeing the country as seen in this exclusive cnn video. low supplies of food medicine and water, and a more devastating situation, lacking leadership after yemen president, hadi plead the country last month. >> and the military maneuver

cnn correspondent is live in tehran. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, alison. it's something that is making the relations between the u.s. and iran testy. the iranians for their part have said they have no desire to send their ships to the waters off the coast of yemen. they say the reason why their warships are in that area is to fight piracy in that area and we note gulf of aden and the area around somalia does experience a lot of piracy and the head of the navy also went further and said the iranians would not take any advice from the americans. i want to get a quote from the commander of the navy. he said we don't let anybody give us warnings or threats because we are working according

to international law and regulations and we work for the security of our country and other countries. the iranians also said the only thing they want to do is supply a humanitarian aid to yemen, and i was actually at one center where aid was being packed to be sent to yemen and the people said they have not been able to send any since the conflict broke out and all of this at odds of what the u.s. has been saying and they said the iranians in the past have supplied the houthi rebels with weapons. in the meantime with the nuclear negotiations those will be set to continue to go forward and at least some here in the iranian establishment say they are cautiously optimistic that a deal does seem to be very much possible chris. >> which is so confusing to understand how there could be optimism on one front when there is so much pest misam in other

parts. >> this growing list of charges against iran are becoming confusing because we don't understand why they would be doing any of these things. help us test this. all right, let's start with the immediate. why would you send the ships in this area when we are telling you not to? >> iran and saudi arabia are in a power struggle for dominance in that region. the reason the struggle i think is getting out of hand has a lot to do with what is happening in iraq. it used to be a three-way balance, and iraq would often go back and forth between the two. it has allowed iran and saudi arabia to go right at each other and we are seeing that in yemen. >> you are saying the balance of

power if iraq is doing something in yemen, and the allegation is you are tearing apart the yemeni state for no reason other than your own advantage and you deny it and why do you deny it if you have a clear reason to do it? >> yemen is deeply divided itself. it used to be two countries. it's very divided between its north and south and we are seeing the internal divisions in yemen are being seized on by iran and saudi arabia and so they are choosing rival sides and tearing that country apart. the frightening thing is what are going to be the long term consequences of anarchy. >> you take a "washington post" person and put them on trial, and you are holding four americans and you want to have a

better relation with america. >> they have done this with iranian americans. it's hard to know inside that regime which factions in the regime what to do that and maybe they want to embarrass rouhani, but whatever the reason it's inexcusable. >> is iran personality wise is it technically a split personality, old guard, new guard, and you have to think about who is talking to you, which part of iran to understand a particular situation like the washington post one versus the yemen situation? >> iran is a big powerful country and it's bigger than most of the countries in its region and it feels it has a right to play a large and powerful role in that region, and i don't think that is controversial, but what controversial is how you do it and there are some of want iran to have a larger role but there

are others who are threatened by that kind of opening to the west because it could undermined that power and they are more invested in conflict. >> does iran have the stones to create a military conflict on the seas off yemen? >> i think it's unlikely. i think it's important to remember while iran cares about yemen it's not as close as a relationship as syria or the haouties. one of the dangerous things is that even if neither side wants a confrontation a. confrontation could come, and it's becoming a chaotic war zone. goodness knows what could happen. things could spiral out of control. >> u.s. history, the "uss cole,"

it was a ski boat. >> this is one of the most dangerous parts of the world. >> now the big question comes. everything around the negotiations around nuclear talks, does iran want to dynamite these talks and that's why it's creating all of the contention in other areas? >> no, i don't think wrong wants to dynamite the talks and the united states doesn't either. they are not going to give up quest for their influence in the region. >> how do you do this? you say it's just the nukes, forget about yemen, but how do you wind up eclipsing the talks? >> there are other people in washington and in tehran who are not interested in getting the deal but the obama administration is playing a tricky game and trying to assure

saudi arabia and if the confrontation gets too explosive, let's say a bunch of american soldiers were to die off the coast of yemen, then we would spiral into a completely different reality in which the negotiations could become impossible. >> i can hear the voice of.net netanyahu getting ready to speak. >> it's so confusing to so many here. the story cnn is watching breaking overnight a captain and crew member arrested on suspicion of human trafficking after a ship sinks in the mediterranean sea. we want to turn into our cnn senior international correspondent. >> reporter: it seems that more people are arriving every single

day. so far the italian coast guard today has rescued 446 migrants off the coast, and apparently among that number 100 women and as many as 50 children. this daily number of arrivals underscores the fact that this crisis is only getting worse. this morning a desperate fight of survival playing out in international waters, and thousands of migrants fleeing home ground gripped by poverty. more boats may be in distress in the mediterranean. this has horrific tales begin to emerge on monday night surviving what may have been the worst migrant disaster at sea between africa and europe ever.

>> their in shock. >> survivors telling officials they packed them in a fishing boat only 65 feet long and the bottom level was locked leaving most with no way out when the boat capsized in the middle of the terrainen sea on saturday. >> i have the feeling they feel like lost you know. it's something where they have been through a huge thing. >> and the human traffickers were cramming these migrants on board. more than 35,000 refugees and migrants crossed the mediterranean, and the majority landing in italy and greece, and a staggering number that european governments worry could surpass last year's total.

when approximately 219,000 refugees and migrants sailed across the mediterranean, the agency estimates nearly 3,500 of those migrants died at sea. the prosecutor has put out more details of these two individuals who were arrested and one is the 27-year-old tunisian captain of the ship and the other is a 26-year-old syrian, and they have been charged with ship wreck manslaughter, and multiple manslaughter manslaughter and these charges are not going to stop the massive influx of migrants. >> doesn't seem to be stopping it, the huhorrific storeiesstories. the news not all rosy.

and michelle kaczynski is at the white house with us with new numbers. >> reporter: this is what it looks like right now. 48% to 47% of people in this poll approve versus disapprove of how president obama is doing in his role as president. may not sound like a reason for him to break out the party favors but you have to consider this is the first time in two years that more people approve. about a year ago his numbers were in the low 40s. that has approved pretty much. he is at the same place that reagan was in his presidency, and clinton was at 60% and george w. bush 36%. 52% now feel that the economy is in a good place, and listen to this this is the first time in obama's entire presidency that a significant number feel that way

versus feel that the economy is doing poorly. more people now also feel like they are doing better than a year ago, and 60% feel like the economy a year from now will also be doing well and of course every poll has a point that is a sad trombone moment, and the approval rating for the republican leadership in congress yeah it's now 28%. back to you guys. >> well done on the trombone. one more tool in the toolbox. talking about terror it's not just over there. it's also right here at home. six minnesota men charged with allegedly conspireing to link up with isis in syria and iraq, and court documents allege the suspects made repeated efforts to leave the u.s. and join the group, and their ten-month plot was foiled when a man working with them began to talk to the

fbi. u.s. army troops started training ukrainian government forces at a base in western ukraine and the joint military exercises involve american troops and 1,000 members of ukraine's national guard. the ukrainian president praising them is a good sign. happy birthday to britain's queen elizabeth. birthday. did you know that her --

>> they would give them an official birthday when the weather was balmyier. >> a little culture conflict. we were founded to be against monarchies monarchies. >> i am wearing the windsor family colors. so there. one man is doing all he can personally to rescue migrants. you will never guess what he and his wife are doing to make a difference. this is an interview you don't want to miss. and an odd democrat disconnect. the president is up in large part because of your new optimism on the economy, and so why isn't hillary clinton saying the same thing? the answer is ahead.

bring us your baffling. bring us your audacious. we want your sticky notes, sketchbooks, and scribbles. let's pin 'em to the wall. kick 'em around. kick 'em around, see what happens. because we're in the how-do-i-get-this-startup- off-the-ground business. the taking-your-business- global-business. his wife are doing to make a the answer is ahead. 400,000 people - ready to help you solve problems while they're still called opportunities.

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update now on the doomed migrant ship that capsized. desperate search and rescue operations still underway and it's feared as many as 900 people could have drowned. the european leaders are scrambling to solve this crisis. and this man has created a

project to rescue migrants, and last year it helped to save 3,000 people in just two months. thank you for being on "new day." >> thank you, alison. >> you have an incredible personal story. you are a successful intrapreneur of a global insurance firm. you, though in the past year have spent $7.5 million of your own personal wealth trying to rescue migrants. can you explain how logistics work and how you try to save people? >> first of all, my wife and i created this in 2013 after the tragedies of hrapb bough dewsa. we made a conscious decision to use our money to save lives, and we purchased a 40-meter rescue vessel and this year we have

doctors without borders with us and we are continuing to strive ahead and will be back out at sea may 2nd with drones that patrol the area near the coast of libya for the migrant vessels, and we will be the first ones using drones out there, and we started to do that last year and it was very successful, and this year as i said before we will have doctors without borders, and we will have our search and rescue crew out at sea back on may 2nd and we need support from the community and we have a solution and we are working it right now. >> as we just reported you say last year in a two-month period you rescued 3,000 migrants off the mediterranean sea. when you are on your vessel what are you seeing around you in the ocean? >> well on most occasions we are coordinated by the rescue coordination centers in rome and that's the italian coast

guard, and they alert us of vessels in distress and we follow the coordinates, and when we see it you see people in votes, and many women and children who are under the second level of the boat is common because they want to pack as many people as they can in the boats, and the smugglers' objective is to make money, and they will use as much space as they can to fit as much people in there, and most of the people do not have life jackets when we approach them and they are dehydrated and have fuel burns, and they are usually at the breaking point of death. >> you are used to this but people are saying that the magnitude of what happened off the coast of libya is unprecedented. what do you think about the

scope of what we are seeing this week? >> well i think that we have been saying this since 2013 when the first major boat tragedy happened. this is exactly what happens when the italian rescue operation was withdrawn because the european union did not want to fund it so when you have such a broad program that you with draw you will see many more deaths in the mediterranean, and we will expect more deaths if something is not done in the mediterranean, we will see tens of thousands of deaths this year. >> that's such a chilling prediction. what is the solution here. you can't do it alone. this has become your life's work but what is the solution for the european leaders? >> it's to tackle the short-term problem, and it's we need assets out at sea to conduct the search

and rescue, and people are dying and you boats out there to get lives out of the water, and the second is stabilization of libya, and this is where the human traffickers are coming from and operate from and nobody has been able to penetrate any solution between the war and factions and people are fleeing from libya because they want to get away from the violence, too, and it's a very difficult situation and complex and has multiple angles but first of all we need search and rescue assets in the met tau mediterranean mediterranean. this is a global problem. >> can you tell us why you made this your life's passion? >> i wouldn't say that we made it our life's passion, but we ended up working very much for this cause because once we were out there at sea and we saw the

faces of these children of these toddlers that are out there, and it's inspiring to work out at sea and try to save as many people as possible. helpless citizens sitting around while governments are not doing anything about the problem, we created a solution of where the average citizen can contra butte. we will be out there may 2nd saving lives, so please help us. >> i will put your website, i will tweet it out so people can make contributions if they are so inclined. thank you for the work you do and sharing your story. >> thank you. >> what a great couple.

the president's approval rating approvaleing for the first time since 2013.

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machinery. common side effects include nausea trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. i'm not worried about smoking my next cigarette. to me that feels great. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. i care deeply about the gulf. i grew up in louisiana. i went to school here. i've been with bp ever since. today, i lead a team that sets our global safety standards. after the spill we made two commitments. to help the gulf recover and become a safer company.

we've worked hard to honor both. bp has spent nearly 28 billion dollars so far to help the gulf economy and environment. and five years of research shows that the gulf is coming back faster than predicted. we've toughened safety standards too. including enhanced training... and 24/7 on shore monitoring of our wells drilling in the gulf. and everyone has the power to stop a job at any time if they consider it unsafe. what happened here five years ago changed us. i'm proud of the progress we've made both in the gulf and inside bp. a new cnn poll seems good for the president and the economy, but does hillary clinton agree? 48% of americans now approve of

the way the president is handling his job, and 47% disapprove and sad commentary of what passes for progress? perhaps. but more interesting, hillary clinton taking on the economy as a problem against the poll and the president. >> here to weigh in is dan jones and republican strategist anna navarro. anna let me start with you. that poll is the first time in two years of number has been positive. it's 48 to 47 but still, it's more approve than disapprove. how does that affect hillary clinton? >> well we almost have to ask what the margin of error is to see what the approval and disapproval is and what i think, alison what is a sad reminder and reflection on how incredibly polarized our country is at this moment, and you have

of a the people who like him and half the people that don't really like him, and it's usually passionate on both ways. hillary clinton, she doesn't want to be seen as a third term of obama, but if obama is doing well she may change her mind on that. she is going to tread carefully on this and we saw one change to another before the 2014 elections, and i think she is going to tread carefully and going to try and say as little as she can for as long as she possibly can. >> that's because we are 5,287 days away from the election. and, isn't it always this way, if you want to be the next one, you can't seem to put your arms around the current one no matter how good things are? >> you want the other person to do well otherwise they will drag you down and that's good news

on that front because you are seeing obama's number improving on the economy, and that's important, and you hear republicans saying the obama economy, but now you see it improving and at the same time you got to be able to say you represent the future and not the past and the status quo. >> and today 52% believe the economy is good and the last time we saw numbers that high was september of 2007 and then since the recession it was always below that, and finally it's only 48% that say it's poor. >> this is a big turning point, trying to get above water on the economy has been the entire point of the obama administration from the day they walked in. >> isn't it a challenge for hillary clinton, and she says look it's improving, or -- >> well she has to stay with the people hurting. let's not forget where we were

six years ago when we were losing hundreds of thousands of jobs a month, and now you have enough recovery in place where ordinary people may say i am not where i want to be but it's good and that takes a big weight off of her. she can say now the president fixed the economy enough for me to build going forward. very different argument. >> and the president did come into office doing an unprecedented time of disappointment in 2008. the headline for the republicans seems to be congress has a big black eye right now. put up the number there. these are not new numbers. and these are twice as good as the old number of 28 because the last one was 13. you have three senators in there who are part of congress and they will see the numbers and historically not doing as well in congress when it was democrat

in 2007, and how due process those into republican strategy? >> i think people do not congress. i think the american people see a lot of the dysfunction and see through the dysfunction going on in washington and hold their nose. the numbers have improved but they have improved marginally. they are still bad numbers. what people are going to try to do on the republican side is stay as far away from the washington brand as possible. everybody wants to be antiestablishment and anti-washington. one of the interesting numbers, i was in new hampshire this weekend at the gop conclave and it felt like we were picking up hope and i thought they left us in there with no food at some point we would have white smoke coming out of a chimney, and one of the interesting things that they did was ask the people in the crowd, the new hampshire folks that were there, do they want a senator or a governor?

this was a scientific poll conducted. about five hands went out if they wanted a senator, and 100 hands went op when asked if they wanted a governor. they need to be able to look at it from the outside in and point fingers and say we have been able to get things done -- >> are you sure you were seeing all the hands in that room or did you have the jeb bush blinders on? >> it was -- i won't tell you it was a morning panel, and there's only so much i am capable of seeing in the morning, much better at night, the vampire in me comes out, but it was a widely reported poll taking. >> and one last in the poll finding we want to show is how president obama stacks up to his predecessors. let's look at where president

obama is now at his term and he is at 48%, and if you look at where president bush was at this time in his term 36%, and clinton was at 60%, and ronald reagan at 48%. what do those numbers say to you? >> i will take those reagan numbers anyday. i think republicans who are spending their time bashing obama and clinton are missing something very important. people are beginning to start feel reasonably good about the economy, not great, but reasonably good and they want to know what you are going to do for me to be helpful. hillary clinton is talking about the kitchen-table issues and then you go to the next story and it's republicans saying how terrible she is and beating up on obama, and they are digging their own grave with the

negative tea and hillary clinton is talking about positive tea. >> i heard a lot of proposals and vision. there will be attacks on hillary clinton, and that's part of auditioning for being the part of the republican nominee. how effectively can you oppose her is something people are looking for in a candidate, and there has to be a vision and agenda, and i saw some of that in new hampshire. >> got it. ahead, we are going to tell you about an unusual and inventive way to help those of katrina. y, ya know what salesman alan ames becomes?

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things you need to know for your "new day." the u.s. deploying warships off the coast of yemen a day before nuclear talks resume with tehran. many questions remain in the death of freddy gray. six officers involved in his arrest are nassau spended. six minnesota men are charged with conspireing to link up with isis in syria, and they were being recruited by a friend who left the u.s. last spring to join the terrorists. president obama's numbers are back up, and half of americans see the country as divided into haves and have nots. and then the captain now

arrested on suspicion of human trafficking. for more on the five things to know visit newday.com for the latest. make the best kind of fame the fame to help others. sheryl crow is helping others in a unique way. she will join us here on "new day" and tell you how you can join the cause.

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this august it's hard to believe it has marked ten years

since hurricane katrina devastated the coast, and more than 1 million homes damaged, and 600,000 families displaced. ten years later the rebuilding process continues, and our next guest has a simple and unique way for you to help. who is it? it's sheryl crow only a nine-time grammy award winning singer and song writer, and supporter of all things katrina. we wish you were here in the studio. tell us about -- >> i know i would love to be there. >> tell us about a way to use our blue jeans to help out the folks from katrina. >> yeah it's hard for me to believe that ten years we are still trying to help new orleans get on their feet. this is a really cool project. it was started in 2006 where everybody can donate pieces of denim, blue white, emwe will take

them apart and make installation and it's used to help habitat for humanity, and we will beat ten homes in a month, and you can take them to a gap in new orleans, or go to our website, bluejeansgogreen. it's just a great program. who doesn't own blue jeans that they are not wearing anymore? i am really proud of it. >> i have some lying around my closet but do you accept mom jeans or are those too hideous? >> i was told the consumer owns

seven pairs, an average of seven pairs of jeans, and i am thinking wow, i own 150 pairs of jeans, i live in jeans. i will build my own habitat for humanity home just from my own jeans. i love recycling. >> all women have clothes in their wardrobe that don't fit. >> yeah they didn't have to buy in the first place. 100% less stuff, more houses i like it. >> it's interesting. go ahead,. >> i would love to have a big been like the jeans i have grown out of and the jeans i am growing into. we have rescued over 600 tons of

denim from landfills. >> it's a great start. >> it's a great story. we collected over 1 million pieces. >> there's so much need you are helping there. what else do you need other than denim? obviously habitat for humanity has a lot of different areas helping. where can people go and what do you want them to do? >> they can go to bluejeansgogreen.org and we are going to have a ton of volunteers coming down for those ten days. we have 600 volunteers coming down to new orleans and working on these ten homes, ten homes in ten days, and that's phenomenal right on america street in new orleans, and these are our neighbors. it's a great way, if you can't get down there, to be part of this great project, and this is

a very environmental friendly way of insulating a home and for all of us to get involved. >> we love you and we love what you support and we will get behind it. we will go and pull out acid washed from this fellowgirl's past. >> don't mess with my sergio's. >> sheryl crow always good stuff. we have a special edition, and more good stuff ahead, we guarantee it.

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>> they can do something for these beautiful young women. i think this is one little step in that direction. >> this year for the first time we were able to outfit the fellows, too. >> so handsome. >> we believe our book with the over-looked teens will boost their esteem. you can learn about this on facebook. one of the girls said i didn't know you all cares about foster kids. thank you so much. for the young men, getting a suit means they are suited up to go for a job interview. it's more than just self-esteem, but it's more than that. >> thank you so much. time for "newsroom" with carol costello. >> thanks so much. good morning. you guys have a great day. "newsroom" starts now.

happening on the "newsroom," tension with iran rising. american troops heading towards yemen and ready to intercept weapons iran could be sending to rebels there. what does that mean for the nuclear deal? >> and tsarnaev jurors hear more today. plus this is where the blue bell ice cream used to be and why the company is yanking all of its products from shelves. good morning. i am carol costello. thank you for joining me. we begin this morning with a potential showdown with iran. a buildup of american warships in the region, and nine u.s. naval vessels are off the coast of yemen along with ships with u.s. allies