look the nfl is a juggernaut. people are going to watch football games. we've seen that for sure over the last year or so. this is a bit of a teflon league. but the one thing that no sporting league can take over the long term is cheating. that's why the nfl office is expected to come down really hard here. >> rachel, thank you so much as always. that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper. turning you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." happening now, isis threatens america. an isis recruiter who may have been in touch with one soft texas gunmen is warning, quote, you ain't seen nothing yet. is another attack planned? murder reversal. the pilot who crashed an airliner into the alps made a test run before the fatal flight. could he have been stopped? federal investigation, baltimore's mayor asks the justice department to probe the city's police department and promises to bring in body cameras. but what do the feds have to say about mysterious surveillance

over the city? and unapologetic. we'll take you inside north korea where a key insider has disturbing things to say about political executions nuclear weapons and missiles that may be aimed at the united states. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." a chiling threat of more attacks on america from a notorious british computer expert turned isis recruit suspected of inspiring this week's attack on an event in texas in which two american gunmen jihadist sympathizers were shot dead. he may have been in on the plot. body cameras will be issued in baltimore to help keep an eye on things. and the feds break their silence about the eye in the sky. aerial surveillance carried out during the disturbances.

another breaking story right now as well. tornadoes touched down in kansas and oklahoma. we're following the latest developments in the cnn weather center. and there are storm chasers out in the field. i'll speak live with senator tom cotton of the armed intelligence and services committees. and our correspondents and guests are standing by with full coverage. let's begin with isis the threat to america, brian todd has the latest. >> tonight we have learned that elton simpson tweeted in the hours before the attack that quote, the knives have been sharpened. he warned of death and slaughter. now officials are investigating other social media connections that simpson might have had including some with isis's best-known hacker. an ominous warning on social media referring to the texas attack. a tweet saying you ain't seen nothing yet. it comes from a twitter account thought to belong to a man named hussein.

u.s. investigators believe he might have played a role in inspiring elton simpson. >> i don't know if he directed him. but he was in communication with him because the two followed each other. elton simpson was promoting the account of hussein. >> reporter: that communication is leading officials to investigate if hussein had any hand or plan in ordering the attack. some analysts believe hussein may have had some prior knowledge of the attack. one u.s. official said hussein in his early 20s is quote, a real problem because of his ability to recruit online and inspire attacks. >> somebody who has a sort of attack savviness, somebody who understands the vulnerabilities of the west and is considered potentially dangerous by u.s. counterterrorism officials because all these radicals in the west know where to reach him. >> reporter: hussein is from birmingham england and have been on the radar of british law enforcement for years. before making his way to syria

in 2013 he was convicted of stealing former british prime minister tony blair's online address book and posting it on the internet. using the name "trick," he was also cited for making crank phone calls to britain's anti-terrorism hotline, preventing legitimate callers from getting through. tonight analysts worry because of his radical beliefs and internet savvy, hussein might claim a social victory with the texas attack and run with it. >> hussein is encouraging other people to carry out attacks like this one. it's captured media attention and something they want to replicate. and given how successful they've used social media to exhort people to action, it's certainly a concern. >> and law enforcement officials tell us they're concerned about keeping track of other americans, people like elton simpson who are following hussein and might be in touch with him. >> there's also a jihadist from minnesota, we're told, who could also have been involved in this.

what have you learned? >> that's right. rita katz of the group that monitoring all the social media activities online of jihadis, she says a man in minnesota tweeted a message on april 23rd calling attention to that texas cartoon event and calling for an attack on it. she says that elton simpson, the gunman gunman followed this man online and on twitter and might have retweeted his message. no indication this man from somalia from minnesota had any direct role in the attack. but certainly elton simpson followed him on twitter and retweeted that message. >> thanks vmpery much, brian, for that. pamela brown joins us from phoenix where the two dead gunmen shared an apartment. you just spoke to a close friend of the simpson family. what did they tell you? >> reporter: absolutely.

we spoke to a neighbor close friend who was just with the simpson family today. we learned that the fbi interviewed members of the simpson family yesterday. we're told that elton simpson several years ago was studying several different religions. he was particularly interested in christianity. and then eventually ultimately we're told the koran spoke to him the most and that's when he converted to islam. but the family apparently had no indication of his extremist leanings and had no idea he was talking online to terrorists overseas. i asked how that's possible considering simpson was at the center of an fbi terrorism investigation several years ago and charged for lying to the fbi about wanting to go to somalia to commit jihad. but i'm told the family didn't take it seriously, they thought he was just mouthing off and influenced by others and they felt like the judge who dismissed the charge backed up and validated their feeling that it wasn't anything to worry about. here's what else the family

member had to say to us today. >> they had no clue that he was involved in this deep. they were really surprised at the movement of it. >> reporter: do you know the last time they talked to him? >> no, i don't. i think it was two or three weeks ago. >> reporter: and there was no indication then that there was any issue? >> not the slightest at all. that's why it came as a surprise to everybody. >> reporter: i spoke to the brother of elton simpson today. his name is dunstin and he was visibly shaken up. he told me it's tragic what happened. he said the statement the family released at all. in that statement, the family says it was shocked and had no idea elton was planning to do this. >> the fbi also i'm told is questioning members of the shooter's mosque there in phoenix where you are. what are you hearing about that, pamela? >> reporter: that's right. so we've learned that fbi agents have been reaching out to members of the islamic community center interviewing people. we're told they're friendly interviews. the fbi basically wants to piece

together what happened here how one of its investigative subjects elton simpson, who was being monitored, fell through the cracks after he was tweeting about this event in texas and was able to drive from his home here in phoenix to texas to launch this attack. so the fbi is trying to piece it all together by talking to members at the mosque, by talking to friends and family of the gunmen. they want to also know if there are any associates of the gunmen who may be like-minded who also may want to act out. that's a big concern right now. they're trying to piece it all together. the fbi is staying tight-lipped. they are not officially commenting today on the investigation. >> pamela, thank you. reporting from phoenix. in recent months the fbi opened an investigation into the texas gunman named elton simpson who was increasingly active on social media. should the agency have seen all this coming? let's go to jim sciutto who's been looking into this for us. some are suggesting this

potentially was an intelligence failure. what do we know jim? >> in retrospect, it was an intelligence failure. the question is was it an avoidable one? this is a question that's asked a thousand times a year. and they're looking hard for people just like this. the question is will they then act out with violence? that's a difficult judgment to make. you'll remember in the "charlie hebdo" attacks, the kouachi brothers had been under even more severe surveillance because they'd traveled overseas to train. they were then taken off surveillance. and the issue they have there is as it is here, it's finite resources. he was under monitoring not constant surveillance. this is why as pam said they're going to go back and look as to why they made this judgment. they've been looking at a whole host of suspects as the threat from isis and others have risen. here's a case where she should have been watching and they

weren't. >> let's check in on what's going on in iraq right now. there's news now that isis we're told actually breached what's being described as the perimeter of that major iraqi oil refinery in beji. tell me about that. we heard a few weeks ago, general dempsey said that would be a strategic disaster for the iraqis and the u.s. if the isis forces took over that oil refinery. >> no question. it is key infrastructure. it's not just bricks and mortar. this is key to the iraqi government to the economy of this country. it's located up here. and this like we've seen in ramadi is another one of these places in iraq where you have a constant clash between iraqi forces and isis. isis was beaten back a few weeks ago only to return. there's been a pitched battle

under way there. and there's still intense fighting there tonight. iraqi forces not able to exercise control over these areas. the trouble is when you look at the map of iraq and syria, isis-controlled areas, it hasn't changed much in the last couple of months. even with the u.s.-led air campaign even with more forceful efforts by iraqi forces. that shows just how difficult it's going to be not just to keep them from maintaining forward momentum but to push them back. and, remember when you look at mosul up here which is really their key holding, that battle has been pushed back as far as next year. >> jim sciutto, thanks very much for that. joining us is tom cotton he served combat tours in both iraq and afghanistan. now serves in the senate on the senate intelligence and armed services committee. thanks very much for joining us. baiji, that huge oil refinery general dempsey said it would be a disaster -- it's a strategically critical moment. how important is holding onto

baiji and preventing isis from capturing it? >> the general is correct. holding on to that oil refinery is critical. this fighting has been going on and on for weeks because it is a critical decisive point in our action. if it were to fall it would be a boon to the islamic state and the way they fund their operations. but we just haven't rolled back the islamic state as all over the last six or seven months. they've continued to hold the ground they've always had. it's not enough to defeat them. >> where is the iraqi military in all of this? the u.s. trained them over a decade hundreds of thousands of iraqi troops police security forces. left a ton of weapons over there. and they seem to be in places like mosul, m.i.a. >> they didn't perform well last year. men laid down their arms and ran, in part because the united states retreated from iraq in 2011. and it let the former prime

minister of iraq return to his sectarian ways which helped recreate divisions inside the iraqi army and security forces between sunnis and shiites. if we still had that american presence there in 2011 we could mentor the security forces and also the government and avoid the islamic state from rising in the first place. >> a lot of us have lost a lot of confidence in that iraqi military. some pentagon officials are trying to downplay this whole baiji development today but it sounds potentially serious, that they could get that oil. that's a financial bonanza for these isis forces. they already control mosul, the second largest city in iraq a city of nearly 2 million people. >> what they already control is alarming enough. the fact that might obtain control of this oil refinery is even more frightening. some people have lost confidence in the iraqi army and military. i've lost confidence in president obama -- >> what do you want the

president to do? >> more aggressively executing our air campaign and working more aggressively on the ground with our allies. not putting tens of thousands of troops in but the ford air controllers, the logistics experts or the intelligence experts to help the iraqis win this fight. >> i think the u.s. does have pabt 4,000 troops on the ground there as advisers trainers what else do you want? >> ford air controllers to make our air campaign much more effective. it would make our munitions much for precise. we've had great leaps forward in just 2001. ford air controllers provide an even greater combat multiplier. >> if you'll agree, mosul won't be retaken by airpower alone. you have to send troops in to mosul, house to house, building to building fighting requiring boots on the ground -- >> it's a large, complicated urban operation. >> the question is will u.s. boots on the ground be necessary or can the iraqis do it?

>> not in the way we saw in the last decade 150,000 troops in mechanized vehicles. but some combat enablers like the logistics experts, like the intelligence experts who are there now, are going to have to stay there. >> 4,000 u.s. troop there is now. how many more troops do you think the u.s. needs to send there? >> that's a question for our commanders. that's a question of professional military judgment. civilian leaders set the goals. they recommend specific strategies. here's the sad fact, wolf. in 2011 our commanders asked for about 15,000 troops to stay on the ground. the president denied that request. we now from 4,000. we may be at the end of this administration in a situation where we have more troops on the ground than we would have had if he'd just stayed the course in 2011. >> i have to take a quick commercial break. we have more to discuss. you you remember nuri al maliki the prime minister at the time didn't want to give the u.s. the assurances that those american troops would be immune from iraqi procedures and laws. that's why the u.s. pulled out. but we can discuss that on another occasion.

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and rank your applicants all so you can find the right one. try zip recruiter for free today. we're back with arkansas republican senator tom cotton member of the intelligence and armed services committee. also served as a u.s. army officer in iraq and afghanistan. you heard that report earlier, one of these jihadists tweeting

that you ain't seen nothing yet as far as isis attacks in the united states. you're on the intelligence committee. is this serious, not so serious? >> the threat the islamic state poses to our homeland is very serious. as we saw a few days ago in texas. there's investigation ongoing. but there's no doubt if you look on social media, that this is an islamic state inspired attack regardless whether islamic state planned it or resourced it. that's in part because the islamic state seems to be winning right now. they're appealing to disaffected, alienated youth around the country who want to be with what they see as the winning horse. >> we were told by a u.s. official the attack in garland, texas, outside of dallas was certainly more than inspiration. what exactly based on the information you have does that mean? >> i've been briefed on this. we'll have an in-person brief with administration officials tomorrow. i don't want to speak about specific intelligence matters but there's no doubt the islamic state inspired this attack and they are actively trying to inspire attacks. they are telling westerners in

western europe or north america, stay home attack your homeland. don't come to iraq and syria. that's why it's important we reauthorize the expired provisions of the patriot act to help stop these attacks. >> you've been passionate in opposing the president's desire to strike a deal with iran. listen to this -- >> based on what i know of the deal, if they get the deal they're trying to get, i think it would be far better than not having it. because even israel you can see from its conduct in the last couple of years, has grave reservations about having a military strike to try to take out these facilities. the prevailing expert opinion is that if a successful set of military strikes would only delay the onset of a weapon capability for a couple of years, if you can put it off ten

years, the world could turn upside down 15 times in ten years. and iran could be a different place, the middle east could be a different place. you might conceivably have a reconciliation between the great shia and sunni powers in the middle east in a way that would, for example, help yemen to find a peaceful path. >> your reaction to what the former president said? >> president clinton is wrong on this point. not surprising me that he would defend president obama's very dangerous iran deal. first, it'shis agreement in 1994 led to north korea getting a nuclear weapon years later. they're on the path now with missiles that could strike the united states. and his wife as secretary of state helped set these negotiations in progress. what he specifically said about the world could change in ten years, that sounds like making hope a strategy. whether iran gets a nuclear tomorrow or ten years from now,

it's a grave threat to the region and the united states. and they'll get tens of billions of dollars of sanctions relief. they won't used it on schools or hospitals or roads, they'll use it to continue terrorism. >> you want military action to destroy those iranian nuclear facilities? >> president obama said all along the military option is on the table. we need iran to take him seriously. unfortunately because of his actions and because of his words, i don't think they do take him seriously. that's one reason why our diplomacy with iran -- >> you heard bill clinton say if if there were military action, it would only set the program back a year or two? >> if bill clinton took action back in 1996 that's the exact campaign that military action against iran would look like. while it may only sit back a few years, that's better than giving iran tens of billions of dollars to use to support terrorism against israel and the united states and putting them on the

path of a nuclear weapon. what i would rather see is a better deal that supports america and our allies in the region who are crying out for our administration to drive a better deal. >> we'll continue this conversation down the road. i want to leave on this very, very happy note. congratulations, we've got the picture. we'll show our viewers. there he is. that's baby gabriel right there. your tweet. how old is he now? >> gabriel is now nine days old. >> how are you doing as a new dad? >> doing well. learning how to change the diaper but not before he decides to use the bathroom again while i'm changing it. >> good luck. senator, congratulations. thanks very much for joining us. >> thanks wolf. coming up investigators finding startling new evidence an airliner co-pilot rehearsed how he would fly his plane into a mountainsside. and spy planes in the skies over baltimore. who were they spying on? and who has the information right now?

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we're following a stunning new revelation about the co-pilot who intentionally crashed his airliner killing himself and 149 other people aboard. investigators now say the co-pilot rehearsed what he intended to do during a previous flight. our aviation correspondent rene marsh is joining us now. she's got new information. what are you learning, rene? >> this dry run for practice happened apparently without anyone noticing. tonight, new details in a preliminary report from french investigators suggest not only was the crash of germanwings flight 9525 intentional, but it

was premeditated. french investigators say 27-year-old andreas lubitz practiced his deadly descent of a jetliner the same day he steered germanwings flight 9525 into the french alps. just before that deadly crash, lubitz and the same captain piloted the plane on a different flight from dusseldorf to barcelona. with the captain out of the cockpit, the flight data recorder shows lubitz set the plane's autopilot to 100 feet before going up again. >> he explored the plane's ability to make sure nobody would see him. >> reporter: according to the new report the selected altitude decreased to 100 feet for three seconds, then increased to the maximum value of 49,000 feet less than two minutes later, the selected altitude was 100 feet until it

stabilized at 25,000 feet. the flight never left its scheduled path so air traffic control didn't notice the altitude changes. >> unless the plane is equipped to stream the data and they decide to stream the data of the aircraft performance from the flight and someone's monitoring it they wouldn't have noticed. and it was clear that the pilot didn't notice for another reason the front lab was inoperative. >> reporter: it appears it was a dry run for what he would do later that same morning on board the very same plane during flight 9525. lubitz waited until the captain left the cockpit, locked the door and set the plane's altitude to 100 feet. he directed the jetliner into the mountains, killing all 150 people on board. this is just a preliminary report. the investigation is still very much ongoing. germanwings refused to comment on the report wolf. >> rene thanks very much. let's get some insight from our

experts. joining us richard quest, aviation analyst, miles o'brien, also a private pilot, and the former ntsb managing director, peter goelz. now that we know lubitz essentially practiced this so-called controlled descent during the flight before crashing germanwings flight 9525 this shows presumably he had a specific plan in mind. >> it shows he certainly intended to do it. but what we don't really know -- and i asked the head of the b.e.a. what he made of that the french investigative authority. i said what did he make of this rehearsal of this tryout? and he said we don't really know what it was about. was he -- i'll give you a possible scenario, wolf. was he actually attempting to commit the suicide run when he did that on the previous flight and then he just decided against it?

or was he trying to work out what the parameters of the aircraft is? so yes, it certainly looks like it was a rehearsal. it certainly looks like he was practicing. but we certainly don't know for sure that that's what he was doing. he may actually have had a failed attempt. >> miles, why weren't air traffic controllers alerted to the selected altitude being decreased to 100 feet several times? isn't there some way this can be flagged? >> generally speaking, not, wolf. there are some air traffic control facilities that have the capability of actually reading through the transponder exactly the knob turn to get some indication that the crew received the instructions correctly. it's actually kind of rare. but it is possible. and it does occur in europe on some occasions and it is possible that he might have been checking to see if that particular sector of air traffic

control had that capability in which case it would have been able to see it. this goes back to a point that mary schiavo and have been making a lot. if you had streaming capability from these aircraft any weird deviation like that would immediately be reported to the ground to the dispatch center or potentially to air traffic control. and you might have averted a tragedy here. >> peter, why don't we have that right now, that streaming data information going to air traffic controllers? the technology is certainly there. >> well the carriers are very reluctant to spend what they consider to be big money on technology that only could be used once in a while. but the reality is, the streaming data is coming. we need it because we have more and more flights traveling over the transoceanic flights. it's more and more difficult to recover boxes. and if we had the immediate access to it if it were being

monitored as mary indicated, flight controllers could intervene. >> richard, as you know andreas lubitz had bouts of mental depression based on everything we've heard over these many months. what do we need to do now to prevent pilots potentially pilots endangering themselves and passengers down the road especially those who do have some bouts of mental depression if you will? >> excellent question wolf because that is now going to become the focus of this investigation as the b.e.a. director said to me. they pretty much know what happened. there's not much more information about how he did it, when he did it. but the big area that is going to be looked at is what do you do with pilots who have psychological problems? there are issues of privacy. there are issues of medical -- medication. there are issues of stagigmatize

aigs. these are political and societal related. it's not just as simple as saying one thing or the other. it's going to raise it on the agenda and there will have to be a consensus on the best way forward. >> because the experts have to learn lessons from what happened here, 150 people are dead. the pilots unions are pretty reluctant to put video cameras in the cockpits for example. but a lot of people want those video cameras in there, don't they? >> yeah. we all have video cameras wherever we work these days, whether you're working at a convenience store or in your typical office cubicle. the pilots have allowed themselves to remain exempt from this. of course there should be cameras in there. they complained several generations ago when the audio

voice recorders would be installed. of course they're useful. to weed out people who have mental problems in aviation, it is a money issue. if you increase the bar, raise the bar for experience if you increase the training you have more opportunities to catch somebody early on before they're flying passengers. and this is a bottom-line issue for the aviation industry these low-cost carriers are truly cutting corners on safety. >> very quickly, peter, what's the most important lesson you've learned from what happened with this germanwings fatal flight? >> i think there's two issues. one is this whole issue of privacy and how do you monitor that? what rights the pilots have to give up? and then the second issue is they've got to review the process of how you protect the cockpit, how you gain access to it. what is the role of the flight

attendant or the second person in the cockpit? these are tough issues. and this accident is going to raise a number of important ones that i hope the industry addresses. >> i hope so, too. peter goelz, miles o'brien, richard quest, guys thanks very much. coming up a new report says spy planes were in the skies over baltimore during the city's recent disturbances. who and what did they see? later, a cnn correspondent's exclusive talk with a north korean inside in pyongyang, that insider making ominous threats against the united states.

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breaking news. a tornado on the ground near oklahoma city. let's go live to our meteorologist jennifer gray. she's at the cnn weather center. what do we know? >> a tornado warning in effect right now for grady as well as mcclain counties including cities of blanchard and bridge creek. the tornado warning will include possibly norman, maybe the south side of oklahoma city. this is just on the outskirts. this is until 5:30 central time. you can see the proximity to oklahoma city just on the southwest side moving about 25 miles per hour, to the northeast. we know moore is no stranger to tornadoes. so do get into your safe spot. get into your storm shelter if you have one or a small interior room. of course this has shown signs of tornadic activity. we have seen tornadoes touch down and lift over the past couple of hours. we'll continue to monitor it. very fluid over the next couple

of hours. >> we'll stay in very close touch with you, thank you, jennifer gray. also breaking now, baltimore's mayor asking the justice department here in washington to investigate the baltimore police. the request comes amid new questions about whether a prosecutor was right to charge several officers with illegally arresting freddie gray because of the knife he had in his pocket. gray was fatally injured while in police custody. our justice reporter evan perez is in baltimore for us. what's the latest? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. the justice department says it is reviewing the request by the mayor of baltimore to investigate the police department. i should add that the governor of maryland has also said that he supports that call. just goes to show you how much work this police department has to do to regain trust in this community. >> you've also been following these reports that police flew surveillance planes above that west baltimore neighborhood where the protesters clashed

with police last week. what are you learning about that? >> >> reporter: that's right, the fbi acknowledges that it flew these surveillance -- that it provided these surveillance planes to the city of baltimore's police department. here's a statement from the fbi saying during the recent unrest the fbi provided aircraft to baltimore police for the purpose of providing aerial imagery of possible criminal activity. they added, wolf that they were not monitoring any first amendment activity. the aclu had asked the fbi to provide an explanation for these planes and that's why the fbi responded, wolf. >> evan, thank you. coming up a member of north korea's inner circle speaking exclusively with cnn. he says his country has a long-range missile that can hit the united states' mainland. and the latest threat from a top isis terrorist telling the united states quote, you ain't seen nothing yet. the real question that needs to be asked is "what is it that we can do that is impactful?"

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now to a cnn exclusive. cnns will rip lee is inside north korea where he met with a key player with the regime. that makes some of the things you are about to hear all the more chilling. will is joining us live from the capitol of pongyongyangpyongyang. what have you learned? >> reporter: the motive for the government inviting us back is becoming more clear. that is they are trying in their own way to communicate to the outside world through the media. that is why we were granted this

extraordinary interview with someone with connections right at the top. north korea's propaganda machine turns out plenty of rhetoric. they distrust the media, rarely giving interviews. a member of the-- close ties to the highest levels of government. no topic was off limited. >> south korea's national intelligence service alleged that kim jong-un ordered 15 executions of officials this year. >> translator: malicious slander. >> reporter: he calls allegations the supreme leader is killing off his opponents baseless and ground lsz. they do not deny executions take place here. >> translator: punish them and execute them.

>> reporter: we also asked about the growing nuclear program. much of the international community calls their arsenal a threat to the stability. >> we are a threat with nuclear weapons. we will continue as long as we are under threat from the united states. >> does north korea have a long range missile capable of striking the united states? >> translator: yes, of course. >> reporter: would north korea ever consider using that weapon? >> translator: we may use them if we are forced to do so. >> reporter: undeterred by u.s. sanctions. they are at odds with the human rights abuses based on the testimony of hundreds of defectors saying they have a number of prison camps. >> we don't have political prison camps. my society is a society where he was in political strife factions or division. as a result we don't have the

term political prisoner. >> reporter: in north korea, you do not hear dissenting views. most north koreans have no access to the internet. they say the country is making strides with technology science and education. students are now required to finish 12th grade. college is free to those who pass rigorous entrance exams. the focus now, improving the struggling economy. >> translator: they have advanced in many different areas. we are a major power politically, id logically and militarily. make it a strong economic power. >> reporter: improving the living standard for the nearly 25 million north koreans who live here require the country to reconnect with the international community to improve ties that have been nonexistent for so many years. with mutual distrust and north

korea's refusal to disarm the arsenal, there's no clear path to this reconnecting and moving forward. >> will ripley reporting from north korea. thank you very much. isis threatens america after a terror attack in texas. an isis recruiter is warning, you ain't seen nothing yet. how big of a role did he play in that attack and is something else in the works. one was under surveillance. was this an intelligence failure? at 62,000 brush movements per minute philips sonicare leaves your mouth with a level of clean like you've never felt before. innovation and you. philips sonicare.

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happening now, breaking news. tracking tornadoes, a severe storm system is tearing across the plains. twisters are touching down. we are getting new video and monitoring the danger. you ain't seen nothing yet. that's the new warning from a key isis terrorist. attacks in the texas in the works here in the united states right now. investigating police. baltimore's force may soon be under more scrutiny. will the government step in. controversy over whether freddie gray was arrested illegally. fighting back about allegations and what it makes for his wife's presidential campaign. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you are in the situation.

we are following breaking news. tornado danger in the plains right now. a twister touched down in oklahoma just a little while ago. it's one of several tornadoes reported in oklahoma and kansas. jennifer gray is standing by with new tornado warnings just posted. also breaking a chilling warning from isis. the attack in texas is just the beginning of the group's plans to release terror in the united states. a top isis recruiter tweeting in english, you ain't seen nothing yet. our concerneds and analysts are standing by with the new information on the unfolding stories. first, let's go to our justice correspondent, pamela brown in texas. pamela? >> reporter: wolf i spoke to a family member of elton simpson. the family had been in touch

with elton in the past couple weeks. he gave no indication of what his plans were. the family telling a friend they had no idea of his extremist leanings and he was talking to terrorists overseas and online. one of the isis terrorists he was speaking to online tweeted a new warning saying more attacks are to come. tonight, an ominous warning from a key isis operative. u.s. investigators believe it could be connected to the attempted terrorist attack in texas. you ain't seen nothing yet. this tweet thought to be from an isis hacker and recruiter. one u.s. official says hussein is quote, a real problem and could be inspiring other americans to launch attacks. >> he's somebody they can follow they can get information from and it would appear that he possibly helped instigate this attack. >> reporter: the british hacker is believed to be in syria who

exchanged messages with elton simpson, one of the two attackers in texas. they are trying to determine to what degree hussein inspired or had a role in the attack. hussein tweeted, the nights have been sharpened. soon you will come to your streets with death and slaughter. simpson was openly communicating online with terrorists overseas. that led the fbi to open a new investigation in recent months. simpson was considered a priority investigative subject allowing law enforcement to use all available resources to keep tabs on him. he was monitored, but not under constant surveillance. >> this is previously described as a lone wolf attack. two individuals that don't appear to be part of a broader conspiracy. identifying those individuals and keeping tabs on them is difficult work.

>> reporter: officials believe simpson and soofi drove to texas with two long guns and four handguns in their car. they were bought legally. their apartment was search by the fbi. the inside was relatively barren. they did retrieve at least one hard drive, which is being analyzed. a simpson family friend tells cnn, the family had no idea about his extremist leanings. >> no indication at all. it's a surprise to the family. >> i spoke to the brother of elton simpson. he feels visually shaken up. he say what is happened was tragic. fbi agents interviewed the family yesterday. the fbi trying to piece together how one of their investigative subjects was able to make it from the home in phoenix to texas. the fbi is staying tight lipped

and not officially commenting on the investigation. >> pamela brown in phoenix, thank you. the texas attack is raising questions about u.s. intelligence. how did the gunman slip through the radar when at least one of them was under investigation. let's bring in jim who recollects is watching this for us. >> this is a situation where the fbi, dhs, intelligence officials have to make perhaps hundreds of times a year. in this case they brought him under investigation, monitoring but not constant surveillance. the worry is they are taking a harder look at the jihadi's with the rising threat inspiring americans to attack. taking a harder look looks like they were taking a harder look at simpson, but not hard enough to protect us. one got through. raises questions about how they tightened that net further to

prevent attacks like this from happening. >> they have to learn some lessons. in iraq, there's news that isis fighters have actually breached the perimeter of a major oil refinery that is very very important. what's going on? how key could this gain potentially be? >> if they get it key. this is a key piece of infrastructure. this has been a running battle for weeks now. a couple weeks ago, they were pushed back. now, they are back again. in iraq this is the state of play in the fight between iraqi forces kurdish forces and isis forces. the largest city to the west of baghdad, still contested as we speak tonight. it's been a running battle for a number of weeks now. when you look at the map in iraq isis controlled territory and influenced territory. it hasn't changed much in recent

weeks. no success, really, in pushing it back. kurdish forces have taken back territory around aleppo. they have taken a lot of ground from the government of bashiral sal assad. to not have that progress it's a sign of how long it is going to take to gain to win iraq back from isis. >> the iraqi military not only gaining support from the u.s. but iranian forces as well and shiite backed militias. isis seemed to be rather formidable right? >> no question. think of the array of international forces not just iraqi forces they are standing up to here. look at mosul. this is the key headquarters for isis in iraq. we are talking of pushing that back to next year to gain back this key piece of territory as well. this is going to be a long

fight, measured in year not months. >> jim, thank you. meanwhile, a new opening may be opening for isis to strengthen its position in syria as the civil war rages. al assad, they are fighting to overthrow him. could his days in power finally be numbered? what would that mean for the u.s.-led war against isis? let's bring in barbara starr. she is working this for us. what are you learning? >> the assad forces in syria, they are acknowledging suffered problems setbacks in recent weeks as rebels gain ground. the u.s. military is just about to begin a controversial program to train other syrian rebels to fight isis. making a rare public appearance before supporters syrian

president. bashir al assad honors children of dead soldiers and acknowledges setbacks. >> translator: syria is currently waging a war, not just a battle. >> reporter: islamist rebels including some with links to al qaeda and the more moderate pre-syrian army have scored key victories against the assad regime in northern syria in recent days raising the prospect of a change in the war's momentum. it comes as the pentagon is poised to begin a controversial program to train other moderate syrian rebels to fight isis not the rejim in next door turkey and jordan. cnn learned the training on small arms could begin as soon as this week. it's a corner stone of the u.s. fight against isis inside syria. >> there has to be a ground component to the campaign against isil in syria.

we believe the path to develop that is the syrian opposition. >> reporter: it's a high-risk job for 400 u.s. military trainers. >> what is more prevalent is an insider threat that either isis infiltrates and has fighters inside that then turn on u.s. forces. >> reporter: once trained on small arms and tactics to defend their towns, will the rebels return home to fight assad and not isis? that's what jordan and turkey still want to happen. >> they have been beating their drums about this for several years. they believe, if we remove assad, this will really help the situation throughout the region. >> reporter: the u.s. also wants assad out, but isis is now the most immediate target. the pentagon believes the rebels will fight locally. officials say they still must find a way to protect them back

home against isis and the regime. >> the program won't succeed unless they believe themselves to have a reasonable chance of survival. >> reporter: the syrian opposition says it needs 30,000 troops to be trained every year. the pentagon plan calls for training about 5000 a year. wolf? >> thanks very much. let's dig deeper on all of this. joining us pete bergen, fran townsz end, cnn militariage cyst and the cia counterterrorism official philip mud, a cnn counterterrorism analyst. i want all of you to stand by for a moment. back to the cnn severe weather. jennifer gray is standing by. tornado warnings. actually tornadoes on the ground. what's going on? >> a tornado emergency, in fact.

this is for new castle. this is that tornado we have been tracking just to the southwest of oklahoma city. these are pictures from our affiliate. you can see the picture on the left as well as the one below me ominous skies. a dangerous situation to the west of new castle. a large and dangerous tornado reported on the ground moving to the northeast at 25 miles per hour. new castle you are in the path of that. if you are in new castle get into your safe spot your storm shelter. you are not safe if you are in your car or mobile home. this is rush hour wolf in this part of the country. a lot of people have been on the road. traffic is bad. if you haven't left work stay there. stay where you are. this is moving to the northeast at 25 miles per hour. blanchford you are in the path of this dangerous storm. it is to the southwest of oklahoma city. this is going to impact places around the norman and moore area. moore has been struck by deadly and destructive tornadoes in the

past especially 2013. they have been impacted this tornado season. on your show a couple weeks ago, we were talking about this one. it is going to head in that general vicinity. be on the lookout if you are in those areas. this is a broad system. the ingredients are coming together perfectly this evening through the early hours of the overnight for a severe weather outbreak. we are going to see dangerous storms gusty winds, large hail. we have reports of ping-pong sized hail and larger across portions of the plains. anywhere from south of omaha through kansas oklahoma and portions of texas down through san antonio need to be on the lookout t. dire situation right now is around new castle. that tornado heading in that direction. again, a tornado emergency for areas just to the west of new castle. it does include new castle. we have reports of a large and dangerous tornado on the ground there. >> those pictures we are showing

courtesy of our affiliate. the pictures are so ominous. you say it is in new castle but moving toward oklahoma city including moore oklahoma. i was there in 2013 to cover that the aftermath of that tornado there. is moore potentially in the path of this tornado right now? >> yeah absolutely. this is what we are looking at this notch right here. if you can see that red notch, that is what we look for when detecting large and dangerous tornadoes. this is heading to the northeast at 25 miles per hour. here is moore right here. it is on the heels. we are going to continue to monitor it. these things waiver. they fall in a straight line. if you are anywhere in the vicinity of moore, norman the south side of the suburbs, be on the lookout. of course this is fluid, wolf changing second by second. we are going to stay with you throughout the evening and let you know if there are changes. those are the live pictures

there. very heavy rain. expect very large hail associated with this. again, a very large tornado reported on the ground there. >> it is 5:15 p.m. central time there, local time. i'm sure there's a lot of cars on the road. people are driving right now, what should they do? >> yeah your car is the at least safe place for you. you need to find a sturdy structure. it is rush hour. i looked at the traffic map moments ago. there is a lot of traffic around that area unfortunately. find a sturdy structure to get in and hunker down. a lot of people in the area have storm shelters. if you are lucky enough to be home, try to get in that until the storm passes. >> the pictures so ominous in the oklahoma city area. moving toward moore, oklahoma where there was a horrible horrible tornado in 2013. we'll have much more on this and the important other news. we'll take a quick break and be

right back.

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the breaking news we are following. look at these ominous clouds. we are continuing to watch the tornado emergencies here in oklahoma city again. the emergency is in new castle oklahoma. the last report a confirmed tornado is located four miles northwest of middleburg oklahoma. take a look at these pictures, koco is bringing us these live pictures from oklahoma city. in fact one of those tornadoes appears to be moving near moore oklahoma the site of a horrible

tornado in 2013. these are helicopters flying over the area. you can see how ominous the pictures are. tornado emergencies, tornado alerts on the ground in oklahoma right now. we are going to follow all of this information for you, update our viewers. there's other disturbing information we are getting right now about the texas terror attack by the two american gunmen including the revelation that one of them actually exchanged twitter messages with an isis recruiter. let's bring in our special guests joining us now. general, i want to pick up with you, first of all. you heard barbara starr's report that bashar al assad defeats the rebel forces. if assad were to lose power in demas damascus. he's been fighting it for years. 8 million displaced internally and externally. what would be the impact the

fight against isis for example. would isis expand or condense in syria? >> potentially, it could be very good. we have to look at why assad is losing power. he's losing it because his forces are being depleted they are all getting killed. he has nothing to replace them with. the more important thing is you have a combination of a couple forces free syrian army some moderate and even conservative islamists. the combination of the forces are contrary to what isis believes. they continue the momentum and assad loses support from iran you are going to see isis depleted in the areas they are in in syria. but, there's a problem there. if that all happens, who is going to govern if assad does give up power or is overthrown? that's the critical piece. there could be a formation of

all kind of loose engagements between all the groups later on if they don't stay together. >> let's talk about what's going on. the aftermath of the terror attack in garland, texas outside of dallas. this american terrorist now dead elton simpson. he was in twitter contact with a guy names hussein, well known terrorist, computer specialist if you will. what does it say to you? >> there's a small story. a terrorist in syria is trying to radicalize people. classic profile. 20-21 years old, speaks english. the kind of person they want communicating with the uk and america. probability terrorism. in the past if you are following a terror target small secret cell trying to communicate covertly. isis flipped this on its head. guys are saying i will communicate with 10,000 50,000

people. if one in 1,000 decide to make an attack i can operate in the open because that's a success. remarkable change in the world of counterterrorism. >> you have an article on cnn.com. you describe common characteristics of americans recruited by isis. >> 62 americans recruited by isis is somewhat surprising. quite a number of them are women, 20%. the one thing they share in common are quite young ages. that leads to the next thing, eight out of ten of them are prolific on social media. also communicating as we see in this case directly with people in isis and syria. fran townsend i have heard from the highest officials the big problem is the u.s. can't compete with isis when it comes to social media.

these i cystsis terrorists are better. is that what you are hearing as well? >> there is the dual purpose, if you will on social media accounts. of course they mind social media and look for leads. the problem is keeping up. it's what phil was just talking about. if each of these guys has several hundred followers and they are all in contact and encouraging, it's difficult to know which of these followers, which of the people are most likely to operationalize themselves. there's no question the intelligence community, the fbi are going to go back and look at the note if you will from social media and the contact to try to identify one of the characteristics that might have predicted which of these guys was likely to go operational based on their contact with the recruiter. >> we heard the isis forces in iraq breached perimeter of the oil refinery.

it's located along a key route in which isis continues to control. we heard general dempsey the chairman of the joint chief say he was strategically more important where there are a lot of people in the province. if they take over the oil refinery how big of a setback is that? >> it would be a huge setback, wolf. as you know it was part of my area of operation in 2008 and 2009. the critical word is the term breach. there's a 20 mile fence line around that square facility. when you get inside that fence line and get inside the berms and the hills you have pipeline above grounds pipelines, buildings and all that. isis and the iraqi security forces have been fighting here for 90 days. it's going back and forth. they have two or three soldiers or isis insurgents through the

wire. i don't think it's significant. it would be critical if iraqi forces lost that. it's hugely strategic. >> it's hard to believe the iraqi military can't seem to get the job done. they have several hundred thousand troops trained by the united states u.s. left behind tons of weapons. they can't fight. the isis guys aren't making advances but holding on to a city like mosul. >> they lost the element of surprise last summer and fall. once they lost that territory, regaining is harder than defending it. what we are finding now is the iraqis gained the will to fight against isis. i think it will prevail. the problem is once they lost that turf it will take years to get it back. >> i want you to stand by. we have much more coming in. we are following all the breaking news and the threat on isis attacks here in the united states after what happened over the weekend in texas. and a new request for the federal government to investigate the baltimore police department after six police

officers were charged in the death of freddie gray. we are digging deeper on questions about the knife freddie gray was carrying whether it was legal or illegal. monitoring the tornadoes in oklahoma right now. significant tornado warnings tornadoes on the ground near oklahoma city. actually moving toward moore, oklahoma. the site of those tornadoes back in 2013. we'll check in on that and much more when we come back. huh, 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know that game show hosts should only host game shows? samantha, do you take kevin as your lawfully wedded husband... or would you rather have a new caaaaaar!!!! say hello to the season's hottest convertible... ohhh....and say goodbye to samantha. [ male announcer ] geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more.

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we are following the breaking news. look at these live pictures court see of kfor in oklahoma. the emergency now does include moore, oklahoma. that was the scene of a horrible horrible tornado back in 2013. let's get the latest from our meteorologist jennifer gray. she is joining us from the cnn severe weather center. what is the latest jennifer? >> we have a tornado emergency in effect right now that includes portions of moore, as well as oklahoma city. we have two boxes we are watching. the one on the north side is the tornado emergency. we do have a storm heading to the north and east will impact portions of oklahoma city as well as moore. we heard the airport is already evacuating. they are sending people to their emergency tunnel.

portions of the interstate have been shut down due to debris on the road. this is a very dangerous situation. the one on the south side this is a warning. this includes norman new castle. this is an area that has seen destructive tornadoes. you mentioned 2013. remember 1999 the strongest tornado ever recorded on earth was in this area. this has a history of violent tornadoes. looks like we are seeing another one. we have reports of a large and dangerous tornado on the ground in this area and heading to the northeast at 25 miles per hour. if you are in the norman area moore area also oklahoma city be on the lookout. get into your safe place. get into your storm shelter. we have storms to the south side of this as well. so we are going to continue to see violent weather as we roll through the late evening hours and into the overnight. so remember that tornado emergency in effect for areas

around moore as well as oklahoma city. this has a long track. this is that storm that we have been watching the past several hours. it is holding together very strong and violent. a tornado reported on the ground. things are changing by the second. cities are added to the warning. if you are in the area and northeast of the ones we mentioned, you need to be on the lookout, get your plan together and be on the lookout. >> tornado warnings and alerts that's a specific term as well right? >> it's a level above a tornado warning. it's proof that a confirmed, very large, dangerous tornado is on the ground. it's something to take very seriously. that affects moore, oklahoma city. >> very significant moment. stand by. joining us on the phone is captain from oklahoma. tell us what's going on there. >> caller: like you said we have a confirmed tornado on the

ground. i am not sure how long. we have reports of damage. not sure on injuries yet. the interstate i-44 has been closed for traffic heading north and at new castle traffic headed south. >> i assume the will rogers airport in oklahoma city has been shut down as well? people there have been evacuated into certain pedestrian tunnels, is that right? >> caller: i can't confirm that. i've not been informed of that. this tornado is close to the airport area, so i wouldn't be surprised if they have taken those precautions already. >> how many tornadoes have actually hit the ground do you know? >> caller: i don't know. i have not been able to get a confirmation on the number yet. >> what about where you are, captain, how bad is it there? >> caller: well, i am on the north side of oklahoma city. the skies are gray here. we haven't really had any rain in the area where i'm at.

>> so what's the advice you are giving folks out there? you say interstate 44 is shut down if you are driving, what do you do? >> caller: the best advice is to tune into one of the local radio stations or one of the television stations if people have the app on the smartphone tune into one of those apps and get the updates they are putting out. they are extremely accurate and if you are caught out there try to get off and find a safe place to get to and take shelter. if you don't have to be out, don't get out. >> you don't have reports of injuries or destruction or damage yet? >> caller: we have reports of destruction and damage. i'm not sure on injuries. we have people trying to get to the areas and make sure everyone is okay. i can't confirm injuries yet. >> where is the destruction and damage?

>> southwest of oklahoma city between new castle. >> that's significant. we see the pictures coming in from kfo. paul timmons of the oklahoma highway patrol. jennifer what else are you picking up there at the cnn weather center? >> we have an update. the northern hot pink box we were watching that tornado emergency has been dropped. they are now focusing on the tornado warning to the south side. it is right over new castle right now and heading to the northeast. folks in the area of norman need to be on the lookout for that as well as on the south side of moore. that again, is a very dangerous storm that has produced tornadoes in the past and could likely have a tornado on the ground. the other thing you need to worry about, a lot of these are rain wrapped. folks look outside and all they see is rain. they can't see the tornado. take our word for it.

these have been very destructive and caused damage. even if you can't see anything the warning is there for a reason. areas like new castle again, norman and the south side of moore, be on the lookout for that as well as damaging winds as well as very large hail. >> these are populated areas. these are not rural. this is part of oklahoma city the greater part of the city the urban area in oklahoma city. a lot of people in that area. we have video of some of the initial reports of damage and destruction. it's sad to see what's going on jennifer. >> absolutely. yeah. these are the suburbs of oklahoma city. a lot of people live here. unfortunately, a lot of people have been through tornadoes before. it's a horrible thing. the good part is they know what to do when something like this happens. you can see pictures like this the damage right there. we are going to see more pictures unfortunately like that come in as the hours progress. we have had some nasty storms pull through these areas. they are just now entering the more populated areas as you

mentioned. a few hours ago, they were rural areas, now more populated areas. it is important to have that plan together and know where to go. you can see street level, west franklin road 72nd avenue and 350th street on the west side of norman. this is where we are picking up circulation, a possible tornado on the ground. >> we have a report the airport, will rogers airport, they are telling everybody to go to an underground pedestrian tunnel. they are evacuating the area. how close is the airport to this tornado activity? >> about ten miles. so you are going to get the very very strong winds. you are going to get hail in the area possibly where the airport is. all of this, all of these are threats when talking about the severe storms. even though your area may not be where the tornado warning is you are going to feel the effects, the gusty winds and the large hail possibly. even though you may not be right there where the circulation is

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we are following the breaking news tornado warnings and tornado emergency in effect in and around oklahoma city including, norman the home of the university of oklahoma. look at the live pictures coming in courtesy of koco.

these are ominous pictures. rush hour traffic, some of the destruction you can see in the oklahoma city area right now. just a while ago, we learned the international airport in oklahoma city has been shut down for all practical purposes. people have been told to go to an underground pedestrian tunnel. these are pictures coming in from choppers over the area courtesy of our affiliates. you can see how ominous this looks. we are going to stay on top of what's going on in oklahoma. there's other important news we are covering as well. the other story we are following, baltimore's mayor is now asking the justice department here in washington for a civil rights investigation, to conduct the civil rights investigation into the baltimore police department. the request is over the rioting that erupted over freddie gray. six police officers have been charged in connection with that case. let's get the latest from our

justice reporter evan perez joining us from baltimore right now. what is the latest? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. the mayor made this request of the justice department of the attorney general, loretta lynch, during a meeting yesterday. they are reviewing the request to conduct what is known as a pattern and practice investigation into the police department. this is going to look at the pattern of arrest to see if there's discrimination going on in the way the baltimore police does its work. in addition to the mayor asking for this investigation, the governor also backed this request. so we expect that the justice department is almost certainly going to launch this investigation, wolf. >> stand by. we are going to get back to you. i want to bring in our panel of experts. prosecutor and cnn analyst, sunny hostin and cedrick

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around oklahoma city. we're also following, look at these ominous pictures coming in from oklahoma city right now, we'll stay on top of this story. we're also following what's going on in baltimore right now where the mayor is asking the justice department to conduct a civil rights investigation of the city's police department. we're back with our analyst. sunny, in addition to surveillance in baltimore, surveillance flights have been going on. they were flown over st. louis. what is this all about? >> you know my understanding -- i'm not sure about the spy planes over baltimore. but my understanding in terms of this request, this new request, of the justice department wolf bottom line is the mayor had already asked for what is called a collaborative review from the justice department. that basically means that the justice department would come in give some suggestions, and the office of the mayor and the police department could decide

or decide not to take those recommendations. this new review is very, very different. this is a i view that has teeth. this is a review that justice department finds if there is a pattern and practice of discrimination that means then the justice department can either sue the police department and the city if they decide not to agree to reform or they can agree to what's called a consent agree and they will be forced to make those changes. so this is a very significant, significant request. and i suspect after loretta lynch's visit, i suspect the justice department will start that investigation. >> cedric you agree this is a good idea? >> i think it's a great idea. just as sunny just indicated. however, i think it's important as well too that each step that they take is done very methodically so that we're able to get into each part of that department so we can make some determination over time as to what their strengths and weaknesses are. and a collaborative review will

help that to happen wolf. >> stand by for a moment. because i want to bring in what the former president of the united states bill chin ton spoke about. he was speaking about baltimore in an interview with cnn's christiane amanpour. >> my criminal justice initiative was to put 100,000 more police on the street create more positive activities for young people ban assault weapons, and limit the magazine size pass the brady bill and the republicans basically wanted to emphasize three strikes you're out and all that. but i wanted to pass a bill. so i did go along with it and there was a whole movement toward emphasizing that especially that three strikes deal. because we had evidence that a

very small percentage of the criminal population created a very high percentage of -- committed a very high percentage of the serious crimes. the problem is the way it was written and implemented, we cast too wide a net, we have too many people in prison. and we wound up putting so many people in prison that there wasn't enough money left to educate them train them for new jobs and increase the chances when they came out that they could live productive lives. i strongly support what she's doing and i think any policy that was adopted when i was president in federal law that contributed to it should be changed. >> let's bring in our cnn chief political analyst gloria borger and our cnn senior washington correspondent jeff zellany. this is a big deal the reform the president is talking about? hillary clinton is running for president. seems to be distancing herself

from some of the policies implemented by her husband. >> you know and this is bill clinton saying clearly, look hillary and i are on the same page on this. he said to christiane look there was overincarceration because of my three strikes and you're out policy. there are too many people in prison. if what we do was wrong, we need to fix it. he understands that hillary clinton has a problem with the liberal base of the democratic party on that particular issue. and as well as on issues like welfare reform for example. i'm wondering whether we're going to hear from him more on that. i think it's very important, and i think he put it out there, that if she's going to disagree with what he did, you might hear from him. we're living in a different time now and i wasn't 100% right back in the day. >> what do you think, jeff? because this is a big issue right now. >> it's a big issue for democrats as well as republicans. more republicans are coming on to this line of thinking. a, it's so expensive to have all this -- all these long prison

sentences. it is going to be an issue in 2016. i don't think a lead organize central one. but interesting to see how they position themselves. gloria's right, that is good opportunity for hillary clinton to say, look times have changed. i'm thinking differently. i'm thinking out of the box now. but i would watch republicans more to see what rand paul says what ted cruz, and jeb bush. >> former assistant director of the fbi, is it time for major criminal justice reform? >> i think that what i'd like to see is recommendations to do right now. what does the shift commander tell his officers today at the 4:00 to midnight shift as they're getting ready to go on the street? what are the tactics, how they should do their general, how they should interact with the community. i think we're hearing long-term societal issues that should be corrected, true. but they'll take 20 30 years to do it. we need answers today of tell the police what they need to do and back them up when they do it. >> cedric what do you think? >> i certainly believe there needs to be some criminal

justice reform without question wolf. and in a number of domains. because this just does not totally follow up on police but followed up on our court system our juvenile system, our adult court system across the whole gamut. yes, we need to be looking at some reform in this country in a way that we have not had in a very long time. >> at some point, gloria hillary clinton's going to have to speak out a little bit more forcefully on all of these sensitive issues. >> yeah. i think she is. i think she's going to have to run as her own candidate. if she disagrees with her husband's past policies she's going to have to talk about it. i think she's going to have to take head-on the controversy swirling around the clinton foundation and answer those questions about fund-raising for that foundation. she's got to be an authentic candidate that people trust. she has some problems on that front and i think she's got to take it right on. >> we certainly agree with you,

gore yeah as we always do. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." our breaking news coverage of the tornado watch in oklahoma begins right now with erin burnett "outfront." "outfront" tonight, breaking news. tornados slamming the midwest at this hour. oklahoma city in a tornado emergency. we have a live report next. major questions tonight about the case against six officers charged in the death of freddie gray. why it could all come down to the knife gray was carrying when he was arrested. more breaking news from the nfl. it says the patriots quarterback tom brady likely knew the footballs he was using were deflated. will he pay a price? let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm