the black flag of isis flying high over yet another town of iraq on the road to baghdad. thousands of people desperately fleeing the grip. and in mexico, police square off with a drug gang in a three-hour battle. the grieving father's plea becomes a rallying cry in the united states. from nn headquarters in atlanta, i'm george howell, this is "cnn newsroom." to our viewers in the united states and around the world, we

start in iraq where it is midmorning this hour, and thousands of people have been fleeing their homes trying to get away from isis. the terror group captured the city of ramadi in iraq and a small town in the east. militants are slowly pushingthy way towards the city of baghdad. 25,000 people have fled from the militants. the ancient see of palmyra now in the hands of isis. 11,000 refugees forced to run. a human rights group now says isis now controls more than half of syria. a look at this map shows the scope of what's happened. you see the areas there controlled by isis on january 15th. take a look at the same map now as of friday, you can see the isis-controlled areas in red have grown. the iraqi ambassador to the u.s. says isis has to be stopped and the world needs to help. >> isis is an entity which we

cannot have political dialogue with more with anybody else. nor do they want to do that. it's a situation of existential threat to the city and europe and the united states. at that point, that's what we need to focus on. it's not who can do what. it's what failure internationally will take place if we don't work with each other. this ramadi, if we want to call it, international wake-up call, it certainly is an iraqi wake-up call. we have to make sure the gains we have gained is not say setback again. >> let's bring in cnn's ian lee for more on cairo. ian, good morning to you. this is advancing at rapid pace. ian, can you tell us more about the wave of people trying to get out of harm's way. >> reporter: well, there's thousands, as we just heard, 25,000, george, fleeing ramadi,

they are considered the lucky ones able to get out from isis' grip. these are people who need food, water, health care and shelter, as we've seen from arwa damon's report, it has been a very difficult trek to flee ramadi, trying to get to safe territory, trying to get to government-controlled territory, trying to get to baghdad. we saw in her report as well, that the government has closed the bridge to fleeing refugees. the government hasn't given a reason why that bridge was closed. but people are very scared, trapped on the other side, trying get out of the way of isis' advance. and these are people who are fleeing with their children, with elderly, with really a humanitarian crisis there, george. >> so people are on the run. isis is on the move. and they're moving at a relentless and brutal pace. they are in fact using a string of suicide car bombs to

basically break the perimeters and take over these towns. what more you can tell us, ian, about those methods, and are authorities able to stop this? >> reporter: well, that's been a very successful tactic of isis, in their campaigns are using these very heavily armored vehicles, bull dozers, trucks, packing them with explosives and then driving them right at the front lines of the iraqi military, or in northern iraq against kurdish forces. and they have been able to blow them up, create chaos, go after them, and push back iraqi forces, now, there were tens of these attacks when they finally were able to take ramadi. it's been described as mad max-tile of attacks. the united states has recognized this, they've sent anti-tank missiles to help the iraqi forces to stop these sorts of attacks. but as we speak, isis still

continues their advance. we've heard talks trying to recapture ramadi. well, they have to stop isis' advance. and they are right now in the process of trying to take the corridor between the two isis-controlled cities of ramadi and fallujah. if they're able to take that. and then the next step is baghdad. trying to push forward to baghdad, as isis has said in one of their videos, that is their neck objective. >> ian lee reporting, thank you. as tens of thousands of people flee the wrath of isis many others are unable to get away. our cnn international correspondent arwa damon takes us to a live-saving bridge for refugees that was suddenly closed. >> reporter: the other side of the river is barely visible from the stand storm kicked up by the beating relentless winds. this bridge is the only safe passage from anbar province.

shut on friday, why? no officials can give us a straight answer. for those left to languish it just does not make sense. people's nerves are afraid, this woman cries out. isis from that side, from here, the road is blocked. where are we supposed to go, her husband is crippled and needs medical help. there is little if any shelter here from those who have already lost everything. the lucky ones were able to pack a suitcase for the children. others fled isis with nothing. they were killing anyone who they accused of being with the police or the army, this man tells us, his youngest seated in her mother's lap. next to hem, kadima with her 3-month-old baby who she has not been able to properly feed. we've only been out here for a couple of hours and we're covered in filth.

you feel it in your lungs. these families have been here for so much longer. and they don't know when they're able to leave there, at the mercy of the authorities and their decision as to whether or not they will open the bridge. in days past, tens of thousands did cross, but hundreds still remain trapped here. at the back of the crowd, a woman cries out to our camera. what is our crime? what is our crime? this woman says death is more honorable than life like this. one of her daughter's eyes bloodshot from the sand. the other, nine months' pregnant, shy but hiding her face. anger. a man begs us to take his daughter across the bridge. another says, if he dies, he does not want to be buried in

iraq. a country he cannot call his own. arwa damon. now on to saudi arabia, at least 21 people are dead after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a shiite mosque. shiites are a minority in what is a predominantly sunni kingdom. isis claimed responsibility via twitter. if that claim is true, it would be a rare attack inside saudi arabia. the bomb went off at the time when worshippers were in the middle of prayers. at least 81 people were wounded. a fierce three-hour gun battle in western mexico leaves dozens of people dead. this happened at an area that is so large there were actually three different violent clashes. security forces faced off with gunmen believed to be part of a powerful drug cartel. cnn's nelson quinones has the story. >> reporter: the first confrontation between federal

forces and an armed move into the town of tanhuato. they said friday morning, authorities initiated an investigation after learning an invasion in the town thursday. they said during the investigation police with a car with armed people inside who started shooting and then they fled the scene, initiating a car chase that ended on the way. that's when the clash began and lasted about three hours. a 30 confrontation authorities say 36 rifles, two handgun, a grenade launcher, a .50 cal bar rifle and rounds were found. and found in the operation, the alleged criminal likely part of the group was named as part of the group. the national association of

human rights is going to investigate. this confrontation took place in the same area where a candidate of mayor of their municipality was killed. nelson quinones, cnn, atlanta. in the u.s. capitol, prosecutors say the man charged in a quadruple murder could not have acted alone. daroi wint, they grabbed him after a massive manment. so far, wint is the only person charged. he's accused of killing, tort turg a businessman, his wife and 10-year-old and housekeeper. he allegedly set fire to the mansion leaving the four victims inside. cnn's pamela's brown has the story. >> reporter: the newly released documents say is the man could

not have acted alone. holding them hostage tour 18 hours before brutally beating them, stabbing them and setting their house on fire. police me of wint and others in a breakdown of the family one that involves savvas savopoulos asking an assistant to deliver cash to the house. >> we tracked him up to new york city and we barely missed him. >> reporter: police say wint responded getting inside of a white achieve cruz along with three other women. inside was wint's brother and another man. >> we followed them for about four or five miles. we did a wacky u-turn. we thought maybe they thought they were being tailed. we continue to follow him and we called police and they sent up a helicopter. >> reporter: inside the box truck, police found at least $10,000. tonight, they're looking at what

role wint may have played in the brutal killings of the family. >> you don't have to spend multiple hour, eight, nine, ten hours in someone's home to extort money. in this case, i'm very certain that the father would have given the offender ten times $40,000 just to get them out of the house. >> reporter: new court documents, including autopsies released tonight show just how brutal the 18-hour ordeal was. 10-year-old philip savopoulos was found burned in an upstairs bedroom. fire allegedly fueled out there the house. the other adults were found in another room with blunt force wounds. firefighters tried to save the housekeeper, but she died at the hospital. tonight, investigators appear to be 53 questioning the story of one witness who was asked by savopoulos to pick up the

$40,000 ransom and deliver it to the family. court documents say that witness changed his or her story about the dropoff to the home. u.s. senators have been working late into the night ahead of the memorial day holiday and they've been ordered shortly back from that holiday break early. their task will be to resume the debate on the done's controversial bulk intelligence collection program. opponents of the national security agency's program to collect telephone data blocked multiple offense to extend the law that would authorize the program. the senate will meet again next sunday, one day before that law expires. the u.s. state department has released the first round of hillary clinton's e-mails from when she was secretary of state. the 300 e-mails came from a controversial personal e-mail account and they offer some insight into how miss clinton handled the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in libya in 2012.

the white house say the e-mails do not change its understanding of what happened there. it was also revealed information on at least one of the e-mails has since been classified as clinton has talked about her right to use that personal account. it's been one year since that deadly ramp patch in california that left six people dead. >> too many people have died. we should say to ourselves, not one more. >> that grieving and impassioned father is now taking his message across the country. that story as "cnn newsroom" continues.

newsroom." i'm george howell. today marks an anniversary of a tragedy in the united states. one year ago, a man in california went on a violent rampage killing six people and injuring 13 hours before taking his own life. now the father of one of those victims is campaigning to end gun violence in the u.s. cnn's kyung lah reports.

>> gunshot victim. shot fired. shot fired. >> reporter: may 23rd, 2014, a ten-minute shooting rampage through isle of vista. customers ducked flying bullets in a deli mart. glass shattering. two bullets strike christopher martinez as he runs into the store, bleeding to death on the floor, just 20 years old, the only child of richard martinez. does it feel like a year? >> no, it's all a blur to me. if i could trade all of the remaining days that i have left in my life for one more day with my son, i'd do it. >> reporter: we first met richard martinez a year ago, here, when you walked in front of the cameras at the sheriff's press conference 0 --

>> they talk about gun rights, what about chris' right to live? >> reporter: what was it that drove to you do that? >> it wasn't a very rational decision. i have to tell you. i just did it. i can't accept the way he died. it was preventible. and it's going on every single day in this country. too many have died! we should say to ourselves, not one more. >> reporter: an impassioned plea becomes a rallying cry at the university's memorial. >> not one more! >> reporter: "not one more" backs a hash tag. and then 2.4 million postcards then this grieving father with every time for gun safety delivering them to lawmakers across the country. >> 60,000 to marco rubio in florida. i delivered postcards to the governor of pennsylvania. >> reporter: five states and still counting. he quits his job, successfully

lobbying for criminal background checks in washington state. and california leading the passage of a gun violence protective order giving unstable relatives' ability to own a gun. martinez said he's fighting complacency. >> sandy hook happened and i didn't do anything. and i didn't listen. when you lose a kid, nothing i thought was important before he died is important to me now. nothing. it's too late. i can't bring my son back. i'm doing whatever i can to make sure that other people's kids don't day in the way mine did. >> reporter: looking forward, one year later, pledging not one more. kyung lah, cnn, isle vista, california. tlc is pulling its hit show "19 kids and counting.

the duggar family admitted when he was a teenager he molested a number of young girls including his younger sisters. >> reporter: the duggar family seemed tailor made for a reality show. "19 kids and counting" has been a hit. the ever-growing family espousing christian beliefs made for good ratings. ♪ joy to the world the lord has come ♪ >> reporter: but now a bombshell, as a dark family secret explodes out in the open. hello, i'm josh duggar from tlc's "19 kids and counting." josh duggar, charismatic and oldest child is accused of molesting several girls including when he was 16. it details among other things that josh duggar confessed to his father jim bob duggar who

apparently waited more than a year before contacting authorities. instead, the duggars say they told elders at their church and received counseling. >> obviously, this is a family who built their reputation and their brand on being wholesome and having family values and to discover that something like this had gone down is truly shocking. >> reporter: the duggars have been able to capitalize on their fame. >> i believe sincerely that the people of every state should be remain free to uphold marriage as the union of one man and one woman. >> reporter: josh duggar in a state acknowledging the allegations, quote, 12 years ago as a young teenager i acted inexcusably for which i'm extremely sorry and deeply regret. i hurt others including my family and close friends, he writes. we spoke with the authority where is i confess might wrongdoing and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to

receive counseling. the fallout has been swift with tlc fuelling the show from its schedule. and josh duggar resigning as the executive director of the family research council. and social media has been particularly harsh. montell williams tweeting gosh, yet another anti-gay alleged christian defender turns out to be a garden variety scumbag. anna duggar put out a statement saying she knew about her husbands, quote, past teenage mistakes before they got married and that she remains committed to him. colombia's rebels have suspended a cease cease-fire after troops killed one of its fighters. they targeted a group of rebels who had killed ten colombian soldiers last month. both sides say the peace talks

will go on but the alcoholian militant is telling them to keep up their guard. >> translator: with the same firmness and determination that we have undertaken with the peace talks to try to put an end to the conflict that has plagued us for so many decades with that same firmness we will continue to fight without truce all forms of crimes in all areas of the country, lord minister, generals, this has been and this is and remains the toward remain vigilant. >> more than 220 people have been killed in fighting between the leftist rebels and the government which began in the 1960s. you are watching "cnn newsroom," we're glad to have you. still to come, the counting has begun. and voters in ireland are less than 24 hours away of knowing the results on an historic vote on same-sex marriage. these live pictures as we go to dublin next as this broadcast continues worldwide on cnn u.s. and cnn international.

welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world i'm george howell, this is "cnn newsroom." the headlines this hour. isis has made significant gains in iraq and syria, over the past week, capturing the city of ramadi and another town close by. as well as the ancient syrian city of palmyra. tens of thousands of people have fled from isis as military forces abandon their posts. in washington, the man charged in a quadruple murder faced a judge in his first court appearance on friday. prosecutors don't believe daron

wint acted alone in the crime. he's being held without bail in the killings of three members of a prominent d.c. family and their housekeeper. at least 42 gunmen and a mexican police officer are dead after clashes in central mexico. officials say the violence erupted during an operation by the mexican military and federal agents in a clash near the city of morella. these live pictures in ireland where they're tallying the votes. we will soon find out if same-sex marriage will be allowed in that country's constitution. if the refuse rer rend dumb passes, it will be the first time in history through a popular vote. results are due by saturday. our phil black are following developments in ireland. he joins us outside of dublin castle. phil, good day to you. so, we will soon know these results? >> reporter: yeah, a big day. and one where it could go from

being traditionally one that is so conservative, one so closely associated to the catholic church, to one that is perhaps among the most liberal in gay rights and equality. an extraordinary social change. one that is the idea of it truly wonderful to some, terrible 0 others. a huge anticipation here really as these votes are being counted today. opinion polls out there the campaign consistently said that the yes vote will win. no one here is trying to convince them of that. there are a number of factors that make this quite unpredictable. on one hand, it's felt that many of the no-voters are pretty shy of keeping their intentions to oppose gay marriage to themselves. on the other hand, we've had huge numbers of people, largely, entirely yes supporters, mostly young people, from around the world, traveling back here to take part in this referendum. we met a few of them, take a

look. ♪ are you ready are you ready for love ♪ >> reporter: these people really want to vote. irish citizens abroad weren't allowed to take part in the referendum, so this lot traveled across the uk by train and then by ferry across the irish sea to dublin. it's not hard to pick which side they support. ♪ >> whoo! >> reporter: no singing in the polling stations. this is where irish voters must decide if they want their constitution to say two people can marry under the law regardless of their gender. this woman voted yes. >> i think it's only fair to give them the same rights that every other person has. >> reporter: colin wants change, too. >> i think it is important for ireland to the measure of most advanced countries. >> reporter: and we heard similar views at polling stations across dublin.

>> i'm going to be voting yes. >> i'm going to vote yes. >> reporter: but yes supporters aren't talking about the result. this is the capital. the support for change here was always expected to be loud and enthusiastic. the no vote will do better in regional areas. and all sides talk about shy no voters. the unknown number of people who quietly oppose gay marriage and could help to desize civil vote it down. >> i voted no. >> reporter: he's a gay man that openly opposes gay marriage. >> i'm a gay man, i support the idea that a child should have a mother and father where possible. by redefining marriage, we're going to be redefining family in the irish constitution and that's not something i believe we should do. >> reporter: this sparked months of debate with strong words and hurt feelings on all sides. whatever the result, many people are going to be unhappy. accepting it and moving on will be ireland's next challenge.

if you look to history, george, the irish have been slow, even reluctant to embrace major social change through referendum. divorce legalized only on a second referendum and only narrowly, back in 1995. abortion defeated consistently most recently in 2002, but ireland has clearly changed enormously in that time. the dominance of the moral authority of the catholic church has declined in line with all of the scandals involving children and abuse that have been revealed in recent years. and ireland has opened up to the world, to europe, to become a more outward looking nation in many, many ways. so that brings us today where ireland could perhaps move and embrace this enormous change. and many of the people here believe this country is more than ready for the change. >> phil, though, you certainly hit the nail on the head. when you point out regardless of how this vote goes.

a lot of people will not be happy, one way or the other in a country that is conservative and catholic and taking on a controversial vote. phil black live in dublin. the united states six baltimore police officers will face charges connected to the death of an african-american man. on april 12th, prosecutors say guy-year-old freddie gray was placed under arrest for carrying what was thought to be an illegal knife. sometime between the time of his arrest and being transported in a police van, gray suffered from a spinal injury and he died several days later. his death sparked several days of protests and riots in baltimore and looting as well. on thursday, a grand jury indicted the six officers involved in gray's arrest. they face a number of charges which could land them each in jail for decades. the officers are scheduled to be arraigned on july 2nd. the arrests and now the indictments of these six baltimore police officers is

having a larger impact on the city's entire police force. our miguel marquez spoke with one officer who chose to stay anonymous about a police slowdown and morale within that department. >> reporter: and morale, where's morale for police officers. >> it's there, it's the worst of the worse that i've seen in my career. >> reporter: a baltimore police officer some dozen years on the force said the spike in murders and gun crimes here are the direct result of a coordinated police work slowdown. why do you think there's a greater increase in shootings in the town. >> officers stopped being proactive. >> reporter: not patrolling? >> not patrolling. >> reporter: and not talk to get community. >> and not talking and being proactive. >> reporter: with the murder rate skyrocketing up 47% this year, guns being fired here in even bigger numbers. nonfatal shootings up at least

66%. the killings and shootings not lilted to west baltimore where riots broke out last month. areas across the entire city have seen the most serious crimes on the rise. >> to get together, we're just going to back each other up and answer no calls from the dispatcher. >> reporter: so no matter what commanders tell you - they go in one ear and out 0 the other. >> reporter: and the officer here said police are only responding to 911 calls. no walking beats. no engaging the community, no investigation. just responding. the bare minimum of policing. and then only the most serious calls get immediate attention. some calls, says the officer, goes hours with no response. and when police do respond, they will only go in pairs. sometimes, three and four officers per call. their own safety, the priority. >> as officers, we say, we've got to have each other's back. >> reporter: the officer worked the recent protest, looting and violence. the darkest day this cop has

seen. on one score, the officer agrees with the protesters. what do you think about their claims is right? >> well, the city has a certain mentality, stat-drinks to make arrests. we don't care too much about moving violation. they want arrests. the command staff believes that arresting people is the way of deterring crime. >> reporter: in an extraordinary situation as we were developing the story, the police commissioner himself wanted to rebut the allegations this officer makes on live television. here's a little bit of what he had to say to anderson cooper. >> i think officers are realizing they're through a transition. a significant change has to take place. >> reporter: this officer who is now looking for other jobs says things are now so bad, only one thing will change everything. >> we do not believe in commissioner best or his command staff. we want them to go. >> reporter: miguel marquez, cnn, baltimore, maryland.

you're watching "cnn newsroom." still to come, sea lions and other wildlife suffer from an oil spill in california. we look at how environmentalists are stepping up their response.

it is heart wrenching video from california, this oil spill, it shows a sea lion suffering in the surf. authorities there are stepping up their response into this ruptured pipeline in santa barbara. they're orred the operator to shut it down and make safety improvements. the sea lion there and other wildlife are getting much needed care. cnn's sara sidner has more on the groups that have jumped into action. >> reporter: stressed out and drenched in oil, the first victims of the santa barbara oil spill have to rely on another

species to clean up ever so careful. if these birds are not cleaned, will they die? >> yes, that, definitive. >> well, the birds that we've seen so far have come in coated with oil, they weren't move, they can't forage, they can't fly, die, so, yeah, they would die pretty rapidly if they were not cleaned. >> reporter: the moment they heard about the spill, the folks at the international bird rescue and the oil wildlife care network jumped into action. their tools including dish washing detergent, large bins and attention to detail. so far, it's brown pelicans that keep being carried through the door. the whole experience terrifying for the birds. >> the wash process in particular is, we believe, extremely stressful for these birds. it's basically like being held down by three king kongs and being forcefully washed.

>> reporter: the oil is so toxic that even those who are handling the birds who are covered in it have to whar amounts to hazmat suits to try and save them but it's not just the pelicans, of course, the other wildlife that calls the pacific home is swimming in and suffering because of it. a sea lion with more than 30% of its body covered in the toxic goo has been captured and being cleaned at sea world. our cameras captured these images as the animals still in the wild bask in the spill zone. the humans are contemplating punishment for the all-american pipeline who owns the pipe that leaked the thousands of gallons of oil into their home. the department of transportation is ordering the company to halt all operations to improve safety. and the california state attorney general and the district attorney's offices are now investigating to see if criminal charges should be filed. in the meantime, the oil cleanup continues along some of

california's most beautiful coastline. sara sidner, cnn, san pedro. >> it's a back-breaking cleanup effort that continues off the coast of california. our meteorologist derek van dam is at the world weather center and more with how they mop up the slick. how do you do it? basically go along the coastline and get all of that oil? >> george, what they're trying do is a monumental task. it's a moving target, this 9 1/2-square mile oil sheen is what it's called is moving, and it's moving because of various residence. we've got wind. we've got ocean currents and different waves and swells moving through the region. it's a very fluid, excuse my pun, fluid kind of viscose kind of material that moves on the surface of the ocean. and this has fled in all directions because of those various elements i just described a second ago. on wednesday, when the little spill originally kurd it was 9 1/2-fair miles.

then when we fast forward about 48 hours, and we had she's sheen sightings. the oil sheen sightings, that is that thin layer of oil coating the top portion of the ocean. it's about as thick as a layer of paint on a wall. for several miles outside of that original 9 1/2-square mile oil spill region that was noticed on wednesday. again, just to put this in perspective, outside of santa barbara. however, the wind direction is in a general northeasterly direction. roughly at 10 to 15 knots over this area. so we will continue to see the oil sheen spread not various directions. and it could potentially impact this hyper sensitive marine biological area, going forward in the future. so, george asked how does it get done? how does this get cleaned up? well, what they do is they deploy what is called boom behind these specialized boats. this is what it looks like this is the bottom.

i'll step out so you can seat image. basically what you're be looking at is a boom that has a one-foot curtain that is dragged fwheeth the surface of the water that can help contain that oil slick. on top of that, they had have what is called a skimmer that actually sucks in the oil that these booms actually help contain. and brings it actually into the boat so it can be safely removed from the water. now, so far, out of the 2,500 barrels that were spilled, they've recovered about 238 barrels. with roughly 42 gallons per barrel, that's equivalent to around 10 is,000 gallons. so we're talking only 10% of this recovered so far. so they've got quite a ways to go. and to put this in further perspective, the national oceanic atmospheric administration responds to about 100 to 120 different oil spill incidents out there the course

of the year. california in 2003 had three. the gulf of mexico where oil drilling is obviously very popular and business is eye in that area had 44 oil incidents that noaa responded to in 2014. -these are small. some of them are big. thought all of them make headlines like this. it's just that, george, this is in a particularly ecologically preserved area of california. beautiful beach. a very populated area of california as well. >> you mention the point, you bring out this very important factor that it happens many times but it's just never good. never good for the environment. >> either way you look at it. >> thank you so much. you are watching "cnn newsroom." an historic hit by miami's ichiro suzuki. we'll explain his new milestone in major league baseball.

in major league baseball, miami's ichiro suzuki passed legendary slugger babe ruth on the all-time hits list. this single friday moved ichiro into sole possession of 42nd

place on this historic list. he added another hit during the game. that puts ichiro at 2,875 career hits. the euro vision song contest is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. the show is still a huge success with an estimated 180 million people watching worldwide each year. our isa soares has a look at what is expected for the 2015 edition. >> reporter: to rapt applause it rises once more. ♪ >> reporter: returning to the stage in dramatic style to the semifinal of the euro vision contest. on and off the stage, the drag queen has delivered a message of tolerance, of equal rights for all. ♪ >> reporter: in honor of that, vienna is also showing its true colors, looking to put a stop to

homophobia, with traffic lights that feature same-sex couples. if this isn't enough to stop you in your tracks then the music may just do the trick. this year's message is all about bidding bridges. russia may have the most to rebuild giving criticism against the country on gay rights and the crisis in ukraine. so the lyrics may rise some eyebrows. ♪ we believe we believe in a dream ♪ >> reporter: despite this, they sell 1 million voices is a hot favorite. ♪ >> reporter: unlike last year, russia wrote here that's because euro vision organizers have reportedly sought sound reducers to hide any potential booing. hoping for nothing put cheers. ♪ >> reporter: it has been invited to the european extravaganza as

a one-up in celebration of the competition 60th anniversary. ♪ this is one tough act to follow ♪ >> reporter: that may be so, but it won't be a walk in the park either. italy is sharing europe with amores. by a popular ♪ while sweden among the favorites take home the prize for this heroic performance. ♪ >> reporter: and hoping to spoil everyone's party is serbia's vagina -- a favorite. ♪ >> reporter: and if conchita is anything to go by, this beauty may take home the prize. isa soares, cnn, london. in paris, the eiffel tower is back open after being shut

down for several hours and staffers walked out in protest over pick pockets. workers at the iconic paris landmarks say gangs of pick pockets are threatening them with greater efficiency. they want guarantees that officials will take steps to stop the gangs who target tourists. millions of people visit the eiffel tower every year. the iconic video game pacman set an iconic record. check out this game here. 351 japanese men and women set the new world record after forming a giant pacman with the most people. that's so cool. they even re-created the stunt from the game that honored the 35th birthday. pacman also holds another record. in 2005, it was the most successful coin-operated game with more than 3,000 machines worldwide. we thank you for watching this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell at the cnn

center in atlanta. i'll be back after the break with another hour of news around the world. you're watching cnn, the world's news leader.

isis inching closer to the city of baghdad, capturing yet another town east of ramadi. a bloody gun battle with a drug cartel leaves more than 40 dead in mexico. and a reality tv stars admits to molesting children including his own sisters. what his family knew and when. from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, i'm george howell, this is "cnn newsroom." welcome back to our viewer it's in united es