>> and the air france was taxiing to take off, the other commuter jets on the way n you know, we were saying all morning, it is what you say about the seat belt fasten sign. >> land that plane, people start getting up, this is a very good reason you why should keep your seat belt on and listen to the flight attendants. >> that does it for "american morning." >> cnn newsroom with carol costello starts now. >> you want to be on the big plane, not the small plane with than kind of thing happens. have a great day both of you, thank you. it is 9 a.m. on the east coast, 6 a.m. on the west. i'm kara costello in for keira phillips. look that the amazing video, an air france jetliner clipping a smaller plane while taxiing at jfk's airport. bittermann was on the air france flight. passengers only felt a small rumble because they were on the big plane. no one was injured but both planes were damaged. the mayor of washington, d.c. is arrested in a protest outside the capitol. vince sent gray says congress's budget deal freezes his local

funding for low-income abortions. this morning, his daughter paid 50 bucks for his release on a misdemeanor charge. oil and gas prices keep on climbing and now so do global concerns about a larger cost. leading experts are warning that the spiraling cost does jeopardize the modest economic recoveries around the world. japanese officials put the crisis at the fukushima nuclear plant on the same level as children noble. they have raised the threat to a category 7. that's as high as the international scale for rating nuclear accidents goes. the worst nuclear accident, chernobyl, back in 198 was also a 7. the accident at pennsylvania's three-mile island in 1979 was a level five and there have been more aftershocks in japan. cnn paula hancocks live in tokyo. i don't think anyone is surprised by this but why did they raise so long to raised the

threat level to a 7. >> reporter: well, carol, what the government is insisting on now this isn't a sudden deterioration of the situation it hasn't just suddenly got two points more dangerous. they are saying basically it is just a reassessment of what they already knew. now, there have been people, including greenpeace germany who have been saying for the past couple of weeks this should be a level 7 but that hasn't been taken into account by the government itself. so, what the government is saying is it took time to assess the data. it took time to read all the figures that they had and then they realized it should have been a 7. but of course, for the people of japan, it's very consuming. tuesday morning, you make up, it is a level 5 and the nuclear disaster accident levels and then all of a sudden it jumps two points, you don't see 6. certainly, there is a concern that maybe the government didn't act quickly enough, maybe they weren't being transparent enough. >> maybe not. paula hancocks live in tokyo. thank you. here at home, police are examining a human skull that may be the ninth set of remains

linked to a possible serial killer. cnn's allan chernoff is in jones beach, new york, on long island, where the search for that suspect continues. so, allan what are you learning this morning? >> reporter: well, the police obviously are still looking for clues but they have suspended the search for victims after an exhaustive search yesterday here and they are looking -- trying to find clues may lead them to what they believe is a serial killer who has been stalking prostitutes. yesterday, some very grisly findings. first of all, a set of bones was found in the brush on the other side of the highway, right behind me. and then several hours later, a few miles away, a skull uncovered, the skull that you referred to. so this is possibility ninth and maybe even the tenth victim of this potential serial killer here. now, this story goes back over the past two weeks, four bodies were found in adjoining suffolk

county, to the east of where we're standing and then back in december, there were another four bodies found. now, those four bodies were identified, all prostitutes who had been advertising on craigslist. >> we have eight sets in suffolk county already, we have two more now it's all been very startling, all of it has been. i really -- i don't have a reaction for you because it's just amazing that we are finding these things. so obviously, we have a lot of work to do. >> reporter: police are still searching for this woman, shannon gilbert. she is actually the prostitute whose disappearance nearly a year ago not far from here led to the beginning of this entire investigation. carol? >> i'm just curious, allan, how remote is that area? i mean, ten bodies found?

>> reporter: it is truly remote. if,000 think of a place to dump bodies, this is actually terribly desolate stretch of barrier island. right now, i'm standing at jones beach in a parking lot and this is a very popular beach in the new york area. but to the east of me, for 15 miles straight, there is a highway that just extends very far, very few people go there, just a few hundred people live in beach side homes around here. >> allan chernoff, live on long island. thanks. more details for you now on the last-minute budget deal that averted a government shutdown. if you are wounding what programs will be slashed to save 38 million bucks, here are some of them. proposed cuts to highway construction and high-speed rail add up to nearly $6 billion. if approved by congress this week, u.s. funding to the united nations will be reduced by $377 million. the federal budget for food and

safety inspections would be paird down by about $10 million. so that takes care of 2011's budget. let's move on to the next big budget thing, the debt ceiling. as you've heard, the country will reach its debt limit of $14.3 trillion by may 16th. if congress does not raise the limit soon, the u.s. could default on its loans and that would not be good. president obama says raise it now, but he is dealing with a bit of what some are calling hypocrisy. dan lothian is at the white house. dan, tell us how the white house is explaining the president's past comments on raising the debt ceiling. >> reporter: that's right. let's rewind just a bit back to 2006. it was then president george w. bush and then senator barack obama from illinois. of course, he voted against raising the debt limit because at the time, he said that it was a time of leadership failure, that it would weaken the u.s. economy. and then we heard yesterday from the white house something that

we rarely hear that is an admission of making a mistake. take a listen. >> the president, as david plouffe said yesterday, regrets that vote and thinks it was a mistake. he realizes now that raising the debt ceiling is so so important to the health of this economy and the global economy that it is not a vote that even when you are protest iing an admission spraying straigs's policies you can play around w. >> reporter: carl, the administration is really using dire terms to spell out for the american people what would happen if congress does not raise that debt limit, using words like armageddon, staying would have a negative impact on job creation, interest rates, on the overall economy. what the president wants is a very clean vote on this. eventually, he doesn't want any -- any cuts, anything additional added to this, but republicans want deep spending cuts.

so you know, the battle we saw last week to get a budget, well, that was only the start. >> just not looking forward to it are you? oh, and by the way, dan, hasn't john boehner flip flopped on this issue, too? >> it is interesting that you should bring that up because back in january, john boehner did talk about the impact of not raising the debt limit. he as well saying things like it would impact the worldwide economy, not just the u.s. economy, but also the worldwide economy, but what his people are saying now is that you have to look at the reality of the moment now, the political reality is that you need deep spending cuts. and so yes, he does believe that that would have an impact on the global economy, but you still need those spending cuts. that's something that we have heard a lot about in the past weeks and we will continue to hear a lot about in the coming days. >> oh, yes, we will, dan lothian live at the white house. many thanks. president obama also coming under fire from, oh, shall we call him, flamboyant billionaire donald trump, who is considering

a presidential run in 2012. the tycoon has repeatedly questioned the president's place of birth and authenticity of documents the white house has off nerd support. now barack obama's half-sister is weighing in. here is what she had to say in an interview scheduled to air tonight on "piers morgan tonight." >> i think it's unfortunate. he was born in hawaii. there is a tremendous amount of proof that has already been presented. the then-republican governor and head of the department of, you know, health in hawaii even attested to fact that the birth certificate that they inspected was, in fact, valid. it's in the newspapers, it's on the day of his birth. so, i think that it is time for people who put that to bed, put it to rest completely and focus on what they can do to help, to build. >> to see the complete

interview, tune in tonight. president obama's sister tells piers morgan stories about her big brother, stories you have never heard before, at 9 eastern here on cnn. the president may face a 2012 challenge from an independent with a big name and deep pocket he is and paul steinhauser is here. i already know who that is. i think everybody he know does by now. who knows. tell us? >> yes, the donald, donald trump. listen, carl, the billionaire real estate mogul and reality tv star is very good at getting his name in the news and doing it again n an interview this morning about the "wall street journal," he say it is he decides to run for president and he will do that by june if he decides to runs, he is going to run as a republican, but say that doesn't work out, doesn't get the nomination, he says co-run as an independent. if you run as an independent, down the have the help of the party structure, help was to money. we know he has got money, he could spend millions and millions, hundreds of millions of his own money. he tells "the wall street journal" co-possibly win as an independent, i'm not doing it for any other reason, i like

winning. >> that's why he's doing it he likes winning? not for the country to help country? >> of course for the country. but of course that goes without saying. but he likes to win. let's talk about mitt romney real quick as well. yesterday, the former massachusetts governor did what we expected, took the first formal step running for the white house, announcing an exploratory committee, second run for the white house if he jumps in but the surprise here is that his camp kept in secret, no los angeles, nothing, in fact, they got the announcement up on their website before they alerted the media. kudos camp romney for keeping a secret. >> this next story really surprises me because chris christie, he is a darling, you know in circles of the republican party. >> yeah. we obsess in the media over chris christie will he run for president on the republican side or not? look that the new poll from gallup, came out yesterday, indicates a majority of americans don't know enough about him to form an opinion. here are the results. 27% said they had a favorable opinion, 21% unfavorable, 52%

said they didn't know enough about him to form an opinion. interesting, even among republicans, pretty high. carol, let's be fair here, other people thinking about frourngt white house, santorum, barbour, pawlenty, have pretty high unknown factors, carol? >> they will fix that. the season is upon us. your next political update in one hour a reminder for all the latest political news go to our website, cnnpolitics.com. the mayor of washington, d.c. spent much of his monday in jail. he took part in a protest and got into trouble with capitol police. . the important to me is we had to make a statement what happened in this budget process and what happened repeatedly to the district of columbia is just completely unacceptable. >> so, what has him so upset with congress and the white house that he was willing to go

to jail? that's great question. and we are going to ask mayor vincent gray for some answers, next. and here's something you don't see every day, thank goodness, a giant airbus clipping a smaller regional jet on the tarmac. we will tell you more about this, too, coming up. 3q car connection calls the xf,

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eight hours ago. capitol hill police arrested vincent gray and several d.c. council members yesterday for blocking a street and refusing to leave. this is all about the 2010 federal -- or 2011 federal budget lawmakers agreed to over the weekend. d.c. officials feel like congress and the president used their city and its people as a political chip and sold them out. washington, d.c. isn't like your typical city in america. congress has the final say over its budget and laws and d.c. does not have full representation on the hill. basically, 600,000 residents have little say in how their local tax dollars are spent and for what. keep in mind that more than 90% of d.c. voters voted for president obama, but their fate rests almost entirely with the republican-controlled house, if you ask d.c.'s mayor. let's ask him. let's talk about that with mayor gray. good morning, mayor.

>> good morning, how are you? >> i'm good as part of the comp prom my the federal government would block not on the use of federal funds but city funds, your funds to pay for abortions for low-income women. why do you think that happened? >> well, think we were a bargaining chip in this political game played around the budget. as you indicated earlier, the district has no voting representation in the house. we have no senators. so we are an easy target. folks in congress, frankly, did will do things to the district of columbia that they wouldn't even do in their own home districts and this is an example of it. to be -- to impose upon us it this restriction with respect to abortions those decisions ought to be between women and their doctors and frankly, there's no other jurisdiction in america that would be told they can't spend their own local tax dollars. >> and mayor there are some who believe that since planned parenthood was not defunded, d.c., your city, paid the price. i want you to listen to tea party favorite michele bachmann. she spoke at a christian rally

yesterday. >> we are the ones who decide how the money gets spent. and barack obama gets no money, zero money, unless we give it to him. and so he can be held hostage. >> so, in order for the democrats to negotiate with republicans when you have that line of thinking, how does that play into how you're able to run your city and to use your own taxpayer dollars to do with what you will? >> well it san outrageous position that was just expressed, when you think about the fact that we raise our tax dollars in the city just like other states, just like other cities do. the authority to spend our money ought to rest with the district of columbia, but every year, after our city council and the mayor approve a budget it has to be sent up to the congress to be approved by people in many instances who know absolutely nothing about the district of columbia and will oftentimes impose their ideological views on the district of columbia that they wouldn't even do in their own home district.

>> i was going to ask you about t should abortion even enter into the decision about how your tax dollars are spent? >> absolutely not. absolutely not. and certainly, vouchers, which is another issue that's on the table should not enter into it. there's been, you know, debate about whether our needle exchange program should continue in the district of columbia. it's successful here. it's successful in 200 other polices around the nation, but we have become a political pawn in the game around this budget and around other ways in which this country is run. we ought to be left to make those decisions.our budget ought to be approved by the people of the district of columbia and we have demonstrated our ability to do that. >> so eleanor holmes important, the d.c. delegate, recently said that congress should go to hell. do you echo that sentiment? >> there's no question we feel that way at this point. frankly, what i would suggest is that congress butt out of the business of the district of columbia. i have heard no rational reason why the district shouldn't have the authority tie prove how we spend our own money.

>> in fairness, mayor, i want to ask you about the democrats in congress, there are lots of them. they didn't help you out of this mess either? >> no they didn't. as a matter of fact, when you look at the vote that got us to where we are today and, you know, we will have another vote coming up later this week, it's clear that we had very little support. i'm not sure what the white house did in all of this to till the truth. it looks like the district of columbia was essentially thrown under the bus in order to get a political deal. >> mayor gray, thanks for joining us, we appreciate it. >> thank you. a look at news happening across the country. law officials believe this is the man who set off a homemade bomb last week at a california synagogue. they arrested 60-year-old ron hirsch in cleveland. and they say's transient who often went to synagogues for charity. no one was hurt in the explosion. check out what happened at new york's jfk last night. an air france jetliner clips a smaller plane on the tarmac. cnn's jim bittermann was actually on the bigger plane, said the passengers felt only a

small rumble. no one was hurt but both planes were damaged. more than 20,000 people in central alabama lost power during an overnight storm and they got a lot of cleaning up to do today. the worst damage hit birmingham area, uprooted trees flat and dozens of homes and cars. and players for the dodgers and the giants came together on the field before last night's game in san francisco. they honored giants fan brian stowe. he was wearing giants' garb at a dodgers game and he was brutally beaten outside of dodger stadium. >> we ask that you respect that rivalry and you respect each other as fans. but when the last out is made, that rivalry ends on the field. >> amen to that stowe, the fan, is in a coma and has brain damage. fans have been donating money for him and his family. no arrests yet in the case. the former president of ivory coast has been arrested. the civil war in that african

nation appears to be averted, for now. we are learning new detail bets negotiations to pry laurent gbabgo from power, including an offer to teach at a university right here in the united states. and the white house relieved him from duty as top military commander. today, general stanley mcchrystal returns. we will tell you about his new mission. doubtful, you love me. hey, you can't take allegra with fruit juice. what? yeah, it's on the label. really? here, there's nothing about juice on the zyrtec® label. what? labels are meant to be read. i'd be lost without you. i knew you weren't allergic to me. [ sneezes ] you know, you can't take allegra with orange juice. both: really? fyi. [ male announcer ] get zyrtec®'s proven allergy relief and love the air®.

we are learning fascinating new details to end the standoff in the ivory coast. a diplomat tells cnn that laurent gbabgo was offered a chance to teach at a university here in the united states. that is, if he would renounce his claim to be president. he rejected the deal. he was captured yesterday after his compound was shelled for several days by french and united nations forces. our zain verjee joins live from london. zplain, tell us other details of this deal to get him to leave. >> boston university is the american university that laurent gbabgo had had a chance to go and lecture at the archives and research center if he gave up his claim to be the president. this also involved the possibility of had him going to other universities around the united states and being like a guest lecturer. we reached out to boston

university, they publicly deny it say there was never any deal for laurent gbabgo on the table. i spoke to the head of the center, his name is charles stiff. and he said this had laurent gbabgo left after the election and even if he had protested the result, for the good of the country, fed left, boston university would have considered him a potential candidate. so it raises a lot of different questions here, you snow aknow? and the fact is out there is going to raise a big one for the state department. >> i was going to ask you that did the state department have any role in this? >> well, you know, it is going to be interesting to see how they parse this out today. and it is likely they did i was just looking at "the oklahoman" reporting a high-ranking state department official reached to the one man, senator jim inhoff to basically intervene in the ivory coast, he has a relationship with gbabgo in the past, knows him, his wife and he had has a lot of excellent knowledge about africa. so the state department,

according to this report, asked him to reach out to laurent gbabgo and say, well, you know, maybe boston university could be an option for you. we got a response from inhoff's spokesperson who said inhoff refused to communicate a boston university offer from state to laurent gbabgo. my read of this, if you look between the lines here, you know, there may have been an off they're that could have been the case here, but i think the timing is what we need to look at here, you know, if it was a few months ago, it would have made more sense because an election was just over and it could have been a way out. if it was last week, it was unlikely they would want to take a man that held a country hostage and has blood on his hands. so we will see what they say today. >> fascinating stuff, zain verjee, thanks, as always. gas prices they keep on rising, up for the 21st straight day and counting it is more than a strain on your wallet it is hitting the entire economy. we will go to wall street to learn just how bad it may get.

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implicati implications. new reports show it could hit our economic recovery. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. how big an effect could this have? >> reporter: you know, carl, $100 oil we are seeing beginning to hurt the global recovery, from a new report that came out today from the national energy agency. this is really terrible timing. u.s. economic growth it is already very fragile. and we heard the same thing from the imf yesterday, which cut its own forecast for u.s. gdp this year to a 2.8% pace. i want to show you exactly what this means with this chart. take a look. last quarter, we grew at a 3.1% pace. now, 3.1% is pretty mediocre by historical standards, 10.8% that would be considered below par. so you know what expect the economy to be under pressure for some time. the imf sees oil $107 this year and next as well the same now, we are just below $109 a barrel

today. i hate to say it time to get used to it when we drive up to the pump. carol? >> i guess so. >> sorry. >> what will this mean for every day americans though? >> you know what it would mean? people would have less money to spend on other things. they go out less to eat maybe, go to the movies less they wouldn't fix up the house. it is going to be tougher to pay bills as well. we may even begin to rethink vacation. remember the rise of the staycation back in 2008 when gas topped $4? that could be coming back as well. also, we will see it in companies. companies are going to have less room to hire because they are going to be spending more, too. you know, corporate america is dealing with more than oil prices, seeing prices on copper, aluminum, other commodities as well and this is going to hurt their bottom line as well. we are deep in the red right now on wall street. the dow right now down 86 points, the nasdaq off 16. alcoa, first quarter revenue missed expectations, it said that high oil prices are eat nothing their profits, we are seeing it with alcoa as well.

shares of alcoa right now down almost 6%, carol. >> alison kosik, thank you. it's just past 930 in the east, just past 6:30 out west. police on long island, new york, stepping up their search for a serial killer. investigators found what they think is a human skull along a beach highway. they believe it could be the killer's ninth victim. earlier in the day, a police officer and his dog spotted another set of remains about a mile and a half away. japanese officials have put the crisis at the fukushima nuclear plant on the same level as chernobyl. they have raised the threat to a category 7. that is as high as the international scale for rating nuclear accidents goes. and libya's former foreign minister moose sa koussa heads to doha to meet with the qatary government and representatives today. koussa was part of moammar gadhafi's inner circumstance for years until he defected to the uk several weeks ago. in just a few hours, the

white house run veil a new program to help u.s. troops and their families back home but also a homecoming of sorts for the retired army general who will lead the mission. stanley mcchrystal was fired as the top u.s. commander in afghanistan when he publicly bad mouthed the obama administration. barbara starr joins us from the pentagon. so barbara, the president essentially fires general mcchrystal and his wife hires him? >> that's what it's beginning to look like, carol, a case of proving you can go home again. general mcchrystal will be back at the white house later today at the invitation of first lady michelle obama to head up a new group working on frost and issues to help military families and veterans. general mcchrystal will head a new organization called joining forces, trying to encourage local businesses, employer, governments, philanthropic organizations, religious groups, to reach out to veterans and

lend a hand after so many years of stress on military families from deployments. general mcchrystal, of course, long remembered over the last year for that "rolling stone" article he made remarks. president obama firing general mcchrystal for head of the war in afghanistan for that lapse in judgment. but general mcchrystal is a retired four-star very respected in so many military circles for his contributions to military service. not to say that he has been the controversial but a redemption, general mcchrystal spent the last year largely out of the public eye, doing some teaching, some speaking, now stepping back into public life. >> i want to ask you, bus he is a controversial man and since families are involved in this project, i just wanted to add this to the mix. the tillman family also aused general mcchrystal about knowing about the military coverup of their son, pat tillman, you know, dieing by friendly fire.

it just makes you wonder if the families of the troops will accept this without reservation. >> well, i think every family, of course works have to make its own decision about how they feel, but i have to tell you, there are a lot of troops and families out there that are sort of beginning to wonder if after ten years of war, the american public is perhaps still supporting them but perhaps not remembering them as often every day. not seeing the problems of veterans' unemployment, family stress, posttraumatic stress for the troops. so, there's an awful lot of military families that do welcome help wherever they can get it especially on the key issue of unemployment from veterans, coming back from the war, finding it hard to get jobs, general mcchrystal lending a hand here, up to individual people to decide if they feel comfortable. carol? >> barb be bra star live at the pentagon. thank you. >> sure. things are getting chippy in the nba as teams gear up for the

playoffs. right after the atlanta hawks schooled on the miami heat, the heat's player threw the ball the at his back. it comes just one day after the heat's lebron james threw a ball at a celtics player. we are joined in 20 minutes with highlights of nba stars throwing the ball at the basket. plus, a major league baseball play we are a unique way of turning off the booze. and are americans making informed decisions when they step into the voting booth? we will talk to a cnn.com contributor who thinks they are definitely not. he says they are ignorant. that's coming up. also, that unexpected layover at the airport could become a sleepover. coming up in our fix our flight series, how airports are helping passengers navigate flight cancellations that turn into overnight stays. i can't get rid of these weeds, or these nasal allergies.

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we would like to introduce to you cnn's newest member of the family, he now writes an online op ed every week and he has an intriguing background, written about sports, gay and lesbian issues and politics and politics is what his op ed is about today. welcome, elsie. >> thank you very much for

having me. >> okay. so the first line in your op ed is should ignorant people be allowed to vote? ouch. >> yes. it's ouch, but i tell you, that the spirit of the column, the ideas that i'm pushing, are not as mean-spirited as that initial question. the word ignorant has been boiled down to just meaning an unsophisticated person. what i'm just saying something you don't know, one subject area you don't know a lot about that is the ignorant part. >> the less educated voter. but you say that politicians are taking advantage of these particular types of voters how? >> because they know they are easily misled. you know if they don't have the foundation of truly understanding the current issues and how the government works and how laws are made, they can tell them anything and if you have the right message, if you are likable if they have a catchphrase they can remember, then all of a sudden it gravitates toward you, whether or not they have processed the information. >> when you say catchphrase what do you mean? >> obamacare, for instance. you know, it's like -- it's --

it dumbs down having an intelligent dedebate about health care reform, which i think is very important. i think some of the things in the bill are grossly wrong and i think some things are right but we can't get to that place if we are just going to say obamacare, you are asking yourself i like obama as posed to the idea he is trying to push. >> i think a lot of voters feel that intellectualism or elitism is actually hurting our political process and maybe they shouldn't pay much attention to what those people are saying. and sometimes that's good thing, sometimes it is a bad thing. >> absolutely. i mean, look, this -- my column offers the idea of having the naturalization test be a foundation before you get a voter registration card. that isn't to weed out people who haven't been to college, who, you know, come from maybe a poor background, but just to make sure that we are all talking about the same thing. i think that is more important. i can understand hesitation and

not wanting some rich snob telling people what to do >> exactly. >> you want that, for sure. but i also think the opposite is hurting the country and that is running away from information, running away from facts, running away from vet foundation of the constitution. >> well, let me stand up for the voter. >> and i'm standing up for voters, too. >> i know you are. i know you are. i'm stand up for them even more. i believe there are many smart people in this country and many of them certainly vote. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> if you say the ignorant voter puts politicians into office who perhaps should not be there, then where are the smart people out there and why aren't they voting? if they are not voting doesn't that mo them more ignorant than the ignorant voter? >> you bring up really, really great points, right? but here is the thing. smart people tend to outsmart themselves, right, so they get so frustrated with the conversation, they withdraw and just rather point fingers and name call each other and just looking like a sarah palin, her followers and just say, oh, they are dumb and look at obama, oh,

they are just a bunch of liberals and really really engage because the conversation isn't intellectual, not mentally engaging, it has been dumbed down, so, i'm advocating for the voters will actually want to have an intelligent conversation about these topics and not just yell back and forth and finger point. >> gotcha. bring up many interesting point yourself, thank you, lz and welcome. appreciate it. like to read lz's column go to cnn.com, click on the opinion tab be he at the top of the page and find commentaries there on a wide variety of topics from a wide variety of perspectives. thanks, lz. more people flying every year that means more people stranded at airports for that dreaded overnight stay. >> overnight, we had about 250 passengers. so the hotel laguardia is up and running. >> next, there's no room service but some airports are finding ways to make the sleep jovary tad easier. ♪

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taking a look at stories making news across the country, activists in arizona are celebrating a federal court decision reaffirming a previous injunction against arizona's controversial anti-immigration law. arizona's governor and attorney general say they are now

considering their legal options. police officers in bainbridge island, washington are now wearing cameras on their chest. the police chief says the cameras meant to document encounters officers have with the public and provide evidence in case there is a difference of opinion. an arizona woman recently amended her will to include her facebook page and her online blog. inheritance lawyers say it is important for people to identify all their digital assets and passwords and designate someone to administer them after they're gone. within just a few years, it's expected we will have 1 billion passengers sharing our skies. and like most of us, you likely have a bunch of gripes about flying. over the next few days, we will talk about solutions. we all our series "fix my flight." so if you spend any time in the sky recently, you know airlines are canceling flights more quickly at the first sign of

trouble and rebooking is a bear becausthere are fewer flights with more people on them. so, the dreaded airport sleepover is more and more becoming a reality. allan chernoff shows us that some airports have this problem on their radar. >> reporter: stranded at the airport overnight. it happened to assad mobben at new york's laguardia during a december blizzard. how many hours do you think you did sleep? >> an hour and a half, tops. >> reporter: but at least add place to sleep, along with many other travelers. >> overnight, we had about 250 passengers, so the hotel laguardia is up and running. >> reporter: laguardia hauled out the cots during seven storms this winter. okay, here's what you get at the hotel laguardia, a blanket, brand new, paper sheet, not sure what the thread count is here, and this is your pillow case. not exactly five star but you know what, when you're stranded, you can't be choosy. there are free diapers, baby

food, even $10 vouchers forred into concessions, some of which the airport will keep open all night during a storm. >> have hot food, have more casual fare and even the bar, our bar will stay open for that late night adult beverage. >> reporter: similar emergency accommodations can behood had a boston's logan airport and chicago's o'hare where the amenities package includes a toothbrush and toothpaste. dallas's airport offers not only cots but pup tents for kids and comfort zones, check-in for baggage. >> we try to create the right mood and ambiance. >> reporter: that keeps many people with travel plans at home. but for those trying to return home or make a connection, airport accommodations can ease the frustration of not being able to fly. just ask antonio christopher who

was stranded five nights during his recent marathon round-trip vacation from london to the caribbean. >> it's military style. you have to go commando. >> we're creating facilities to help passengers so additional seating areas across the terminal, tv facilities, additional power outlets, bench seats where somewhere i can charge my phone. >> reporter: nobody is happy about airports becoming hotels, not passengers, airlines, or airports, but it's the reality of flyinging these days. as high-tech as we are, sometimes you can't get to where you want to go. coming up later, you're being hit with extra fees for those extra bags now, so packing like a pro could save you some big dollars. we've got some tips from

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we're following a lot of developments in the next hour in the cnn newsroom.

let's check in first with alison kosik. >> gas prices are going up and up and up. 21 straight days and no end in sight. how did we get here? i'm going to take a look in the next hour. i'm john zarrella at the kennedy space center visitor complex. one of the bidders on a retiring space shuttle. will they get one? i'll have that story coming up. i'm zain verjee in london. i'll tell you about moammar gadhafi's former ukrainian nurse. she speaks out and gives all kinds of details about what it was like to be around him. she also had a nickname for him. i'll tell you what it was. >> i'm afraid to hear that. thanks to all of you. also coming up, when she was named miss usa, a crown was placed on her head. after being on reality tv, someone put soap in her mouth.

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tempers are really flaring on the basketball court. jeff is here. we're seeing anti-behavior on the court these days. >> we are. these guys have been playing for six months. testy levels high because the playoff levels are about to

start. lebron james and the heat taking off. look at him throw the ball at e him. the heat playing the celtics and lebron did the same thing. check last night. he was ejected. dwyane wade found lebron inside the heat. they channel that anger. rory mcilroy woumtd up with 15th. mcelroy all smiles now. he shared a plane ride afterward with the winner, charl schwartzel to the next tournament. he say i'm flying to malaysia with charl. i'm glad he's got the green

jacket on. kim clijsters is likely out of the next major because of a wedding injury. she was wearing heels at her 'cause in's wedding and while on the dance floor she tripped on someone else's foot. she'll be out six weeks. something to worry about as a professional athlete. hopefully that cousin is close. >> it's now 7:00 a.m. in the west, 10:00 a.m. in the east. the government has put the crisis at the fukushima plant on the say level. police on long island, new york, stepping up their search for a serial killer. investigators found what they thing is a human skull along a beach highway. they believe it could be the killer's ninth victim. and check out what happened at new york's jfk last night.

an air france jetliner clip as smaller delta plane on the tarmac. cnn's jim bittermann was on the bigger plane. >> reporter: a slight rumble and it sounded to me like they hit a rough patch of pavement. they stopped plane and in a minute or two the fire trucks started arriving around the plane. >> everyone was okay. no one was hurt. the planes were damaged. port authority police were interviewing the pilots of both of those planes. oil and gas prices keep on climbing, and now so do concerns that the spiraling costs could deray economic recoveries around the worldf. here in the united states the prices are inching to the ever closer $4 mark. if americans aren't feeling the pinch yet, get ready. there's no reason to believe these prices are on the verge of tumbling. alison kosik is in new york.

she's going to take a closer look for us. how could this tank this economy? >> well, first of all let's talk about gas prices. why are gas prices higher? they're up 33% so far this year, even more than oil prices. and here's why. oil prices which are up 20% this year already, oil is a main ingredient in gas, carol. there's actually a lot that goes into gas including marketing, refining. so there's a lot that goes into that price. and then there comes the question, you know, why are oil prices up so much? that's because of supply and demand. that's a really big part of it. we've got the unrest in libya, though libya is not a big exporter we're losing oil from there every day. the question is where are we going to make up the loss? there's also recovery in the works. yeah, the economy is recovering. oil demand rose more than 3% last year. we're using more oil, especially from china as well. but i'll tell you what. it's really the speculation. that's what's driving up oil

prices right now. remember, oil is a really big investment tool. right now there's what's known as a risk premium factor. as long as there's unrest in the mid east it's going be an excuse for them to jack up the oil. there's also a worry that buying is going to be a bigger strain. yet there's one more thing that goes into why we're seeing oil prices go up and in turn making prices go up. we've got the weak dollar in play. because oil is priced in dollars, carol, it makes the investment cheaper and it's seen as a good investment with the economy on shaky ground. of course, with oil prices up, making gas prices higher means you and i are going to be able to spend less on other things in the economy. carol? >> alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. thank you. more details now for you on

the last-minute budget deal that averted a last-minute shutdown. the federal budget for food and safety inspections would be whittled down by about $10 million. proposed cuts to highway construction add up to nearly $3 billion. and if approved by congress later this week, the department of homeland security would receive nearly $800 million less in funding. high-speed rail projects would also slashed by nearly $3 billion. so that takes care of 2011 budget. let's move on to the next big budget thing and that would be the debt ceiling. as you heard they will reach their dead limit by may 16th and if congress does not raise the limits soon, the u.s. could default on igts loans its owns, and that is not good. the white house says raise it now. >> the consequences of not

raising the debt ceiling would be armageddon like in terms of the economy. the impact on interest rates, job creation, growth would be devastating. >> but the president is dealing with a bit of what some are calling hypocrisy. dan lothian joins us from the white house to explain. dan. >> reporter: history has a way of come back and biting you and this is one of those cases because the president back in 2006 when he was then senator of illinois, the president was george w. bush and mr. obama raised it saying it was a failure -- leadership failure and that increasing the debt limit would weaken the u.s. and now the president finds himself in the same position of asking republicans to raise the debt limit, something the republicans simply don't want to do because they want more spending cuts. and, you know, what's interesting is that the white house, something that you don't typically hear from the white house whenever someone will say, hey, listen, are you

flip-flopping? has the message changed here? they're now saying the message has changed. the president made a mistake back in 2006. take a listen. >> he realizes now that raising the debt ceiling is so important to the health of this economy and the global economy that it is not a vote that even when you are protesting an administration's policies you can play around with. >> reporter: the question now is whether or not there can be any compromise at all as you saw how heated the debate was in trying to get the budget last week. that was just the warm-up act to this. clearly what the president wants is a clean vote on this, essentially no spending cuts attached. the republicans are saying they're not supporting anything that doesn't have spending cuts in there. it will be interesting to see if there can be any compromise in order to aa void what the white

house is calling armageddon. >> they did it once. maybe they can do it again. the mayor of washington, d.c., got out of jail just about nine hours ago. capitol hill arrested mayor vincent gray and several d.c. council members yesterday for blocking a street and refusing to leave. this is all about the 2011 federal budget lawmakers agreed to over the weekend. congress says the decision of the d.c.'s laws and federal budget, d.c. will not be able to use city funds to pay for abortions for low income women. mayor gray feels like congress used the city and its people as a political chip. >> we've become a political con in the game around this budget and in other ways in which this country is run. we ought to be left to make those decisions. our budget ought to be approved by the district of columbia, and we've demonstrated our ability

to do that. >> keep in mind washington, d.c., does not have full representation on capitol hill. a cease-fire proposal offered to opposition leaders in libya has been rejected. under the agreement gadhafi would have stopped all forces but rebel leaders say any plan that does not include the remoorchl of da ga gadhafi is unacceptab unacceptable. zain verjee live in london with more on that. zain, hi. >> hi, carol. hey, carol. let's start with this. africa's difficult proposal for peace in libya. it says the endgame in libya is unclear, but it's increasingly apparent that a negotiated

solution will be foshlged only when keshl gadhafi agrees to cease power. in practice libya has broken into two halves and this partition might be going on for a long time because of the stalemate in the ground fighting. sounds familiar. >> a lot of analysts said it was going to come to this, stalemate. maybe it's come to that. who knows. i'd like to talk about the "newsweek" article because it's written by moammar gadhafi's nurse. >> it's a fascinating read. she had a nick fame for him. all ukrainian nurses called him popique. it's russian for little father. he had habits of changing his

clothes multiple times a day. she insists she was not his love and he only liked to listen to arab music on an old cassette tape recorder and nothing else. let me share with you what she said when he went to africa. when we drove around poor african countries he would fling money and candy out of his motorcade who ran after his motor kaid. he didn't want them close for fear of catching diseases from them. he gave out gold watches with a picture of guess who inside them. they could go around libya with these gold watches and get anything they wanted because they had these special ones. she said popik will probably never her. she has a boyfriend.

>> sadly i'm so intreeked over what you told me i'm going to go read noose week after the show is over. >> it was a great read. she also said it was a total myth that he slept in a tent all the time shem said he only used it for official meetings. >> zain, thank you. there are calls for calm today in the ivory coast after the dramatic arrest of theive victory. >> nasa will announce the final resting places for the entire space shuttles. my cream is what makes stouffer's fettuccini alfredo so delicious. i think you'll find it's the vegetables. deliciously rich. flavorful! [ female announcer ] together at last. introducing new stouffer's farmers' harvest with sides of lightly sauteed farm-picked vegetables.

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personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. now for the latest on the ivory coast. the country's new president is calling for calm. there should be no retaliation against the former president. lawyer raunlt gbagbo was arrested yesterday. dan rivers is in the capitol and he brings us up to date. what's happening there now? >> reporter: carol, we've been out on the streets touring the

area. it does remaintenance and pretty lawless it must be said. we've seen at least three different charred bodies on the streets an truckloads of republican forces loyal to the current president touring the area. most of them armed with sort of, you know, small weapons, ak-47s and so on. they're cleely trying to impose security in this part of the city. we're not sure what the situation is elsewhere, but there's plenty of evidence of extensive looting here and lots of destroyed shops and businesses. there's going to be an enormous clean-up job here if nothing else and this whole situation is rapidly turning into a humanitarian crisis as well with fuel short amgs and water shortages as well. just because laurent gbagbo has surrendered, he's asked them to come out and lay down their

arms. i think this is too early to be entirely ore. >> i understand. dan rivers from the ivory coast. japanese leader have put the crisis at the fukushima plant as the same as chernobyl. jacqui jeras has more details on these ratings. i don't think many people were surprised by this. >> no. >> probably wonder why it wasn't raised to a seven before. but what exactly does that mean anyway? >> they said they have new information out and are able to read these. that's why they've raised it up. no new things have happened at the plant to raise this level. they just have more information as to where it's at. now, what is the scale we're talking about? >> it's the worldwide scale that's used to provide information to the public so you know how serious this is in

terms of your safety and it goes from level one ald goes up to seven. and as you go up in each category, the debt level raises ten fold. level five, where we were at before, that was on par with the three mile incident of 1979. now they say fukushima is up there with 1986. what kind of consequences are there as a result of this? level 5, according to this scale, they call it an accident with wider consequences. several deaths can occur at a level 5 and severe damage to the reactor core. i'll advance this for you. taking you to a six, they consider this a serious accident with a significant release of radioactive material and they have to do counter measures basically to help counter act what's been released. number 7. that's the top one there, considered a major accident here with a major release of

radioactive material, wildspread impact on health as well as the environmental and it will be long term, carol, that they're going to have to counter act the accident that is already here. >> you've got to wonder how long by they fill it with cement and sand and basically call it a day? >> ultimately that's very likely what will happen here. >> jackie, thanks. it's the end of an era at nasa. they shut down this summer. later this morning a lot of museums will find out if they landed a piece of history. about fuel efficiency, hybrids, and plug-in vehicles. and we've got cars like that, even trucks. but we can do more. when you buy a chevrolet, we'll invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and tree-planting programs across america, reducing carbon emissions by up to 8 million metric tons over the next few years in just one more way,

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as you know, nasa is facing out its plan and today we find out where the retired shuttles are beginning. this means the space station is charmging and they talked about it earlier this morning on cnn's "measure morning" 200 million miles from earth. >> kids can become astronauts. hopefully what we're trying to

do is they want to get out of the business and we want to go beyond that. we want to explore further and further into the solar system and that's what the big organizations and organizations do best. they can push the engines of the envelope. that's what i see the astronauts doing. >> what happens to all those retiring shuttles? dozens are hoping to land them. john zarrella live at the kennedy space center. so who's in the running? >> reporter: you know, carol, we're here at kennedy because the nasadministrator charlie bolden is going to be there later today in essence to commemorate the very first flight. 1981. two got on onboard the columbia and left for to days on the space shuttle flight.

because he's coming to florida, there's a good chance they will be one of the places that gets the spacetle orbiters such as "discovery." we heard "discovery" is promised to the smithsonian. the air force in dayton, ohio, would like to get "atlantis." "endeavour" might come here. "enter prize" could go to seattle, which is bid, perhaps new york, the intrepid museum which has put in a bid, houston, the johnson space center. there are more than two dozen

facilities around the country that have put in the bids. the problem is there's only a few to go around. a few people very happy, a lot of the people sad at the end of the day. >> i want you to stick around for the next story. you're a space guy, an expert. i'm sure you heard about this. the fbi has proposed over 200,000 documents to the vault. among those generating the most interest a 1950 memo send to j. edgar hoover regarding a supposed flying sawer is in nextco. there were three and each one was occupied by three bodies of human shape about three feet tall. they were dressed in a metallic cloukt of very fine texture. what happened to those

human-like short people, john? >> you know, i was in razwell to do this story years ago and this is what i heard. we talked with a man who was with the air force back then and he was with the public affairs didn't. he said when they got word and there was all this siting of the craft out in new mexico that the air force put out a statement saying a flying saucer had crashed in the desert out there. within an hour they rekrinlded that press release and what i was told is that the colonel called and said that, no, it was a weather balloon. the way it's put to me is when the colonel calls and says it's a weather balloon, it's a weather balloon. all those stories are absolutely true what you're saying. that's what they reported, that's what they believed. they were all brought to a

hospital there. apparently a couple of these aliens survived the crash was the story. i've got to say, carol, if all that was true, what a -- do you know anybody in this country who can keep a secret that long? that would be one heck of a cover-up? one big secret to keep. >> watergate, they kept that secret a long time, who was the leak in watergate. >> a lot of people say the conspiracy theory. and there's a conspiracy theory that says man never landed on the moon. . doan think you can convince people, john. i'm just saying. thanks. we appreciate it. we're just a few weeks away

from the royal wedding. prince william and kate middleton will marry at westminster. first up and -- welcome. first up we're heari ing kate mania is picking up. she has her own doll now. >> that's true. >> kate mania, i saw her for the first time yesterday in darwin up in the north of england. there were maybe for our 5,000 people there. she looked absolutely stunning and it really looked. the children shouted with excitement and we eastern heard crimes for the fill time in a long time. >> i thing that's true. there are rules that lay out the

protocol. just lay out the protocol, will you? >> the first one is guests must arrive at least 20 minutes before the ceremony begins at 20 minutes. you know how we try to avoid the cinema? >> there's none of that. you'll have to kick through everything. secondly, wearing cream or white, apparently the guests are not to do that as it may clash. are they letting in on a bit of a secret here? i now hold it. she holding her hand out first and you refer her as the majesty. and then after that, the ma'am. uniform morning suits if it mud mufd pip. with morning suits you munt wear

a hat in church. i can't think of anybody who would. my favorite is the cup and saucer. i have one here. according to the rules this is the cup and this is the sawer is. you drink from the cup. >> they have to tell you that too? yeah. it's all written down. knives and forex, we all remember the classic scene in julia roberts is explained to use a knife and fork. you work from the outside in and glasses. hope it by the stem. >> i'm listening to you. thanks, appreciate it. the real estate market is a nightmare but most americans still say buying the most is a

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rotten and ugly sums up just about every housing story we've told you but that has not stopping people from wanting their american dream. stephanie elam is out there. there are still believings out there. the question is why? >> i would imagine if you ask

homeowners the reason why they purchased a home, the fact is they like to know there's a place, a corner on this earth that belongs to them. that gives people comfort. if you take a look at the numbers, that doesn't sync up. 81% believe that homeownership is the best long-term investment. 850% say that their financial goals besides owning a home also include living comfortably in retireme retirement. what's interesting is that 40% of homeowners who still do own their homes they feel ownership. obviously it's no surprise that people 65 and older feel like homeown homeownership is the way to go. when you take a look at this. this is all despite the drop in housing prices we've seen since december. when you look at 1997 the median

price for a home was $219,000. now it's $156,000. that's a steep drop of 29%. there's a big of a disconnect. but i think for a lot of folks they were told by the parent, you know, you've got to own. owning is a way to go and that idea of homeownership sticking with a lot of people and i think because it's long term. >> they feel like eventually it will come back. >> even i feel that way. i hear stories about foreclosures. i hear what you say about the housing market. i once talked to a house expert at the height of the recession and he told me the best reason to buy a house is because you want a house, your own home. don't buy it because -- >> don't let that drive you. >> right. because it's likely you won't make a huge amount of money. >> i really think a lot of

americans feel there is a need to feel that that's their's. i feel like you. homeownership gives me a sense of security and most people plan to live in their homes for 10, 15, 20 years. therefore it doesn't matter about what's going on with home values. >> exactly. if you plan to buy a home, plan to stay in it for a long time. >> don't try to flip it. >> we're going to be talking about miss usa. i'm sure you heard being in touch with the cultural top issues person that you are, she's now wrestling. miss usa is now a potty mouth wrestler for the wwe. >> she's shaking things up. >> this is not the beauty queen of yore. she's quite different. i'm surprised they're letting her do it.

>> i know. i thought they only wanted world peace. it is half past the hour and time for interesting stories. this actor has a new role to prepare for. he's expecting a child with kimberly stewart, the daughter of rod stewart. they're not a couple but looking forward to the impending arrival. gas now just 21 cents under the $4 mark. they say gas and oil prices could derail the global recovery that's slowly taking root. in san francisco two baseball teams are united by tragedy. players for the dodgers and giants gathered around the family of brian stowe. he was wearing giants garb and beaten into a coma outside the stadium. >> we ask you to respect the

rivalry and respect each other as fans but in the last hour that riefbry ends on the field. >> they contributed money to a trust fund. he remains in the hospital and it's possible he has brain damage. police are now examining a human skull that may be the ninth set of remains links to a possible serial killer. cnn's allen cher nauf is in jones beach, new york off long island where the search for the bodies continues and they still don't have a suspect. what more are you learning? >> they believe this is targets prostitutes. earlier this morning they were searching swrie ya helicopter. there have been some very, very grizzly findings here on this barrier island of about 15 miles.

it's absolutely desolate and in your imagination you can think, well, this is certainly could be a place where somebody perhaps might drop a body. well, yesterday, there was a finding, first of all, a set of bobs and then several hours later about a mile and a half away the finding of a skull. so that is possibly the ninth and maybe even the tenth victim. we absolutely don't know whether these were victims of this serial killer. in the past few weeks more bosd found in adjoining suffolk county and back in december four additional bodies. eight thus far added to what was found yesterday. the four additional findings, they have been identified women working as prostitutes who han been advertising online on craigslist but the womans who

disappearance almost a year ago, chandra gilbert, her disappearance started the whole investigation. she's not yet been found and so police continue their search, continue their investigation to try to crack this case. carol? >> hopefully they will soon. allan chernoff live on long island. thanks so much. miss usa is looking yet for another title. >> miss usa, you got one more left in you? are you tough enough? >> but the smackdown and smack talk is causing quite a controversy. rima fakih joins us next. what's this option? that's new.

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she is the reigning miss usa and she's no stranger to a little controversy, but her appearance on a new reality show is raising eyebrows. >> today was the first time i took bumps. i didn't just take bumps. i took body slams as well. >> how's that mat feel, miss usa? give her another one. >> i'd say ouch. rima fakih joins us now in the newsroom. rima, welcome. >> thank you so much. >> this isn't the usual thing you see from miss usas. i mean what prompted you to want to do this?

like take part in a reality show and be a wwe wrestler? >> you know, a lot of individuals find it really hard to believe that i am a wrestling fan, and i guess i'm really thankful to be given the opportunity. i have to thank the organization for allowing me to do so. >> the reason this is raising some eyebrows is you were widely praised for being the first muslim-american to become the miss usa. we're seeing a tame clip right now but you let some curse words fly during the reality show and you xzibited some -- well, less-than-attractive behave. some might say this isn't the best example to set. >> well, you know, i have to say a lot of people don't see

everything. you're putting a lot from one week into the show. definitely there's no excuse and i apologize but you don't understand the attacks i had to face. the producers pull med aside when i got there and said, you do understand you're going be the underdog, you're a beauty queen, you have a stereotype. they're going to be what are you doing here. they're going to want you out of here. they're going to go after you. even the training, it's as good as you get. it's either fight hard or go home. >> you're not going to curse anymore, right? i know you did apologize for that. >> you know, i -- no. >> i actually looked it up. it says these women are savvy, goal-oriented and aware. they strive to advance their careers, personal and humanitarian goals and as women who seek to improve the lives of others. how is what you're doing now improving the lives of others? >> it's very simple. the fact that you won up when i

was the first miss usa, first arab-american, i was told multiple times the fact i'm muslim. you can't do this. same situation. you can't be tough because you're miss usa. in life you're going to have your supporters and detractors. at this point i'm going to do the same thing i did at the beginning of miss usa. you're going to see why. at the end of the show when the season is over, you're going to see exactly why i did this. going back to the organization, they really promote personal growth, being fearless, and breaking barriers, and i think that's what i'm doing on tough enough. >> i wouldn't want to be thrown around. >> it hurts, i have to tell you. even though yesterday i was watching the show and saying, oh, i remember that. i can still feel it in my back. >> say darn instead of the other words and it will be fine. >> going back to that point, i

just want to tell everyone. you don't see everything you. don't see the other attacks. the last thing i'm going to say is i'm not going to lehtonen disrespect my mother or my crown. >> thank you, rima. you go, girl. >> thank you. the clock is ticking toward the next presidential election, and that meaning growing criticism of the incumbent. coming to president obama's defense, his sister. >> i think it's a shame, and i think that my brother should definitely be president for a second term. and that's really all i have to say about it. >> but she does say more. stay with us for more of her interview with cnn's piers morgan. id refluxes into the esophagus. prilosec otc uses a unique delayed-release system that protects the medicine as it passes through the stomach's tough acid. then it gets absorbed into the body, turning off many acid-producing pumps at the source. with just one pill a day, you get 24-hour heartburn protection

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washington, d.c., mayor is out of jail after his arrest during a capitol hill protest. mayor vincent gray was among 41 people arrested as they demonstrated against some cuts in the federal budget deal. cnn political producer shannon travis is here with bhumuch, mu more on this story. >> like you just said, the mayor of washington is supposed to enforce the laws, not break them. but that's what mayor gray allegedly did. he said in this budget deal that avoided the shutdown last week that the city was thrown under the bus. you just had him -- we had him

on cnn the last hour. let's step back for a minute and explain to our viewers what's going on. washington, d.c., doesn't have final say, congress does. they also argue we don't have full representation in congress. in the budget deal, what happened in the budget deal was, if it's actually voted on, the district will not be able to spend any of its tax dollars that it raises to provide aborti abortions for low income women. it wants to have needle exchange funds. they wouldn't be able to do that. mayor gray who was arrested and released this morning said that's not fair, that washington, d.c., should have the right to say how money is spent in washington, d.c. but he'll be up against a brick wall with people, republicans that control the house. take a listen to what congresswoman michele bachmann

said last night. >> we're the one who decides how the money gets spent. bowe gzwlierks barack obama get nos money unless we give it to him. >> they're inflaming the washington, d.c., mayor. you may remember, carol, and our viewers as well that the d.c. delegate, eleanor holmes norton last week, said it's time for washington, d.c., residents to tell congress to, quote, go straight to hell. >> i remember that. mayor gray is not so happy. another thing to point out, washington, d.c., is a largely democratic city. what? 98% of voters voted for barack obama? >> that's right. >> of course, the thing here is it's because planned parenthood wasn't defunded, washington, d.c., sort of paid the price for that in getting their abortion funding blocked for low income

women. >> that's right. the mayor on our air says that he believes washington, d.c., was the political pawn, that because, as you just mentioned, that planned parenthood wasn't defunded, that democrats instead -- the lawmakers instead caved and used washington, d.c., as a political pawn according to nay yore. >> it's been going on forever. i don't think it's likely to change. thank you. we'll have your next political update in one hour. for a reminder, go to our website cnnpolitics.com. remember the brett favre texting scandal? how could you forget? one voice has been very quiet during the whole traumatic debacle until now. favre's accuser is speaking out. [ sneezes ] allergies?

you think i have allergies? you're sneezing. i'm allergic to you. doubtful, you love me. hey, you can't take allegra with fruit juice. what? yeah, it's on the label. really?

here, there's nothing about juice on the zyrtec® label. what? labels are meant to be read. i'd be lost without you. i knew you weren't allergic to me. [ sneezes ] you know, you can't take allegra with orange juice. both: really? fyi. [ male announcer ] get zyrtec®'s proven allergy relief and love the air®. beyonce is giving the first lady a boost in her attempt to tackle childhood obesity. the grammy winning pop star is receiving a new video called "let's move-flash workout." it will be released at dance-ins and middle schools across the country on may 3rd. don't be surprised when your

child starts dancing. the woman at the middle of the brett favre texting scandal is telling her story. she claims brett favre sent her voice mails and pictures back in 2008. she said she never met him and is not trying to make a dime off the situation. >> everybody knows out there in the public like that there's this perception of you that people automatically start to think, oh, she's a gold digger, she's a home wrecker. i'm none of those things. >> favre has admitted to leaving voice mails but not to leaving pictures of inappropriate parts of his body. the clock is ticking toward the next presidential election and that means growing criticism of the incumbent. coming to the president's

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taking a look at stories making news today, at noon eastern time, the president and vice president will speak kicking off their wives' national campaign to support and honor u.s. troops. the shut l