for us today. the mission to kilo sa ma bin laden, ten years in the making and one year later, a new objective takes place. i'm carol costello. u.s. intelligence officers are combing through the computer equipment and data seized from the pakistani compound where the al qaeda founder was hiding. they are searching for leads on other leaders or possible attack plats. a u.s. counterterrorism official says the haul was much larger tan they expected. bin laden relied more heavily on storage media such as cds or dvds. they say it is not clear who will replace bin laden, al qaeda had no clear succession plan in place. new details on the raid itself. president obama monitored many of the leaders to monitor the assault in real time.

there was live video and regular audio updates from the attack team. we want to take a closer look inside the compound where bin laden lived and died. we just got this video inside a kitchen. it shows the eery calm, no deck core rags on tcials on the wall. you will see the camera move down the hall into the doorway of one of the bedrooms. blood on the floor right here. then, the camera will go outside. you can see and you will see, rather, a vegetable garden. by the way, in that kitchen, the pantries were stocked with food. the sync sink was full of what d like eggs. we don't know why the wreckage, we think it may be from the navy

s.e.a.l.s in the raid. we understand there is a smaller building inside the compound. it was supposedly a sunroom where people could go and get some sun, because this little building had lots of windows. as you know, osama bin laden probably didn't go outside very much. we also have cnn's nick payton wash. he is outside the walled compound in the city of abbottabad. tell us more about the wall and the compound itself? >> the compound is a fair distance behind me over the trees. basically, most of the day, the police have sealed it off quite tightly keeping journalists away, scared of our attempts to film it. i believe they are still inside trying to get through what the americans left behind after that

raid. quite severe chaos right here. i understand those pictures were filmed earlier on today. still chaotic television. >> we do have pictures from pakistani television. maybe you can lend some perspectives to what we are seeing. can we put up the pictures from gotv. we are looking at medicines found in one of the rooms inside the house and a pair of slippers. can you explain further what this stuff means? >> reporter: i think this is all going to provide u.s. intelligence officials with this treasu treasure troth of information as to where he may have been and whom he may have spoken to and where he needed to get his medicines from in terms of working out his path. all those little things helping

them piece together where the rest of these are, the al qaeda network extends to. that's key. that's why the u.s. is so pleased with the treasure trove. the pakistanis are taking the second shift and going through what's left behind me. >> are pakistani and american authorities inside the compound? how does that work? >> reporter: the americans came in here undetected, dropped out of a helicopter, had a fire fight, took everything they could, put it back on the helicopter and flew out again before pakistani military could arrive. as far as they were concerned, this was an invasion from some hostile force. they didn't know americans were here. it is purely pakistani police and military securing the compound. we are not sure what they are doing. i am pretty sure they will be going through what the americans left behind trying to work out

how long they were here. >> the initial number we got as far as the people inside, was 22. what happened to some of the other folks? we know some were killed in the raid. others were in custody, right? >> reporter: there is not a huge amount of parody as to the number of people killed. they said eight or nine children are in custody and two women were there, one of whom was supposed to have been the wife of ben lad dein laden, who was y injured. i have heard there were four to five men including bin laden himself. there is this enormous number of children who are now in pakistani custody left behind by the american special forces. >> we don't know who the children belonged to. is it possible some of them

osama bin laden's children? >> reporter: it may have been his grandchildren. it is not completely clear. they say the raid was a surgical strike with little room for mistakes. barbara starr is at the pentagon with a closer look at the special opes mission and you have new details this morning. tell us. >> reporter: first, we want to start off by showing everybody a photograph. this was the u.s. helicopter left behind by the americans basically hanging on a fence wrecked. it suffered mechanical failure. all the commandos were able to get on another helicopter and leave. 40-minute raid, surgical strike. enormously successful that the mafrns got in and out without being detected. satellite photos show how complex that site was, quite large and significant compared to other compounds in the area.

then, we are going to put up and show you a schematic drawing of it. you can begin to see what they had to move through, 18-foot security walls. they went clearing it room by room and eventually got to this second entered floor of this center building that you see there behind another seven-foot wall. that's where they found osama bin laden. that's where he had been hiding out. the fire fight ensued. he was killed by a shot to the head and a shot to the chest, we are told. it i not clear -- as nick was saying, there is so much lack of clarity at this point. we don't know if he had a weapon in his hand or was firing or was reaching for a weapon. the u.s. officials are very adamant that he was resisting. >> we heard the ruemore he was using his youngest wife as a shield. we can't determine if that was

true, right? >> the troops in the room certainly know. they are writing their field reports and all of that information coming back to washington. i think it will be a few days before there is complete clarity as to what went on in the final minutes. i'm sure some people know whether they are going to release all the details publicly remains to be seen. these navy s.e.a.l.s. have very specialized weapons and tactics of doing what they do. they don't want to release a lot of information and give away a lot of trade secrets for the next time they have to do this. barbara starr, live at the pen to gone. before osama bin laden was buried at sea on sunday, they used special facial sam believing and dna. how did that work? >> people talk about dna sequencing. they think it takes a long time and is very tedious.

that's true. that's not what was done here. they are talking about dna matching. you and i, carol, we share more than 99% of our dna that's in common. when you match shlgs y, you are for things that are different. if you have dna from the person, that's how you establish a match. >> where did their dna come from? >> it is unclear. we don't know if there was existing dna they had collected somehow in the past or if it was from relatives, a child or parent would be the best recommend tif relatives. sib lidges and half siblings can work. >> they took the death photo and then what did they do? >> this is fascinating. nair are ai lot of existing pictures. that's the first thing you need. when you look at somebody's

face, you notice the width of their nose and the distance of their cheek bones. in aggregate, you need a pretty reliable image that can be duplicated as far as facial recognition software. you take the picture and cross-reference it to existing photographs. taking all those morf logical measurements into account, i get a pretty good likelihood. >> can you say we are 100% sure that is osama bin laden? >> probably not. they may say there is a 1 in 25 billion chaps that it is not. the population of the earth is a few billion. it is very unlikely. to say is 100%, probably not. osama bin laden wasn't the only prize in that compound. yes, u.s. forces took him out. they also took out years worth

of intelligence. next, we will talk about what kind of dirt the u.s. has on al qaeda and how valuable that dirt could be? the orders have been given. all they could do was watch. we will take you unside the white house situation room as the bin laden went down. the u.s. army core of engineers has started blowing up levees in a desperate attempt to save a midwest city. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] humble beginnings are true beginnings. they're character-building beginnings. ♪ they're hard work ethic beginnings. ♪ they're "appreciate what you've earned" beginnings. ♪ they are the purest way to gauge success. ♪

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it has been about 48 hours since osama bin laden went down. he is gone. the stuff he left behind in that compound could be the proverbial gift that keeps on giving, computer hard drives, cd roms, dvds and documents that could be loaded with priceless intelligence and al qaeda's plans and where the other leaders are. peter bergen calls it a treasure trove of information. it is now in u.s. hands. let's talk about that with cnn terrorism analyst paul crookshank. paul, welcome. >> hey, carol. >> how valuable is this stuff do you think? >> it could be very valuable, indeed. any time you seize hard drives and documents like this, al qaeda is a much more decentralized organization now than it was in the 1990s in taliban run afghanistan. it is unlikely this information

will lead to the complete unraveling of al qaeda's leadership. someone likeal za wary, believed to be in relatively close contact, perhaps even nearby, i think this could put ozawa in some. >> you would think he would move on. >> you think he would be making arrangements to change location wherever he is, somewhere in the settled areas of pakistan or the tribal areas, rugged terrain between afghanistan and pakistan, where a lot of the al qaeda encampmentes are. that's not known. these may provide some valuable answers. there could be some really,

really interesting information here. >> because the pakistani government has been embarrassed about this, will that put more pressure on them to help the united states find osama bin laden's number two sh. >> i think it puts more pressure and leverage on them. the united states has been careful not to call out pakistan publicly about this embarrassment that bin laden was on their soil. this does give the united states more leverage with pakistan. they clearly need to act in a greater way than they have done before. it has not moved into north waziristan. they are still plotting against the west. just last week, german authorities thwarted a very serious plot against the country. they were starting to experiment with bombs in germany. they are still plotting begins the west an the united states. even without bin laden there, we

are now in a period of many more danger, because there could be some sort of revenge attack. make no mistake, it is a huge blow to al qaeda. paul, thanks very much for joining us this morning. gas prices rise for the 42nd straight day. it puts the national average pennies away from a $4 average. we goal to the new york stock exchange to find out when we will hit that dreaded milestone. blowing up a levee to try to save a city. we will have the latest from cairo, illinois next. we're addi. increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible.

now, to the flooding in the midwest. the army core of engineers finally did it, they began to blow up the levees around cairo, illinois in a desperate attempt to save the city. >> now, the plan is to divert floodwaters from the ohio and mississippi rivers on to nearby farmland and then in the state next door, in missouri, 130,000 acres in missouri. i always say missouri. the first phase of the project went off without a hitch. more explosions are planned for today. cnn's rob march siano joins us .

>> reporter: they are saying, don't show me any more water. that's what they got when they blew up the levees and released that water in the farmland. that farmland is designed to take these waters when we get a situation like this. carol, we are at route 51, one of main roots into town. this has been blocked off with the national guard out here sandbagging for the past couple of days in the event that the mississippi river came unbreached in this area, which it was doing earlier. there is a confluence between the ohio and mississippi river. when you get those two rivers and you get all the rain we have seen the past couple of months, you have some problems. all that water wants to flow down south. there has been a lot of struck from your to manipulate the water. they had to relieve some of the pressure. the entire sit citi has bety ha evacuated. this is a historic number.

1937 is the last time we have seen the river this high. desperate times calls for de desperate measures. closer to the boot hill of massachusett mismissouri, there is more water heading that way. checking on news across country, arkansas rescue workers have found a group of missing boy scouts. six boy scouts and two leaders were camping in a remote area have o of a national forest. they were camping near a fatal area that killed 20 people. they are fine now. a california company is recalling grape tomatoes because of salmonella contamination. they were sold by six big retail chains in 13 western states. some of the recall dates have

already passed but not fully expire until may 9th. we did not want to hit $4 a gallon gas. alison kosik is following the money from the new york stock exchange. when do you think we will hit that $4 mark on average? >> carol, we knew this was coming. analysts say, get ready for gas. the top four, this week, is sitting at $3.97 a gallon. it is above $4 in 13 states in the usual places we talk about, alaska, hawaii, new york, california. what you see there. we are also finding that many midwestern states, carol, are also looking at $4 a gal. some refineries in that area shut down for maintenance. seven refineries were temporary shut down because of last week's tornadoes. the usually culprit, oil prices, is pushing up gas prices. prices typically rise ahead of the unofficial start to the

summer driving season, memorial day. one analyst is changing his tune saying that $5 a gallon gas is highly unlikely. >> the stock market doesn't seem to be suffering because of the high gas prices? >> no, but we are looking at a lower open today once the market opens in five minutes. we did have a strong april for stocks. you can thank earnings for that. investigators are getting worried whether or not these companies can sustain this growth. we are seeing that today in a couple of earnings. they issued disappointing forecasts. pre-market, they are down 2%. sears shares are down 7%. we will check out the market when it opens. >> alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. it was kept out of the loop when they swept in and took out osama bin laden. how is that playing in the nations between the two nations? >> as the nait may have s.e.a.l

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cnn is getting a closer look at the compound in pakistan where osama bin laden was found and killed. take a look. cnn got this video in just a short time ago. a running gun battle killed the al qaeda founder and four others. blood stains on the floor show where one of the victim's fell. it is believed he could have spent four or five years in this compound with enough supplies so that he would never have to leave. the cupboards were full. this is day two of the post osama bin laden world. u.s. intelligence officers are combing through the computer equipment and the data seized from the compound where bin laden lived and died. they could hold priceless intelligence on al qaeda's plans and where the other leaders are right now. remember the $25 million bounty on bin laden?

it is not clear how much or if any will get paid out. we know there are photographs of bin laden's body with a gunshot wound to the head. pakistan's president is defending his country against suggestions that some of his government was aware of the whereabouts. the raid throwing light on tensions between the two nations. let's head to london with our zain verjee. you just spoke to former secretary of state, condoleezza rice about this. >> i just spoke to her a short while ago. she said, the u.s. needs pakistan and cooperates with pakistan when it comes to countercri counterterrorism. that is important. she had some pretty sharp words for pakistan. she said, they need to explain how osama bin laden could have hidden in plain sight without key officials knowing about it. she said, we need to know what happened and it raises some

pretty serious internal questions within pakistan. she oodadded after i said this kind of embarrassing for pakistan. she said, it is not a good thing for packston or for us. the relations between the u.s. and pakistan over the past few months have been pretty tense. it has come down to a question of trust. one thing to keep in mind always when you are talking about u.s. pakistan relations is the nuclear issue here. the u.s., particularly washington, has in its psyche, the fear of one day, islamic radicals taking over and getting control of that nuclear button. pakistan knows this. so they know that they can use that as leverage against the u.s. >> the pakistani government seems to be reaching out to the united states and the american people to sort of repair the damage. there was an op ed in the newspaper from the president of pakistan saying, look, we are on your side.

without us, you couldn't have landed those helicopters at that compound and broke in and killed osama bin laden. >> they still have pretty tough questions to answer. the world's spotlight is on pakistan and asking them to explain themselves. so president zadari wrote this saying that some in the u.s. president have suggested that lacked vitality. so really batting away criticism. the fact of the matter is, there are many that believe that elements within the pakistani

military and intelligence apparatus that must have been aware that osama bin laden was there and was historically with these groups. it is a very murky walk they have to navigate when it comes to u.s. intelligence. as the navy s.e.a.l.s. broik down the compound, a handful of people watched it live. you can only imagine what it was like in the white house situation room sunday. you will all of these officials, including the president of the united states, watching the raid from washington as it went down in pakistan. what was that like? >> reporter: this was something that actually played out throughout the day, carol. preparations began in "the situation room" sunday morning. then, you had the principle players, secretary of state, secretary of defense, the chairman of the joint chiefs. you see all of them in a photo, in some of the photos that we

have been seeing with president obama, with vice president biden, along with this photo right here that you are looking at right now. you see the president's top national security and countercrism officials as well. some of these principle players were in "the situation room" at the beginning of the day. then, he left the situation room and came back. what were they looking at? are we talking about video monit monitors? were we talking about audio? they were getting real time updates. what does that mean. there are still questions that don't have answers and may not. >> satellite imagery can do pretty amazing things technologically. they must have seen one of the helicopters malfunction as it landed near the compound and the navy had to dispose of it.

when they saw that or heard about that, they must have been going crazy, because they didn't know what happened. >> this was a hugely tense moment we are told. overall, the entire operation, one of the most anxiety-filled periods in the lives of all of the people in this room. that is coming from john brennan, the president's counterterrorism chief. he said minutes passed like days. people were holding their breath, speaking about president obama specifically. he was particularly concerned about the safety of the s.e.a.l.s. there on the ground. it makes you wonder, what about the moment where they realized they had osama bin laden. was there an aha moment? john brennan said there was a growing confidence that there was the visual identification, and the height was correct on osama bin laden and more confidence and when the

preliminary dna came in, that was certainly when people had a sense that they had gotten the right guy. they could breath a sigh of relief. >> i don't mean to make light of it. it just so reminds me of the series 24. it just does. it is just surreal. >> reporter: it is very surreal. it makes you wonder if it did play out like something that you would see on tv. i don't think we are going to get all of those details unfo h unfortunately. in the popular imagination, it does play out like that. beyond all the back spl slapping, we are hearing politicians praising their side. is this going to get you go sfli partisan? a baseball fan says the game changed from one of the most boring he had ever seen to one he will never forget, not because of what happened on the field but what happened half a world away. we will talk to the guy who helped spread the world about

bin laden's death at a baseball stadium. that's just ahead. [ woman speaking chinese ] thank you. do you have an english menu? no english. [ speaking chinese ] [ gasps, speaks chinese ] do you guys like dumplings? i love dumplings. working with a partner you can trust is always a good decision. massmutual -- let our financial professionals help you reach your goals.

we saw touching displays of unity after sunday night's announce. politics is starting to color the takedown of osama bin laden. we also have to remember it was president bush who brought

khalil shake mohammed into the open and told the american people that he was bringing him there and so many of these efforts that we made early on evolved during the bush administration. >> some might say that is absolutely true. john avlon, a cnn contributor and senior political columnist for "newsweek" and the daley beast. george w. bush does deserve some credit and president obama deserves some credit. should this really evolve into politics as usually? no. this is a time for patriotism, not the party shisan ship. we are entering into a presidential campaign. i do think the memory the country is feel willing about

that warm unity we had after 9/11, we have been seeing the side show dominating the debate. these are times for serious people. the president rose to that level. >> you talk about the side show. rush limbaugh came out with a line saying, thank god for rush limbaugh. if you take a look at his website, he meant, congratulations, mr. president, for continuing the bush anti-terror policy. you can see these talk show hosts and talking heads on the various cable networks and probably some including ours right here at cnn. you are going to hear that a lot. there is no way to stop it, is there? >> i think there i. the american people's appetite is running out. this is about something much bigger, a moment of presidential leadership. the president's position to not

bomb the compound but go in with a strike force. the president will be able to say he was able to kill bin laden and wind down the iraq war. these are american victories. there is continuity from the bush policy in many aspects. one of the reasons that foreign policy has been one of the areas president obama has done best at in terms of approval. we need to raise the debate and elevate the debate. there is the opportunity to do that if responsible voices prevail and we don't degenerate into the usually carnival barker sniping. i am optimistic. not any point in being anything else, carol. >> in all seriousness, it is such a great moment for america. we should saver it and try to translate it into elevating the debate. we have to try to figure out ways to define the common ground

and built on it. a reset opportunity for the american people. you can get more from john avlon at cnn.com/opinion. his latest piece is called "saver th "savor this moment in the name of 3,000." we will talk politics with frank lautenberg. that interview in 40 minutes. taking a look at stories making the news later today, president obama recognizes merrill high school chemistry teacher as the teacher of the year. britain's prince charles making a three-day visit to the states, his first since 2007. he is at the british ambassador's residence for a wounded warrior event.

it is 6:15 eastern. from the state capital in montgomery, alabama, governor bentley talks about the tornado destruction and response. it will be televised at 7:15 in alabama, 6:15 eastern. the atlanta hawks, josh smith, complains his team doesn't get any love. everybody talks about the heat, the celtics and the lakers and now the hawks have to start a second-round series and their star guard against the chicago bulls. rose makes the spin move and goes on to score, oh, count them, 24 points. the hawks joe johnson outscored the league's expected mvp. johnson finished with 34 points. the hawks are on the nba radar now. they beat the bulls in chicago, 103-95. ko

kobe bryant has time to win. the teams keep playing. more sports in 20 minutes. a blogger at the phillies game sunday night checked his c icnn.com app and said that osam bin laden had been killed. when he tried to alert other fans, they thought he was nuts. if you ask a parent, they might call it intuitive. if you ask a musician, they might call it inspiring. to a doctor, it's groundbreaking. to a ceo, it's powerful.

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where were you when you heard that osama bin laden had been killed? 45,713 people were at citizens bank part sunday for the philadelphia phillies new york mets game. not all were still around when the news spread about bin laden's killing. many who were launched into chants of usa, usa. jerry brennan was there, a writer for chicot.com. welcome. >> how are you doing? >> you had a cnn app on your iphone. >> what happened was the game w was boring.

i checked facebook and saw that the president had a big announcement at 10:30. we were pretty scared because we didn't know what was going to happen. we just have a buddy that signed up for the national guard and two days later, the president is making a big announcement. we were actually kind of nervous. so i went to my cnn.com app on my phone and kept checking it and waiting for the announcement. i guess it was around 10:40 that we saw that osama bin laden was killed. so i yelled out to the section around me, bin laden, he is dead. we killed him. >> which is dangerous to do at a phillies' game, because people probably looked at you and thought you were drunk? >> that's exactly what happened. a guy was, all right, buddy, have another beer. i didn't have one beer. i said, it is real, we killed him. we got him. probably about five, ten minutes later, the sections 204-206 in

right field started chanting usa, usa. at that point, a lot of the stadium still wasn't sure what was going on. i actually noticed the phillies second baseman, pete orr, he was looking back. the left field bleachers started chanting usa and people starting checking their phones and you watched people getting text messages and stuff around me. the phillies made a pitching change. before you knew it, when antonio vistaro came to the mound therks were chanting usa, usa. >> what did that feel like? >> to be honest with you, it felt like a sense of relief. i felt thankful to the military for it, because a lot of times, you hear how the war is going on and people might not know about it or might not care about it. i just felt good for everybody who fights in the military, because i

it's a 1-1 game, it's phillies/mets rivalry and at that point nobody cared about that, it was all about the military. i felt great for them that they were getting the recognition that they deserved. >> jerry, thanks for sharing your story. appreciate it. another sign of the power of social media to repel the bin laden story. twitter says uses were sending off 5,106 tweets second as the story broke. that makes the volume of tweets the second high nest history. the record set was in january when japan brought in the new year. rivers bursting at seems, 800 mile stretch of the mississippi river is flooding and expected to crest later in the week. mom! ♪ i know i can count on you ♪ sometimes i feel like saying... ♪ mom! mom! ♪ ...see me through [ male announcer ] you know mom.

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checking stories making news cross-country. people in parts of the midwest are bracing for possible record flooding. officials say the situation has become critical. the worst in about 85 years. 800 miles of the mississippi river are flooding, it's expected to crest in many areas later this week. in alabama, people are struggling to recover from last week's devastating tornadoes,

more than 400,000 people still without power. 36 alabama counties have been declared federal disaster areas. following a lot of developments in the next hour of the "cnn newsroom," let's check in first with jeanne meserve in washington. >> reporter: a threat of retribution for the death of osama bin laden has surfaced. law enforcement and intelligence is frantically analyzing information looking for possible threats, including a wealth of information gathered from that house where osama bin laden was found. i'll have that story at the top of the hour. >> reporter: i'm brian todd in washington with osama bin laden gone, there are still several dangerous al qaeda operative whose could step to the fore and take his place. we'll tell you who they are next hour. hi, i'm zain verjee in london, i'll tell you what newspapers around the world are saying about the future of u.s./pakistan relations. >> thanks to all of you. can you remember a time when people were -- when so many

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to take it easy early on, save up energy. lost the first game in the first round of the playoff series, last night they had a 16-point lead but found themselves down one, with under ten seconds left. pau gasol trying to get the ball to kobe bryant turns it over. now the last chance for the lakers. where kobe's money. no. the three and the win doesn't go. dallas 96-94, takes game one. the sacramento kings won't be moving down south to challenge the lakers for supremacy, at least not yet. they'll stick around one more year to give them one chance to come up with a plan for the arena. the mayor, kevin johnson. if they can't make it happen, kings will likely move to orange county, giving the l.a. area three teams, lakers, clippers and then the kings. nhl, philadelphia's danny briere, point blank, the last shot to win it, no.

right in front open net. he misses. puck goes right on the stock. flyers and bruins go to overtime. 14 minutes in, david krejci takes the pass. he shoots, and scores, or does he? some bruins raise their arms celebrating, but play goes on. then they stop things. play is reviews. camera above the goal doesn't lie. that is a goal. bruins score 3-2. they go up 2-0 in their series. well, is it kentucky derby week in louisville, and that means more mint juleps like the annual great bed race. teams push drivers on beds on wheels competing not just for best time but the bestout youth fits and beds. it's nice to win but lose really badly. playing attention to whoever got the worst time. and there was also, what was it a cone-eater award. >> i was going to ask you. >> who ate the most cones. they didn't need to try, but they were knocking them all

down. >> thank you, jeff. we needed that bit of brightness. appreciate it. >> absolutely. >> the mission to kill osama bin laden ten years in the making, and now one day later, a new objective takes shape. good morning to you. welcome to our continuing coverage. i'm carol costello. the u.s. intelligence officers are combing through computer equipment and data seized from the pakistani compound where the al qaeda lead was hiding. searching for possible attack plots. we'll take a closer look at those threats. a u.s. counterterrorism official says the hall was larger than expected since the compound had no phone or internet service. bin laden relied on storage media like cds and dvds. a cnn source says it is not clear who will replace bin laden because al qaeda had no clear succession plan in place. let's begin this hour with compelling, new information on the raid itself. a special ops force burst into

bin laden's compound, president obama watched the assault unfold. live. 7,000 miles away. is it a remarkable twist in this developing story. cnn's brianna keilar is at the white house. you have new details and new pictures to show us. take it away. >> reporter: yeah, some photos that the white house has officially released. and we heard from the president's counterterrorism chief, jim brennan, that for the people in "the situation room" this was one of the most anxiety-filled moments of their lives. watching this operation unfold, getting real-time updates. of course you had secretary hillary clinton, secretary gates, secretaries of state and of defense, along with vice president biden, accompanying the president. you also had his top counterterrorism and national security advisers in that room. and brennan said that there were times where people were holding their breath. he said, minutes were passing like days. and he recalled specifically the president being concerned for the safety of those navy s.e.a.l.s.

what about if there was some of an aha moment it became clear bin laden had been captured? brennan said there wasn't one. he described a growing confidence. at first there was the visual identification of bin laden. that was one thing. then the height matched out. and then they had the preliminary dna analysis that had them pretty certain or had them very certain that osama bin laden was their bin and they could breathe a sigh of relee, carol. >> they had the pictures and they had the dna analysis and it's all done. but there are some still demanding that the white house release this photo of the dead bin laden to prove, once and for all that he is indeed dead. will that photo ever be released? >> we know they're considering it. i think it's important to note that the white house hasn't ruled it out. we heard brennan say that certainly some people would desire visual proof, but he feels that people are convinced that osama bin laden is, indeed, dead, that you don't necessarily need that photo out there to prove to them. and of course with the white house weighing right now is

whether that would create kind of a propaganda tool to put out what is no doubt would be a very gruesome photo of a dead osama bin laden. then when it comes to the actual burial at sea, it's unclear at this point, carol if there is video of that if there are still photos of that, let alone if this administration would want to release those. >> brianna keilar, live at the white house. it has been nearly two days since americans first learned that bin laden was dead. the initial euphoria has faded and many americans are now facing sobering concerns that al qaeda could strike back and retaliation. cnn's jeanne meserve shows us the intelligence and law enforcement communities are on heightened alert. >> reporter: at the pentagon memorial to 9/11 victims the parents of chris romeo celebrated bin laden's death with champagne. >> he's gone. >> reporter: throughout government the celebration is tempered by concerns at what

al qaeda, its affiliates or sympathizers might do next. >> it may be a mortally wounded tiger that still has some life in it and it's dangerous, and we need to keep up the pressure. we cannot relent because there are individuals in that organization that are determined to try to carry out attacks and murder innocent men, women, and children. >> reporter: there is no specific, credible information about a possible counterpunch, so the department of homeland security has not raised the threat level. but security in some places was ramped up anyway. in new york, for instance, where bin laden struck his deadliest blow. >> there are no specific threats against new york city as of this moment, but we certainly are not taking any chances. our assumption is that bin laden's disciples would like nothing better than to avenge his death by another attack in new york. >> reporter: and on the d.c. metro system -- >> this increase is not related to any specific threat to our system, rather than it is out of

an abundance of caution. >> reporter: but elsewhere, officials took a wait and see attitude. in los angeles, for instance. >> if the need arises, we will change our posture. but thus far, our posture remains the same. >> reporter: even if aviation, which al qaeda and its affiliates have attacked repeatedly, some passengers saw no signs of increased security. >> there don't seem to be any problems. i don't see any armed guards around. >> reporter: meanwhile, intelligence community task force is sifting through what's called a reburst collection of materials found at the compound where bin laden was killed. officials hope it will lead them to other members of al qaeda. >> al qaeda is something in the past and we're hoping to bury the rest of al qaeda along with bin laden. >> homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve is in the washington room. any specific threats at all. >> reporter: one surfaced from from the pakistani taliban, a leader of that says we shall

definitely take revenge on america. carol? >> but no action? i was curious as to why they wouldn't raise the threat level. >> reporter: well, you know, they just changed that whole threat alert warning system, and the secretary, secretary napolitano said, they will only raise it if they have very specific intelligence. at this point in time they are looking for that intelligence, the intelligence and law enforcement communities are carefully analyzing communications, movements, all sorts of things to see if they come up with something. at this point in time new york specific threat information that would trigger that warning system, carol. >> jeanne meserve, live in washington, thank you. also new this morning, video from within the bin laden compound. it provides an eerie glimpse into the refuge where he lived and died. nick peyton walsh is near that compound. can you describe the city for us, nick? >> reporter: absolutely. i mean, this does not look like a city, frashgly, which recently

discovered the world's most-wanted man was living inside it. when we arrived here this morning, very calm, life going on, frankly, as normal. behind me, over the trees, is the compound in question. i think it's also important to point out, a massive military town, just over there we have two or three substantial military bases and academies. and that's fueling some of these suggestions that pakistanis -- pakistan security establishment, must have known something about bin laden being lehere. looking at house where he lived for so long, it is not that indiscrete. it has obviously big walls, security, but that's not abnormal for wealthy pakistanis living in this part of the world. absolutely abbottabad, its place in history most assured the place where bin laden was killed but not reeling from that as such. >> we have some video that we're showing our viewers now from inside that house. we see blood on the floor, briefly in the kitchen where the

sink is full of food, the pantries are supposedly full. can you tell us what else besides those cds and dvds that american officials already xf skat confiscated, what else was inside that house? >> reporter: we're talking about a treasure trove, seeing the pictures on the floor, the standard things of daily life, food, possessions, clothing, that sort of thing, strewn on the floor in the video that we had filmed by a third party in that particular compound. these are all part of the clues which the united states will be combing through. they swept up an awful lot in the 14 minutes he they were there. an awful lot left behind. video suggesting the pakistanis have not begun the forensic cleanup and hovering up every possible detail that bin laden left behind of his lifestyle. they're keeping the compound themselves. media kept at arm's length. out to the gate recently but not inside to cease this monumentous

billing. >> the ones that survived, where they are now? >> reporter: i don't know the token number inside that building, that remains unclear. i know that senior pakistani intelligence sources saying there were eight to nine children, now in their custody who were inside that house. also saying two women were inside the house, one we believe from u.s. officials to have been bin laden's wife, who was injured in the firefight. we're also talking about four to five men apparently there as well. that figure could be larger. some reports suggesting as many as 22 people inside the compound when the u.s. launched their operation, carol. >> and the other thing i'm wondering about, those people in custody in pakistan, what might -- not the children, but what might happen to the adults they have in custody? will they be charged with anything, do you suppose? >> reporter: i have to tell you, i don't know that. yes, on the pakistani due process they will eventually face charges. i'm not sure what they could be

charged with, living in a house with bin laden, not sure if that's a crime or assisting some act of terrorism or insurgency here. i imagine they'll be held in custody for some period of time, looking at what information they can provide the pakistanis or perhaps the americans, if cooperation is functioning again. but certainly, yes, these eight or nine children in custody now, exactly who they are, how they came to be in the compound, unclear. pakistani officials confirming eight or nine children in their custody. >> nick peyton walsh, thanks so much. american intelligence officials didn't trust the pakistani government enough to reveal it's plans to take out bin laden. two days after the world's most sought after terrorist was killed by u.s. commandos both sides trying to soothe rankled feelings. what are the headlines out of the middle east? what are the newspapers saying? >> reporter: well, let's go straight to the united arab emirates. this is the national and this is the headline why, was bin laden exposed so far from his base of

power? they have a guest editorial where a former pakistani infantry officer says, those who might believe that any cooperation in this operation between the united states and pakistan will improve bilateral relations are doomed to be disappointed. here, too, it will be business as usual. and then, check out gulf news. its headline "terror kingpin's deadly legacy to live on." it goes on to say, the danger now is the manner in which bin laden died, fighting off u.s. secret forces as they stormed his home, will lead some to believe that he's a martyr and to take revenge. and then, carol, let's take a look at the jerusalem post. the headline reads "the symbol is dead, but the global network lives on." the article says, al qaeda has become a world view to which anyone can subscribe and in whose name anyone can act. it stopped relying on its centralized leadership in

afghanistan and pakistan years ago. carol, that's going to create many more challenges and already has for the united states, because al qaeda has really morphed into so many different entities, it's become to diffuse that even if you cut bin laden's head off, the top of al qaeda, it's still the various entities in which it functions within and all of the different parts of the world makes a dangerous threat and tougher for the u.s. >> right. there are so many other terrorist groups throughout as well. zain verjee, live in london, thank you. now that osama bin laden is gone, there is a leadership vacuum at the top of al qaeda. who could take over as head of the world's most hated organization? we'll take a look at the possible successors. can you remember a time when people were so happy euphoric is more like it, to hear about someone's violent death? that is okay in osama bin laden's case? we'll take a closer look at that later. i'm chef michael,

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for most people, for a decade now, al qaeda and osama bin laden were one in the same. now that he's gone, the terror group's got a serious leadership vacuum. cnn's brian todd looks who might fill bin laden's shoes. >> reporter: with al qaeda decapitated, experts believe this is now a terror network in

crisis. what kind of a hole is al qaeda in now as far as leadership is concerned? >> they've been in a hole for some time. they've suffered a lot of operational setbacks because of things like predator strikes, operational leadership is decimated. now the spokesman is gone. >> reporter: phillip mudd, former cia officer and counterterrorism official, says osama bin laden is irreplaceable. with so many jihadists having to look to bin laden for operational direction, for inspirational command, filling his void will be a disjointed, messy understaking. al zawahiri, ledge dare leader on the run since september 11th and al awlaki, american-borne cleric a key leader in al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. experts say both are capable, but also have drawbacks that bin laden didn't have. al zawahiri has the strategic background to lead the network, but analysts say he lacks bin

laden's charisma and -- >> viewed as a polarizing figure, not easy to deal with, not a good manager. >> al awlaki is seen as a master recruiter, internet sensation who inspired the christmas day airline plot and at tempted cargo bombing last year. his achille's heel. >> awlaki is not a fighter. he's a cleric, he's a speaker, and not a fighter. and al qaeda, over the years, have wanted to be led by a fighter. >> credentials bin laden had from his years battling the soviets in afghanistan. but other dangerous figures could surface, including saif al adel, al qaeda's chief of staff, believed to have played a key role in 1998 african embassy bombings. al libbi once a battlefield commander in afghanistan who rose to prominence from bagram. and a well-connected bin laden favorite, mastermind of a plot

last year to target europe. it will take a herculean effort for any of them to manage the network like bin laden did. >> they don't have anybody now who will have the star power, the brand name of bin laden, and it's not good to have six people trying to fill in his shoes. >> reporter: analysts say if no leader steps to the fore immediately it doesn't make al qaeda less dangerous. at least in the short term, they say, look for the threats to spike as the network seeks to avenge bin laden. >> brian todd joins us from washington. brian, other potential al qaeda leaders would be hard pressed to bring in the same kind of money that bin laden did, right? >> reporter: that's right, carol. that's something that's not talked about right way in these days after bin laden's death. he was a really effective funnel for cash for al qaeda for many, many years. he had wealthy saudi contacts who would send him money, he had family connections from a very wealthy saudi family, and most of his family had cut him off but he had some family members who would be able to kind of

facilitate him getting a lot of cash from saudi arabia. so that may dry up a bit. experts say a lot of the funding for al qaeda may shift toward that one wing of al qaeda that we mentioned in the piece, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula because they've proved effective in launching attacks, launching plots. but other al qaeda affiliates may see cash dry up now that bin laden is out of the scene. >> makes you wonder who built -- who funded the $1 million house he was hiding in in pakistan. maybe that will come out. brian todd, live in washington. after the killing of osama bin laden the country of pakistan is the taliban's number one target. leaders have been praised by leaders in the united states but one senator wants the u.s. to withhold aid to pakistan, american aid, i should say, until he hears answers from the pakistani government. the senator and his questions, next. [ banker ] mike and brenda found a house that they really wanted. it was in my sister's neighborhood. i told you it was perfect for you guys. literally across the street from her sister.

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the point is that he has been eliminated in a successful operation by the united states. >> which -- >> and pakistan hasek pressed satisfaction at the conclusion of the operation. and any questions about intelligence failures will be addressed by us jointly. as i said, only two or three days ago in your program, we are allies. we want -- >> why didn't the u.s. trust pakistan to share anything about this operation until all of those u.s. troops were out of your airspace? >> the united states didn't share information on this operation with the australians, the british, canadians. it did not because president -- >> pakistan, not australia or britain -- >> my point is the united states made a critical decision. president obama decided the success of the operation was far more important than niceties and that said -- >> even those helicopters were flying back to afghanistan, or to -- they still didn't tell you until you were -- they were completely out of your airspace. >> pakistan and the united

states have a lot of things to work out, as we move forward. >> now the one thing pakistan does not have to work out is which country is at the top of the taliban's target list. in an op-ed pakistan's president wrote, only hours after bin laden's death the taliban reacted by blaming the government of pakistan and calling for retribution against its leaders and specifically against me as the nation's president. we will not be intimidated. pakistan has never been, and never will be, the hotbed of fanaticism that is often described by the media. keep in mind the united states gives about $3 billion to pakistan every year and so far, in 2010 the u.s. spent more than $1.5 billion in nonmilitary aid to pakistan. senator frank lautenberg a member of the homeland security subcommittee. the senator thinks maybe we ought to rethink sending any money to pakistan until some very important questions are answered. thanks for joining us, senator.

appreciate it. >> glad to be here. >> so what sorts of things should the leaders of pakistan stay to you, say to the u.s. government, that would answer your questions adequately? >> well, they can say it to me or to the administration, but we have to find out what it is that they're up to. are they on our side all the time, because this morning i heard a couple of comments coming from mr. musharraf, who used to be president, questioning the trust that the united states wants to place in pakistan. i think that's relatively speaking observed. here's this building, all they needed was a neon sign to be identified. a giant building in the middle of lots of military activity and this comes as a surprise? it doesn't -- it doesn't test well. and we want to find out what the real truth is. >> the obama administration has said, you know, despite the questions that have to be

answered by the pakistani government, without pakistan's help, the united states could never achieved what it did by killing osama bin laden, after all, we landed military helicopters in pakistan. doesn't pakistan deserve some credit for that? >> well, they might get some, but we ought to find out how much credit they're due. we know how much cash they're looking for but we also ought to find out what the credit they get, how much is deserved. this really staggers the imagination. that all of this was going on, here was a man who killed almost 3,000 americans in a single day, killed other americans in tanzania, and in kenya, and we did what we had to do, and we ought to get plaudits, and not criticism if that's what they're trying to do. >> do you think we should suspend giving any money to pakistan until certain questions are answered? >> i think we should hold up any

funding. the year's not there yet. it has not begun yet. but i think that we ought to find out exactly what their role was. they don't have to tell the public and they don't have v. to tell me, but they have to tell someone we trust, like president obama and the administration. >> senator lautenberg, thanks for joining us this morning. appreciate it. focusing on the war on terror after bin laden's death, condoleezza rice has an answer to those seeking a quicker u.s. pullout in afghanistan. we'll hear from the former secretary of state next. [ male announcer ] in 2011, at&t is at work, building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible.

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this is day two of the post-osama bin laden world. a quick look at what's happening now. u.s. intelligence officers combing through the computer equipment and the data seized from the compound where bin laden lived and died. they could hold priceless intelligence on al qaeda's plans and where other leader are. remember the $25 million bounty on bin laden? it's not clear how much, or if any, will get paid out. and we know there are photographs of bin laden's body with a gunshot wound to the head. the u.s. government has not decided if it's going to make the picture public. the pictures of the burial at sea, those might be released today. a government official says the final decision has not been made. the death of osama bin laden will likely have a significant impact on the war on terror. earlier this morning, zain verjee spoke with former secretary of state condoleezza rice about one key battlefront.

zain joins us live from london. what did she say? >> we talked about afghanistan and the fact that there is so much debate right now on whether there's going to be more pressure on president obama to now pull u.s. troops out of afghanistan, a lot faster than previously intended now that osama bin laden isn't there anymore. mission accomplished. i asked condoleezza rice this question. listen to her response. >> should president obama order u.s. troops out faster? >> no. look, we are making some progress in afghanistan. we're about to send one of the best foreign service officers i've ever known, ryan crocker, to be the ambassador there. we can help the afghans have strong security forces that can prevent the taliban from being an existential threat and help them get more decent governance, and then the united states will have finished its job. i think we're very much on the road to doing that and we can't

afford to let afghanistan return to its failed state. >> she also had some pretty sharp words for pakistan, saying what everyone else is saying as well, how could osama bin laden have hitten in plain sight without key high-ranking officials in pakistan even knowing? she said it raises a lot of serious questions for pakistan, and they need to take a long, hard look at their own internal situation. >> zain verjee, live in london. many thanks. the army corps of engineers has begun blowing up level i haves in a desperate attempt to save cairo, illinois. joining us by phone, jim poe, spokesman for the u.s. army corps of engineer. welcome. >> good morning. >> is it working? you're blowing holes in the levees, right? how big are those holes? >> yeah. this is all part of the plan that has been in place since the

1920s, and was actually used once in 1937 successfully. the upper opening in the levee is two miles wide, and that's what we did last night. and that is allowing water to flow into the 130,000-acre floodway designed for this purpose. we're in the process now of completing the preparations to open up two additional openings in the levee at the south end of the floodway, each a mile wide. we expect to detonate those two later today. but the project is working. about was intended, in the first hour, the river levels dropped about a half foot, and as of 6:00 this morning it was down a little bit more than a foot. >> the people of cairo are happy about this but the people of missouri are not. 130,000 acres is fertile farmland that if you flood that

land there, you'll destroy the farmland. >> well, that's -- that's what made the decision so difficult for general walsh, the president of the mississippi river commission, who had that responsibility, he said its and a heart wrench decision but the reality is the pressures on the flood risk management system, the system of levees and flood walls in this area was so great, and all of the criteria for operating the floodway had been met, and he really had no choice but to go ahead and order it be operated. >> we hope it continues to work. jim pogue, from the army corps of engineer, many thanks for joining us this morning. like the rest of us, celebrities have a lot to say about the demise of the most wanted terrorist. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was.

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from the headlines to the big screen, hollywood is already trying to figure out how the death of osama bin laden will play out in a theater near you. "showbiz tonight" host, a.j. hammer, live in new york. you're kidding? >> well, really, carol, the hollywood treatment of bin laden's killing is inevitable because you need to remember, there were already movies in the works about the search for the al qaeda leader. the oscar-winning director of the hurt locker already working on a film tentatively titled "killing bin laden" all about the search for bin laden in the early days of the afghanistan conflict. no word yet on exactly what they plan to do with that film at this point. but i assume they're going to advance the story. and while the real story will

undoubtedly get the big screen treatment, i think this is a story line, a concept that we're going to see pop up in a lot of plot lines in forthcoming films and tv shows. and as a lot of people noted, carol, this whole thing plays out like an episode of "24." who knows, maybe it will inspire the "24" film. jack bauer against bin laden. >> i love anything jack bauer does, so it would work for me. what has the reaction been like to hollywood in the news, anyway? >> hollywood's been reacting to the news like the rest of the country, some relief, excitement, and, yeah, plenty of jokes as well. they were inevitable, too. last year in new york city, we asked a few stars for their reaction. fergie from the black-eyed peas gave us a thoughtful take but some other stars were more glib. let's take a look. >> i think all of the new yorkers who had found these in 9/11 are very happy that justice was served and although for me

it's hard to praise the death of someone. i think that a lot of people have lost a lot of lives and a lot of family members in new york and i just feel for that. >> i think obama, first of all, he got osama bin laden, and he also cut off -- >> the breaking news preempted the conclusion of celebrity apprentice on sunday. while certainly not intentional, carol, nobody would suggest that. obama within the course of a few days managed to stump trump. >> i couldn't help but notice trump was next to fergie. would have been interesting. >> he's everywhere. >> a.j., many thianks. a.j.'s got it tonight on "showbiz tonight," 5:00 p.m. eastern and 11:00 p.m. on hln. time for sports. the nhl playoffs.

philadelphia's danny briere is a point per game guy in the playoffs. taking the last shot, right in front open net, and he misses. puck goes right under the stick. flyers and the bruins go to overtime. second round series, 14 minutes in, david krejci takes the pass, shoots, and you see he scores. but does he? bruins raised their arms. play goes on. time is eventually called for review. watch this. the camera does not lie. bruins score. they win, 3-2. they're up 2-0 in the series. the a's hosting the rangers. godzilla strikes. that's hideki matsui starting slowly. boy, does he get all of that. a walk-off homer. matsui's teammates come out to greet him. as the a's win, 5-4. one analyst says the raid -- now we're on to serious news. one analyst says the raid that killed osama bin laden was the most historic in america's 235

years. had it gone poorly it could have been a disaster on many levels, but as you know it was a huge success. and it could be the defining moment of barack obama's presidency. ♪ do you believe in magic?

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remember the failed operation to rescue american hostages in iran? it was a disaster that left eight american troops dead, and probably sealed president jimmy carter's fate in the 1980 election. the raid to kill osama bin laden had a much different outcome and right now at least it could be the defining moment in barack obama's presidency. more now from cnn's candy crowley. >> reporter: ten years and more than 7,000 miles from new york city, shanksville, pennsylvania, and the pentagon, u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s raided a mansion complex in abbottabad, pakistan, delivering the moment. >> after a firefight, they killed osama bin laden, and took custody of his body. >> reporter: it was breathtaking, and the moment of barack obama's presidency so far. criticized as naive and timid in foreign policy, president obama was steely in the crunch arc proving a risky u.s.-only mission inside a sovereign country. imagine if it had all gone wrong.

instead, we are told it all went right. >> a small team of americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. no americans were harmed. they took care to avoid civilian casualties. >> reporter: this will help him politically, because it helps americans psychologically. their moment is his and vice versa. jim delowrie lost a brother-in-law and cousin in 9/11. >> it helps but it's not going to bring him back but it helps. >> reporter: bob lynn. just got back from duty in afghanistan. >> i was awestruck. i was relieved. this part -- this portion that start sod long ago is over. >> "usa." >> reporter: it was as though ten years of grief, ainger and frustration were given some relief, a moment that produced a rock concert atmosphere near ground zero in new york city, pennsylvania, and outside the white house gates. however heinous the person, there is something uncomfortable about celebrating a death. it was a mixed moment for the mother of a fallen fireman.

>> it's good to see an evil person receive justice. but it's very bitter to realize that so many good people made a brutal and needless death at the hands of this monster. >> reporter: osama bin laden brought us a place where we are told to report suspicious activities of airports, train stations, even malls. he sparked the global battle against the unknown in the unthinkable in a struggle with no boundaries and for a decade, the u.s. has lived with two wars that defy the standard definition of victory. so perhaps this is a celebration of clarity in a world where there is little. our guys killed a bad guy. winston churchill once said of a key battle victory, this is not the end. it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is perhaps the end of the beginning. whatever it is, or will become, this is a moment to take notice. candy crowley, cnn, washington.

>> can you remember a time when so many people were so happy, so euphoric to hear about someone's violent death? so that is okay in osama bin laden's case? we're going to take a closer look next. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 and talk to chuck about ttd# 1-800-345-2550 rolling over that old 401k.

osama bin laden's death, the news seemed to change the country's mood in an instant. >> "usa"! >> it was an outbreak of national pride and n. places like washington, new york, pennsylvania, other places around the country. and some places it was a party-like atmosphere, all over one man's violent death. and when it comes to osama bin laden, there's no such thing as too soon for the late-night comedians. >> they were telling me that there's already been some trouble for osama bin laden in the afterlife. >> is that so? >> apparently he was did a missionup, happens all the time, a paperwork kind of deal. >> uh-huh. >> he was greeted by 72 vegans. >> the u.s. said that bin laden was actually buried out at sea today. man what a tough year for the

ocean. huh? first bp pumps oil into it, then radiation seeps in from japan, hey, do you mind, we're going to put osama bin laden in there? >> avoid ruffling turbines the burial done wis adherence to islamic custom. off a u.s. militariship and osama bin laden got his first bath in almost ten years. >> i know many of you were laughing. jeff gardere a clinical psychologist. as you watched comedians joking about osama bin laden's death you do laugh, and i guess the question for you is, should we be laughing over something so morbid? >> it is something that's very morbid. and there's a real dichotomy here in that this terrorist is evil is now ended and for that, we should be happy. but to celebrate the death of anyone, some one who has been killed i think goes against who

we are as americans but also who we are as a species. so, yes, humor is good, we should laugh about some of these things and i think it's even better than celebrating the death of bin laden. but i think that we need to be careful about this and we need to be careful with our children with this. >> speaking of children, a lot of the demonstrations, you know in washington, and in new york and pennsylvania, young people gathered and were chanting "usa," that was where the rock party-like atmosphere came in, and these young people were children when 9/11 happened. so why do you suppose that they feel the need for this sort of catharsis? >> well, it is a catharsis, and they, in many ways, have been affected by their parents who are horrified by what osama bin laden has done over the years. and i think it's very important that we look -- that this may be

more of nationalism than anything else. this is about relief more than anything else because this person will no longer be alive to perpetrate evil and terrorism and injury and death. so this is what i think we're seeing more than anything else versus the killing of another human being, at least that's what i hope that we're looking at and are more happy about. >> because when you interview people who lost loved ones in 9/11, they're really conflicted about this. and i just wonder how they feel when they watch these kinds of celebrations where people are happy and smiling and laughing and joking. >> well, again, the celebration is appropriate because bin laden has become more of a caricature than anything else, or personification of evil if you, so it's natural people would celebrate that. for people touched personally by this, by 9/11, who have lost family members, friends and so on, for them it's something where they are in touch with

much deeper emotions. and so they understand that this does bring closure for them but it doesn't bring that person that they lost, it doesn't bring them back, and if nothing else, it reopens those emotional wounds and it's important that they discuss this with other loved ones, with other friends, with support groups, because this is something that they still need to work through. what i'm hearing from a lot of people, carol, yeah, they wanted to see bin laden dead, but now that he's dead they don't feel satisfied. the reality is, that he's gone and thank goodness for that, but now they have to deal with the raw emotions of the person who was killed, that loved one. >> they have to relive it all over again. jeff gardere, thank you for joining us this morning. right out to the white house now and brianna keilar because you have information on the photos of bin's body? has there been a decision? >> reporter: there hasn't been a decision, as we understand it, but at this point the white

house is leaning towards releasing those photos. that is coming from a government official familiar with intelligence matters. i should tell you that cnn's john king came by this information. he's also reporting a senior government official says they could be released today, carol. if released they would come out through the cia. there are a number of photos, as you can imagine, the source is saying they are very graphic. but a number of photos to choose from to be released. now that government official familiar with intelligence matters also saying right now that, while the deliberations, people who are talking about whether to release this photo, while they are leaning towards releasing it, there isn't consensus. there is some hesitancy, and right now they're trying to figure out what their final decision will be. the official word from the white house, there is no decision. but it will ultimately be the white house's decision, carol, if these photos are to be released.

again, one of these sources telling cnn's john king, we could see a photo release today. >> interesting. we'll keep our eyes out. brianna keilar, thank you. the army blows up a levee to save a town in illinois. >> farmland in missouri, at the mercy of the river. coming up in the next hour of "cnn newsroom," drew griffin will speak with a farmer about flooding. 6 host: is the pen mightier than the sword? ninja 2: ow vogeico. 15 minutes uld save you 15% or more on car insurance. you want that? you want a warm, super-delicious strawberry toaster strudel

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in our daily dose, a california company is recalling grape tomatoes because they may be contaminated by salmonella, used in different prepackaged salads sold in 13 western states. . salads have expiration dates of april 27th to may 9th. find more details at fda.gov. taking a story -- take a look at stories making news later today. president obama recognizes maryland high school chemistry teacher michelle shearer as teacher of year. the convenient at the white house rose guarden. prince charles is making ai three-day visit to the states the first since 2007. he's at the british ambassador's residence at 6:15