from the state capital in montgomery, alabama, governor benly talks about tornado damage and state's response, 6:15 central time. time to throw it over to drew griffin sitting in for suzanne malveaux. i'll join you to talk about pakistan, whether the united states should suspend aid going to pakistan until many questions are answered about what went down in pakistan. >> that's certainly the big question around the united states and on capitol hill today. people are weighing in on that. also having developing news on the photos released, perhaps, of osama bin laden, which we're developing. thanks, carol. live from studio 7, i'm drew griffin in for suzanne. up to speed on what's happening tuesday may 3rd. new video shot inside bin laden's compound north of islamabad. u.s. intelligence officials plan to comb through what they're calling a haul of electronics that the commandos grabbed during the second create u.s. raid, said to include computer

equipment, cds, dvds that could reveal al qaeda plots on the drawing board. the president and his national security team watching u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s go after bin laden as it happened. the president has members of congress over for dinner last night and told them the national unity that followed 9/11 had returned. >> tonight, it is my fervent hope that we can harness some of that unity and some of that pride to confront the many challenges that we still face. ♪ land that i love stand beside her♪ >> celebrations continued through the night at ground zero. new york firefighters sang "god bless america" to mark the death of osama bin laden. other people had somber remembrances for the 2700 people who died there on 9/11. and the man mayor of new york on 9/11 says osama bin laden was diabolical and deserved to die. he told cnn's piers morgan

al qaeda's leader is finished but the terror network is not. >> short term, there is more danger, long term there is a lot more safety. who knows what short term means. but there are probably more risk -- there's more risk now of their doing something before he was captured but that's always no matter when you capture them. >> to that end, police are questioning five men about a possible terror plot. police stopped the men's car near a nuclear facility in northern england. bbc reporting men are bangladeshi and believed to be videotaping the area. that nuclear facility is the largest in europe. most of britain's plutonium is kept there. let's get to our developing news, possible release of death photos of osama bin laden. it's being debated at the white house right now. brianna keilar has that. brianna. >> reporter: drew, we've

learned that the obama administration could be releasing photos of a dead osama bin laden as early as today. that is what a senior government official, who was actually involved in these discussions, is telling cnn's john king. now, another source, a government official, familiar with intelligence matters says, that, yes, right now it seems that in these deliberations the people who are making these decisions obviously top officials in the administration are leaning toward releasing those photos, a final decision has not yet been made. that source says. but there is growing consent tus, even though there is some hesitation on the part of some people in these discussions. how would these be released? the first source, government official involved in the discussions of whether or not to release these photos says, it would come out through the cia, and there are a number of photos to choose from. a number of photos of osama bin laden dead. many of them extremely graphic.

now the official word from the white house is that no decision has been made at this point and they will update us if anything is to change on that. but again, drew, the bottom line here, one source saying the administration could be releasing these photos as soon as today. >> what's the hesitation? do you know? >> reporter: yeah, the hesitation, we've heard this from some white house officials, in particular john brennan, the president's top counterterrorism chief, says they're kind of weighing what this would do. some people, obviously, want to see the visual proof of osama bin laden dead but he also says most people believe that osama bin laden really is dead and then on the opposite side, they don't need a photo to see that, drew. on the opposite side of things, officials are concerned that this could be used as a propaganda tool, obviously it would be very sensitive to put out photos of osama bin laden and not only that certainly these photos are extremely gruesome and that's something they're taking into account, how

that would factor into this being a propaganda tool for al qaeda. >> we'll get back to you as soon and if they release those, of course. we want to bring in carol costello. compound where osama bin laden was killed is no cave. talk back question for today, carol costello, i don't think we can call it a mansion, now that we've looked at it, but it certainly is big and stands out. >> and cost $1 million, supposedly. imagine the scenario. imagine this, notorious mass murder charles manson and his gang moves into a $1 million suburban mansion for six years and did i mention that house is just down the road from fbi headquarters? nobody in authority knows he's there? that would be embarrassing, at be best. that's the kind of situation the pakistani government finds it self-. n. how did osama bin laden, the world's most wanted fugitive, hide in plain sight near a pakistani military academy? >> what i find incredulous is

the notion that somehow because there's a support network in pakistan, the state, the government, and the military of pakistan should be blamed. >> u.s. officials don't want to criticize pakistan publicly but say it's inconceivable bin laden didn't have some support within pakistan. the united states, mind you, has given pakistan $18 billion in aid since 9/11, in large part to fight terrorism. senator frank lautenberg, a democrat, wants u.s. aid suspended until he is satisfied pakistan was not harboring bin laden. >> we have to find out what it is that they're up to. are they on our side all the time in here's this build, all they neededs and a neon sign to be identified. >> hillary clinton said, bin laden never would have been caught if it hadn't been for pakistan, they helped us catch al qaeda suspects whose tips led us bin laden. we're committed to the partnership, clinton says.

so, the talkback question today, should the u.s. freeze pakistani aid? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> already typing. i'm going to type myself. >> please do, drew. >> carol, thanks a lot. other news happen, too. army corps of engineers sets off explosion at a missouri levee with two more to come. the corps wants to ease flood pressure on the mississippi and ohio rivers, and save the town of cairo, illinois. the operation will flood 100 homes and 200 square miles of farmland. oil industry analyst is predicting $4 a gallon nationwide gas by the end of the week. that's not farfetched considering it's already $3. 97, according to aaa. last week's tornadoes across the south knocked several gulf coast refineries off-line. space shuttle "endeavour's"

blastoff isn't going to happen until a week from today. what needs to be done? nasa will replace an electrical switch box that powers nine critical shuttle systems. to do that, crews need to build scaffolding to test the new equipment and then tear it down. that all has to happen before the launch. and here's a rundown of some other stories we're covering. terrorists secrets taken from the compound where bin laden was killed. the army blows up a levee to save a town in illinois. farmers in missouri are at the mercy of that river. the u.s. relationship with pakistan, after finding bin laden holding out near the capital. plus, grades. what grades? teacher in denver take learning to new levels. mission in afghanistan now that bin laden is dead. ♪ sometimes i feel like... mom! ♪ i know i can count on you

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correspondent nic robertson joins us live from that compound in abbottabad, pakistan. nick, i want to get your thoughts standing there, looking at this compound. >> reporter: drew, the compound is just a little bit away behind me over the trees. but we were right there a little earlier it's very big, the walls are very high. i stood next to the wall and tre stretched my arm up, i'm 6 feet, my arm added another two feet and i wasn't halfway to top of the wall. what strikes you when you look at it is the lack of damage, whatever damage occurred during the firefight from what we could see from our various vantage points around the compound was there were few bullet marks on the walls outside and no signs of big, heavy, shell-like explosions or large explosions

on the wall, blackburning you might see where there's been a heavy forced entry or sustained gun battle from the outside to the inside of the building. a lot of surprise as well from the neighbors who we talked to, surprised to find out who was actually living there. they guessed it was somebody rich, they had no idea it was bin laden, drew. >> nic, you have traveled exten extense live any the region, done a lot of work in pakistan and afghanistan. the building of it five years ago, the proximity to a pakistan military school, is it conceivable that no one there knew that there that was osama bin laden's hideout? >> reporter: well, the people in the compound were very secretive, that's what neighbors are telling us. example, when local children were playing football nearby, the people in the compound just gave them money and told them to

buy another ball rather than let them come in and search for their ball. certainly struck people as unusual. they'd come to a conclusion that the people living in the compound were gold merchants. there were people visiting there in suv, extensive vehicles for this part of the country late at night. people going into the compound and visiting on occasion. but the distance to the military compound is perhaps further than i think it may appear on the map. it certainly would be a good 10 to 15 minute walk away. it's not so much under the nose of the military. it was certainly under the nose of the farmers whose cabbages literally go up to the wall of the compound. it's surprising that they weren't more questioning of what they were seeing in that compound. but i think that's also speaks to the private nature, what people live around here. you won't go up to somebody's wife on the street, you tend to

respect people's privacy. and that may have added to how bin laden managed to stay below the radar. but it does beg many questions why the security services here weren't more on top of this, if not the military base aware, pakistan's security services had not sort of picked up on the trip wires and expensive compound, late-night visits by people in expensive dmooshgz phone connection to the xhounun. these are clues you hope an intelligence agency would be looking out for, drew. >> right, those are the questions they are asking in states today especially capitol hill. finally, perhaps quickly, nic, if i could, what is happening at the compound or what was happening at compound today? any processing of a crime scene going on? >> reporter: remarkably, there was none. there were police officers, perhaps 20 to 30 positioned around the compound. a couple on each of the gates,

the gates were all sealed with pink, bright pink sort of, i guess, law enforcement stickers that they stick on buildings that have been sealed. but i was squinting through a hole in the compound wall by a gate. i condition see anyone inside. it seemed to be deserted. it's just been secured. as far as i can tell, there's no forensic examination going on inside. >> very interesting. nic robertson, look forward to your robertieporting in the com days on osama bin laden's hang down? president obama plans to visit ground zero to meet with families of the 9/11 victims. since the news of osama bin laden's death the world trade center site has been a seen of celebration, reflection. cnn's deborah feyerick is there. maybe you can bring us up to speed on what is happening today, the day after we saw huge celebrations. >> reporter: you know, the day after the news is really beginning to sink in, all of the implications, all of the ramifications, what's going to happen now is a question that

many, many people have. you mentions the president's visit here to ground zero on thursday, think about it. the new symbol itch, back on 9/11, you had president george w. bush, here at ground zero, rallying all the workers, the firefighters, who were in the midst of searching for their friends amist that burning mile. now a new image of president obama meeting with the families of those who lost loved ones. this time saying that the united states kept its promise. a very different symbolism, a very different message that's going to be happening here in a couple of days. you can see the buildings behind me. they are being erected, resurrects, to a certain extend. people walking by, they're stopping to read some of the headlines that folks have posted up against the wall. the train, behind me, heavier presence than usual. you've got the national guard, they're armed, keeping watch. again, everybody on a little bit of a higher alert here because they're not sure what's going to

happen and certainly nobody wants to let their guard down, though there are no reports of threat. clearly everyone anticipating there could be some form of retaliation. one man i spoke to back from afghanistan, he was in special forces he said it's not over bay long shot. this was a major blow but it's not the finishing blow. again, a real sense that this is not the end but it's really a beginning of sorts, drew. >> perhaps churchill once said, the beginning of the end. we focus so much on osama bin laden in the last 24 hours, we don't want to lose sight of the victims. september 11th the worst terrorist attack on domestic soil. al qaeda hijackers commandeered u.s. flights, flew planes into the world trade centers, twin towers. 2,752 people died at ground zero. from 2 years old to 85 years old. 343 in city firefighters lost their lives that day. as your love has evolved, so have your gifts.

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u.s. army corps of engineers has blown up a mississippi river levee flooding 200 square miles of rich farmland, moves it had to take to bring down historic river levels and spare the city of cairo, illinois. this is the area we're talking about, and here is what the

blast sounded like last night. pretty dramatic. cnn meteorologist rob marciano live in cairo, illinois. the question, did it work? >> reporter: well, from what we can see here it seems to work for cairo but you know, where the water goes from here it goes to another spot, and not everybody happy about that especially those with farmland in missouri. from what we're told, it's the best option for what they had to do. want to show you a um couple of things. some sandbags the national guard set up because what this road does, typically, while not typically, but what it was doing yesterday was separating the mississippi river from the ohio river, which typically come together well south of this point at the very southern tip of town. and one point yesterday they were almost touching down this road. you can see it kind of made its way back to closer to where they

should be, but we're nowhere near that, record flood stage, drew. we haven't seen the ohio this high since 1937. desperate times, certainly calls for desperate measures. this town has been evacuated. you know the pressure was so intense that the water was actually bubbling up from underneath the ground here. we had what they call sand boils, the arm corps of engineers had to combat against. remarkable situation here that they acted on last night. they still potentially have to do a couple more explosions down the floodway later today. >> what's the overall picture, rob? is the flood moving south and moving out to sea eventually, or are we still on the rise? >> reporter: well, there are some parts of -- even upstream still on the rise. we just had a bun. of rain, so places like

metropolis, evacuation order there's, livingston county, potential failure of a levee there as well. this is not just unique to this particular town. right, the water released here does go downstream. they potentially may do similar actions downstream toward the boot hill of missouri. that decision has yet to be made. we'll see how successful this ends up being. >> that town saved butten explosion flooded other parts. we'll talk to a farmer in other parts. well, is pakistan truly a u.s. ally in the war on terrorism? millions of u.s. dollars continue to flow there. actually billions. those are questions. after osama bin laden was found hiding in plain sight in pakistan, a live report from capitol hill.

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[ male announcer ] you know mom. ♪ you got the love... we know diamonds. together we'll make this mother's day one she'll never forget. momma! [ male announcer ] that's why only zales is the diamond store. a rundown of some of the stories we're working on. trusting pakistan, the u.s. relationship with a country where osama bin laden could hide out in plain sight. education, like you've never seen it replacing grades with levels. it's part of our don't fail me series. bringing back the troops, what the death of bin laden means for u.s. forces in afghanistan. well, pakistan does have some explaining to do. american politicians, military officials and, well, the rest of us, find it impossible to believe osama bin laden could hide in a $1 million home in a military town, for years,

without help from somebody over there, a high-level pakistani. foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty looks at the u.s./pakistani relationship. >> reporter: osama bin laden, u.s. officials say, was living in a compound virtually under the nose of the pakistani military. >> this is going to be a time of a real pressure on the afghans to basically prove to us that they didn't know that bin laden was there. >> reporter: pakistan's ambassador insists, they didn't. >> if we had really known where bin laden was, we would have talked. >> reporter: hillary clinton who previously said she found it hard to believe no one in pakistan's government knew where osama bin laden was, now says -- cooperation with pakistan helped lead us bin laden and the compound in which he was hiding. >> reporter: that contradiction lies at heart of washington's complex, and often tense,

relationship with pakistan undermined by lack of trust. >> although there are differents of view with pakistan, we believe that that partnership is critically important to breaking the back of al qaeda. >> reporter: u.s. officials privacy tell cnn, the u.s. would never have found bin laden without help along the way from pakistan. and yet, the white house did not inform pakistan of the operation at the compound until it was over, and the u.s. team had left the country's airspace. some experts are encouraged by the pakistan government's reaction to the killing of bin laden. >> they didn't attack us for entering pakistan. they didn't condemn us for being in pakistan. those are positive signs. they don't tell us, however, what's happening within the pakistani military or isi, or the people who, in the past, have supported the taliban, or tolerated al qaeda. >> reporter: others see red flags. >> there has been a strong suspicion for some time along

some senior u.s. leaders the pakistan had had awareness of movement of individuals. if that turns out to to be a correct hunch, that has very serious long-term implications on the relationship. >> reporter: officials tell cnn the u.s. is going to be treating pakistan gingerly over the next few days. cooperation, they say, is mixed, at best, and going forward is going to be bumpy. but there's no way to fight terrorism in this critical country, they say, without this partnership. jill dougherty, cnn, the state department. well, former pakistani president musharraf says u.s. forces should not have gone into pakistan, even to kill the most-wanted terrorist in the world. musharraf spoke earlier on cnn. >> american troops coming across the border and taking action in one of our town is, abbottabad, is not acceptable to the people of pakistan. it is a violation of our sovereignty. it would have been far better if

pakistani special services group had operated and conducted the mission. >> well, since 9/11, the u.s. has given pakistan $18 billion as an ally in the war on terror. while pakistan has, at times, gone to great lengths to capture and kill terrorists, questions are being raised on capitol hill how how and perhaps even why the one terrorist above all others has been living in luxury. and living in the shadow of pakistan's most prestigious military school. condition congressional correspondent dana bash joins us live from capitol hill, and she's been talking with senators. dana, senators can't direct intelligence operation but was they can direct the money. >> reporter: they can. and in terms of the anger and frustration at pakistan, it definitely is growing, one senator saying looking at everything but a neon sign tonight saying "bin laden lives here" a lot of questions that senators and members of the house say they want answered. they're going to get that chance with briefings with others this

afternoon. diane feinstein, senate chairman of the intel against committee, she says she is going to call the cia director to her committee for a private consultation tomorrow morning to have a conversation about what exactly we think that the pakistanis knew and didn't know. she said, in response to my question, that she actually would even be open to open hearings because she knows, like you said, everybody wants to know what happened, what did pakistan know what didn't they know. >> would there be an ability to question anybody from pakistan? i know that's not their role, but it would be nice to hear from them. >> reporter: it would. you know, actually, it's funny that you said because diane feinstein, in the press conference, said, look we're in the united states, we're not there. we're not even in the region. so it is difficult that they just have to rely on the diplomatic relations with pakistan to try to get information and relations with the intelligence community in pakistan to try to get that information. it's not going to be easy. i think that's pretty clear,

drew. >> dana, hopefully we'll hear from you later today on what the senators are going to hear about this relationship. and the issue of money's also today's talkback question. should the u.s. freeze funning to pakistan? tell us your thoughts. facebook.com/carolcnn, and we'll read your responses later this hour. when americans think of bin laden's trail of terror, they're focuses on victims of september 11th but al qaeda leader responsible for the deaths of many thousands worldwide. in 2005, london's subway system was bombed and the city's deadliest attack since world war ii, four bombs detonated during morning rush hour, one on a double decker bus. bin laden's top lieutenant claimed responsibility. 52 people died that day in london. more than 770 people wounded. the victims were as young as 21, the oldest was 60. wh's all this? big news! we have another way to help you save. oh, really? how? by bundling.

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late-night comedians taking their parting shots at osama bin laden. bin laden's last word action cording to david letterman, i need a house full of navy s.e.a.l.s like i need a hole in the head. conan o'brien's pun. line. >> according to the cia was living in a house that had no

internet access. which explains why there were all of those bin laden sightings at the islamabad kink cos. >> we saw an unprecedented wave of celebration after the country learned bin laden was dead. jeanne moos reports on the national euphoria. >> reporter: osama bin laden is toast, and his demise was toasted with beers and cheers. some bubbly. at ohio state, students jumped into a lake. >> "usa." >> reporter: riders sang the national anthem on the new york city subway. ♪ star-spangled banner >> reporter: the pledge led from a pole. >> one nation, under god. >> reporter: ini have visible with liberty and wrestling for all, champ john senai announced bin laden's death ringside. >> i feel damn proud to be an american! >> reporter: the same exact date, may 1st that germany announced hitler was dead back

in 1945. back then, there were no bloody taiwanese animations. the death of osama bin laden, brought back to life a certain unintentional faux pas, saying obama when you mean osama or vice versa. >> obama caught. >> reporter: nbc's isnora o'donnell tweeted obama shot and killed. ditto at a local station in washington, d.c. >> president obama is in fact dead. it was a u.s.-led strategic -- sorry, osama bin laden. >> reporter: rush limbaugh almost did it. >> obama -- sorry, osama is dead. >> reporter: talk about poker face. watch president obama react to an osama bin laden joke saturday night at the white house correspocor correspondent is dinner after the raid. >> people think bin laden is hiding but every day from 4:00 to 5:00 he hosts a show on

c-span. >> watch the president's broad smile. raid? what raid? when the raid was announced guess whose show got interrupted? >> who should be fired? >> reporter: the shots fired in pakistan knocked trump off the air. >> i definitely -- >> reporter: inspired cartoonist gary mccoy to draw trump saying, i want to see the death certificate. ding dong, bin laden. ♪ ding dong >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> welling a different approach to teaching is goning on at a din ver denver elementary school. deb feyrick took a field trip to see how it's working out. [ male announcer ] if you've been to the hospital with heart-related chest pain or a heart attack known as acs,

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and help more people, much quicker. ♪ my name is diane wilson, i deliver the best gifts on earth, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] learn more about the college of nursing at phoenix.edu. going on right now at white house, a tribute goebefrt of t d educato educators. state teachers of the year, happening right there in the rose garden live. teachers at a denver school are making their mark with the unique approach to education modeled on the belief that

children learn in their own way. instead of grades, they're using levels. deb feyrick has today's "don't fail me." >> have a good day. see you. >> reporter: just outside denver, colorado, something interesting is happening in at hodgkin's elementary school. >> working on measuring using a string. >> reporter: kids discovering a different way of learning. >> it's an x-ray. >> reporter: victor and delsar are 11. ask them what grade they're in, you won't get a traditional answer. >> level 7. >> reporter: you are? >> six. >> reporter: what about reading. >> level 7. >> reporter: you are? >> seven. >> reporter: at hodgkin's there are no grade levels. there are no grades period. kids are based on what they know, not how old. >> we're talking about facts from a nonfiction book. >> reporter: the literacy class made up of kids ages 8 to 10 with four different reading levels. >> it's so individualized we're filling in gabs so they can move

on. >> reporter: known as standards bazed learning, modeled on the belief every child learns in their own way. >> every student in every class is learning exactly at spot they're supposed to. >> reporter: the principal put the system in place two years ago. >> for the first time, every child is getting exactly what they need, when they need it, and how they need it. >> reporter: no one moves to the next level without testing. at the equivalent of a "c" or higher. >> 100, you guys all got 100. >> reporter: unlike traditional schools kids move up any time they're ready. >> how many have gone up a level this year? wow. the entire school district has been on an academic watch list because of below-average standardized test scores. mother and school board president vicki marshall helped convince parents they needed to try this and make it work. >> biggest concerns were around how are you going to assign a grade point average? >> reporter: changing course is not easy.

educators estimate it takes three to five years for standardizes test scores to go up. so far, 300 schools nationwide have tried it. half couldn't stick with it. wendy, who helps implement the model, says without strong leadership and community support it won't work. >> this is really hard. superintendent lasts, what, 2, 2 1/2 years on average. it's hard to lead system exchange when you have that much turnover. >> reporter: state test scores here haven't gone up. the principal is still on board. why? discipline problems dropped 76% since the change and students now are more motivated than ever. deborah feyerick, cnn, westminster, colorado. >> you don't want to miss soledad o'brien's report "don't fail me, education in america" the cnn documentary examines the crisis in the public education system and why america's financial future is at risk and students can't excel in math and

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u.s. officials describe the

operation that killed osama bin laden as a surgical raid, a small commando team fighting its way through the compound. president obama and his security team followed every anxious moment. cnn pentagon correspondent chris lawrence takes us through the operation step by step. >> reporter: the three-storied building built about six years ago. a bin laden protege and his brother lived on the first floor of the main building and another house in the compound. bin laden's family occupied the top two floors of the main billing. unlike other neighbors who took trash out, these people burned theirs inside the compound. if two main gates weren't enough to discourage visitors, opaque windows shielded the inside. and there was an 18-foot outer wall topped with barbed wire. it stood out. in a u.s. intelligence official says, given how bad al qaeda's finances are they would only spend this kind of money for one of the top two commanders. so in effect, bin laden was the engineer of his own destruction.

the end began with four u.s. military helicopters and two dozen commandoes arriving overhead. when some of the navy s.e.a.l.s landed on the ground, the assault teams stormed the compound. >> they're going room to room, very methodical, engaging targets and completing the mission. but it's a really intense, personal, you know, up close and personal type of operation. >> but high above, multiple planes and drones were in the air. cia director leon panetta was kwor backing the mission, and secured radio contact with the assault team commander. back at the white house, the president's national security team was anxiously watching video from the site. >> the minutes passed like days. and the president was very concerned about the security of our personnel. >> this abc news video shows the aftermath inside the compound.

one woman died in the firefight. the s.e.a.l.s shot and killed the two brothers and bin laden's son. and with a shot to the chest and one to the head, the s.e.a.l.s killed osama bin laden. they identified his body and took it with them as they left the compound. >> it was a tremendous sigh of relief that what we believed and who we believed was in the compound was found. >> but there was one final decision. one of the u.s. helicopters was in trouble, and had to land. the team made the call to destroy it there on the ground, and hustle the women and children away before blowing up the aircraft. it took 40 minutes in and out of the compound, but some of that time was spent collecting papers and material. what one u.s. official calls a robust amount of intelligence that they hope to exploit and use to track down other members of al qaeda. chris lawrence, cnn, the pentagon. the u.s. has given pakistan

$18 billion since 9/11, mainly to fight terrorism, which brings us to today's talk back question and carol costello. >> so many questions about what pakistan knew about osama bin laden's whereabouts. some are asking this question today, should the u.s. freeze pakistan funding? this from rocky, they have achieved the ultimate goal of bin laden's demise. remember, keep your friends close and enemies closer. pakistan has lost so many citizens due to bin laden, as well. this from nathaniel, yes, immediately. we the u.s. have been played for fools for too long. charlene says they knew he was there. when you listen to them try to explain it, it sounds almost like my kids did when they were caught doing something wrong. this from jane. no, but we must insist on transparency. no more here's the dough, do what you want. like a troubled marriage, we can't live with them, but can't live without them. keep the conversation going.

facebook.com/carolcnn, and i'll be back in about 15 minutes with more. >> carol, thanks. good stuff. any way you slice it, it's a big win for president obama. we're going to get another president's perspective on the death of bin laden and what it means for the arab world. suzanne malveaux is sitting down with former president jimmy carter. she'll air the interview tomorrow in the cnn "newsroom." with bin laden gone, what happens next for the war in afghanistan? our carl azuz is here to take a look at the cutting the head of the snake. what that means for u.s. troops. 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge!

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it was a big homecoming on a big news day. [ cheers and applause ] >> that's more than 100 soldiers with the 101st airborne returning from afghanistan yesterday. their plane touched down at ft. campbell in kentucky shortly after 8:00 a.m., just hours after the world learned osama bin laden was dead. >> it was awesome. i mean, just -- my heart, you know, usa, we got a little closure, let's bring troops home, let's get everybody back together. all families, everything. >> that speaks to our next story. if osama bin laden was essentially the reason why the u.s. got involved in afghanistan in the first place, then what

does his death mean for the troops that are still there? and will this have any effect on the proposed drawdown in july? we're going beyond the headlines with cnn's carl azuz. how many are still there? >> still a very significant force. we're looking at 100,000 u.s. troops currently in afghanistan. some of the troops have been transferred over from iraq when u.s. pulled combat troops out of iraq, many of them went to afghanistan. and how long they'll be there is very difficult to tell. we can tell you that support for the war in afghanistan among american people as far as the polls go has decreased recently. part of that, due to the fact that 2010, nine years into the war in afghanistan, was the deadliest year for u.s. troops yet. how did we get here? this is how it happened. the united states had asked taliban, who ruled afghanistan, to get -- turn over, i should say, osama bin laden during -- right before the united states' led war began. that was 2001.

the taliban refused to do that. so 2002 to 2005, after the taliban had been kicked out, nato steps in, takes control of the mission in afghanistan. but the taliban regrouped. we see this insurgency with the taliban, kind of like we saw in iraq. then instability persisted in the nation. president obama sent a surge of around 30,000 u.s. troops to afghanistan. the mission for u.s. troops there and president obama's goal for getting american troops home is to train afghan security forces to handle their country's own security, to protect their own security. so that's what we're looking at, and that's why there are 100,000 u.s. troops still there, drew. >> and we do have a time line. what about that timetable? and when do officials think that the troops are going to come home? >> the administration has talked about the obama administration has talked about 2014. president obama wants to start pulling u.s. troops out of afghanistan in 2014. however, retiring defense secretary robert gates has said the united states is not bringing all of its troops home this summer. in fact, he and vice president

biden have talked about 2014 as the possible date when troops will be pulled out of afghanistan. they said it could go even longer than 2014, drew. >> carl azuz, thanks a lot. >> thank you. well, top of the hour now. i'm drew griffin in today for suzanne malveaux. let's get you up to speed on what is happening on this busy news day. video shot today inside osama bin laden's three-story compound. the u.s. commandoes who stormed the building sunday may have grabbed valuable intelligence on their way out. a senior u.s. official is telling cnn, five computers, ten hard drives and dozens of cds, dvds and thumb drives were seized there. the official also says the white house hasn't decided yet whether to release photos of bin laden's corpse. the most recognizable image is said to be extremely gory, with a gaping head wound across both eyes. former defense second ronald -- donald rumsfeld says

the death of osama bin laden is not the end for al qaeda. he spoke by phone to cnn's "american morning." >> obl will be replaced by a successor, and if we capture the successor, that individual will be replaced. the people are determined, they're vicious, they're capable of getting money, and recruiting people and killing inspect men, women and children. >> white house photos show an intense president obama and his national security team watching the u.s. radon bin lad, live sunday. counterterrorism adviser john brennan says the minutes passed like hours. >> some very tense moments, and we were just saying our prayers that everything was going to go according to plan. but as i think you can tell from the photograph, there was a period of intensity there, unlike none other we had here at the white house to date. >> well, we are learning the white house could release photos

of osama bin laden's corpse as soon as today, but officials haven't yet made the final decision. brianna keilar joins us live. what is the latest? >> reporter: drew, a government official familiar with intelligence matters says right now there isn't complete consensus, but these discussions about whether to release photos of a dead osama bin laden, they're leaning towards doing it. the administration is leaning towards doing it. there is growing consensus they should do it. and the source who told us that we could be seeing these photos released today, this is a government official, actually engaged in these discussions, told cnn's john king that if their release will see them put out through the cia, and there are quite a number of photos. and as you can imagine, they are very graphic, drew. >> yeah, well, we'll see if we see them, right? let's shift gears back to the white house situation room. you know, they're all watching this as the raid is unfolding. it sounded almost surreal. what have you learned about what

was happening in that room, brianna? >> you know, this is a process that actually took all day on sunday. early on, preparations being made in the situation room, and then you saw the president's top national security advisers, terrorism advisers. and cabinet -- cabinet members, secretary of state clinton, secretary of defense gates. you also saw the chair of the joint chiefs of staff. all there, getting ready, ahead of this operation. president obama joined them, left for a short while, came back as the operation began. and it was really interesting to listen to john brenn. he said it was anxiety filled moments for people in this room. he said people were holding their breath. he remembered specifically president obama being very concerned about the safety of the s.e.a.l.s there on the ground. and then he also talked about kind of a growing confidence that osama bin laden was dead. that it wasn't really an ah-ha moment that he's dead, but at

first there was the visual i.d., and then the height checked out and then the preliminary dna evidence. and people really started to kind of breathe a sigh of relief, drew. >> yeah, i don't know if people have seen it. we have it on cnn.com, but if you see that one picture where the secretary of state, hillary clinton sort of has her hand over her mouth. it is a very, very tense situation, and i think says it a all. very interesting. brian brianna keillor, thank you for that. down the road from the pakistani military, brings us to our talk back question for today. carol costello following that conversation. >> big old mansion, nobody notices. notorious mass murderer charles manson and his gang move into a multimillion dollar suburban mansion for six years. did i mention that the house is just down the road from the fbi headquarters? yet nobody in authority knows he's there. that would be embarrassing, at best. derelict at worst. and that is exactly the kind of situation the pakistani

government finds itself in. how did osama bin laden, the world's most wanted fugitive, hide in plain sight? near a pakistani military academy? this from pakistan's ambassador. >> what i find incredulous is the notion that somehow, just because there is a prior support network in pakistan, the state, the government, and the military of pakistan should be blamed. >> reporter: u.s. officials don't want to criticize pakistan publicly, but say it's inconceivable bin laden didn't have some support within pakistan. the u.s., mind you, has given pakistan $18 billion in aid since 9/11, in large part to fight terrorism. senator frank lawsuiten berg, a democrat said he wants u.s. aides suspended until he was satisfied pakistan was not harboring bin laden. >> we have to find out what it is that they're up to. are they on our side all of the time? here's this building, all they needed was a neon sign to be

identified. >> reporter: but consider this. secretary of state hillary clinton said without pakistan's help, osama bin laden would never have been found and killed. in short, the u.s. needs pakistan to find and fight terrorists. so the talk back question today. should the u.s. freeze pakistan funding? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> all right, carol, thanks a lot. the big question of the day, that's for sure. don't worry, that was supposed to happen. the army corps of engineers sets off an explosion. that was at a missouri levee. the corps wanted to ease the flood pressure on the mississippi and ohio rivers and save the town of cairo, illinois. the operation will flood 100 homes elsewhere, and 200 miles of farmland. >> reporter: i'm rob marciano, last night they exploded parts of the levee system here because the water was too much for the

mississippi and ohio rivers. this is the confluence of the ohio river on the left side, and the mississippi on the right. and last night at this time, they were nearly touching each other on this road. so at least for the time being, that effort has worked here. the waters have come down somewhat. but further down river, that's certainly not the case. not everybody happy about it, especially on the missouri side. >> almost a week after tornados ransacked tuscaloosa, alabama, the mayor's office says more than 300 people are still missing. the tornado separated one couple for 27 agonizing hours. >> at that point, you know, the dog got sucked out, you know, they were just like flying like kites on a string. and the tub started to lift like it was going to go with it. and i was able to just hang on to the dogs and try and push them down. >> the worst is running through your mind. obviously, his body is in there, and he's not alive. >> and i just give him a hug and tell him i promise to never nag you ever again about taking out the garbage. >> the death toll from last

week's severe weather outbreak stands at 356 across the south. >> analysts predicts gas will average $4 by the end of this week. it's already at $3.97 a gallon, according to aaa. last week's tornadoes across the south knocked several gulf coast refineries off line. in arkansas, a national guard helicopter rescued six missing boy scouts, and their troop leaders. the scouts had been hiking along the little missouri river, and hadn't been heard from for days. it turns out the rising river blocked their path out of a wilderness area. here's a rundown of some of the stories we're covering over the next hour. first, a tour of the compound where bin laden was hiding. >> we never can bring them back, but we can do everything we can to bring the people who are responsible to justice. >> reaction from new york firefighters after the death of bin laden. plus, an arab-american

comedian looks to the future now that bin laden is dead. then, president obama will be remembered as the leader who nailed bin laden. our wolf blitzer checking to see if it's enough to get him re-elected. and missouri farmers worried sick about their livelihoods. [ 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. [ airplane engine whines ] [ grunts ] [ dog barking ] gah!

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the place where osama bin laden was finally captured and killed was not a cave in afghanistan, but a compound in pakistan.

and we are learning more about the fortress where he was hiding in plain sight. cnn's senior international correspondent nick robertson has made his way to abbottabad, pakistan. and we're learning more about who was inside that compound with osama bin laden. what can you tell us? >> reporter: very interesting details, drew, just coming in from a senior pakistani intelligence source from the isa services. obviously, they have been very heavily criticized for not tracking down bin laden themselves. they're saying, yes, they are embarrassed they didn't manage to find him. but it doesn't mean they weren't trying, they say. and it doesn't mean they get it wrong all of the time. they say they captured more al qaeda operatives in pakistan than any other country. but what they have also told us is that when the raid took place, there were 17 to 18 people in the compound, 4 to 5 men, they say brothers and a son. two to three women. they say that one of the women was a maid or a nurse for the

young children. and eight to nine children. and they also say that when the special forces left, they took

. .

. . test test the historic flooding where the mississippi and ohio rivers come together has forced the federal government to stake action. the army corps of engineers blew up to save cairo, illinois. some are feeling relief, others are angry. joining me is kevin maynard, a farmer forced to evacuate so his land could be flooded to save another town.

mr. mayor, thanks for joining us. i guess you were on the wrong end of this decision, which the army corps of engineers felt they had to make. >> well, drew, it certainly was a devastating decision that they laid for our county and our community, and several farmers in the spillway here in mississippi county. >> i mean, is it the wrong decision to have been made? did you see any other option, based on what you -- what you 4% all have down there, which is just too much water? >> well, during what -- we encouraged the corps to let the levee naturally over top. we felt like there would be less permanent destruction, you know the corps promoted they would get a 4 to 5 foot drop at the cairo gauge. and that has not occurred since 10:00 last night when they actually activated the spillway.

they've only got 1 foot and 2/10 of a drop. so the plan is not working. and that's what we told them all along, that we had doubts that the plan would work as they thought it would. and the evidence is right now that it is not working like they thought it would. >> mr. mayor, i get the fact that the farmland was flooded, and that makes it -- maybe you have lost the plantsing season, but are there also homes in the path of this deliberate flooding? >> yes, drew, there's approximately 90 homes in the way of the floodway and also farm headquarters where they have infrastructure, grain bins, grain handling equipment, shops. office buildings, so there's a tremendous amount of infrastructure along with the 90 some odd homes that are in the spillway itself. >> is there a federal plan to make you guys whole after this? >> well, drew, the court sthas

there is a plan to repair the levees and to take care of the destruction. but, you know, all of that is bottom ground. it's all drained by ditches that over the years have millions of dollars have been spent on to maintain those ditches. and we all know what shape the federal government is in right now. even though the court has told us they'll make us whole, they don't appropriate the money, congress does. and our question has been, where's the money going to come from? until they fix the levee, we essentially have 130,000 acres that's river front ground that never has been river front ground before. >> all right, mr. mayor, terrible position you're in. let us make sure that we follow your story, as the water drains and those questions that you raise are going to be answered, whether or not the corps will live up to its promise to make you whole again, and make your farmland farmable. >> we appreciate your time today, and we appreciate your focus on this disaster.

>> all right. mayor kevin mainor d from east prairie, missouri. the mother of 9/11 son killed reacts to the killing of osama bin laden. >> at the moment, i'm on a high, because i feel my son's joy and exhilaration that this very evil man was captured and killed by americans. >> how many of you have been to that fire station since 9/11? mixed emotions for families and firefighters who lost friends and loved ones at ground zero. i'm going to talk to the city's fire commissioner. ♪ gonna use my, my, my, imagination. ♪ the new blackberry playbook. ♪ cos i'm gonna make you see ♪ there's nobody else here, no one like me. ♪ small enough to take anywhere. powerful enough to take you everywhere. ♪ i'm special ♪ so special

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here is the rundown of some of the stories we are working on. first, the 9/11 attacks were especially brutal for new york firefighters. their families talking to us today about the death of bin laden. next, examining the bin laden effect on arab americans. then, the war on terror goes on. a look at the thugs who may become the next face of terrorism. many who lost loved ones in the september 11th attacks are expecting mixed emotions over the killing of osama bin laden. president obama will visit new york's ground zero thursday. he will meet with family members of those killed. and our mary snow talked to new york firefighters and a couple whose son was killed. >> reporter: it was the day they had been waiting for. maureen and al san tora came to this firehouse where their son christopher worked. he was one of 15 firefighters from engine 54 killed on

september 11th. this station suffering huge losses that day. >> at the moment, i'm on a high, because i feel my son's, you know, joy and exhilaration that this very evil man was captured and killed. by americans. you know? and i just -- i just feel his presence that he's just right on, good for the soldiers. i can hear him yelling and screaming. and he would be dancing in the streets today, my son. >> reporter: but that elation was mixed with deep emotion for her husband, al, who was also a firefighter for 40 years. >> we never can bring them back, but we can do everything we can to bring the people who were responsible to justice. and that's what happened today. it's a win for the united states of america. it's a win for everybody in the world, the free world, and hopefully we'll have some more wins and it makes it a little easier. >> i'll have respect for my military brothers. >> reporter: 30-year-old peter regan is now a firefighter in brooklyn, following the steps of

his father, donald, who was killed on 9/11. also a marine, deployed to iraq, twice. >> reporter: a lot of people say they don't want to use the word "closure." >> no, i don't feel any closure. like i said, he's a big chapter, he's a big forefront, he's the main, you know, the main target. but, you know, i mean -- there's someone behind him. for me, closure would be letting the guard down. and i'm not ready to do that. >> reporter: but for a moment in times square monday night, some firefighters stopped to take in the news, and were touched to watch hundreds of people celebrate word of bin laden's death. >> last night people came out of their hotel rooms, they came out of theatres, wherever they were, restaurants. they showed up and they smiled, and they kissed us and hugged us. and took photos. and they cheered us on. and it's not just about us. it's about the united states. they were cheering the united states. they were cheering the firefighters, they were cheering our troops much. it's all good things. >> reporter: and new york city's fire commissioner told us his elation over the news only

lasted for a few brief moments. that he is overly concerned about retaliation and he told firefighters in the field to be extremely cautious. mary snow, cnn, new york. new york lost 343 of its firefighters and paramedics inside the twin towers on september 11th, the city's former fire commissioner, thomas vannessan joins us from new york. a lot of emotions in that piece from mary snow, thomas. what were your emotions when you heard the news? >> well, you know, the biggest smile i've -- i think i've had in two days is listening to that firefighter regan talking about serving in the marines and now serving in the fire department. i went to a dinner recently, there were over 100 firefighters at the dinner that had been in afghanistan or iraq. serving in the military. and now on fdny. so i think that's just a phenomenal testament to the young people that we have out there, that have made

commitments not just to military protecting a country, and getting some sort of justice for fdny, but then coming back and serving again to honor their fathers and loved ones that they cared so much about. just phenomenal. >> yeah, it is a great full circle, if you will. but also the raw emotion. al santoro who still cannot really talk about his son without choking up. what was your most intense memory of 9/11? >> oh, wow. i mean, it just goes from every possible level you can imagine. the first day, the fear for all of the troops, knowing, getting up there so far, how hard it was going to be to get out quickly. and then hoping the rescue so many. 24 hours later, we realized no rescues. and then recovery and dealing with the families was -- i've always felt for me, personally, the worst part of it was the grief. dealing with the families that

you couldn't give them what they wanted. they wanted nothing else but their loved one returned. and that was the one thing with you couldn't give them. we would give them pensions and memorials and all kinds of attention and camaraderie and spirit. but we couldn't give them what they really wanted. we couldn't give them back their sons or their fathers. >> the one thing i think that everybody wanted and was promised since they were gone. was the capture of osama bin laden. something that then president bush stood with you guys and over a mega phone said, you know, these people will be brought to justice. is that now justice served, for you? >> well, yes. i mean, justice, getting one person who was evil and killing him. i'm so glad they didn't take him prisoner, i'm so glad they buried him at sea like a mafia low-life. i'm glad the fish already ate

him. that's one man who has started a movement that now we've got to deal with. there's who knows how many thousands of radical crazies around the world doing evil like this person did. now they'll be fighting to take his place, and lead this movement. so we've got to really be afraid and vigilant and prepared. all the soldiers that are out there, the navy, the marines, just have done a great job for us coming back. firefighters and police officers. these are the young people that we're counting on to keep us safe. >> all right. former fire commissioner of new york, thomas von essen. thanks for joining us. appreciate it. >> thank you. next we're going to hear what bin laden's death means for arab-americans almost a decade after 9/11.

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"daily show" host jon stewart took pot shots at osama bin laden last night, but he also had something serious to say, calling bin laden's death a good night for human people. >> the face of the arab world in america's eyes for too long has been bin laden. and now it is not. now the face is only the young people in egypt and tunisia and all of the middle eastern countries around the world. [ cheers and applause ] >> freedom rises up. al qaeda's opportunity is gone.

al qaeda's opportunity is gone. >> you know, it was a common saying after the towers fell, the world changed after 9/11. and that change was especially strong for arab-americans. so what happens now? i'm joined by dane obadalla, an arab-american comedian who had a lot to say about the bin laden effect in his op-ed for cnn.com. i guess on september 11th, 2001, you kind of became a terror suspect. and i know you've joked about that. but it really did. >> our world changed. i mean, you're absolutely right. for myself and others in the arab-american community, we went from arabs to suspicious in one day. on september 10th i went to sleep, and september 11th i woke up an arab. sometimes people say nice things, oh, you're an arab, i love hum must. that was a nice thing.

others sent me hate mail, go back to the country you're from. i'm from new jersey. we have to prove to others that we are american, we love this country. and so my father came to america for opportunity. and so many other immigrants who came to america. we're not here to make america like the countries they fled because there was no opportunity and no freedom. they want the to live a better live here. >> so i mean, does this change that at all for you? has there been an overnight sensation? are you american again? >> i hope so. i mean, i've always -- i'm proud to be american. i'm proud of my arab heritage, but as america, this is our melting pot. i hope this is a reset. and i feel a great sense of unity in america. i feel people -- muslim groups yesterday condemning bin laden and praising president obama for what he did. people of all different religious standing together and cheering. i hope this is a new beginning for us as americans to reach out to each other and focus on our

commonality as americans and not define us by our differences. >> you know, you are a comedian and i know you're a funny guy, i read some of our stuff. really funny. the bin laden jokes came out almost immediately. too soon for this guy? >> no. he set the world record for the shortest time between someone dying and it being appropriate to making fun of him. i was twittering moments after he was dead, so were hundreds of others of comedians. little things like donald trump applauding saying he has to tip his hair to the president for his actions. to things about, you know, perhaps the new video of bin laden's compound will be next week's mtv's pakistan's cribs. we try to have fun. comedy is healing. and i try to show people, let's have fun together, let's work together as americans. let's not worry -- let's not view us by our differences any longer. >> all right. dean, an american comedian. thanks for joining us. i appreciate it. >> thank you very much. americans weigh in on the death of osama bin laden. we've got brand-new cnn poll

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we have some new poll numbers just out on the death of osama bin laden. cnn's wolf blitzer joins us from washington with those details. wolf, what do americans think about this? >> yeah, well, americans are reacting now. we took this poll in the day after everyone knew that bin

laden had been killed. we asked, what about the death of osama bin laden, is it a major achievement? look at these numbers. 67% say it's a major achievement. 23% say it's a minor achievement. 9% say it's not an achievement at all. i was a little surprised by 23% saying it's a minor achievement and 9% saying not an achievement at all. i wonder who these people are. on this next question, does the death of bin laden eliminate the threat to the united states from al qaeda? look at this. only 5% say yes. 94 -- 94% say no. so most americans, almost all americans, still see a major threat from al qaeda. interesting numbers, drew. and there are more. >> yeah, the president -- i mean, i hate to go political immediately on this, but did he get a bounce in his approval ratings? >> he got a little bit of a bounce. i'll show you the numbers on this, on the question of do you approve or disapprove of how obama is handling his job as president. now it stands in this poll that

was done completely after we knew that bin laden was killed, 52% approval of the way he's handling his job. over the weekend, before any of us knew bin laden was dead, we asked a similar question, 51%. so we got a little bounce over 24 to 48 hours. in mid april, his approval number was at 48% in our cnn opinion research corporation poll. other polls had him even lower. but he got a little bit of a bounce. but let me dig deeper and show you on specific issues whether he got a bounce or not so much. on the issue of terrorism, back in january, 60% of approved of his handling of terrorism. 67% now. on afghanistan, it went from 51% in january up to 58% approve of the way he's handling afghanistan now. but look at this, drew. on the economy, which is still issue number one for so many americans, in january, only 45% approved of the way he's handling the economy. it's now down to 42%. and on the way he's handling the

deficit, it's gone down. it was pretty low at 38% back in january. and now it's 35%. so maybe that explains why the bounce he got -- a little bit of a bounce, up to 52% in his job approval number. not as significant as a lot of us might have thought and the drama and excitement, still the issue involving jobs, the economy, and on these issues, his numbers are not very good, at least right now. >> all right. wolf blitzer, of course, you can catch wolf's full show, 5:00 to 7:00 and "the situation room." great yesterday. >> thank you. let me point out one thing, drew. you know that dramatic picture the white house released of the president, the vice president, the secretary of state, all of them sitting in the white house situation room, watching the screen, watching this event unfold, and you can see the nervousness -- you can see the tension on their faces.

you know that picture that i'm talking about. all of our viewers have seen it. >> there it is, right there, wolf. >> if you take a look at hillary -- secretary hillary clinton there with her hand over her mouth, she's gasping over something. the man sitting next to her in the light blue shirt is dennis mcdonough, deputy national security adviser to the president. he's coming into the situation room, our situation room, from their situation room. and we're going to ask him specifically what were they seeing? what were they hearing? when the secretary of state puts her hand over her mouth like that? and everyone else is -- is wondering, as well. and we've got a lot of other good questions. so that interview is going to air in the 5:00 p.m. eastern hour in our situation room. i think our viewers are going to be interested in that, drew. >> it's such a historic photo. i can only imagine if we had fdr watching, you know, real-time d-day. >> i know. i was thinking exactly the same thing. and the new technology that is now available to the commander

in chief, and other u.s. national security advisers who sit in their situation room, and is can listen and watch and see what's going on, 5 or 8,000 miles away, a 40-minute operation, as this one was. and they -- they don't have to wait for an update a few hours later or few days -- they are seeing it, together with military commanders. it's an amazing new technology. and we're going to have a special report "the situation room" how this happens, how they get to see it. i think our viewers will be interested in that, as well. >> wolf, i'm interested. we'll look forward to seeing that. thanks, wolf. we'll get another president's perspective. susan malveaux is sitting down with former president jimmy carter this afternoon. she's going to turn the interview for tomorrow right here for 11:00 a.m. eastern right here in the cnn "newsroom." time now for the help desk, where we get answers to your financial questions. with me now, gary shats key, president of objective

advice.com, and ryan mac of optimum capital management. first question coming from are judith from north carolina. she writes in, i'm not completely happy with my credit score of 692. i have several credit cards. i've not been late on paying payments, so i'm thinking i have too many credit cards. when i pay them all off, should i close the accounts, or just not use them to get a higher credit score? this goes against what most people think, ryan. >> right. paying them off -- she has a 692 taka score. paying them off is one of the fastest way to get her score approved, but 30% is your balance to your limit lending ratio. so that's going to decrease her line of credit. what she might want to do is maybe even rent -- her house is on the market now. if she rents it for maybe six months and get her credit established she might be able to purchase a home once she moves out of deep gap, north carolina. i love that name. >> i know, i want to know what it looks like. here is from shannon from

massachusetts. i am currently contributing to a roth i.r.a. and 401(k) at my job. last year i got married, congratulations and found out i cannot contribute to a roth since our combined gross income is over a limit. what do you recommend investing in still, gary. >> first of all, double congratulations because your spouse is earning a lot of money. so if you can't do a roth, you have a few choices. obviously, try to maximum out your 401(k). when you get married, it's time to look at the whole family. so speak to your spouse about perhaps increasing their 401(k) contribution. the entire family picture. and then you can do a nondeductible i.r.a. one thing you might want to consider would be a nondeductible i.r.a., which it grows tax deferred, and just for a little twist, later on, you might decide to roth convert. which is switch from this to a roth. and you'll probably pay no tax on the conversion. >> yes, still options. still put your money away, still plan for the future. awesome.

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former defense secretary donald rumsfeld says the killing of osama bin laden represents a good day for america. in an interview on cnn's "american morning" rumsfeld got a little impatient with a question from ali velshi over the significance of taking out bin laden. >> let me ask you this. during -- while you were defense secretary, the bush administration had both said that -- had said at one point that capturing osama bin laden was the most important thing to do in the fight against terrorism. and then subsequently, we started to hear that it wasn't all that important. which one is it? is this the biggest thing we have achieved in the fight against terrorism, or is it not really that important?

>> oh, i think that it's a false construct. >> well -- what part -- what part is a false construct? >> just a minute, and i will answer your question. >> go ahead. >> the important thing to do is to protect the american people. that is critical. and to do that, obviously, capturing or killing the head of al qaeda was enormously important. and -- but what -- the reason it was important was to protect the american people, and if one looks back over close to a decade now, there's not been a major successful attack on america for close to a decade. so obviously, it was highly successful. i think to say that it was important and that it wasn't important is simply just not correct. it has always been important. >> >> rumsfeld says someone in al qaeda will likely emerge to replace bin laden, but he says whether that person reaches the same level is an open question.

big question here, the u.s. has given pakistan $18 billion in aid since 9/11. maim to fight terrorism. which brings us to today's "talk back." carol costello has your responses. >> a lot of people angry that pakistan didn't notice that big old mansion owe samma was hiding out in. who was that behind those big concrete walls? our "talk back" question, should u.s. freeze pakistan funding until we get answers. this from bill, stop the madness, do not give another dime, we are broke. give us our social security cost of living raise, you jerks. that's saying it clearly. hey, some of my facebook friends are tough. this from john. the american belief has always been innocent until proven guilty. pakistan has provided valuable information about terrorists over the years. if they are found to have been harboring bin laden, then, yes, no more funding. this from tom, yes, of course, we can better use that money to

rebuild areas destroyed by tornadoes in our own country. from gabby, every leader we have ever caught has been in pakistan, all living very comfortably. stop paying them to harbor our enemi enemies. and from john, absolutely, give it to the u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s for a pay raise. >> there you go. >> amen to that, brother. continue the conversation. facebook.com/carolcnn. and thanks, as always, for your comments. >> carol, great stuff today. you know, we've talked about osama bin laden's death for 24 hours. we do want to remember some of those lives that he took. american airlines flight 77 commandeered by al qaeda hijackers. 125 people died that day inside the pentagon. 59 people died on flight 77. [ male announcer ] edmunds.com says that lexus holds its value

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with osama bin laden dead, many are wondering if al qaeda had a preset plan to attack, if their leader was killed. our congressional correspondent, dana bash put that question to congressman mike rogers, chairman of the house intelligence committee. >> obviously, it will inflame some. but, again, operations are long in the planning. they are sophisticated. takes a long time for them to pull off an operation. they were patient. i can tell you, there's information that they're still working for these plans and

attempts to conduct terrorist activity. >> the killing of osama bin laden may be a fat al blow to al qaeda, but there are few men who might try to take over the terrorist network. our brian todd looks at the prime suspects. >> reporter: well al qaeda decapitated, experts believe this is a terror network in crisis. what kind of a hole is al qaeda in now? >> they have been in a hole for some time. they have suffered a lot of operational setbacks because of things like predator sprix, their operational leadership is decimated. now their spokesman is gone. >> reporter: phillip mud, former cia officer and counter terror official says osama bin laden is irreplaceable. mud and other experts say, with so many jihadists having looked to osama bin laden for direction, inspirational command, filling his void will be a disjointed, messy undertaking. there are at least two obvious replacements. ayman al zawahiri, a legendary

al qaeda leader also on the run since september 11th. and al alackey, the american-born clerk, a key leader. experts say both are capable, but they also have drawbacks that bin laden didn't have. al zawahri has the strategic background, but lacks bin laden's charisma and -- >> he's viewed as a polarizing figure, someone not easy to deal with, not a good manager. >> reporter: al alaqi is seen as an internet sensation who inspired the christmas day airline plot and the attempted cargo bombing last year. his achilles' heel? >> he's a cleric, a speaker, not a fighter. and al qaeda over the years has wanted to be led by a fighter. >> reporter: credentials bin laden had from battling soviets. but other dangers could surface,

including sa this man, believed to have played a role in the african embassy bombings. this man rose to prominence for escaping from the air base. and a well connected favorite, mastermind of a plot last year to target europe. experts say it will take a herculean effort to manage like osama bin laden did. >> they don't have anybody now who will have the star power of bin laden. >> reporter: analysts say if no leader steps to the floor 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, cnn, washington. this big day in news continues right now with randi kaye. >> hi, drew. thank you. with the death of osama bin laden, the u.s. government is moving