talk a little bit about some of the details that we're learning around her death. a.j., what can you tell us? >> what we do know, suzanne, is that donna summer died this morning reportedly in florida at the age of 63. apparently dying from cancer. something that she had kept under wraps. it was not well-known at all that she was suffering from an illness. she had reportedly been in the studio very recently working on an album that she was hoping to finish. we did release a statement from her manager this morning saying, early this morning we lost donna summer, a woman of many gifts, the greatest gift being her faith. while we grieve her passing, we're at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy. words truly cannot express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time. donna rose to fame in the '70s disco era. she was born in boston, la donna adrienne gains was her birth

name. her career fired up when she was an international when she was cast in the international tour of "hair." she met and married actor helmuth sommer. she kept his last name, did a little tweak, and that's when she officially game donna summer, and really the hot arc of her career took place between about 1977 and 1984. songs you know, songs you love like "i feel love," "hot stuff" "bad girls," "on the radio." and she was reportedly working on an album when she died as i mentioned. five-time grammy winner. she had a number one hit on the dance charts as recently as a couple years ago back in 2010 and has just worked with some amazing artists and producers. the queen of disco. she truly defined an era. >> a.j., in the tradition she grew up in gospel music in the

house and sang in the church choir and then as a teenager was in a rock band named crow, and then really expanded her musical horizons. really reached and touched a lot of different communities and people. just to give you a sense of the kinds of people that were drawn to her who wanted to work with her at that time. she was on fire. it's like bette midler, the bee gees, quincy jones, aretha franklin, all of them weighing in, collaborating on some of the best things she did. but "last dance," thafs ot was of the songs where the party really coming to an end. people took to her music and took to that kind of energy and excitement and outreach that she brought to so many different people. i want to read a couple tweets coming in from a whole bunch of celebrity people and singers. mario lopez, rip donna summer.

i remember roller skating to hits like "last dance" and "bad girls." from la toya jackson, my condolence to donna summer's loved ones and family. she was truly the disco queen. alyssa milano says i used to do interpretative dance in my living room to donna summer's music when i was a little girl. rest in peace. so many people weighing in and reflecting on the years and years of music that she brought to all of us and really defining an era when you think about the '70s. there's no other person that really defined the disco era than donna summer with the crazy outfits and the hair and the words pushing it ever so far. that's really what the '70s was all about, people he can pressing themselves and expressing themselves in their music and their dance and their hairstyles and all the crazy bell bottom pants and everything else that we recalled.

>> and, you know, you mentioned the songs, and really for donna summer, what makes her so unique when you look back at the history of pop muse i cic and t history of pop music and the dance era, these songs arenwere just hits, they were anthems. "love to love you baby" the first song people got to know donna summer through, an anthem. even her song "on the road" from 1983 and we keep seeing the great art from that song coming up where she's sitting in a car, yet another anthem. all of them truly songs that defined an era, songs that shaped people's lives who were growing up, whether, you know, just everyday citizens, people going to clubs, or the artists that came into prominence in the 1980s, and you talk about a song like "bad girls." we were talking about that earlier. it had such an energy. it was a song about prostitution, even a little avant garde for the moment, but

that whistle sound became so prominent in the dance clubs and in dance music and a lot of that to do with the fact that donna summer and her producers chose to put it in that massive hit song for her. >> if you have more details at all about when we can celebrate her life, when the funeral is, the service, her family, please bring that to us, but again we just want to bring it to you. 63-year-old donna summer, queen of disco, has passed away today. want to move on to other news. the drama that's unfolding in greensboro, north carolina, a courtroom. the attorneys in the john edwards' corruption trial are getting one last shot to sell their case to the jury. now, they're presenting their closing arguments today. diane dimond has been inside the courtroom listening intently and she's a special correspondent for "newsweek" and the daily beast. tell us, first of all, how did this go? what did -- how did they wrap this up, so to speak? >> reporter: well, they haven't

yet. it's only about halfway through, suzanne, and i have to tell you my head is just full. so let me just give you my impressions. the government went first, robert higden is the prosecutor, he's a north carolina boy, and he was very storyteller in style. he told the whole story from the beginning to end, the first time rielle hunter came into the then-senator edwards' life, to when they had to escape north carolina because she was pregnant. their life on the road. and throughout it all, he punctuated it with phone records or the voice mail left by john edwards at one point and other exhibits that the jury has already seen, but he wove a fascinating tale that put it all together. then it was abbe lowell's turn. he did the closing for the defense. he has a completely different style. he is from washington, d.c., as you know. not from north carolina. he moves around a lot as he

talks. he checked his watch at least six times that i saw because they were under a time constrai constraint. he was very laser focused in the law, and, of course, that's what this trial is all about, suzanne. it is about the law and did john edwards willfully and knowingly violate a campaign finance law or two or three or four or six. there are six in the indictment. so he spent a lot of time not telling a story, but concentrating on the law and ripping to shreds andrew and cheri young. they, of course, the key prosecution witnesses. at one point he called them the bonnie and clyde of this case when he talked about andrew young saying, well, we had to go on with this scheme after the election ended because the candidate wanted to be the vice president or maybe attorney general. abbe lowell said to that, you can just laugh right out loud at that. so it was a very personal and

prolonged attack on the youngs, especially andrew young. of course, he was the lead-off witness here. >> diane, how much do you think the jury is going to get caught up in some of the more salacious details of this case? you really did have an extraordinary story, a sordid tale told in that courtroom and ultimately it will come down to a very dry, legal explanation in terms of whether or not he knew what this money was being used for. do you think the jurors are looking and paying attention to the more dry legal aspects of what this case is all about or getting kind of more caught up in some of the salacious details? >> reporter: hmm, well, you know what? they are said to be listening more intently today than they have been in a long time. remember, at the end of this case we are going through long lists of phone numbers. so i think the short answer to your question is, i think they're paying attention to both. they know this is the end. this is the big wrap up. but let me put it to you this way, suzanne, i have always thought why couldn't it be both

ways? why couldn't john edwards have acted the way he acted because, a, he was having this salacious affair and wanted to keep it from his wife and he wanted to protect his political aspirations? so if there's even one little doubt in a juror's mind that, hey, i think he did this, i believe, not a doubt, but i believe he did this to save his political career, well, then that's guilty. if it's just a doubt, gee, i don't know, maybe he did it, well, then that's reasonable doubt, and i have to tell you, abbe lowell, he just have used the term reasonable doubt, i don't know, 500 times or something. i'm exaggerating on that, but i have to give you one quote he said about bunny mellon. he talked about campaign contribution, what is a campaign contribution and how many campaign contributions have you seen that come with a handwritten note from the donor that ends with, a big hug and

all my love, bunny? he said that doesn't sound like a campaign contribution. those came through her office in new york and so what if he was conspiring -- so what if he was speaking on the phone a lot with fred baron. they call it a conspiracy, conspiring. they were friends. so what if they were talking. he was a campaign finance chairman. of course they were talking about the campaign. >> okay. >> reporter: they each have another hour to go and then jury instructions. >> all right. we're going to leave it there, diane. if you have more details we'll brick you back. thanks. here is what we're working on this hour. power, fame, and more than their share of tragedy. we get a look at the continuing saga of the kennedy clan as the investigation continues into the sudden death of another member of america's famous family. and while everyone is arguing over the price of facebook, the social media giant is quietly figuring out how much you're worth to them. and saying good-bye to the queen of disco. all energy development comes with some risk,

but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... now's the time to move from to where you want to go. look up. with u.s. bank let's get the wheels turning. use our strength & stability to open new opportunities. to lend, and lift ...every business...every dream... to new heights of prosperity. good things are happening. just look up.

with u.s. bank. but i tested it out, and bayer advanced aspirin relieved my pain fast. it helps me get back in the game. but don't take his word for it. put bayer advanced aspirin to the test for yourself at fastreliefchallenge.com. [ creaking ] [ male announcer ] trophies and awards lift you up. but they can also hold you back.

unless you ask, what's next? [ zapping ] [ clang ] this is the next level of performance. the next level of innovation. the next rx. the all-new f sport. this is the pursuit of perfection. gay families are descending

on the nation's capitol hill hill. parents and children meeting with law makers to discuss marriage equality, safe schools, adoption, and other family concerns. zach walsh is among the 100 family there is to lobby congress. so, zach, very good to see you. you have been a very powerful voice when it comes to same-sex marriage. >> thank you. >> you have written two books. you wrote one book here called "my two moms" and you also have provided testimony before the iowa state house last year, and that went viral. i want to play a little bit of what that was all about for our viewers. >> the point is that our family really isn't so different from any other iowa family. you know, when i'm home we go to church together, we eat dinner, we go on vacations but, you know, we have our hard times, too, we get in fights. you know, actually my mom was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000. it's a devastating disease that put her in a wheelchair so we have had our struggles, but

we're iowans. we don't expect anyone to solve our problems for us, we'll fight our own battles. we just hope for equal and fair treatment from our government. >> so, zach, you are back in washington. i understand that you spoke with iowa senator chuck grassley. what are you hoping to accomplish today? what did you tell him? >> suzanne, i'm hear with the family equality council, the leading advocacy group for families like mine. we're talking about same-sex adoption as this really rough patchwork of laws that's not consistent a across all 50 states. the every child deserves a family act that we're urging senators to co-sponsor. we're talking about safe schools which are very important. i went to a public school in iowa city and the fact is there are schools all over this country that kids still don't have the protection they need from other kids. we have to make sure our schools are safe for all the kids. finally, making sure everybody in the senate is aware of the respect for marriage act which

would repeal the defense of marriage act which is a flagrant violation of the tenth amendment and we're looking forward to making sure we can remove that from the books and have marriage equality in this country. >> zach, obviously the big news that came out just the last couple weeks, president obama coming out in support of same-sex marriage. when you heard that, how did you -- what did you think about your own family? >> it was pretty incredible. there's no doubt about it. it was a very full circle moment for us. my moms, we've talked, we've had these conversations. they never thought they would live in a country where they could get married, have a sitting president endorse their marriage. it was a big moment for a lot of us. to be honest, suzanne, i'm just happy to have his support. >> and did you think that this is a time where the nation needs to move forward, go forward even more, that there needs to be laws that protect that union? >> of course. in this country we have seen a steady march towards more liberty and more freedom, and this is another part of that

long march towards, you know, the shining city that i think president reagan spoke about. and i really do feel that the repeal of the defense of marriage act is going to be one of those important steps in that journey to the shining city. >> zach, what do you want people to know just on a personal level about who you are and what your family is about? >> i think there are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to have lesbian parents in this country. i think there are a lot of folks who might think it's radically different from having a mom and a dad, and to be honest the biggest difference i have been able to see between my life and my male friends who have straight parents is compared to them, i'll really good at putting the seat down. if this is the big gay scourge we have to be worried about, i think as a country we're probably going to be okay. >> that was really funny, zach. >> thank you very much. >> do you think that we need to use more humor to get -- to further this discussion? it seems like people are very either one way or the other and kind of angry and serious about it all. >> you know, it's a passionate issue to be sure and i think

humor is a good way of defusing some of that and helping us all step back and realize the impacts aren't necessarily going to be as earth shattering as some people might have you believe. i think there is a lot of very violent rhetoric that is thrown around, and to be honest it happens from both sides. the fact is not all people who are opposed to same-sex marriage are big gots or hateful for ignorant. likewise, not all people who are supporting marriage equality are hateful. we needs to understand at the end of the day my family isn't looking for some radical change. we're looking for due process and que qual protection like all families in this country have and deserve. >> zach, thank you very much. obviously good to see you as always. >> thank you. >> please keep up with us. let us know how things are going for you and your mops. >> will do. thank you. while everybody isaing over what facebook is worth, the social media giant quietly weighing on just how much you're worth. we're going to explain up next. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper.

what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. with your photographs. ( younger sister ) where's heaven ? ( older sister ) far. what will you inspire, with the eos rebel t3i and ef lenses, for ron's next project ? learn more at youtube. to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite.

a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now, that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health.

all right. enough talk about how much facebook is worth. we're going to find that out tomorrow. did you ever consider that facebook can actually put a price on you? that's right. want to bring in richard quest to talk about it. so good to see you, richard.

facebook pretty important to a lot of people, but i don't know, really? i mean, now they're putting a dollar figure on us as users? how so? >> well, yeah, right. okay. play along with me at home as we do this, as they say. so there are 900 million users roughly worldwide and there are roughly $4 billion of revenues. those are the large numbers, if you like, suzanne. but now how much are each one of us -- because you are probably worth more to them than me and i am probably worth less than half the people -- >> i don't know. let's see. >> go to the online privacy company and now we start to answer the core questions. so i'm going to do it for myself or should i answer for you? >> either way. >> all right. where do you live? you live u.s. how many facebook friends do you have? >> let's say 5,000.

>> whoa! you really must get a life. >> they're not really friends. >> how do you use facebook's like buttons? >> i don't. >> i will answer this one for you. how many photos do you paste on facebook? i'm guessing you probably post more than one a month. >> yeah, that's probably true, yeah. >> okay. do you have a farm, a gang, or play words with friends? >> no, no time for that. >> how much money do you make? under $50,000, over $50,000, you're in the highest tax bracket. >> i can't talk about that. >> all right. i have answered it for you. >> just put that in. you know what it is. >> how long do you think you will be using facebook? i think it's going to be basically as long as my friends are using it. >> yeah, yeah. that's probably right. >> are you ready? >> yeah. >> this is how much you as an entity bearing in mind the revenues and the advertisers,

this is the price facebook puts on you a year from their advertisers. >> what is it? can you see that? >> it's -- i must have missed one. hang on. the games one. no, they're all there. they're all there but it hasn't -- anyway -- >> what was your score? >> mine, how annoying. mine showed i was worth roughly $8 a year to facebook in terms of revenue. and the way they got the number was from the s-1 registration statement from -- they took all the details from the securities index exchange commission and what's in the documents. they put them all together and they came up with this rough idea of how it was done. >> so what is this all about? so what are we supposed to do with this information? if you have a high value, is

that something somebody -- >> we're not. no. this is facebook's. this is facebook roughly working out how they're going to get more money for each one of us. they don't care if i don't use it. but they do care if you don't use it if you're worth, say, $16, $17, $18 a year. i was only worth $8 a year in advertising revenue, but there will be people out there who will be worth $20, $30, $40 a year, and what this tells us is that facebook as it mines the information from us, as it gets further into our lives, will be putting a price on each one of us, and for people like me, it's good-bye. >> my producers just told me they did the calculations for me, and they said i came out at $47. you know -- >> you see! >> a little higher. >> a little bit! a little bit! >> a bilittle bit more than you.

are you going to buy? that's the question. are you going to buy? >> you wouldn't tell me how much you earn and you have the chutzpah to ask if i'm going to buy facebook. >> i'm going to have you back on tomorrow and see what the answer is. fascinating stuff. as always. thank you, richard. good to see you. >> thank you. super pacs on the attack as independent groups outside the campaigns dig in for the fight for the white house. the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful. he would never give up on any of us. homicide of young people in america has an impact on all of us. how can we save these young people's lives? as a police chief, i have an opportunity to affect what happens in a major city.

if you want to make a difference, you have to have the right education. university of phoenix opened the door. my name is james craig, i am committed to making a difference, and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now. ♪ [ acou[ sighs ]ar: slow ] [ announcer ] all work and no play... will make brady miss his favorite part of the day. ♪ [ upbeat ] [ barking ] [ whines ] that's why there's beneful playful life, made with energy-packed wholesome grains... and real beef and egg. to help you put more play in your day. beneful. play. it's good for you. who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone.

androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant or are breast feeding should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting.

talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month for androgel 1.62%. what are you waiting for? this is big news. donna summer, the queen of discoa disco, 63 years old today died. this five-time grammy award winning singer, songwriter, icon, really spectacular individual. a lot of people who are weighing in offering their support and their condolences. want to play a little bit of "on the radio" for you, just a taste of what her talent was. ♪ on the radio whoa ♪ on the radio whoa

>> makes you want to celebrate dance, laugh. just makes you feel good, her music. she collaborated with so many greats, so many individuals, bette midler, quincy jones, the bee gees, just to name a few. the tweets are coming in. i want to read a couple from a lot of celebrities and singers. gloria estefan says it's the end of an era. peace and prayers. ryan seacrest says i remember sitting in the front seat of my mom's toyota while she sang "hard for the money." billy ray cyrus, rip, donna summer legend. your music will live forever. just an amazing person and one who i truly enjoyed and appreciated her muse i can. if you think the

presidential race is intense right now, just wait. "the new york times" says the republican super pac may revive the whole jeremiah wright controversy. he was president obama's former spiritual adviser whose racially charged sermons became a huge issue back in 2008. joining us to talk about that is brian monroe, cnn politics.com editor. so, brian, good to see you here. this is what everybody has been talking about today. kind of the anticipation and the buildup and then now we are hearing perhaps the pushback. you have a very wealthy individual, joe ricketts, i believe, and he is a billionaire. he puts forward this ad and says -- at least according to "the new york times," that they're going to use jeremiah wright, bring him back again, to attack president obama. >> he was the -- his family headed td ameritrade which is a big brokerage firm and they're

very popular, but we just found out from their karch saying they basically are rerejejecting the plan. not only was this plan merely a proposal, one of several submitted, but it reflects an approach to politics that mr. ricket rejects and was never a plan to be accepted, but only a suggestion for a direction to take. so it seems like he's even backing away from it. we saw earlier mitt romney repudiated the direction. it looks like the republicans are quickly running away from that kind of an approach. >> why do you suppose those the case? this would work in their favor, and they don't have a lot of control over the super pac anyway. could you come out and denounce this and still benefit from it from those attacks from that super pac. >> there certainly could be a benefit in a longer race, but one of the things that this could easily backfire against the republicans for bringing up the jeremiah wright issue because there are issues around religion on the romney side that are already very sensitive.

and, you know, as my mom used to say, don't go there. if they go there, it could open up a big can of worms. >> it was really a problem for the obama campaign in 2008. i remember really that time very well when they were trying to rejigger the whole approach because they thought this is make it or break it and he denounced reverend wright's comments and he went on to make this incredible speech about race. we hear from democratic sources they are in conference calls, in meetings. these are organizations backing obama who are worried about this becoming an issue. what does this say to you, that they are so concerned that this come up again? >> when this first came up around the spring of 2008, first obama was hesitant to, as you say, throw reverend wright under the bus, after a series of press conferences, and meetings and the philadelphia speech where he stood up op race, it was a very real issue for the campaign. hillary clinton made it a big deal, and they think they put

that -- they thought they put that to bed. if it comes up again in 2012 it could be incendiary. >> it's one of those things, what it looks like to me is that they are responding very quickly where there was a lot of criticism in the past that they moved a little too slow and sometimes didn't even respond to some of the criticism. now it looks like they are definitely going to fight every step of the way as soon as it becomes an issue. >> that's one thing we're seeing in this campaign is that the obama election/re-election group in chicago are being very quick. both in playing offense in going after romney on some of his own issues and very quickly on the defensive when something like this happens. >> all right. brian monroe, good to see you, as always. >> thanks. she was the mother of four, a member of one of america's most glamorous families, and we have the latest details on the tragic death of mary kennedy. get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria.

hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

so i brought it to mike at meineke. we gave her car a free road handling check. i like free. free is good. my money. my choice. my meineke.

now to the latest tragedy for the famed kennedy family. mary kennedy died due to asphyxiation due to hanging. she was found dead in her home yesterday. alina cho has the story. >> the medical examiner's office has confirmed to cnn that mary kennedy died from asphyxiation due to hanging, not a surprise given the reporting in the past 24 hours. as for what happened, citing two unnamed sources, "the new york times" is reporting that mary kennedy's body was found hanging in the barn in the back of the house and that authorities did arrive and did try to revive her. one thing we do know for certain is that the last few years were not kind at all to mary kennedy. she battled a lot of demons. the public problems began in may of 2010 when her husband, robert kennedy, jr., the nephew of president john f. kennedy, filed for divorce. she was arrested for driving

under the influence. it happened twice in 2010, once for alcohol, and once for prescription drugs. one charge was reduced, the other was thrown out, but nonetheless it did happen. there was also a domestic incident the night after robert kennedy filed for divorce during which he told authorities his wife was intoxicated. the couple has four children, all under the age of 18, just heartbreaking. the divorce we should mention was never finalized, so at the time of mary kennedy's death, they were still officially married. mary kennedy's family released a statement saying in part, our heart goes out to her children who she loved without reservation. and robert kennedy, jr., also released a statement saying mary inspired our family with her kindness, her love, her gentle soul, and generous spirit. she was 52 years old. alina cho, cnn, new york. >> so tragic. we are also saying farewell to the man they called the godfather of go go.

seems like we can't escape. mark zuckerberg, the founder, routinely shows up on magazine covers. now they have put it in the headlines. there's even a movie about it, but what about a musical? here is jeanne moos. >> reporter: face this mark zuckerberg. the movie about you takes two hours.

>> drop the "the," just facebook. >> reporter: but it tells less than four minutes to tell your life story in zuckerberg the musical. ♪ harvard, he's a student of r harvard ♪ ♪ doesn't want to be bothered >> reporter: using songs borrowed from cats. ♪ this is the dawning of the page that you share with us ♪ >> reporter: borrowed from "hair," from "west side story." ♪ my mother, i just found my mother on facebook ♪ ♪ and suddenly i see how dangerous this site can be ♪ >> reporter: you'll find this musical on youtube, not broadway. >> everyone that you see performing is a juilliard trained musician. >> reporter: it's the latest release from cdza. stucker berg the musical covers every face of facebook from -- >> scene number seven,

expansion. ♪ >> reporter: to facebook's role as the champion of democracy. ♪ arab spring, revolutions covered ♪ >> reporter: cdza says it creates music video experiments. their first experiment was called -- >> history of lyrics that are not lyrics. ♪ >> reporter: put your lips together for their next video. ♪ >> reporter: the history of whistling. 26 songs covering 98 years. ♪ >> reporter: now to ride the noise of facebook going public, they're hoping you'll like their song about the like button. ♪ anything you can like i can like better ♪ >> no you can't.

>> yes, i can. >> yes i [ bleep ] can. >> reporter: finally we get to mark zuckerberg taking facebook public. ♪ now he is a rich man, he has lots of moola now ♪ >> reporter: they don't just sing about facebook, they're on it. jeanne moos, cnn. ♪ zuckerberg the musical smots >> reporter: new york. >> who needs an excuse for a second cup of coffee? the latest word on what it means and what it does for your health. [ male announcer ] if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze...

[ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. [ sneezes ]

a desperate mom from south carolina took her 6-year-old son all the way to india for experimental embryonic stem cell therapy. a doctor in new delhi helps she can ease and even at times cure a wide range of debilitating illnesses by using procedures banned in the united states. hundreds of americans have gone to her clinic. they have spend thousands for the therapy. this is the first time an american tv crew has had access to embryonic stem cell clinic abroad. >> reporter: how many patients do you have a day here? >> plenty. >> reporter: from all over the world?

>> yes. >> reporter: when she gives us a tour, patients are indeed from everywhere with an astonishing array of severe problems. >> he's getting his injection, yes. >> reporter: this man is from baghdad, a paraplegic because of multiple gunshot wounds. >> reporter: is this your first time here? >> yes. >> reporter: this indian toddler she says has a genetic disorder similar to the one affecting cash. and this american teen was paralyzed three years ago in a motocross accident in southern illinois. >> before i came here, i had no movement in my left hand between the fingers and in my left hanw i can contract them good. >> reporter: what you're doing now is new. >> yeah, that's new, for sure. >> reporter: it may seem like a tiny improvement, but it is the kind of thing the doctor likes to emphasize when she claims she is making the incurable better. still, no other scientist, no published studies back up her claims.

>> reporter: you're taking als. >> yes, a neurodegenerative, so neurodegenerative i am taking up as a group, spinal cord injuries i take up as a group. cerebral palsy and genetic disorders i am taking up and what else? muscular skeletal disorders. >> reporter: are you curing them? what is the word you would use? >> i am helping improve their quality of life. >> drew griffin joins us from los angeles. drew, it was evident here the doctor is choosing her words carefully. she department answer the question whether or not she was curing people of these conditions, so is there evidence that she is making the lives better or is she curing? >> yes, suzanne, she is using her words carefully because she is not curing anyone's medical condition. there is no scientific proof that any of this is actually happening. there are no studies. she is running no clinical studies. this is based on feel, how

patients feel. you saw the one kid from illinois who could move his fingers a little bit. he thought that was after this treatment, but quite frankly when we were there and you will see in this hour-long documentary, these patients really aren't sure what is being injected into them. we asked to go to the lab where these embryonic stem cells are manufactured in a way and we were denied access. all you're doing is get getting injected with something and these patients seem to feel that it is helping them. >> it almost seems like there is a suggestion that this is something that they are thinking, that it is a mental thing, that they are thinking that somehow they feel better, that there is no evidence that really is happening? >> that's an absolutely correct. as you will see, we followed this one child, his name is cash and his parents love him so much. they raised all of this money, $75,000 raised. they went over to india not once

but twice hoping there would be some kind of help for cash who has an incurable genetic disorder. they want to believe it not only for their son's life but they want to believe it so they're not embarrassed by raising all of this money and spending it on this unproven treatment. what you will see in this hour is really the struggle that so many people go through. they're at the end of their rope. there is as many of them told us, there is no plan b, so where do i go? the doctor is providing at least hope for these and they are hoping that they're just not getting ripped off. >> drew, it is a fascinating story, and i know you're going to have a lot more on this family's search for a cure. you don't want to miss this one. this investigative report selling a miracle, that is sunday night at 8 eastern on cnn. the morning cup of coffee many of us cannot live without including myself may help us live longer. that's right. good news.

major study by the national institute of health on the people that drink two or more cups of coffee a day, less likely to die from several diseases than people who drink little or no coffee. those diseases include respiratory illnesses, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and infections. coffee drinkers also had better survival rates from accidents as well as injuries. the risk was roughly 15% lower in women and 10% lower in men. it didn't matter if the coffee you were drinking is caffeinated or decaf. good news. be careful about the sunscreen you use this summer. that is the message from the environmental working group's annual sunscreen guide. the group tested 100 sunscreens and found only 25% protect your skin without using potentially harmful chemicals. they say more than half of the sunscreens tested contain a chemical linked to hormone disruption and potential cell damage called objection oxybenzone.

they improved it for children older than six months and many contain a type of vitamin a the group says may increase your risk of skin cancer. saying farewell to the man they call the godfather of go-go. >> we had nev ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone likes a bit of order in their life.

virtual wallet helps you get it. keep track of spending, move money with a slide, and use the calendar. all to see your money how you want. ♪ how you want. inspired by women who like control, which, last time i checked, was most women. sprinkle as much as you'd like into the wash to boost the scent. gain. anything but ordinary. ♪ you're doing it again, sweetheart. hmm? the thumb thing. ♪ -mine. -mine. -mine. ♪ mine! [ female announcer ] glidden brilliance collection paint and primer in one. available only at walmart. got a day? get some color. ♪ glidden paint makes it easy to add color to your life. glidden gets you going. [ male announcer ] you're at the age

where you don't get thrown by curveballs. ♪ this is the age of knowing how to get things done. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. you may feel the world is less f u.n. ky, you are right. chuck brown has died. his band had a huge hit in the

late 70s and that song gave him the nickname the godfather of go-go. it stuck with chuck brown for the rest of his life. ♪ >> go-go came about during the time disco was happening and we were doing top 40 and we used to do 15, 20 songs a night from our own sound, so when i put the band together in 1966 after i left a group they had a latin sound with that percussion and all, and i decided to put my own band together and i decided to use that particular ingredient, you know. ♪ >> it just goes and goes and goes. we don't stop. we just keep going. they had go-go clubs, go-go girls and didn't have go-go

music, and i decided to call it go-go music. ♪ >> it is just another form of funky music, audience participation, you know, response, and everybody joins in. you hear that beat, it is a type of groove, if you hear it, you going to move something. just move your head or pat your feet or something. it is going to get to you. everywhere we go, you never know what you hear. you will sugar bear and you know, and my man sugar bear, man, we go way back. i first met him when he was 16 years old.

>> you going to party. that's what it means, party music, and it is good. it is fun music. it never stops. >> it is home grown. this is where it originated from and will always be here. over 30 years now and i am very proud to say that. ♪ >> we go all over the world, and i can't wait to get back here. i mean, we get love everywhere we go, but there is no love like the d.c. love. >> chuck brown, i grew up on his music in d.c. "cnn newsroom" with ashley. >> i am ashley banfield in forbook baldwin today. we have a huge show ready to go. the countdown, it is on. investors anxiously awaiting as the price of facebook is just dangling out there waiting to

drop. it will be released after the closing bell and that magic number is going to make a lot of people rich, instant millionaires, a couple of billionaires and we have every angle covered on this big moment on wall street. first off, though, this. ♪ ♪ >> that is the voice of an era, the queen of disco, and singer donna summer, she will be remembered for songs like this, songs for last dance, hot stuff, and on the radio. she died this morning according to a family statement. she was just 63 years old. in her career she earned five grammys including a shaking on the stage performance on american idol in 2008.

♪ ♪ >> that voice as strong as ever. michelle turner is in los angeles live. do we know anything about how donna summer died at such a young age? >> you know, we are getting just a little bit of information, ashley. she was a very private person, and we're seeing that even in her passing. her family did talk about the fact that she did die of cancer. they confirmed that to us but would not say what type of cancer donna summer had. she was battling it. they did tell us she was surrounded by her family, surrounded by love in florida this morning. we talked about the statement they sent out. i am going to read that to you.

they said early this morning we lost donna summer, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith. while we grieve her passing we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy. words truly can't express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time and that is from the sudano family. they also gave us a little more information, ashley. they said in lieu of flowers they request that people give donations in donna summer's honor to the salvation army if you want to pay tribute to her in that way. you were talking about some of her amazing accomplishments. the five grammy awards which continues to amaze me, she won in so many different categories. it just shows how she crossed genre, best r & b vocal, best rock vocal, best dance performance, best inspirational song. you see how much her music affected so many different people for all the genres she

continued to cross. >> she was the disco queen. she launched an era, but she also did something that was very edgy at a time when music, the edginess of music was elvis presley and the beatles and she came along with that very provocative love to love you baby and all sorts of heavy breathing and other things that sounded like they were going on. is she being remembered as much for this kind of thing about for pushing the envelope as she is for just being an extraordinary entertainer? >> absolutely. i think she is being remembered as an innovator. you talked about love to love you, baby. that was a 17 minute song that at the time caused so much controversy. a lot of radio stations said this is way too racy, we cannot play this on the air, and it was at that point very racy. it was veriy rot i can. it was also in her words for women a little bit empowering, and i know someone was just you can talking about the fact she

sang the song and tried to be reminisce incident how she thought marilyn monroe would sing the song and interpret it and i know the recording academy also just released a statement they gave to me and you were talking about how she would be remembered and they said her talent was a true gift to the music industry, and that is very true because she paved the way for so many of the diva voices that we celebrate today, so i think she definitely will be remembered as an innovator and just a couple of years ago i know she said she was trying to get back into the recording studio. she was thinking about doing an album of the standards. can you imagine that voice doing songs of the standards? that just would have been really, really amazing. i know she also met with jimmy and terry lewis to talk with them about music and collaborating with people like that would have been fantastic. >> can you be imagine, really a voice gone too soon. i say very young. i think 63 is young and especially when you see her

performing just recently and her voice seemed so strong. she hadn't lost any of it. thank you, my friend. keep on the story if you can for us. we appreciate it. by the way, donna summer, such a performer, will certainly be remembered by so many of her talents and so many of her awesome songs. have a listen. ♪ ♪ she works hard for the money ♪ so hard she works hard for the money so you better treat her right ♪ >> donna summer, dead at the age of 63. a security breech in the highest halls of power. some will way watergate. kind of sounds like it, someone snooping around the capitol and breaking into congressional offices and stealing anything that isn't nailed down like cash, computer equipment, clothes, and even an autographed baseball, and booze. the committee officers are get -- committee offices are

getting hit, too and the national journal is reporting that no national security information has been taken. that we know of at this point. one of the offices belongs to south carolina congressman trey gaudy, and he joins me live now. what did you lose? >> well, i lost a couple of cameras, digital cameras, a computer screen, batteries, things that are easily converted into cash, and as a former prosecutor i don't have much money laying around, but they took the little bitty did have in a desk drawer and can more importantly took some change and some dollar bills from some of the folks i work with and -- >> what about your hard drive? did you keep your hard drive? >> no, ma'am. >> there is my concern. when i hear that kind of thing is going, how can with he be certain sensitive information isn't gone from your office or the other offices that have been hit? >> you can't other than you shouldn't be leaving sensitive

or classified information where anyone can get it through thiefry or other means. our office has things important to us and private to us but we shouldn't have national security secrets in you are on office to begin with. >> understand, but this is where you work and the kind of work you deal with. i can only imagine your computers and communication devices for the sensitive work that you do, and i get it. you can delete, but i am concerned that perhaps some of the other congressional offices in the committee, that the committees that have been broken into may in fact have something more concerning on their hard drives. >> they may well. i would defer to you, your information may be better than mine on what was stolen from other offices. i am not on any committees that would have classified information. the items that were taken seem to be items that were taken for resale as evidenced by the fact they took the screen and not the hard drive and your point is well taken. you ought to have security

inhouse and senate office buildings regardless of whether you're taking signed autographed baseballs or national security secrets >> here is a concern. i don't have the complete list of things taken, and everybody who has been hit, but i do know this. one of the offices is from representative jerry lewis, republican from california and john runyon, republican from new jersey and the appropriations subcommittee on homeland security office was hit and the oversight and government reform committee office was hit 6789 those sound like critical places with lots of sensitive information. so my question is what are you being told from the people who are supposed to be keeping you safe and my guess is that's the office of the chief administrative officer, correct? >> well, i think it would be capitol hill police would be responsible for security of the buildings. you may know this, i was a prosecutor for 16 years. i am familiar with thiefry and what motivates and what motivates folks to do it. runyon's office is right next to mine. i don't understand how you can

walk out of a house or senate office building carrying computer screens and it not garner anyone's attention. >> it sounds awfully strange. i am only going off of your letter, your correspondence between the office of the chief administrative officer. it is the capitol hill police you say should have been on the ball with this as opposed to you're appealing to them to help you repay the lost and stolen items, is that it? >> it is a little bit nuance. the members are personally liable for material taken from the offices, and if that's the rule, i am happy to reimburse whom ever for the cost of it. capitol hill police provide security for the office building, so my letter house administration was kind of a procedural or administrative letter. capitol hill police are the ones investigating the thievrey and trying to ascertain who would have had access. doors are locked.

>> don't you have cameras all over the place? >> you would think. apparently members don't like having cameras in their offices, but i remain stunned you can walk out a congressional office building carrying digital cameras and computer screens and not garner anyone's attention. apparently that happened. i don't know that they have any suspects. i will pay whoever i owe. i am a rule follower. i do think it is a little bit crazy when you lock your doors and you do everything that you're supposed to do and my old job we didn't make victims reimburse their employers when things happened, but i will do whatever the rules require me to do. >> it is also disconcerting that the offices of our congressman are being broken into and our committees are being broken into and things are being stolen. it is disconcerting to all americans as well as you for your loss. i have to move on. thank you for joining us today live. i appreciate it. good luck with your battle to retrieve your goods and get

reimbursed for your goods and let's hope for the best in this one. thanks, sir. >> thank you. >> a whole lot more to cover in the next two hours. take a look at this. >> let's face it. you or someone you know is on facebook every day. do you have any idea how incredibly rich the makers of this website are about to become in a matter of hours? ps, will you even be on facebook in five years? i am ashley banfield. the news starts now. >> back-to-back cases of flesh eating bacteria. this time it hits a new mom. the strain could be more common than you think. plus, outrage after a white cop is acquitted in the beating of a black teenager, a stomping caught on video. ok! who gets occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria.

hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. at bank of america, we're lending and investing in communities across the country. from helping to revitalize a neighborhood in brooklyn...

financing industries that are creating jobs in boston... providing funding for the expansion of a local business serving a diverse seattle community... and lending to ensure a north texas hospital continues to deliver quality care. because the more we can do in local neighborhoods and communities, the more we can help make opportunity possible.

so i brought it to mike at meineke. we gave her car a free road handling check. i like free. free is good. my money. my choice. my meineke. we learned new details from an autopsy report on the cause of mary kennedy's death. she was the 52-year-old estranged wife of robert f. kennedy junior found dead at her suburban new york home yesterday. our alena cho has been working

the story. >> the medical examiner's office has confirmed to cnn that mary kennedy died from asphyxiation due to hanging, not a surprise, given the reporting in the past 24 hours. as for what happened, sighting two unnamed sources, the "new york times" is reporting that mary kennedy's body was found hanging in the barn in the back of the house and that authorities did arrive and did try to revive her. one thing we do know for certain is the last few years were not kind at all to mary kennedy. she battled a lot of demons. the public problems began in may of 2010 when her husband robert kennedy junior, the nephew of president john f. kennedy filed for divorce. not long after that mary kennedy was arrested for driving under the influence. it happened twice in 2010, once for alcohol and once for prescription drugs. one charge was reduced. the other was thrown out. nonetheless, it did happen. there was also a domestic incident the night after robert

kennedy filed for divorce during which he told authorities his wife was intoxicated. the couple has four children all under the age of 18, just heartbreaking. the divorce we should mention was never finalized, so at the time of mary kennedy's death they were still officially married. mary kennedy's family released a statement saying in part our heart goes out to her children who she loved without reservation. robert kennedy junior also released a statement saying mary inspired our family with her kindness, her love, her gentle soul and generous spirit. she was 52 years old. alena cho, cnn, new york. >> thank you for that. also in the news a mother in south carolina who just gave birth to twins is fighting for her life. the husband says the flesh eating bacteria that's making news in recent days and weeks, well, that same disease has forced doctors to remove skin and tissue from her legs.

it is the second such case in recent days. a georgia grag student has lost her leg and parts of her abdomen due to this flesh eating bacteria. our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is looking at the cases and what you should be looking for as well. elizabeth. >> ashley, lana gave birth on may 7th to twins and four days later when they arrived home she and her husband noticed she had a bruise on the back of her leg and it wasn't just any bruise. it was actually a bruise that was growing quickly. they said you could actually sit there and watch it grow. lana is a paramedic and knew to pay attention to this and they went to the hospital and shewas quickly diagnosed with neck row tiesing fashitis, the scientific name. we're not sure how it happened. doctors say that blunt trauma can lead to it. in other words, perhaps she hit her leg, got a bruise, and many of us have strap a bacteria naturally in our body. it is not usually a cause for

concern. but that bacteria can rush to the blood and get into the blood stream and cause this horrible systemic infection. many of us get bruises and so we shouldn't freak out because most of the time they are no big deal. here are a couple of things to think about. if the bruise is causing disproportionate pain, in other words, way more pain than you would expect from a simple bruise, pay attention. fever and weakness, you should also pay attention to those and pay attention to swelling. on cnn.com/empower patient we have more signs and also if it is a bruise, if it is growing quickly, you should definitely call your doctor and get that checked out. ashley. >> all right. thank you. so it is down to the wire for john edwards. he is sitting in a table in a courtroom and listening to two sides pitch their case once and for all. then it is up to the jury. our joe johns is in the courtroom. he is going to give us the lowdown.

plus, an actor from terminator has disappeared and there is one place police are focusing their search. we'll tell you where in a moment. a party? [ music plays, record skips ] hi, i'm new ensure clear. clear, huh? my nutritional standards are high. i'm not juice or fancy water, i'm different. i've got nine grams of protein. twist my lid. that's three times more than me! twenty-one vitamins and minerals and zero fat! hmmm. you'll bring a lot to the party. [ all ] yay! [ female announcer ] new ensure clear. nine grams protein. zero fat. twenty-one vitamins and minerals. in blueberry/pomegranate and peach. refreshing nutrition in charge! here at the hutchison household but one dark stormy evening... there were two things i could tell:

she needed a good meal and a good family. so we gave her what our other cats love, purina cat chow complete. it's the best because it has something for all of our cats! and after a couple of weeks she was healthy, happy, and definitely part of the family. we're so lucky that lucy picked us. [ female announcer ] purina cat chow complete. always there for you. ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it.

if you happen to be a fan of 80s soul funk, you will remember songs like you dropped a bomb on me and burn rubber on me. charlie wilson was the lead singer and as chief medical correspondent sanjay gupta explains things have not always been outstanding for this artist. ♪ >> charlie wilson is best known as uncle charlie as a member of the 80s group the gap band and a solo artist. celebrity status has had its ups and downs. >> the ride was wild, of course, with success. of course alcohol and drugs and just got unbearable. >> at one point wilson lost everything. >> i became homeless. i didn't have anywhere to go. >> he did eventually get sober and went back into the studio as a solo artist and made eight more hit singles and in 2008 life dropped another bomb on

uncle charlie. he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. >> my life was devastated, and i thought my career was over because the word cancer scared me to death. >> with surgeriry and radiation he was able to overcome and disease and quickly realized that talking about prostate cancer was his new life's work. >> i wanted to educate people about this disease. i didn't know what i was going to say. i just knew that what i had went through was very scary and i wanted to share it with someone. >> he partnered with the pharmaceutical company jansen bio tech and is a paid spokesman helping educate black men about the disease. >> we're two times like tloi die from this disease and it it scares me. >> for uncle charlie the future continues to look bright. >> i am 18 years clean and sober. i thank god for my life and i thank god for my wife, and here i am, ready to take on the world

again. >> dr. sanjay gupta, cnn reporting. ♪

a whole lot more news to catch you up on. this is rapid fire. roll it. vermont becomes the first state in the union to ban hydraulic fracturing. don't know what that is? you probably heard of it as fracking. it is the practice of injecting water at really, really heavy duty velocity and sand chemicals along with it to try to crack shale rock and release oil and natural gas. energy production in the u.s. is booming because of fracking and there is a lot of critics that don't like it.

they say it can contaminate ground water and be responsible for causing mild earthquakes as well. mississippi police are saying that ballistic tests are linking two highway murders that occurred 55 miles apart. investigators say they think somebody is posing as a police officer and luring victims to the side of the road and then shooting them to death. in two cases this is what happened. the wallet of one of the victims, a 74-year-old whose picture was up on the screen missing from the crime scene, so somebody took his wallet. the other victim, 48-year-old woman, who was killed just a few days later, no word if anything was missing from her. pentagon leon panetta meeting with israel's counterpart and one of the main issues is stopping a nuclear i ran. so defense minister barack is talking with piers morgan and what he thought about the military option. >> are you prepared to act completely unilaterally if you have to? >> i don't want to respond to

this question, but i think that situation is clear leaders saying no option should be removed off the table and we basically admit it. >> always nervous when i hear i don't want to answer that question. here is what the u.s. says. we're willing to accept iran producing low enriched you rain up, the kind of thing you can do for medical needs. israel is not keen on that. they believe a deal that allows that would actually allow iran to continue deceiving the western world and advance its nuclear program for combat. talks with iran and the six world powers are set to occur later on this month. for the first time in u.s. history minority births are out numbering white births. the census bureau says as of last july 1st 50.4% of children younger than age 1 were minorities and that's defined as anyone who doesn't identify solely as of the white race.

minorities make up 36.6% of the total u.s. population and that's a half percentage point higher than the previous year. search is on are to nick stahl who disappeared more than a weekal. his estranged wife reported him missing on monday. the l.a. times reports that police have been focusing the search on one particular area in l.a., skid row. that's where apparently stahl had been frequenting. he is probably best known for taking over the role of john conner in the movie terminator 3. john edwards attorneys very busy getting their last shot at their form of justice today trying to convince jurors the former presidential candidate did not misuse nearly a million dollars worth of campaign funds. prosecutors get to do the same thing, too, push their arguments. closing arguments taking place in edwards' federal trial and the jurors are expected to listen and start deliberating tomorrow. joe johns is in greensboro,

north carolina. joe. >> a real contrast in style from the lawyer today as closing arguments got under way in the john edwards campaign finance trial. prosecutor robert hig done walking through the facts of the case almost in chronological order starting with the run for president characterizing edwards as a viable candidate in 2008 who cooked up a scheme to stay viable in spite of his affair with his mistress rielle hunter and hig done said edwards had sown the seeds and weeds of destruction by himself and clearly knew the law and decided to violate it. defense attorney abbey loil said it should define the difference between someone committing a wrong and a crime and a sin and a felony and said no crime had been committed and edwards understood the motivation of his light wiech elizabeth in covering up his affair was to get out with dignity and keep the family in tact. both sides put a big focus on the government's star witness, former edwards right-hand man andrew young.

the prosecution admitting he did a lot of things wrong including keeping a lot of the hush money intended for hunter, claiming paternity for hunter's child and allowing edwards to use him. they say he was not a master manipulator. abbey lowell compared young and cherry to the notorious crime couple boston and i clyde and essentially said the government would not have a case without young. more closing arguments this afternoon and the judge will read a lengthy list of instructions to the jury. they're expected to begin deliberations on friday morning. ashley. >> joe johns, thank you for that. appreciate it. the race for president, if you thought it was ugly before, it is really getting nasty. there are rumblings that could be getting worse and, boy, is there a domino effect on something that came out today, a plan unearthed in which a republican super pac would launch a multi-million dollar campaign smearing president obama and using jeremiah wright

and race as the core. we have gotten word of a dramatic twist. you will not believe the reverb asians this has caused. ♪ [ sneezes ] ♪ got it all. here. have a good day, honey. i love you, ok. bye, mom. [ female announcer ] sam's mom is muddling through her allergies. what can she do? she can get answers at walgreens. with guidance and information to help her make informed choices for her allergy needs. like zyrtec -- with the strength of 24-hour zyrtec, you get relief from your worst allergy symptoms, indoors and out. right now, get a 40 count bonus pack for just $19.99. ♪ find answers at walgreens.

my brother doesn't look like a heart attack patient. i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i'm a fighter and now i don't have that fear. to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients.

ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now, that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. [ female announcer ] the sun powers life. ♪ and now it powers our latest innovation. ♪ introducing the world's only solar-powered home energy system, which can cut your heating and cooling bills in half. call now to get up to 1,375 dollars in rebates. or zero percent financing for 18 months on select lennox home comfort systems. offer ends june 15th. plus download our free lennox mobile app with an energy-savings calculator to show how much you'll save with a lennox system. if your current system is 10 years or older, start planning now and take advantage of special financing. so call now to get up to 1,375 dollars in rebates.

or zero percent financing for 18 months on select lennox home comfort systems. offer ends june 15th. and download our lennox mobile app -- free. lennox. innovation never felt so good. so did you get your "new york times" on your front doorstep this morning or ipad or another way where you had a blazing headline that suggested, oh, boy, this is going to be ugly? "new york times" reporting that there was a big old campaign that was in the works, not okayed yet but in the work that is would have resurrected president obama's former ties to that fire brand preacher jeremiah wright and according to the times the detailed proposal stated the ad campaign would, quote, do exactly what john mccain would not let us do.

you might remember mccain was obama's opponent back in 2008. so what happened when that came out? wolf blitzer, just within the last hour, wolf, i have seen the wealthy backer of the antitax super pac that was supposed to be somehow connected to this put out word he is not going to be funding this provocative series of ads against president obama and joe rickets saying i never did okay all of that. that was a proposal. i said no. man, it has sparked reaction not only from obama's campaign but plom's campaign and him himself. can you give me the essence of what this thing was all about and how it came into being, wolf, and how this took off in the past couple of hours? >> the "new york times" got a copy of the proposal which was never formally accepted by joe rickets anti-obama pro-republican super pac although it is interesting in the statement just released on rickets behalf, brian baker, the

president of the ending spending action fund, a super pac is that rickets is affiliated with he says at the end he has no interest in getting involved in any personal attacks or social or cultural abeing at thats against the president. he wants to fight the president on the economic issues, the most important issues of the day, but it is interesting in that same "new york times" article and they got a copy of this proposal, it was linked to them someone who was very disturbed by it according to the "new york times" and that statement that rickets was adamantly rejecting this strategy was not included in the "new york times" story so my sense since the story came out and i think posted over night in the "new york times" website obviously in the "new york times" this morning -- >> so he had to jump to react quickly. >> it caused a huge backlash and i think what's going on, ashley, a lot of moderate republicans, moderate democrats, the independents who will determine who the next president of the united states is in those ten or 12 battle ground states, the

fear and romney is totally disassociated himself from the reverend wright strategy. the fear is if you go that direction potentially you will alienate a lot of independents, a lot of moderates, a lot of people on the fence right now because when you look at all of the poll, the president is very likeable. americans like the president even if they disagree with him on economic issues or other substantive issues. like ability is one area that the president stores high on. >> to that end i have quotations from inside this plan according to the "new york times" about his like iktibility and how they could inflame the public. here it how it reads. the strategist grappled with how to inflame their questions on his character and competency while allowing themselves to still somewhat like the man. that becomes the challenge. they were lamenting apparently that voters still aren't ready to hate this president. wolf, this sounds so dirty and shadowy, and i guess i am led to

believe this has been going on forever. now we have super pacs who can really do it in the shadows and really make it happen with lots of money. >> if they have a billionaire willing to spend $10 million and $20 million in this era of super pacs, you can do exactly that. you can get on the air and around september, october and put any commercial in the battle ground states you want, totally legal, totally within the realm of american politics right now and the after smath of the citizens united supreme court decision. have you a lot of money you can put on the air. what's interesting here is this proposal that was put forward to the anti-obama super pac has now been formally rejected by the billionaire joe rickets who was apparently studying it or some of his associates and now decided to run away as quickly as possible. >> i am curious how john mccain would respond as well. they were none too kind to him in this proposal. in fact, saying that their plan was to do exactly what he would not do in 2008 and actually calling him a crusty old

politician who often seemed confuse reasonable doubt and burdened with a campaign that was just as confused. that has to hurt and again i bring up the shadowy dirtiness of this. >> there is going to be dirt. there is going to be ugliness. there is going to be an extreme right wing fringe that will bring up the birth certificate, all sorts of other stuff about the president of the united states and the question is will the republican nominee, mitt romney, do what john mccain did four years ago and say, you know what, i am not going there. we have substantive economic national security issues. that's where we disagree. let's fight over those issues and not get into the reverend wright birth issues although there will be elements out there that will raise it. i suspect mitt romney will do exactly what john mccain did and say i am not going anywhere near it. if there is crazy people on the right who want to get into that, let them do it. romney i think is going to do exactly what mccain did. both of them when all is said and done, they're both gentleman

and serious and both substantive and i don't think they're going to get into the trash. >> the obama campaign responded to this. mitt romney's campaign has responded to this. mr. rickets is responding to this and one thing in this piece and i know you will do more on this in the sit room later on is the "new york times" suggested that publicity that certain to surround this will send the strategists back to the drawing board and it looks like that is exactly what's happening. mr. blitzer, nice to he so you. thank you. >> thank you. >> again, wolf will be doing a lot more of this on his program immediately following this program, 4 p.m. eastern time, "the situation room." more than 30 square miles of forest land and grassland has been burning. have you seen the pictures? how would you like to be waking up to that? hundreds of people have had to evacuate their homes and have no idea if they can go back. the wildfires are image raing out of control and fire fighters also dealing with snakes and mines and this is a bad one. ♪ you're doing it again, sweetheart.

hmm? the thumb thing. ♪ -mine. -mine. -mine. ♪ mine! [ female announcer ] glidden brilliance collection paint and primer in one. available only at walmart. got a day? get some color. ♪ glidden paint makes it easy to add color to your life. glidden gets you going. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance, where the costs to both repair your home and replace your possessions are covered. and we don't just cut a check for the depreciated value -- we can actually replace your stuff with an exact or near match. plus, if your home is unfit to live in after an incident, we pay for you to stay somewhere else while it's being repaired. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance.

because you never know what lies around the corner. to get a free quote, call... visit a local office, or go to libertymutual.com today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

arizona's gladiator wildfire is living up to its name and it is getting worse for the people who live near phoenix. practically tripled in size just since yesterday. look at this monster. this is part of the more than 30 square miles of forest and grassland that have been destroyed by four separate fires as well and more than 500 fire fighters are doing their darn .to contain this gladiator fire. mandatory evacuations are in effect for at least 350 people that live in the historic mining town called crown king. let's go to joe live on the ground in spring valley, arizona. are they getting this monster under control? >> reporter: they're not. right now they're on the defensive. right now there is a lot of wind. normally it is amen as for wildland fire fighters. in this case crews are hoping that the red flag warnings today, the gusts of up to 40 miles per hour could actually help the fire fight because

they're simply pushing the fire north away from the town of crown king. of course there is always the chance the gusts will whip around the other way and it will create a dicey situation. that town has about 250 homes and cabins and a power line was already taken out, cutting off electricity there, and nearly all of the 120 permanent residents of that town have already evacuated and there is also concern of some cell phone and radio towers and up there and fire fighters have traveled here from around the country to help in this effort. florida, new york, mississippi, alaska, and they're battling the blaze and in a unique environment you have the desert and the mountainous area and learning about how to stay away from rattle snakes and a lot of empty mine shafts, so that's the workplace that these guys deal with and they're making some heroic efforts and the hope is that they will be able to keep this thing under krom and once the winds selts down over the

next couple of days >> joe, quickly, i know there was stragglers that did not want to leave their houses. have they been able to clear everybody out who wasn't so sure this was going to get close to them? >> reporter: from what we understand, there may be a half dozen or so people that still lingered there. the law in arizona says you can't force people to leave. nearly everyone has left. some relatives have gone back to basically convince their loved ones, look, you just have to leave. there may be a few still behind what we're told. >> nothing looking good in the forecast for wind right now? >> yeah. wind, gusts, expecting up to 40 miles an hour today. again, fire fighters say if those are steady north winds, then it will actually help fire fighters. it will buy them time because they will be able to continue to build lines around crown king while the fire is being pushed away from the city. >> okay. joe, thanks for that. stay safe out there as you do what you do best, working the story. thank you. your unlimited cell phone

minutes or your smartphone plans might be history sooner than you think. sorry. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions.

talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer.

we are seen the future of data plans for your cell phone, ipad and other mobile devices and it isn't unlimited. it is shared. this big old shift in how we get our minutes is being spearheaded by verizon. i want to ask you, how is this working?

what is the deal? what's it going to mean to me? >> consider this as kind of like a limited bucket of data that you can use for yourself or share it with your family members and their devices or you can share it among different devices, so let me give you an example. say you have a smartphone and you have a tablet and what you can do is put both of those things on the same data plan or if everyone in your family has a smartphone, everyone can share in the data. remember, it is going to be a limited amount of data, unlimited, going away, going the way of the dinosaur. i know. verizon, it is really no surprise. verizon has been chipping away at this. you look what they did in july. they ended unlimited for the new customers and so beginning this summer if you're looking to upgrade to a new phone, let's say, it will be with a limited plan. they need to make money. limited is the way they need to go. eventually they will get all of us, even the existing customers for years and years. what about the other big ones like at&t and sprint. >> good question. what sprint does is allows families to share data on phones

and tablets are actually separate. sprint also is still offering unlimited but sprint of course does not comment on what it plans to do in the future. what is at&t doing? they do not offer shared plans at all for devices or in family plans and it did not comment on its future plans either, so they're leaving the door wide open here. typically when one of these companies does something, the other follows. they're like sheep. they're like the airlines. i wouldn't be surprised if you see at&t and sprint follow the lead of verizon. >> thank you. nice to see you. okay. so your family, your life, your community, events you share every day when you send us your cnn-i reports. the second annual awards are under way now. it is your chance to let your voice be heard. we have gone through thousands of reports and submitted all of the most compelling into a selected group and now we're giving you the chance to vote for the nominee that you think

best represents can cnn i report. have a look at the nominees in the original reporting category. >> just a small digger. >> no, no, come on. it is my turn. >> the other guy. run, run, run. >> it is ground zero. we're remembering everyone who passed away on september 11th and it is really unfortunately and we are just remembering.

she was hot stuff. she was the queen of disco, and she has died. donna summer no longer with us after dying this morning and we are remembering this legend and you know who else is remembering her in k.c. from k.c. and the sunshine band and also huge in the era. i will speak with him in a moment.

donna summer died today at the age of 63. she was a five dame grammy award winner. have a listen. ♪ ♪ >> joining me on the phone, harry k.c. of k.c. and the sunshine band, no stranger to

donna summer and performed with her in the 70s. thanks for doing this. initial reaction to learning of the passing of one of your contemporaries. >> i am in shock. i am truly in shock. i saw her several months ago at a performance. she looked great. she sounded great. the performance was amazing. we got together back stage and had good laughs and walked down memory lane and i am just in shock. i had no idea anything was wrong. >> i think you're not alone. i think at 63, nobody was expecting this. >> right. >> as you had the chance to digest, a, her loss, can you even at this point tell us what she has given us and give us her legacy? i know it is so soon to be forming that legacy. >> i am trying. donna and i, i had these dreams of one day doing a tour with her as the queen and king of disco and we were the freshman of the new music that has taken over

the world and we were the creators of this new music, and her contribution is to unmeasurable. >> i am so glad to talk to you about this. i listened to this woman day and night and listened to you day and night and get down and that's the way i like it and you were like anthems for my life and as you think about that, how did you and donna summer, how did you get out of the clubs and get this into our musical vernacular? >> i think we just saw something happening and something, you know, that nobody else could see, i guess, i don't know. you know, they were great songs and from the great songs that came out on the radio and the radio had no choice but to play our songs. it was in such demand in the clubs >> we were the benefactors of it, and i am so sorry to only have the chance to talk to you

on this sad occasion. harry casey, thanks so much. appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up, watching the live mic where mitt romney is expected to make comments in jacksonville, florida, and there is a smearing super pac plan out there and everybody is slamming it and will he? back in a moment.

welcome back. we are at the top of the hour. want to remind you we're keeping