new england area, the first circuit court of appeals, and they cover basically, you know, maine, vermont, new hampshire, puerto rico, believe it or not, and massachusetts. so this ruling is binding only on that area of the united states, the federal courts that cover that area of the united states. it's a very, very important precedent that will be looked at by courts around the united states and there are at least seven other lawsuits pending, challenging the doma act. this is a very important precedent. >> this also makes it more likely that it could move its way up to the supreme court, yes? >> absolutely yes. because what the supreme court likes to do, especially when dealing with controversial issues, is to basically allow

the lower courts to resolve it and come up with different solutions and then the supreme court, you know, hands down a decision for the entire country. >> and now you mentioned seven other existing cases? >> yes. i was just -- as i was reading the decision of the court in massachusetts, i was looking, yes. there are right now, as i count it, there are eight prominent defense of marriage act cases pending around the united states, and this was considered to be one of the most important ones, but there's one in new york, the southern district of new york, there's one in connecticut, there's another in california, all over the country, this law is being challenged on constitutional grounds. so a lot of other courts will look to massachusetts and to look for the first circuit on this decision. >> you mentioned this is one of

the most important cases. why? >> well, it's important because many cases in other states are brought at a state level and many of them are pending only in what we call federal district courts. now, federal district courts cover more limited areas, new jersey, for instance, has one federal district court, but when a decision goes up on appeal, it goes up to one of these very large federal district -- federal circuit courts like the massachusetts one, which covers basically the northeast of the united states. so, a circuit court of appeals has a much broader influence, it covers a greater area of the country and it also, the precedent is a more important precedent. so, as the circuits weigh in on this, if the supreme court starts to see a trend, then the court is more likely to take the case for review and consider how

the circuits have looked at the issues. >> and just to make it clear, it's unconstitutional, due to what i'm reading here, and just tell me if this is correct, because obviously i wish i had a law degree, this would be easier for me, paul, but that's why i call on you -- >> there's still time, kyra. >> there's still time. you'd be a great professor. they're saying that it's interfering with the right of the state to define marriage and also denies married gay couples federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples including the ability to file joint tax returns. is that correct? >> that's correct. those are the two areas that the court focused on. which is kind of interesting because that issue of -- interference with the right of the states to define marriage, i

find from an ids logical standpoint that's very, very interesting because, of course, the opponents of gay marriage have largely been conservatives in some cases and some cases religious grounds have been the reasons for opposition and usually people who advocate those positions are states rights advocates and here the court has said this isn't a state right and if the state wants to permit gay marriage, then the state should be allowed to do it. the federal government should not be able to abrogate that right through legislation like this. it's sort of a lineup on this ideology, you know. states rights court here saying gay marriage should be legal if the state wants it to be legal. >> got it. doma ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court this hour. thanks so much for calling in. appreciate it so much. also happening right now, we are moments away from saying

mission accomplished. we're talking about the dragon capsule. right now, speeding back to earth, getting ready to make a huge splash. this is the first commercial flight, by the way, to and from the international space station thanks to the private company spacex and once dragon arrives home, nasa will have crossed a historic threshold. the capsule is supposed to splash down within the hour somewhere in the pacific. we're told several hundred miles off the coast of baja, california. let's bring in our lizzie o'leary. she's following this as well. where exactly is the dragon right now? >> right now, kyra, it's over the indian ocean, and that picture you just put up where you could sort of see those solar panel wings and that larger part of it, that part should be coming off in just a couple of minutes, two to three minutes. that's the trunk. that's detaching. and then in about 20 minutes, the dragon capsule should enter the earth's atmosphere and that's sort of its final trajectory before it heads

toward that splash down. you saw that animation and in some ways it could remind viewers of what the mercury capsules looked like when they splashed down at the beginning of the space race. remember that dragon, of course, has no astronauts inside, it's a cargo capsule and it's the first cargo capsule that's able to go up to the space station and come back intact. there are other cargo capsules from the japanese, the russians, the european space authority but those all burned up upon re-entry. really, the key here is that it's commercial and that it is able to come back into the atmosphere. it's supposed to land off the coast of baja, california, somewhere about 500 miles off the coast. it's kind of a big wide range for now, kyra. >> we, of course, want to witness the splash down so we can say mission accomplished, that this has been successful. what will be the next mission and how many more missions until we actually may see men and women in one of those capsules? >> well, that latter part is a

little bit of an open question. spacex says they're working towards doing that next year. they have a contract with nasa for 12 different flights and there is a lot of flexibility built into this because so much of this is trial and error. we saw a few glitches when the rocket left the earth. they had to postpone the launch just a little bit, and so we don't quite know when they will put human beings in there, but that is certainly their goal and their goal is not to have those splash down in the ocean, but be able to have those land on the ground. the soyuz capsule, the return yan spacecraft, is the only one right now is the only one able to ferry astronauts to and from the space station. if u.s. astronauts want to go they have to hitch a ride with the russians. >> lizzie o'leary we'll be watching, waiting for that splash down expected this hour. stay with us throughout the hour because we will keep you updated on the dragon's return. a stits of emergency that's been in effect for decades has

finally been allowed to expire. it gave police broad leeway to arrest citizens and hold them indefinitely without charges. a very personal emergency for two american tourists is over now as well. the pair was kidnapped today at gunpoint while traveling in the sinai and freed, apparently unhurt, just hours later. the gunmen demanded the release of a man arrested yesterday on drug charges. it's not clear if that man was released as part of a deal with egyptian security forces. of all the times i've been live in iraq what went through your mind? what do you do about this district attorney? >> this is the geographic south pole. for your attention. so we invented a warning.. you can feel. introducing the all new cadillac xts, available with the patented safety alert seat. when there is danger you might not see, you're warned by a pulse in the seat. it's technology you won't find in a mercedes e-class.

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so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business. and just a quick note for those of you heading out the door, continue watching cnn from your mobile phone or heading out to work, you can also watch cnn live from your desk top. go to cnn.com/tv. it sounds like a hollywood slasher movie. a manhunt for a porn actor suspected of murder. cutting up the body of his victim and mailing the parts to politicians. this is not a movie. the gruesome killing was actually carried out in canada. and the suspect may now be in france. paula newton joining us from

london. let's talk about the suspect, what more you know about him and why is he believed to be in france now, paula? >> first thing is he isn't d vunts a criminal record but has left a long trail on the internet. police do confirm that, in fact, perhaps the murder was actually caught on video and might have been posted to an internet site. they're doing what they can to make sure that it is removed if, indeed, it is video of the murder. luka rowco magnotta does not have a criminal record though uses a couple other alias. a man who kept to himself and a man who moved to montreal a while ago. police are concerned he, perhaps, boarded a flight from montreal to paris on the weekend. interpol has confirmed with us that he is on their most wanted list now. although kyra, we have spoken with authorities in france and still are not very clear exactly if it's the interior ministry that will be dealing with this or police. we're waiting to hear back from them. this is not good news for canadian police forces. they put out this canada-wide warrant, but if he's already

gone abroad it may be difficult to track him down quickly. something that's chilling about this is when this foot, this human foot, arrived at the campaign headquarters of the conservative party in canada and you can imagine people describe the stench as being horrific, the note apparently said that he would strike again. so we could be dealing with a man that's quite dangerous. >> so does this -- is this just -- does he have an issue? what were the rants on the internet? does he have an issue with certain politicians, certain parties? >> this was the connection that the link that hasn't yet quite been made and they also tonight know if more of the body parts of this victim unfortunately are still in the mail system. they intercepted a hand supposed to go to another political party. it wasn't targeted towards the government. a very bizarre crime and police having very little clues as to what the motive would be. but again, he was very prolific on the internet and some indications are police say he was also engaged in violent

behavior and posted it on the internet. >> do we know who the victim is? >> so far police in montreal have been circulating the picture of a man who is missing, a man that's missing. he's of asian descent. going around trying to figure out if anyone has seen him or knows where he is. police right now unable or unwilling to confirm it is this missing asian man who was the victim. autopsy still being conducted in both toronto and montreal. >> all right. paula newton, thanks so much. a montreal police officer said that the crime scene was one of the worst his force has ever seen. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. ensure high protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. see? he's a good egg. [ major nutrition ] ensure high protein... ensure! nutrition in charge!

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so who the heck is mitt romney going to pick? we're talking about his number two, of course. and we've been throwing out a number of popular contenders, one of whom marco rubio. even though he says no way he's still getting a lot of buzz. the young latino florida senator with four kids married to a former professional cheerleader is this what the gop needs? q. tom foreman is going in depth with us. what do you think? >> well, is it what they need? i don't know. everybody wonders about that. i think people vote for the guy who's running for the president and the vice president is kind of a side show. could it nod things one way a little bit? maybe. >> let's just take a look at

what's he's done this week. he made a trip to gitmo, given a number of foreign policy speeches. getting ready to give this speech today, right, at the council on foreign relations. so why do all this if you don't have plans to be vp? >> yeah. he keeps saying oh, no i don't want to be that. this is like dating in high school in washington. this is how this works. if you say, i want to and then you get picked, you look desperate. if you say i want to and you don't get picked you look like a loser. they all sit back and play it coy and say you know if i'm asked to serve. >> is that what you're telling me -- >> i'll go, but in the meantime i'll get my tux pressed just in case and that's what all these trips are about. >> i'm going to tell you no, going to tell you no until you want me more. >> exactly. >> not everybody is a rubio fan. attorney general -- former attorney general alberto gonzalez said hold on just a second, he needs just a little more experience. take a listen. >> and i just think that the

country needs to have people in positions of leadership who have that level of experience that's important to serve effectively as president, and as vice president. >> how much weight does that carry, what gonzalez -- >> i don't -- i mean i guess it carries some weight, but democrats love hearing that sort of thing from a republican, but they can't say it very loudly because i know democrats don't like to hear this, but if you were to take marco rubio's experience right now and stack it up to president obama's experience when he was running for the presidency, very similar. i mean president obama didn't have a whole lot of experience either, so democrats can't say that too loudly or republicans are going to say your man did the same thing and you seemed to be perfectly happy with him and he ran for president. >> all this week we've been going in depth on the latino vote. if romney were to pick a latino as his number two, to pick rubio, does that secure the latino vote for him? >> you are on to -- you are on one of my favorite topics here

because no, it doesn't, but -- but here's the but part. first of all, the pugh hispanic center which does great research on this found out it's really important -- i've been reporting on the latino vote for 25 years, long before it was in vogue, and the simple truth is, the latino vote in this country, first of all, prefers to be called a hispanic vote. most of the people of this background would prefer to be called hispanic if anything at all. more than half of them don't even want that. they call themselves by their family's country of origin. we're guatemalan or mexican or puerto rican or dominican and that's important because they do not see themselves as a group. this group may come together and vote at any given time for one candidate or another, but they also are independent blocks of people who may vote differently. so no, it doesn't cement the vote. here's the important part. mitt romney doesn't have to win all of them. all he has to do is win some of them to tilt it back.

remember, everybody from the hispanic voting block that he wins he take away from barack obama. yes, barack obama has a big lead in that group, but everyone he gets he diminishes that and could neutralize the vote even if he doesn't win it. >> thanks so much. and, of course -- >> good to see you. >> florida is considered one of the most important swing states in the presidential election as we know. stay tuned to see what happens next. it's award season at cnn and help us decide who deserves this year's i-reports community choice awards. logon to cnni-reports awards.com to vote. here's your nominees for best personal story. ♪ ♪

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you can buy almost anything in new york city but giant sodas may be on their way out. the mayor who took on smoking and transfats says super sized

sugary drinks are hazardous to new yorkers health. alina cho joining us from our new york studios for that. what are you going to drink? >> diet. >> there you go. go back to your big mug of water. i've seen you carrying that thing around. >> absolutely right. >> what exactly is being proposed here? >> well, you know, it's a ban that's being proposed on sugary drinks that come in bottles or cups larger than 16 ounces. that means something like this, 20 ounces, would be banned under this proposal. remember, kyra, this is not the first time that mayor michael bloomberg has been out front on the issue of health and fighting obesity. the mayor, you'll remember, championed the ban on smoking way back when in restaurants, a ban on artificial transfats, and now as i mentioned, he wants to ban those sugary drinks like sodas that come in bottles larger than 16 ounces. the ban would affect all new york city restaurants.

we're talking about 20,000 establishments, restaurants, food carts, and any other establishment that receives a letter grade for food service in the city. here's why. ♪ >> how about that, kyra? tall glass of fat. >> disgusting. >> if you're reading along. >> that grossed me out. i'll never touch a soda again. >> that's right. let me tell you something, if you're reading along with the copy there, it says that drinking one can of soda a day can make you ten pounds fatter a year. went on to say, don't drink yourself fat. the suggestion is to drink water, you love water, right? we do. water, seltzer, low-fat milk. we should also mention, kyra, the ban does not affect diet sodas, fruit juices, dairy based drinks or alcoholic beverages and not apply to grocery or

convenience stores. it does appear the ban will affect mostly places where you can actually order food and that includes a food cart. the idea being this is something i've heard many, many times, eat your calories, don't drink them. >> so what does the beverage industry think about this? >> what do you think? they're not happy. >> not very happy, exactly. >> not happy. they're not happy. in fact, i was just handed a statement from both mcdonald's and coca-cola. let me read you the first one through mcdonald's. coca-cola ads the people of new york city are much smarter than the new york city health department believes. the beverage association meanwhile issued its own statement saying in part, there they go again, the city is not going to address the obesity issue by attacking soda because soda is not driving the obesity rates. kyra, i have to tell you, new york city disagrees. in this city alone, more than half the adults are considered

obesity and overweight and the city research shows higher obesity rates are more common in neighborhoods where soda consumption is high. so a lot of debate about this. >> when could it take effect? how quickly? >> the board of health will vote on it in june and if it passes and it will get a nod because the members are appointed by the mayor and the mayor supports this, the ban could take effect as early as march. >> all right. alina cho, we'll follow it. keep drinking your water. thank you. mayor bloomberg is going to join us live about one hour from now. my colleague suzanne malveaux will ask him about this soda ban and a lot more. 12:30 p.m. eastern time. take you live to boston, mass. these are mitt romney supporters -- sorry, david axelrod, actually, the main adviser to the obama campaign is going to be speaking to the crowd here. here's the twist. you've got former employees of

mitt romney joining david axelrod, basically jumping camps and joining david axelrod there on the steps. they'll be talking about broken promises. romney's massachusetts record. we'll be following it live. we'll be right back. so we invented a warning.. you can feel. introducing the all new cadillac xts, available with the patented safety alert seat. when there is danger you might not see, you're warned by a pulse in the seat. it's technology you won't find in a mercedes e-class. the all new cadillac xts has arrived. and it's bringing the future forward.

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live pictures out of boston, mass, right now. you see david axelrod, obama's main campaign adviser there, about to be introduced. step up to the podium. what makes this so unique? he's in romney's home turf. you have a number of massachusetts officials there who used to work under governor romney that have now jumped camps and joining axelrod in support of president obama. our jessica yellen is there as well. jessica, this is an interesting twist. >> hi, kyra. you know, this is opening up a second front in the obama

campaign's assault on what they consider mitt romney's central case for the presidency. romney has claimed that he is a master of the economy, that he can create jobs, and first you saw the obama campaign go after his record at bain, now they're going also after his claims that the experience in the private sector made him able to improve the jobs picture in massachusetts and they're going to argue, i think you'll see axelrod here argue, that the way he applied his private sector experience was not helpful or effective in massachusetts for sort of middle-income americans. and so it's -- and then make the case that the way he will apply private sector experience as would apply -- as president, would also not be beneficial to most americans in the u.s. going forward. >> go ahead. >> let me ask you this. it was interesting, when i was reading the description of what this event was about, i was a little thrown off because it was

talking about all these massachusetts officials who served under governor romney that are -- have basically jumped camp, joining axelrod, now supporting president obama for re-election. do we know who these massachusetts officials are? how high ranking they were in mitt romney's camp when he was governor? what kind of impact, influence, knowledge do they have about what they are saying are broken promises? >> there are a variety of state legislatures, former mayors, people who served in the state house with him, in various capacities worked with him or were in government at the same time that he was governor and so say that they experienced the impact of his tenure as governor. i have in my blackberry, in a moment i can pull up some actual names if you'd like. >> yeah. it would be interesting, because it -- it -- it sounds like some pretty heavy hitters have now

basically turned away from the man that they served under or worked with and -- >> well, you know, some of them are democrats, some of them are people who, you know, one of the mitt romney's claims was that coming into office was he was going to work across the aisles and so people will say now, it didn't work out that well. but one of the points i think is important to make here, kyra, is that we've been reporting for a week now that the president's campaign tried to go after mitt romney's record on bain and private capital and we've questioned whether that was effective or not and was he going to back down from it and that this move to attacking his record in massachusetts is in some way a move away from attacking bain and the point i'd like to make is, it's not anything of the sort, that what they're explicitly doing is trying to link the governor's record at -- at bain to his work

in government and trying to say look, mitt romney's trying to make the case that in the private sector, he learned all sorts of things about how to run the economy that he can apply to government and the obama campaign wants to make the case that what he learned in the private sector, when he applied it in government, it didn't work out the way he said it would. >> got it. >> that's the case they're making. you don't have to buy it, but that's what they're going to say. >> got you. this is obviously a pretty long introduction. maybe we've got -- do you want to listen in or talk a little spacex until we hear from david axelrod? all right. let's go ahead and listen in. >> it's not going to work now. it's my honor to introduce one of our long -- the longest serving mayor in the commonwealth of massachusetts, john barons. >> you know, this reminds me of the time that eric burdsstrom

tried to take me down. he didn't take me down then and he's not going to take us down now. having served as mayor of the city of north adam for 26 years -- >> we're going to keep monitoring this obama campaign event with david axelrod and a number of massachusetts officials who served under governor romney. the theme of the event, broken promises, romney's massachusetts record. we're following it and monitor it live as soon as axelrod steps up to the podium, we will take it. the other live event happening right now, something that chad myers and i love, spacex. >> that's right. >> anything space. we'll be getting a splash down, what, within 10, 15 minutes possibly? >> it's about 5. >> about five minutes. we're almost there. >> 44 after. it did -- spacex the dragon capsule survived the burn, that was a big thing. this is coming through the atmosphere a lot like "apollo"

remember how that just heated up right through the atmosphere and the shuttle did the thing. they had a chance this thing could have tumbled out of control. but there it is. it is still there on the picture and i have seen now all of the parachutes deploy that is slowing the vehicle down to about 11 miles per hour for a splash down of let's say between san diego and cabo san lucas. west of the west coast of the u.s. there's the capsule itself. as they zoom up or pan up you will be able to see -- hopefully you can see the chutes. this is very coors pictures. there's one of the chutes. the multicolor, it looks like black and white but it is red and white. it's coming down very slowly. that 11 miles per hour is a perfect speed for it to hit the water. there is a big barge, 135-foot barge with a crane on it waiting just outside of this area, here you go, here's the west coast of the u.s., there's mexico, and here's the landing area. there's a barge with a crane waiting on it out here.

that barge will come to it after releasing two what's called rubber boats looks like pontoons on the outside, speed to it when they see it lands, make sure it's floating and it should it's a sealed capsule, shouldn't sink at all. you never know. there's divers in there. they want to make sure this thing is going to -- i hope those are real pictures. that's an animation. i'm looking at a small screen. oh, my gosh. >> is that a live picture of mission control or is that the spacex folks in hawthorne, california? >> this is dragon splash down of 2:5. this is spacex. you can see all their little computers there. they have the dual monitors they can put one thing on one and one thing on the other side. they are watching nasa tv as well as we are. they're looking at 41, 22, splash down in about 2 and a half minutes. they're thinking that's right on time. the dior bit burn happened earlier at 10:51 eastern time. the first parachouts at 11:55

and the main parachutes to slow this all down came out at 11:36, five and a half minutes ago. this looks very good. >> it's historic. nasa lost the capability of getting things back and forth, right, via the space shuttles. >> that's correct. >> to the iss when the program was shut down, so this is historic because it's the first american private business that is carrying cargo and the next hopefully the next mission, well the future mission, will be taking man or woman -- >> that's right. up there in private business. >> going up was a big thing but they're actually bringing things down, 1400 pounds of stuff, experiments, all that stuff back down so we can look at it here on the ground again. that's good news. >> we're tracking it. less than five minutes. thanks so much. >> we'll keep a close eye on this moment in space exploration and keep you updated throughout the hour. in that time there've been some good days.

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[ technician ] are you busy? management just sent over these new technical manuals. they need you to translate them into portuguese. by tomorrow. [ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business. two updates on two breaking stories we've been following throughout the morning. first, spacex, the dragon capsule, has splashed down. we just got word it has landed just off the coast of baja, california. we can officially say now mission accomplished. the first commercial flight to and from the international space station thanks to the private company spacex. we'll talk more space in just a second. but the other breaking news story that we have been

following all morning were the two americans kidnapped in egypt. we have found -- well, we had reported rather that the situation had ended, that they were in custody and safe. i'm told now brandon cuts, one of those kidnapped americans in egypt, has called in to us on the phone with us now. brandon, where exactly are you calling us from? >> hi. somewhere near nuaba in egypt. >> can you tell us -- can we back up so i can bring all our viewers up to date. we had reported on this story very early this morning. can you tell me just take us from the very beginning, where were you, what happened, give us the details? >> okay. yeah. we were leaving dahab, going up to taba yesterday evening, and just past nuaba on the way up. we were stopped and we were delayed several hours and then

we were taken into custody of -- we were taken into custody and they treated us very well. we were in very good condition by the way. anybody that's listening that's family please let them know that we're just fine. >> is this the first time, brandon -- >> we stayed there -- >> is this the first time you've been able to talk publicly? have you been able to make any other phone calls or is this the first time family members are hearing from you? >> probably the first time, yeah. unfortunately. >> wow. okay. so all of -- all your family members, those close to you, brandon, obviously calling in to us. he's okay. telling us his story now of what was happening while there in egypt. were you on vacation? can you tell us why you were there, brandon? >> yeah. we were diving in dahab and everything was pretty normal, actually. there was no problems the whole time. like i said, we had been there a

couple days. we were traveling back to the border and, you know, like i said, there's something that happened with the police where somebody was arrested and, you know, there is a blockade in the road and we were stopped and like i said, we were taken into custody. we'd been there since -- again, we've been treated very well. no problems. or anything like that. >> so, brandon, when were you kidnapped? who -- how did it happen? who was it that took you? >> yeah. well, it was, i don't know, i mean we were all stopped, quite a few people on the road, all the cars were pulled over on the road last night and we were stopped there for several hours. and basically the -- one second.

[ inaudible ]. so they picked us -- they picked us up and we went to -- we drove in the desert for a while and then we went to a house -- >> brandon, can i just ask you quickly, who is whispering to you? >> oh. it's the guys that are -- that have been taking care -- that have been with us the whole time. >> okay. >> i -- i -- brandon i'm going to end this conversation. we are going to take a quick break and we will be right back.

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after a five day visit to the international space station the dragon capsule has made the splashdown. chad myers, we have been following it. this happened just about six minutes or so, just off baja, california. >> and so far nasa has tweeted, yes. the vehicle is slowing down to 11 miles per hour, but i haven't seen any of these guys on nasa tv take a breath yet. literally, they're still on their head phones and still talking to each other and haven't jumped up and cheered like mission control in houston was up and down and cheering on the moon or in the water,

whatever it was, and so these guys are just sitting here kind of like waiting. i guess they're waiting for those boats to get to it to see if it is okay. there is no communication back and forth from dragon right now as it sits in the water. i don't see these guys getting up even for a coffee. they are still waiting to hear, i think, from dragon and make sure it is okay. >> got it. pretty fascinating. there was communication going on between nasa's mission control, the international space station, with the six men station and crew there and then spacex team located in hawthorne, california, so you had communication going on among all three entities monitoring this. and it made history. >> look at this. he has his hands on his beard. i don't see anyone more worried than that guy like his wife is having a baby. i don't know. we'll have to see if if it came down to one piece but nasa said it did, though. >> a few more seconds so folks can understand what exactly this

means. we're talking cargo on this mission and spacex does have a contract to launch about a dozen more of these missions and hopefully we will see the actual human beings, not just cargo, going back and forth via these commercial launches. >> right. it took cargo up. the cargo came out. they put cargo in, and the cargo came down. now they can take some of these experiments, some of these pieces of the experiments and take them apart here down here on land and maybe even learn more. that's great. this stuff can go both ways now. >> chad myers, thanks so much. that does it for us. thank you so much for watching. we will be back here bright and early tomorrow morning. suzanne is right after the break with more from the "cnn newsroom." and warm up slowly.ke it y hi. do you get car sick or anything? no, is that a challenge? no, no. so with the 2013 taurus i can pretty much voice command anything. pretty much. you're going to be able to change your radio station, make a phone call.

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begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. live in boston, david axelrod, obama's right-hand man when it comes to the campaign for re-election at the mic. let's listen in. >> a financial engineer whose career has not been about generating jobs, it is about generating short-term profits, not about generating long-term growth or building for the future, but about taking what he can when he can. so he cut education and fees rose 63% at state colleges. maybe for some of these young people here. he cut workforce training and a key program to assist manufacturing businesses. he privatized state functions and sat by as a state call center was outsourced to india.

i borrowed to pay operating expenses and left the tab for the next governor. all of this may be -- this may work in the realm of leverage by quick scores but it is not how you build a future. one more statistic. a recent poll showed governor romney trailing badly here in his home state, these may not only voters right here for mitt romney in massachusetts. it is a harsh judgment from the people who have come to know him best. you know, it has been a century, a century since a person was elected president of the united states while his neighbors were rejecting him. the message massachusetts seems to be sending as they listen to

romney reprize his familiar pitch is fool me once, shame on me. fool me twice, shame on you. romney economics didn't work then. it won't work now. with that, if there are members of the news media who want to address questions to us, who want to contend, we're happy to entertain them, anyone up here. anybody? you can't handle the truth, my friends. that's the problem. you can handle the truth, you

quiet down. >> he doesn't make that argument. he talks about how well he works with the legislature. the reality is i mentioned that governor romney raised spending by 6.5%. his proposals were for 8%. this group of people reined him in and exercised responsibility so we all know that he vetoed 800 bills along the way, almost all of them over ridden and most of them for the benefit of republican primary voters and other states not for purposes of governance, and that was the problem. he was a drive by governor here on his way to running for president of the united states.

i had a chance to work with elizabeth warren in washington. >> what you're watching here, this is david axelrod. he is a chief strategist of the obama campaign. necessary boston, massachusetts. he is there to essentially criticize mitt romney's record as the former governor of massachusetts in that state. that is the aim here. what you are hearing, however, is a lot of heckling going on what, seems to be romney supporters not actually allowing him to deliver the message or to talk. he is taking some questions from reporters, but there is a lot of back and forth there. there is some support through the obama campaign. you heard them chanting let him talk. he addressed the hecklers at one point saying you can't handle the truth. a lot of back and forth there. clearly not what they expected, not that they planned, but there

is kind of a fiery exchange that is going on, taking place inside right there at that event in boston, massachusetts. something else i want to talk about as well. let's get right down to it. it is a supreme court ruling against the defense of marriage act and in favor of same sex couples. it was just a short time ago the court in massachusetts ruled the act was unconstitutional, defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman and it bans federal recognition of same sex marriage. the court says the act discriminates against gay couples and going to ask the massachusetts congressman barney frank what he thinks about the decision when he joins us in the next hour. his dramatic escape from house arrest in china made headlines. today activist chen guangcheng is speaking out about the ordeal. he is currently studying in the united states after escaping detention. at the council of foreign relations he talked about the danger faced by his faemt and

what he calls lawlessness in china. >> what i am most concerned about is also the most important question is the state of law in china. it is very much tram pelled on, and more specifically after i left my home the local authorities there have been having retaliating against my family in a frenzied way. please think about this. >> in seattle people are still wondering why, why a man killed five people in two separate shootings before turning the gun on himself. the suspect identified as ian died last night, several hours after he shot himself in the head bringing a five-hour search to an end and police say he killed four people at a university district coffee house and then killed a woman near downtown seattle. just moments ago a private space capsule splashed down in the pacific ocean off the california coast. the spacex dragon as it is called, the first commercial

spacecraft to dock with the international space station brought a cargo of food, clothes, supplies for scientific experiments and nasa is halg the mission a success. chad myers is following it. we are seeing the future, are we not? >> absolutely. >> a private enterprise and doesn't cost as much as nasa would have paid and it was successful. tell us a little about it. >> guess what? it is payor play. if they don't get the rocket up there, we don't have to pay for it. if it is a failure, if the rocket doesn't go, rocket number 7 doesn't go, they don't charge the american people. they just put it on their own bill and say we'll build number 8 better. hear this. this is number one all the way up. i know the pictures, they look like they're coming out of a comdor 64. people ask all the time, we know the satellites are falling from space. remember the last two? why didn't anybody get pictures? because we didn't know where they were falling. we knew where this was going to fall and we still couldn't get

pictures. >> explain that for us. >> it is in the pacific ocean off the west coast of mexico. those are the main chutes that deployed right at 10,000 feet. this is after the orbit burned, after it came through the atmosphere, literally on fire. remember how the apollo capsule same through the atmosphere, just shooting fire all around it? same way the shuttle comes through. that's why there were so many tiles on the shuttle. they made it through the burn, made it to deploy the main droeg parachutes at 45,000 feet and the three colorful parachutes you saw there, got it down to 11 miles per hour at splashdown. now there is a giant barge steaming to it but there are little boats going out and making sure this thing survived, make sure it survived splashdown and didn't crack and all of these things. our pictures are in the middle of the pacific and we don't have good ones yet. >> it is amazing you can actually see it as well as you can. tell us about this.

this is unmanned. how soon before you actually will see commercial space flight astronauts? >> i think as long as it is still active and we can send men and women up from the souse capsule with russia. it is going to be a long time. they won't put a man or woman on this just yet. they'll make sure the missions go successfully. it left nine days ago and got into space and followed the space station for a number of hours and the space station took the claw, the claw, the arm came out, clamped on, drug it in and clamped into the space station and took all of the stuff out and the bigger news is they put stuff back in. they put experiments back in. they put probably some dirt stuff back in as well. now we're going to get these experiments back on land and now scientists down here can even do more work with the experiments up there. >> what can we learn? >> nothing else is able to go up and down but that always brings people down, not 1,400 pounds worth of stuff. >> stuff. what does the stuff tell us?

>> all of these experiments are going on for years and years and years. so now the shuttle could bring a bunch of stuff back down and this spacex can bring it down as well. everything going up from japan, everything else, when they go up to resupply, the resupply pods, the capsules, leave the iss and they are destroyed in space, so nothing ever comes back down. >> chad, so cool. >> what can we find out? i don't know. >> we'll find out. >> that's what nasa is all about and what spacex is helping them do. >> appreciate it. today in syria one small town, the shooting and shelling began as soon as the u.n. observers actually left. watch this. >> this is houla, the same village where more than 100 people, entire families massacred in their homes a few days ago. reportedly by forces loyal to

the president assad. they say two people died in the mortar and rocket fire today. it started right after a visit by an unarmed u.n. observer team and we can't confirm them independently since reporters are not allowed inside the country. the rebels rising up gave the government until tomorrow to start complying with the u.n. peace deal. that's what we want to talk to ivan about. he is in istanbul. you have a deadline here, right, the rebels issue this deadline and if they don't comply, what else? what's the threat here? >> well, you know, first we have to take this with a grain of salt. the rebels are not exactly a hierarchal cohesive single army. this is a bunch of separated bans, self-defense groups that have grown up village to village, town to town and don't answer to one leader and what we found is, suzanne, one rebel may

say there is a 48 hour deadline and another says 48 hour deadline, i have not heard of that. what we do know is that some of these rebel groups are carrying out attacks in revenge, they say, for the houla massacre last friday. one rebel commander told me he burn the a police station and a city hall in a northern town within the last couple of days and so we have to take this with a grain of salt and acknowledge that while one guy may be giving an ultimatum to the government, other people are doing completely different activities on the ground. it shows how chaotic the situation is. >> ivan, we're seeing pictures and it looks very chaotic, the scene on the ground there. you learned something very interesting today because clearly there is fighting that is taking place there, but there is fighting on another front, and that is on the economic side here. what is taking place in the city? >> okay. i want to show you video that activists shot sur rup tishsly and released over the internet

and it is from ilepo, the second city of syria, the economic powerhouse of the country, and there we see row after row of shuttered shops, closed up shows. we talked to residents there and they say especially around the historic citadel there is a general strike there, that shop keepers and store owners are protesting against the horrific houla massacre that left 109 people dead in the village of houla last friday which has triggered a diplomatic fire storm. we saw a similar scene, suzanne, earlier this week in the capital in damascus itself, in the heart of the capital, in the hama dea historic bizarre where there were row after row of shops. this is very important because what we're seeing is that silent business community that has perhaps stayed on the fence and not broken with the regime or joined the opposition who are

showing their displeasure and this is an important psychological blow to the government which has tried to prove it can maintain security and life as usual in the main cities while who knows what fighting is raging in the hinderlan hinderlands. this shows the grip on the cities is shrinking and it is a big blow to the regime and shows that it is faltering right now and that the s u.n. i merchant class is showing displeasure we have been hearing reports lard to con if i remember from outside that security forces are going around trying to force the shop keepers to open up just to try to restore that image of life as usual on the ground. >> thank you very much. got a war on both fronts there. the economic front as well as the violence that it taking place on the streets there. i want to go directly to cairo, egypt, and ben is there and on the phone from cairo and, ben, i understand you have news about

the kidnapped americans. what do we know about their status and where they are at this moment? >> well, i have been speaking with one of them. the status seems to be good in the sense that he said they were being treated extremely well and what it turns out is despite claims by multiple egyptian officials, but despite an announcement on egyptian state tv, they have not in fact as of when i spoke to them last which was about half an hour ago, they have not been released. they were in an unknown desert location and said that they have been told that they were about to be released, that somebody from the egyptian authorities was going to come and pick them up and as of about half an hour ago, they were still in the custody of the group of ghettoans that kidnapped them the day before. >> so explain to us how this happened, ben. take us back and take our viewers back to how they were

actually captured and who are they in custody now. i am a little confused by that. >> you're not the only one. apparently they were driving outside of the hub in the southeastern coast of the peninsula when the car was stopped by armed men that took them into their custody. now, according to the egyptian intelligence reports that we received from the area, the reason why they detained these two americans is because one of their tribe members was arrested by the egyptian security authorities because he had a large -- he was found with a large amount of marijuana. we understand that the reason why they were taken hostage was basically to use as a bargaining chip with the local authorities. now, it is worth noting, and this is very important to understand, is that in the last year-and-a-half since the fall

of the regime the security services have deteriorated dramatically as the inhabit ants of the sinai are more assertive, more angry with the central government, and this may go some way to explain why this confusion about the situation of the hostages because clearly the intelligence officers of the egyptian government clearly don't have the kind of information that we can rely on. >> so, ben, are they going to be released soon? do we understand their release is imminent? is that happening? >> this is what i was told by one of the hostages himself, that they were told that they would very quickly be released and this was the understanding also of the united states embassy here in cairo as of a few hours ago although it appears even they are confused as to the status of these two american citizens.

>> we'll get back to you when you have more information and whether or not when the release does take place. thank you very much. >> here is what we're working on for the hour. >> opposition fighters draw a line in the sand telling the government to stop their fire. >> they're not going to listen to us. they will listen maybe to the russians, so we have to keep pushing them. >> a dozen shots on chicago's south side. i talked to the police superintendents about solutions and his fight for gun control. and super sizing may go on a diet in new york. [ male announcer ] research suggests the health of our cells plays a key role

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it's like another chapter. the strategists for the campaign david axelrod in boston, massachusetts earlier today with a group of obama supporters holding a rally

trying to address and criticizing mitt romney's record of former governor of that state. i want to bring in our senior correspondent jessica yellin in washington with me and this do not look like much success because he was trying to make very strong points, strong criticism. i want the viewers to essentially hear what he was saying first. >> it is great. it is great to be in massachusetts, obama country. i think some of my -- i get tweets from some of these folks. i feel close to them. you can shout but it is hard to etch-a-sketch the truth away. >> so, jessica, what actually happened there? who were those people who were heckling david axelrod and did they have any preparation? did they have any idea this was

going to happen? >> well, we all knew that this press conference was happening as of yesterday, so there was plenty of time for folks to get organized. the romney campaign organized we call it a prebuttal, a press press conference at the state house before david axelrod's event with romney's supporters defending mitt romney's record, so they had an event in the hours before hand, so, yes, everybody knew this was coming and this is, you know, campaign sophistication, you know, and 3.0. i think they shouted we want mitt, five more months, five more months of the obama presidency is what the romney supporters were shouting and there were obama supporters shouting etch-a-sketch, etch-a-sketch, and attacking romney, and let him speak, so just had a lot of shouting on all sides. >> it was kind of hard to -- it looked like it was difficult to

get that message across there. was this a group that was organized by the official romney campaign or was it just a group of various individuals that were there who decided we're going to come and disrupt this? >> i can investigate that, suzanne. i would have to believe there was advance notice given to folks who are supporters and they were given a chance to get together and organize. that's how they things tend to happen. folks who are supporters are asked to come out and show their support there. so these things are usually organized. i would point out that this is what you call the launch of a new effort and so it was a loud and rowdy scene and certainly won't not last time we'll hear from the obama's campaign as romney's record as governor of massachusetts because they also launched a new video today with the same message attacking his record as governor of massachusetts, so this may have been a noisy launch, but it was

certainly not the last time we'll hear from them. >> i am sure we'll see a lot of noise. thank you. appreciate it. something emerged out of syria that could hurt the asad government worse than public demonstrations. what we're talking about is the business as usual illusion, syria's violent deadly uprising is not a national emergency. that illusion is being shattered. small business owners and merchants, they are now closing down their shop. i want to bringing in michael holmes from cnn international to talk about it. we're looking at a different front of this war, the economic front. now you have local business folks saying, look, we're shutting down our offices. we're shutting down our businesses here in protest of the government. how would that impact assad in at all? >> if it goes on, it could be very significant because this merchant class, this middle class if you like, they are a significant part of his support base, a lot goes back years from his fathers.

she's are s it is the economic hub of the nation. it is the end of the old silk road back in historic times. >> look at the pictures. it is extraordinary. when you talk about economic hub. >> shuttered doors. >> and what i find more extraordinary is you have had the army going around with loud speakers telling people to open the store and in some cases going in behind the stores and getting the owners and making them open the doors. this could be a remarkably important point if it goes on, if it is not a one-day protest against houla. >> how would that trickle down so assad would feel it? >> we have said this before. we talk a lot about the re volt, the revolutionaries, the rebels and all that far and he does have some support in syria and a

lot of long time support among various groups. this is one of the core groups, this economic back ban if you like of the country. if the economy starts getting hurt in a big way by that merchant class, it could be very significant. >> does he have any other supporters besides kind of this merchant class? are there other folks backing him as well? >> you have obviously his allywhites, they're about 12% of the populations. the christians are traditional supporters and the drews. therefore because they get protection from him, the military, which of course is run by friends and family and others who have benefitted and as this middle class, this merchant class if you like. so he does have support there, but if that starts to erode, which could be happening there with the merchant class, you could see things turn around faster than they have. he does have support. we have to keep reminding that.

>> we saw this massacre, 100 people, more than 100 people killed over the weekend, about almost half of them children. the government is going to be talking about that later today. what do we expect that they can possibly say about what took place there? >> well, funny you should say that. just minutes ago they did speak and down at cnn international listening in and a government spokesman came out and basically said that the killings in houla were carried out by armed gangs. this is the armed gangs we have been hearing about forever and he said hundreds came in and butchered the people and these are the terrorists causing the trouble all along. it doesn't add up or jive with anything we heard from the u.n. or people on the ground, that the syrian army pounded this city, this town, and then the shabihad, the militia, which is brutal came in afterwards nx. the notion that it was armed groups of suni killing suni is

ridiculous. >> nobody believes that. >> no. they have more to say about it as the investigation continues, but i don't put a lot of stock in it. >> thank you as always. deadly shootings on chicago's south side. going to talk to the police superintendent about new steps now to stop the violence. don't forget, you can watch cnn live on your computer.

dwreds with spoke with bobby rush about the epidemic of gun violence in his district of chicago. the last weekend alone 40 people were shot and ten died including a seven-year-old. the congressman wasn't shy about calling out mayor rahm emanuel blaming him. >> this is a problem. this is a result of failed strategies over many decades by the ones who are responsible for solving these problems, and this is the failure of past administrations, failure of past police departments, past mayors, including this one that we have right now. >> i want to bring in the other side here.

i want to bring in police superintendent gary mccarthy. what do you make of the congressman's remarks there? does more need to be done from your department and from the mayor's office to address this? >> well, absolutely. good morning, suzanne. absolutely. this is not a problem that happened over night. it took a long time for the violence in chicago to get to the levels that it has and unfortunately everybody wants immediate solutions. so do i. the fact is it is going to take a little while to get that done. coming into the end of last year something that really dawned on us is we had things we did about gangs. chicago has a very unique gang problem, and we realized that having things to do about gangs and having a comprehensive gang strategy are clearly two different things. we put together a comprehensive strategy which took us months to produce. we went across the country. we looked at best practices from different jurisdictions,

learning as we went, taking the things that we know work here in chicago and adding other things to it, and that has resulted in what we basically started to unveil the other day and unfortunately came right after a bad weekend, none of that was planned and here is what i have to say. >> what do you do specifically, superintendent, if you don't mind? what do you specifically need to do to address this? it is like a very serious problem in your city. >> it is. there is a number of things that we need to do. the first thing we need to do is identify the potential for gang re tallation and that's driving most of the violence that occurs in this city. one event we gets another begets another. as a result that far what we did is put together an audit of all the gang members and factions and members in chicago and we have 58 gangs. we have more than 600 gang factions, and the dynamic has been that the young kids are splitting off from the older gangs and doubling the number of gangs in the city and basically

doubling the number of gang conflicts and with the proliferation of firearms in the city and a traditional gang hierarchy that has existed for, i don't know, 40, 50, 60 years, that resulted in a lot of violence. what really is important to realize is that we hit our high point back in march of this year. we had a big increase in shootings during the month of march and over the last two months when we have been implementing various components of this strategy because we couldn't wait to get the whole thing done to start rolling it out, to start making a difference, we have had a double-digit reduction in shootings over the month of april and the month of may right now. >> what do you make of what the mayor said? >> i don't accept that any gang violence or any gun violence is okay. the fact is this is not a new problem. what we're looking at are new solutions to it and i think one of the things the congressman said is the mayor needs to get more involved and this is about jobs and about social services

and very clearly that is a component of this strategy that we're running with right now. >> what do you make of what the mayor said just a couple days ago when he was addressing this? he said there is a lack of outrage in the community here and that he believes there is a cultural component to that. do you think that that's true? >> there is two sides of it. i think that there is a hopelessness sometimes that seeps into parts of our community when they become accustomed to hearing gun violence. i think there is an acceptance of the fact that if it happens in this neighborhood and it doesn't happen in mine, then that's okay, and i think over the last year you heard the mayor say time and time again and i endorse the same concept which is a murder or a shooting and a city of chicago affects the entire city of chicago whether you're on the north side or the west side or the south side or downtown. just because it is not in your backyard doesn't mean that it is okay, and that really goes to

the core of our message is and it is not about gun violence on the south side. it is not about gun violence on the west side. it is about gun violence in chicago and we have to do more to intercede. >> we'll follow that story and certainly have you back as we watch what takes place in chicago. clearly the weather is just going to get warmer and the kids will be out there and as you said, it is alarming to think about it. now you have these gangs that have split and now you have factions of gangs and some 600 organizations or groups out there in your city, so we'll be following up with you as the summer goes along. thank you very much. new york's mayor wants to ban the sale of giant sodas. hear what new yorkers have to say about that.

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and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years. it's me? alright emma, i know it's not your favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma ♪ fee-fi-fo-femma ♪ em-ma very good sweety, how do you feel? good. yeah? you did a really good job, okay? [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. new york is gheting ready to launch an all out war on sugary drinks. thaerts. mayor michael bloomburg is

planning to impose a ban at restaurants and sports arenas and theaters. check this out. ♪ >> alena cho is in new york with the details. when you take a look, it is disgusting. what is he talking about here? what type of drinks will be banned under this law? >> that's right. suzanne, basically the city is saying those are drinks that have no nutritional value and as you saw in that ad the city believes they will drinks that mr. make you fat and maybe even obese and under the proposed ban all sugary drinks that come in bottles or cups larger than 16

ounces, so if you look at this bottle here of coca-cola, this is 20 ounces. this would be included in the ban. it includes all new york city restaurants, food carts, movie theaters, even ballparks. we're talking about an estimated 20,000 establishments in the city, and the idea of course being eat your calories, don't drink them. if you drink them, they will make you fat. >> wow. are there any drinks exempt here? >> there are. diet sodas, fruit juices, alcohol beverages, and dairy based drinks and we should also tell you that the ban does not include grocery stores or convenience stores, only those places it appears where you can actually go in and order something to eat, so a bodega would be included and the street side carts and a lot of people were asking about coffee drinks that people love so much. the answer to whether they will be banned is it depends. if the drink is composed of less

than 50% milk, then it is included in the ban. that means, for example, the large coffee with several shots of caramel syrup probably included in the ban where as the large frozen latte with lots of milk, probably not. >> you sound like you're one of those latte drinkers. >> i want to show you, new yorkers, they're used to a smoking ban in public, no transfats, a whole bunch of stuff. here is what they think about this one. >> i don't feel he is entitled to someone else's opinion about what they should drink. >> i think it is great. >> why is that? >> just poison. it is all sugar. >> there are schools, no more soda. we just have water and healthy drinks and stuff, so i understand where he is coming from. >> freedom of speech and freedom to do what you want and as long as it is not harming nobody, so it is up to the parents, the individuals and if you want to drink that stuff, so be it.

>> so what's the reaction, alena, obviously from the beverage industry? i don't suppose they're happy about this. >> not at all. in fact, the new york city beverage association sent out a statement in short order in part reading there they go again, the new york city health department's unhealthy obsession with attacking soft drinks is pushing them over the top. the city is not going to address the obesity issue by attacking soda because soda is not driving the obesity rates. in fact, if obesity continues to rise, cdc data shows that calories from sugar sweetened beverages are a small and declining part of the american diet. suzanne, i should tell you, the city counters that by saying more than half of new york city adults are either obese or overweight and they have done the research and they say that their studies show that in those neighborhoods where soda consumption is high, more people are overweight. you do the math. >> all right. very controversial over there in new york where you are.

thank you. appreciate it. house votes on an abortion bill today. we'll tell you what it says about gender selection. for your attention. so we invented a warning.. you can feel. introducing the all new cadillac xts, available with the patented safety alert seat. when there is danger you might not see, you're warned by a pulse in the seat. it's technology you won't find in a mercedes e-class. the all new cadillac xts has arrived. and it's bringing the future forward.

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the debate over abortion is playing out on capitol hill. they're voting a bill that would ban abortions based on the sex of the fetus. doctors that perform the procedure could face up to five years in prison. supporters say the bill defends the civil rights of unborn children. opponents say it is a distraction and part of a

so-called war on women. a gruesome discovery in canada has police searching for a self described porn star. they're looking for this man, lucca magneto, also known as eric clinton newman and is suspected of dismembering an acquaintance and posting a video online and mailing the severed limbs to a political party headquarters in ottawa. enter positively is adding him to the most wanted list. scientists are warning a new disease could be the next aids epidemic and it is spread by bug bites. plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have six grams of sugars. with fifteen grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight.

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doctors are sounding alarm about a disease that could become the world's next major epidemic. it is spreading in south america. brian todd is on the case. he tells us it is transmitted rather easily about something as simple as a bug bite. >> aids, the discourage of the post war era killing more than 25 million people over the past three decades. is there a new aids on the horizon? experts worry about a disease affecting millions in latin america. >> i like to call it the most important infection have you never heard about. you have never heard about it because it almost exclusively affects people living in extreme poverty. >> it is a parasitic infection prevalent in poor areas of central and south america. peter hotes is lead author in a

respected medical journal and health authorities say roughly 10 million people are infected with shagas. they estimate it kills 20,000 people a year. >> is it difficult or impossible to cure. >> there are two medicine available if you catch the infection early on seem to have some beneficial effect on treating the patient. the problem is once the heart symptoms start, which is the most dreaded complication, the shagas cardio myopathy, the medicine no longer work very well. problem number one. problem number two, the medicine are extremely toxic. >> he says shagas is like aids because it contaminated part of the blood supply in latin america. >> experts say the parasite lives in its gut. it likes to hide in wall crevices and that muched roofs and at night drops onto people that are sleeping and likes to bite you in the face. it is called the kissing bug.

when it injects the blood it excretes the pair and when you scratch the itch it moves into the wound and you are infects. you can be infected for decades before you get the severe symptoms of the disease and then when you move into the severe stage, you can develop an enlarged heart or intestine that can burst. dr. anthony fauchy says they're over stating the danger. >> i am concerned that when people talk about comparisons with hiv, that that comparison would translate into thinking its transmitted like it is with hiv which is just not the case. >> he says it is transmitted primarily by the bug biting you, by pregnant women infecting children, and by people living in areas where it is prevalent donating blood that's not screened. dr. fauchi says only 20% of people that get infected will go onto get the life-threatening form of the disease, and he says it does not pose a significant danger to people in the u.s.

dr. peter hotez disagrees saying there is transmission in south texas and the bugs can be found in south texas and many dogs in the asia have it. brian todd, cnn, washington. >> six years old and probably a better spell ler than i am. in the latino communityr retirement. the word that we use is jubilation.

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you can call her a 6-year-old spelling wonder and her amazing run came to an end at the national spelling bee.

check it out. >> e-n-g-l-u-v-i-e-s. >> that is incorrect. >> oh, second grader lori ann madison of virginia tripped up before she could make it to the semifinals. pretty amazing. she is incredible, already in the history books because at six years old she is the youngest person ever to compete in the national competition. good for you. congratulations. wells fargo putting together a package worth hundreds of millions of dollars in a settlement on predatory lending. one man actually created a brand new language for a movie. here is this week's the next list. >> it is kind of wondering tribe and in this kind of imaginary world that georgia in his books create. first and foremost warriors. >> we took the tribe from the best-selling series and in

george's book they speak their own language and we thought we could create that for a few lines and tried to do that and it sounded like gobble good. >> i created the language and worked as a translator on the show. >> i was skeptical. once we actually got the language that david peterson created and saw the actors performing the lines, there was no question. it made a huge difference in the scenes. >> the next list, agents of change, is brought to you by chevron. we may have more in common than you think. learn more at chevron.com. this country was built by working people. the economy needs manufacturing. machines, tools, people making stuff. companies have to invest in making things. infrastructure, construction, production. we need it now more than ever. chevron's putting more than $8 billion dollars back in the u.s. economy this year.

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major bank will pay out millions of dollars to settle a lawsuit accused of predatory lending. memphis sued wells fargo back in

2010. allison is standing by at the new york stock exchange to explain this. how much are we talking about here? >> what wells fargo will do at this point is pay out just over $432 million to put this lawsuit to rest. memphis actually accused weltz fargo of predatory lending to minorities with the city and the surrounding county, shelby county saying what the bank actually did is target black neighborhoods for high priced loans and memphis says the practice dated back to 2000. it wound up happening here, say the city and the county is that the area saw increased foreclosures because people wound up getting in over their heads and what's going to happen is 432 million dollars will go back into the economy in the form of new loans, grants for down payments and home renovations. wells fargo denies the allegations saying it is committed to fair and responsible lending practices. >> what is the market look like now, allison? >> market is looking pretty flat right now. dow barely higher right now. the market is pretty much chewing on some lackluster

economic data. we found out that economic growth slowed down in the first quarter of this are year, slowing down to 1.9% from 2.2%. also found out that jobless claims spiked. manufacturing was weak as well, and i think what you're seeing is investors in a wait and see mode, waiting for the big jobs report coming out on friday. >> looking out for it. thank you, allison. appreciate it. want to get right down to it. federal appeals court rules against the defense of marriage act and in favor of same sex couples. just a short time ago the court in massachusetts ruled the act unconstitutional. defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman and it bans federal recognition of same sex marriage. the court says the act discriminates against gay couples. i will ask massachusetts congressman barney frank what he thinks about the decision when he joins us later in the hour. the dramatic escape from house arrest in china made headlines. today chinese activists chen guangcheng is speaking out. he is currently studying in the united states after his escape o