our white house correspondent, brianna keilar, is following all this back and forth. is the obama team worried about this new romney line of attack? >> reporter: wolf, i think they would much rather be talking about tax cuts for the middle class. that's why president obama went to iowa today. and certainly this new republican attack line is stealing some of that spotlight. president obama took the fight over the bush era tax cuts from the white house to the mclaughlin house. meeting with a middle class family in cedar rapids, iowa, to promote his new push for only american families earning up to $250,000. >> the republicans in congress and mr. romney disagree with me. and that's what democracy's all about. they want more tax cuts for the wealthiest americans on top of the existing bush tax cuts they

want to give $5 trillion more in tax cuts. >> reporter: following weeks of attacks from the obama campaign accusing mitt romney of supporting outsourcing while he ran bane capital and served as governor of massachusetts, president obama hit romney again. >> governor romney has experienced owning companies that were called pioneers in the business of outsourcing. my experience has been working with outstanding members of labor and great managers to save the american auto industry. >> reporter: but shadowing the president in iowa rnc chairman riens outlining a new site and a new republican attack line that obama himself outsourced jobs by giving stimulus money to foreign renewable energy companies. and across the country in colorado, mitt romney piled on at a town hall meeting. >> this president has been outsource i outsourcing -- energy companies

solar, wind energy companies that end up making their products outside the united states. if there's an outsourcer in chief, it's the president of the united states. not the guy who's running to replace him. >> reporter: now, wolf, there is more than meets the eye to this new argument that mitt romney and the rnc are leveling at president obama. some foreign companies did receive stimulus funds. some foreign renewable energy companies. they received stimulus funds. but the administration and campaign argue that it was to create jobs here in the u.s. now, when you talk to experts, they will tell you that it likely created jobs overseas as well but doesn't exactly meet the exact definition of taking a job here in the states and moving it overseas, wolf. >> so do you get the sense that the white house officials, obama campaign leaders are beginning to feel a little heat on this sensitive subject? >> reporter: well, i think it distracted today from what president obama wanted to talk about because obviously talking

about the tax cuts for those making under $250,000 really moves they feel forward his message about fairness and fighting for the middle class. i think this is a distraction. but i also think we're waiting to see how long this continues to get attention. and then we'll really see if they're very concerned about it, wolf. >> brianna keilar at the white house. thanks. let's dig deeper with gloria borger, our chief political analyst. are we going to get more pushback from the white house on this whole issue of the president being outsourcer in chief? >> yeah. i think you're going to get pushback from the white house. i also think you're going to see more push from the romney campaign on this. i spoke to a source close to the romney campaign who said this is just the beginning of their significant pushback on outsourcing. you know, this is part and parcel of the attacks the white house has been waging on mitt romney as the head of bane capital also as somebody who's wealthy and doesn't understand about the middle class. and the white house believes that they were actually gaining some traction on this in key

battleground states. if you look at the polls though, wolf, the people they're gaining traction with in those battleground states are the soft democrats. and, you know, that's helpful to the campaign. but expect the romney campaign to continue -- and you saw that today with the candidate himself and the chairman of the rnc pushing back against the white house on this on another issue, trade. because they believe this president's trade policies has taken american jobs overseas. >> good substantiative issues to have a good debate on. >> exactly. >> these are important matters. look at this new abc "washington post" poll, 92% according to this poll of registered voters have basically made up their minds. 79% say they will definitely vote for a candidate -- a specific candidate. 13% unlikely to change their mind. 96% already locked in. so they're playing for 8% who may switch or who are still undecided? >> yeah. we're playing at the 48 yard

line. the people who are undecided, about a third of decided are democrats and then the republicans. and then there are those in the middle. these people largely believe the country is on the wrong track. they're very soft on whether they approve of the way the president is doing his job. they see the economy is issue number one. they're more women than men. you know mitt romney does better with married women. barack obama does better with single women. they're younger. they're more educated. those are the people the campaign is spending tens of millions of dollars to go after right now in the battleground states. by the end of this campaign, they will have spent billions for these few voters. >> so what's it going to take to get out these people to actually show up and show enthusiasm for either candidate? >> right. this election in a way may be less about persuasion than it is about motivating people in your

base to go out. and we've seen what the obama campaign has done. they have what their executive order on immigration for example talked to hispanic voters. they've talked to gay voters about same sex marriage. women, students, student loan program renewal. they're picking off each part of their base. the romney campaign however on the other hand believes that the anger towards the president will bring out their voters. six out of ten romney voters say their vote is against president obama and not necessarily for mitt romney. they believe that will get out their voters. and also the state of the economy will get out those voters to win for mitt romney. >> john baoehner said they're going to go out and vote because they don't want barack obama. >> they'll take it any way they can get it. >> thank you. jack cafferty's here with the cafferty file.

jack. wolf, barring some cataclysmic surprise as election day gets closer and people decide who they're going to vote for, it will likely come down to what it always comes down to, which is the answer to that eternal question, how am i doing? in 2008 president obama won by promising to change america. and he has. trouble is some people think he's changed it for the worst. mitt romney remains pretty much an unknown except for his time as governor of massachusetts. he wants lower taxes, fewer regulations, more defense spending and an end to what he calls the kick in the gut of 8.2% unemployment. the wild card for whoever wins the presidency of course is congress. the democrats control the senate, the republicans control the house. and unless that changes, it's doubtful whoever wins is going to be able to get a whole lot done. but one thing is for certain, this is not the same country anymore that president obama took over when he was inaugurated in january of 2009. our standard of living continues to decline. our national debt has passed the

point of no return. the middle class is rapidly disappearing. and the hope that president obama spoke of along with change is increasingly tough to come by. the fact is the united states may have changed forever and not for the better. here's our question, what kind of change did president obama deliver? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile. post a comment on my blog. or go to our post on "the situation room" facebook page. wolf. jack, thank you. the men behind one of the most memorable slogans in u.s. political history, they are here in "the situation room" today. they've just changed "it's the economy stupid" to something new. standby for that. and later, why an egyptian couple, get this, they packed their baby in the luggage literally. and right now congress is asking questions about an alleged cover-up. we're getting exclusive look at the filthy horrifying conditions inside a hospital supported by

millions, millions of your tax dollars. [ manager 1 ] out here in the winds,

i have to know the weather patterns. i upgraded to the new sprint direct connect. so i can get three times the coverage. [ chirp ] [ manager 2 ] it's like working in a giant sandbox with all these huge toys. and with the fastest push-to-talk... i can keep track of them all. [ chirp ] [ chirp ] [ male announcer ] upgrade to the new "done." with access to the fastest push-to-talk and three times the coverage. now when you buy one kyocera duracore rugged phone, for $49.99, you'll get four free. visit a sprint store, or call 855-878-4biz. [ chirp ]

truly amazing image alerted security office in the united arab emirates that something was really, really bad. we're joined by mohammad right now. this is a shocking story. they put a little baby -- a 5-month-old baby through the x-ray machines in an airport? what was happening? what happened here? >> well, wolf, it is shocking. and according to the police in charge here they say that the family arrived last friday. that when they tried to enter the uae that they were told that their 5-month-old baby didn't have a visa and that it would take at least two days for them to get paperwork processed and they'd have to wait at the airport. the police say by the next day the father had grown really impatient and persuaded his wife

to try to smuggle the baby into the country to put the baby into carryon luggage and put it through the x-ray machine hoping the security there at the airport wouldn't notice. but there's this amazing picture that was captured from the x-ray scanner where you can actually see the outline of the baby. you very clearly see the baby's legs in that handbag. the police have said it's the most surprising thing they've ever seen at the airport. they can't believe the parents did it. and they're just happy that thankfully that infant is safe and sound. >> very, very young going through an x-ray machine like that can be dangerous. how is the baby doing based on the reports you're getting? >> well, one of the things we saw clearly in the statements issued by the police today was that they were he recallralding fact this baby was spared anymore radiation. the suggestion that this baby could have been exposed to a lot of radiation going through this

x-ray scanner. if it hadn't been caught at the time that it was caught. so there was concern for the baby's safety. the police saying that the baby is safe and sound. the parents are being charged. they're being charged for endangering the life of that 5-month-old and also for trying to smuggle it into the country. >> the story's shocked folks not only where you are but all over the world. mohammad, thanks very much for updating us. >> thanks. and happening now, congressional hearing to allegations the pentagon tried to cover up horrifying conditions at an afghan hospital, a hospital that the united states sank at least $100 million of your tax dollars into. you're looking at live pictures of the hearing. we want to warn you, cnn's pentagon correspondent, barbara starr's exclusive report contains pictures that are very disturbing. >> reporter: afghan soldiers starving, lying in dirty beds with festering wounds, denied painkillers. all of this at the kabul

national military hospital, a hospital the u.s. paid more than $100 million to help the afghans run. >> things as simple as dressing changes are not done. patients become infected and they die. >> reporter: these days a world away schuyler geller, a retired air force doctor, tends to his tennessee farm. >> this will be kind of a little haven. >> reporter: from february 2010 to february 2011 he oversaw training of afghans at the hospital. these photos were taken by his american military staff. >> there are patients that are starving to death because they can't buy the food. they have to bribe for food. they have to bribe for medicine. patients were beaten when they complained about no pain medicine or no medicine. >> reporter: and you're not supposed to worry about that? >> that's what we were told. >> reporter: pentagon officials do not dispute that the photos from 2010 show hidden but

deliberate abuse by afghan staff. but they insist that after a u.s. inspection, conditions have improved significantly. in this memo to congress, geller alleges two senior u.s. generals who oversaw afghan trainings, lieutenant william caldwell and his deputy, jerry patton, in 2010 delayed bringing in pentagon investigators because of their political concerns over the looming midterm u.s. elections. geller says caldwell was angry his staff wanted the inspector general to investigate and that patton ordered a delay out of concern it would embarrass the obama white house. >> and then he said, but we don't want to put that request in right now because there's an upcoming general election. and we wouldn't want this to leak out. >> that's just not acceptable. >> reporter: congressman jason

chaffetz house oversight subcommittee is investigating the general's alleged behavior. >> it's a very serious allegation. but it didn't just come from one high ranking military official on the ground, didn't come from just two, we have several of them who have stepped forward and said, yes, this was indeed the case. >> reporter: geller says he wants the truth to come out. >> the biggest frustration is our own leadership's response and how slow that was and how inadequate that was. >> barbara starr's here with us in "the situation room" right now. so this investigation in the house of representatives is ongoing right now. what do they hope to achieve? >> well, also ongoing in the pentagon, wolf, and general caldwell and patton have decline today comment because of that, but at that hearing right now, even though they're not commenting, a number of members

of congress are. and i want you to listen to what one member, congressman kaufman just had to say about caldwell. >> the problem really rose to the top in my view. and it's stunning that he's still serving today in the united states army after all that has occurred here. >> pretty serious set of -- >> indictment of general caldwell. i know him quite well. i know he's an excellent military career until this. but this is hugely, hugely embarrassing. here's the problem that i have. that this is just the tip of the iceberg, barbara. you know this, i know this. the inspectors general who have investigated not just $100 million wasted in this hospital, u.s. taxpayer money that could have been used building a hospital in the united states, but hundreds of more billions of dollars built on roads that aren't used, built on schools that aren't used, built on all sorts of infrastructure in afghanistan. billions and billions and

billions of u.s. taxpayer dollars over the past ten years gone, wasted for no good reason. and it's just so frustrating, so irritating f you read these reports, not many do from the inspectors general you see what's going on. >> well, you know, the pentagon will give you the traditional line that they're making progress. but congress clearly is getting irritated with it. a series of hearings now about can the afghan government really stand up and properly look after itself? i just very quickly also want to credit one of my colleagues, maria habib of "the wall street journal." she started bringing much of this terrible situation at the hospital to light over the last several months. this is a story that is not going away. >> a huge source of waste. and think about it. the next two and a half years while the u.s. maintains a presence in afghanistan, $2 billion a week, $100 billion a year, more than $200 billion is going to be spent. and who knows how much of that is simply going to go down the

drain like in this hospital that you report on. >> very tragic situation. >> terrible, terrible. thanks very much. speaki ining of the militar we're digging deeper into the possible mandatory defense cuts scheduled to come into effect. what it could mean for america's security. a lot more on that coming up in our brand new 6:00 p.m. eastern hour later today. standby for that. air traffic comes to a standstill in newark. why a control tower had to be evacuated. and a ground stop ordered at the busy airport. and buckle up, it's a wild ride through san francisco.

[ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and save you up to thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about. and which aarp medicare supplement plan works best for you. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. there's a range of plans to choose from, too. and they all travel with you. anywhere in the country. join the millions who have already enrolled

in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. call today. remember, medicare supplement insurance helps cover some of what medicare doesn't pay -- expenses that could really add up. these kinds of plans could save you up to thousands in out-of-pocket costs... you'll be able choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. and you never need referrals. so don't wait. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you.

lisa sylvester's monitor thag and other top stories in "the situation room" right now. what's the latest, lisa? >> the power struggle between egypt's president and military is growing. the higher constitutional court halted president mohamed morsi's order calling parliament back into session. the court also affirmed its

decision to ab solve parliament. parliament convened for nearly an hour today in direct opposition to the military which had taken over legislative powers. and planes are flying once again at liberty airport. but the faa halted operations earlier when smoke was reported in the elevator shaft at the air traffic control tower. the tower was evacuated and controllers began working from an alternate site. and in scenes that scream don't try this at home, a professional rally car driver tears across san francisco. see the pictures here. in his new internet film, he takes a seriously souped up ford fiesta for trolley cars racing up and over. this was filmed over four days. and not surprising it has become an internet sensation. and queen elizabeth welcomed the olympic torch at windsor castle today. heavy rain gave way to sunshine as the queen watched the relay. the torch started the day in oxford carried by sir roger

banister who broke the four-minute mile barrier there in 1954. the queen will declare the summer games open in 17 days. we will have mitch more on this in our next hour, wolf. certainly will, lisa. everybody knows the political slogan "it's the economy stupid." the men who thought it up are here in "the situation room" and up next to explain why they just changed that slogan. and in our brand new 6:00 p.m. hour, rahm emanuel looking at why nobody seems able to stop this summer's plague of deadly shootings in chicago. this is $100,000.

we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

one of the most iconic slogans in politics made famous by the men who helped bill clinton win the white house. listen to this. >> it's the economy stupid. >> now take a listen to see how that slogan has been updated. james carville, our political contributor is joining us right now. the co-author of the new book, stan greenberg, he was the lead poster for the clinton campaign back in '92 is joining us as well. congratulations to both of you on the new book chlgt it's got a lot of really good things inside. but let me start, james, with you and the title, it's the middle class stupid. you used to say you coined the phrase "it's the economy stupid" back in '92. what's changed?

>> we've had a deterioration of the middle class over a long period of time. and people falling out of middle class, having trouble hanging on to the middle class and very much aware of what's happening in our lives. and notice this over a period of time he wrote an earlier book called "middle class dreams." we really wanted to bring this attention to the forefront. and that was the rationale and reason behind the book. >> is it your sense, stan, that the obama campaign isn't foe kugs enough on the middle class? >> i think they're focusing like a laser. we're impressed on policy terms and focusing on the middle class and looking at the proposal they've done on the tax cuts. so we're pleased because we think this is the center of the election. we came together, you know, around with bill clinton, forgotten middle class. that was a particular moment in time. and bill clinton kind of represented the kind of identification with and would fight his heart out for those people.

but what we found, people now recognize this is like a three-decade period of income decline, jobs going overseas, personal debt and public debt. and it's -- you know, people know there's a big long-term problem. and they're looking for the elites to pay attention. and i think they're paying attention. i think when mitt romney says now it's a kick in the gut when he looks at the job reports for the middle class and the president is now speaking to the middle class. >> here's what you write in the book, james, you write, maybe obama needs to go to the convention in charlotte and say to his opponent, let's concede he will not raise taxes and i will. he's not taken any positions yet and in fact he's promised to cut taxes on the wealthy. i will raise taxes on the wealthy. is it ever smart to tell the american people you're going to raise taxes? all of us remember walter monodale in 1984 when reagan says he won't raise taxes, i say i will.

that didn't work out so well for him. >> he didn't have to wait to charlotte. he said it two days ago he wanted to end the taxes on the wealthy. by the way, that's been a consistent position of president obama. it was his position in 2008. and now he's saying something different that if they don't raise taxes on top earners, that he's going to veto the whole bill. certainly he should say that in charlotte. >> yeah, but, stan, you know the republicans will use this -- >> please. >> obama only wants to raise taxes, raise taxes, raise taxes. they seem to be pretty happy with his latest statements. >> i think it's an old song. and i think if, you know -- look, right now this is a consensus position. there's something like 75% of the country that think we need to raise taxes in particular on the wealthy. it runs across all parties. this is like one of the few nonpolarizing consensus issues in the country. the country's desperate for it.

there are big problems to address. and raising taxes on the wealthy is a precondition for doing the deficits in the right way, addressing health care, addressing the needs of the middle class. and so i think it's the right starting point and it's the right choice. >> the argument that the democrats are simply tax and spend, you'll hear that. but you write this in the book, james. let me read another line" my biggest complaint with this president is that there's a narrative in front of him and he refuses to drive it," explain. >> first of all, i have been very impressed with the campaign in the last three to four weeks. and i think they're starting to develop one. but what stan and i have been concerned about for some time is is that they need to focus on the next four years as opposed to the previous four and need to put the middle class front and center. i think the president and his team have done a good job. i think tactically and strategically they're moving in the right direction. they're starting to develop this

narrative. i think it has a good chance to be successful also. >> james, about six months ago there was a sort of panic that was the recommendation he made, stan, you probably remember that as well. you're one of the best pollsters out there, you're a great political strategist. >> appreciate that. >> stan, give us one piece of advice. the most important thing you think president obama and his campaign need to do right now over the next four months in order to get re-elect snd. >> i think he needs to drive the story. that this election is about the fate of the middle class and about the future. we listen to people, it is tough out there. they made enormous adjustments to survive this crisis and also the long-term economic decline. i think they're looking for frank ideas, boldness, they want leaders that will tell them where they're going to take the country. he needs to focus on the future, focus on the middle class, focus on the future and pose with mitt romney. >> the poll numbers basically haven't changed much over these

past few months. take a look at this. this is the new "the washington post" abc poll. 47%, 47% right now. not a lot of movement over voters nationally. wrap this up, james, with the most important thing you think the president needs to do. >> i think he's moving on what we've been stressing. i think his second term is about putting middle class front and center. he's going to go to work on the strategy to help rebuild the middle class. frame everything within that issue and i think that's the winning strategy here. you know, i had not been reluctant to criticize the president's re-election campaign when i thought it was in the wrong direction. i think it's in the right direction now. i'm very happy to be able to say i really like the way this camp -- the direction this campaign is going in. i like the aggression coming out of chicago. >> one final question because we're out of time, james. so when the republicans say that

you're only proposing class warfare, what say you? >> warren buffett said there's a class warfare in this country for a long time and his class is winning. the middle class has been under siege in this country for over 30 years. >> they are looking for leaders that will speak up for them. if that's class warfare, i think that's the best strategy for winning in november. >> stan greenberg and james carville, the new book entitled "it's the middle class stupid! "thank you, wolf. one issue refuses to go away. elizabeth warren now admitting to cnn she was slow to respond to the tax on the ancestry she claims. our own dana bash takes a closer look. and searching for medical answers on what's killing children in cambodia. our brand new 6:00 p.m. eastern hour, a live report from our own dr. sanjay gupta. he's at the hospital in

cambodia. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] what's the point of an epa estimated 42 miles per gallon if the miles aren't interesting? the lexus ct hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection. use the points we earn with our citi thankyou card for a relaxing vacation. ♪ sometimes, we go for a ride in the park. maybe do a little sightseeing. or, get some fresh air. but this summer, we used our thank youpoints to just hang out with a few friends in london. [ male announcer ] the citi thankyou visa card. redeem the points you've earned to travel with no restrictions. rewarding you, every step of the way.

november's election is absolutely crucial to the balance of power in congress. right now democrats effectively hold a 53-47 majority in the

senate because both independent senators vote with the democrats. one of their biggest hopes to pick up a republican seat though is in massachusetts. that's where moderate republican senator scott brown is being challenged by consumer advocate elizabeth warren in a race that is surprisingly tight. our senior congressional correspondent, dana bash, is here in "the situation room" just back from massachusetts where you had a chance to take a close look. >> that's right. and you're right. this race is neck-and-neck and probably the most closely watched senate race this year. two nationally known figures attracting a lot of national attention, but each trying to keep it local. >> senator from massachusetts scott brown. >> reporter: main street in cape cod with senator scott brown. though breezy every-man persona got him elected in an upset two years ago still on display. >> thank you. >> absolutely. >> thank you. >> keep your eyes on the road, will you? >> reporter: brown is keenly aware that recapturing the

senate seat held by democrat ted kennedy for nearly half a century means distancing himself from fellow republicans whenever possible. most republicans boast about blocking the president's agenda. brown brags about helping. >> i can name a litany of democratic sponsored bills that i've done that never would have passed had it been for me. and the president had called me and the vice president calls me and secretary clinton calls asking for my vote all the time. >> reporter: republicans jumped on the supreme court decision calling the federal health insurance mandate a tax, but brown voted for a mandate in massachusetts and says neither is a tax. >> what the party leaders and others say in washington really has no bearing on what i'm doing. >> reporter: still brown was elected vowing to help republicans block the president's health care plan and wants to repeal it. his democratic opponent of course does not. >> hi. i'm elizabeth warren. very nice to see you. >> reporter: brown's challenger is a liberal icon. >> we're here for the chicken.

>> reporter: president obama's high profile consumer advocate and former harvard law professor. >> i never thought i would run for public office. but i got pulled into this because of the urgency of this moment. families are getting hammered and they can't take it much longer. >> reporter: the first-time candidate was a quick study on pressing the flesh. >> wonderful. fabulous. shake my hand. >> reporter: and she's got her message against brown down. >> scott brown stands with the billionaires and says they shouldn't have to pay more in taxes. scott brown has been standing against working families. >> reporter: but warren has stumbled over an issue she admits tripped her up. when she applied to teach at harvard, she identified herself as native american. brown pounced saying there's no evidence. >> i was really surprised that anyone wanted to make this a political issue. i was really surprised by that. and very slow to respond to it. i'm like every other kid.

i learned about my family from my parents. >> reporter: brown won't let it go. accusing her of claiming minority status to advance her career. >> when you run for high elected office, you have to pass a test. and that test is one of honesty and credibility and trustwort trustworthiness and truthfulness and she's failed that test. >> reporter: harvard administrators say they didn't know warren claimed native american heritage before hiring her. it's still raw. warren bristles -- we put that to brown. there are big issues facing this country. >> i deal with them everyday. >> reporter: and republicans are engaged in divide and conquer politics. >> with all due respect, i'm evidence of the fact i'm getting things done. >> reporter: to be sure, democrats have their own arsenal against brown. he touts this. >> i was the tie-breaking vote on wall street reform. >> reporter: but the boston globe reported after the bill became law, his aide e-mailed the treasury department to try

to loosen restrictions on big banks. >> the e-mail was merely making sure that the treasury did in fact what congress wanted it to do. >> reporter: with the sagging economy driving voters in massachusetts like everywhere else, it's unclear how much brown's wall street ties or warren's heritage will matter. what is clear, retail politics does still matter in new england. >> good to see you. i like your shirt. very handsome. >> reporter: politics and baseball. >> now, scott brown and elizabeth warren have agreed on something that's interesting, they made a deal to discourage outside groups like super pacs from running ads in massachusetts. so far by and large it's working. that means each candidate can better control their message. but it also means they have to raise a lot of campaign cash themselves. and elizabeth warren is doing quite well in that department. she announced this week, wolf, that she raised $8.6 million just in the second quarter. that's on top of nearly $2 million in the first quarter.

as for scott brown, we haven't gotten those numbers yet. his campaign says they're not releasing them. but in the first quarter he did pretty well $3.5 million. >> yeah. they're both spending a lot of money. here's a question. you were just in massachusetts. this is incredibly tight, the senate race. but on the presidential level, the president -- president obama is beating mitt romney, former governor of massachusetts decisively. why is that? >> you know, first of all, i think the short answer is by and large, massachusetts, this is not a news flash, people, it's a blue state. especially so on a presidential level. it's voted democratic on a presidential level for years and years and years. when it comes to the senate and it comes to other, you know, statewide races, massachusetts voters tend to be a little bit more independent. you think of massachusetts as a liberal state and it is that on the presidential level, but in the senate level you saw with scott brown, not necessarily so. what i'm looking for and what other people are looking for,

scott brown had a surprising win two years ago when there was no one else on the ballot. the question is whether or not the president is doing so well there is bringing him down. >> the president's coat tails could help elizabeth warren. >> yes. thank you. in our 6:00 p.m. eastern hour we're trying something new. there's a segment called ask wolf. that would be me. send me a question using facebook, twitter, ireport, i'll try to answer them 6:00 p.m. eastern here in "the situation room." no one knows who she is, but she's capturing the world's attention right now. what one woman's sudden appearance beside north korea's mysterious leader may mean. on is backed by an equally powerful and secure cloud. that cloud is in the network, so it can deliver all the power of the network itself. bringing people together to develop the best ideas -- and providing the apps and computing power to make new ideas real. it's the cloud from at&t. with new ways to work together, business works better.

♪ delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet the house is considering a bill to close thousands of offices, slash service and layoff over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains $5 billion a year from post office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. house bill 2309 is not the answer. [ male announcer ] we believe small things can make a big difference. like how a little oil from here can be such a big thing in an old friend's life. purina one discovered that by blending enhanced botanical oils into our food, we can help brighten an old dog's mind so he's up to his old tricks. with this kind of thinking going into our food, imagine all the goodness that can come out of it. just one way we're making the world a better place...

one pet at a time. vibrant maturity. from purina one smartblend.

some of lance armstrong's former team members are targeted. lisa sylvester is monitoring that and some other top stories in "the situation room" right now. >> the u.s. anti-doping agency is issuing lifetime bans to two doctors and a team trainer. the agency says it was part of what they called a sophisticated far-reaching doping conspiracy. armstrong is accused of using performance enhancing drugs. yesterday it was dismissed

against the agency. stocks sharply lower. analysts are expecting earnings to drop off compared to the first quarter. results from jpmorgan chase and wells fargo are due later this week. and for this next story, maybe you better stand up. americans might live up to two years longer if they sat less. the report in the british medical journal says we need to reduce sitting to less than three hours a day limiting the time in front of the television to two hours a day could also extend our lives. and i know, wolf, you're standing right now. there you are. here's to a long life, wolf. >> i hope. all of our viewers as well. thank you, lisa. jack cafferty's here with the cafferty file. >> wlast it worth if you have to spend all those extra years standing on your feet. >> could be worse. >> i guess that's true. the question this hour is what kind of change did president obama deliver? todd writes from arizona, more

illegal immigrants rights, more racial tension, more debt to china, more taxes for his health care fiasco. shall i continue? or were you looking for positive points? none come to mind. dave in seattle writes the biggest change will not be seen in his lifetime. it's the inspiration he gives young african-americans to achieve and become great leaders. john writes, zero. he promised a new brand of politics based around the people. and he delivered politics as usual. instead of doing what he said he would do in reaching out to experts outside the normal political circles, he reached out to the likes of nancy pelosi and barney flank and pulled out the same old tired liberal democrats playbook to try and solve our problems. president obama has proven himself to be a typical politician. promising everything, delivering nothing. indiana writes the change obama delivered has been a huge increase in our national debt, a huge tax increase and the guise of obama care and the worst

economy in my memory. larry in texas writes he ended efforts in iraq, got bin laden, passed health care law. all thing considered over the last two years with the republicans main goal to destroy everything in order to defeat him, i give him an a plus. and another, loose change. most people all over the world are now counting their pennies. if you want to read more on the subject, go to the blog cnn.com/caffertyfile. or through our post on "the situation room" facebook page. that concludes the segment. i'm sitting down. >> sit down, please. you are sitting right now. >> i am. >> appreciate it. you're going to stick around. i want you to see this next report though. her identity is unknown, but many believe her recent appearance besides the new leader of north korea is rather significant. we have new information. and the miles are piling up. a marathon diplomatic mission for the secretary of state hillary clinton. is she feeling the strain? great shot.

how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. ...more talk on social security... ...but washington isn't talking to the american people. [ female announcer ] when it comes to the future of medicare and social security, you've earned the right to know. ♪ ...so what does it mean for you and your family? [ female announcer ] you've earned the facts. ♪ washington may not like straight talk, but i do. [ female announcer ] and you've earned a say.

get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security at earnedasay.org.

here's a look at this hour's hot shots. in india activists demonstrating against a pharmaceutical company in new delhi. in france, a tight rope walker practices his balancing act in a park. in australia, look at this.

children spin circles around their parents at an ice rink on the beach. and in england, three yorkshire terriers getting drenched. hot shots, pictures in from around the world. love those. meanwhile, a new mystery involving a rather secretive nation. a new woman appearing beside kim jong-un that sparked a flurry of speculation. we asked brian todd to take a look. what do we know about this mysterious woman? >> wolf, there's very little that western analysts or intelligence agencies know about her. it's mostly speculation. questions whether she's romantically involved or whether she's his sister. the face that launched a thousand rumors. abuzz over this young woman seen twice in recent days next to the country's new leader, kim jong-un. she was spotted once at a high

profile musical performance that included disney characters that disney didn't authorize. then she was seen at an event paying tribute to kim's late grandfather. who do we think this mystery woman is? >> the short answer is we don't know for certain. >> reporter: the speculation is rampant and centered on two possibilities. one south korea newspaper said the woman seemed to be kim jong-un's younger sister. victor chau, former national security council official who dealt with north korea thinks that would be unparalleled. >> there's only one leader in north korea. there's only one leader. and this fella who's been the anointed person, so for them to then suddenly put a younger sister right next to him to make her look at least almost like a co-leader would be highly unusual and give you the sense they're not doing things the way they have been in the past. >> reporter: the other possibility, a prominent south korea newspaper citing south korean intelligence officials identifies the woman a former

singer for electronic music band. that band was hugely popular in north korea. had hit songs with titles like "i love pyongyang. that newspaper reports they became romantically involved about a decade ago. but that his father objected. she then married someone else according to the paper. as if you needed another twist, there's a family pattern. >> when the father, kim jong-il was around the same as the leader, he became interested in a young female reporter also married to somebody else. that person no longer was relevant. in the kim family, if they want you, they have you. others say the north koreans have an interest in projecting this woman as a possible wife for kim jong-un if she's romantically involved with him. not only to make him seem more

human, but also to show there will be another generation of the kim family after this one. that the dynasty will continue. it's crucial for the regime to project that kind of strength, wolf. >> given history, even if she emerges some day as his wife; we probably won't learn much more about her. >> that's right. analysts say the wives of his grandfather and father were never ever mentioned in the north korean m north korean media. we know he's in his 20s, he went to school in switzerland, but that's all we know. >> late 20s. that's all we know. brian, thanks very much. and you're in "the situation room." happening now, extreme globe trotting. the secretary of state hillary clinton on a diplomatic mission with an itinerary you have to see to believe. is she starting to feel the strain? and a nasty new phase in the race for the white house. mitt romney is now pushing back against president obama's attacks. and a shocking cnn investigation. sexual predators on cruise

ships. passengers, even crew members targeting victims for rape. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." we begin this hour in syria. opposition groups reporting at least 41 deaths as the regime of the president, bashar al-assad, continues an assault on its own people. russia, a strong syrian ally, is offering to host new talks aimed at ending the bloodshed, but it wants to include iran. that would be unacceptable to the united states. iran totally, totally backing the syrian regime. also new, a fleet of russian ships now en route to a syrian port. our pentagon correspondent,

barbara starr is working that story for us. what are you seeing, barbara? what's going on? >> wolf, the question on the table today is russia changing its mind about syria. there has been good news. russia has agreed no new shipments into syria as long as the country remains so unstable. influential russian analysts saying if it came to it russia would not resist if there was military intervention inside syria. but russia is also making other moves with its ships and being call add flotilla. let's go to the map. there are a number of ships, at least four, that have left a northern port are making their way all the way around europe through the mediterranean on a journey to the syrian port of tartous. they are likely to be joined by other ships along the way in this flotilla. russia says it's all part of a training exercise. the white house says it's not too worried. but let's go to another map. there are two other ships, military cargo ships, also on

the move from russia to syria. they are transiting today through the turkish straits into the mediterranean also to the port of tartous. the russians say they are resupplying the russian facility there. all of this, wolf, being watched very closely by u.s. intelligence. >> what about, barbara, the routes. why are these routes so important? >> this is the crux of it, isn't it? let's keep looking at maps here because this is all about geography. look at where tartous is. this is the port on the mediterranean. both the russians and even the iranians coming around the other way want to maintain access to this port. it's their access into the mediterranean. and look. in through the canal down the red sea into the oil shipping lanes of the persian gulf. the russians want to be able to dock at their facility at tartous, have their supplies

there, their personal nnel ther. it's not a port they'll give up easily. it's of great strategic importance to moscow. that's one of the reasons the russians have been hanging on to the assad regime all these weeks and months, wolf. >> barbara starr reporting for us. thank you. syria is just one of many pressing issues on the plate of secretary of state hillary clinton. right now she's on a marathon trip spanning the globe with an itinerary that would leave even the most hearty traveler exhausted. jill dougherty is joining us now. she has details. how is the secretary of state holding up based on all the evidence out there? >> well, i think overall she's okay, wolf. there was one incident we'll show you here. but these trips really i've been on plenty of them with secretary clinton, if there's one golden rule, you never really know where you're going to end up. but this trip is extraordinary. even for secretary of state who keeps her bags packed.

secretary of state hillary clinton packs a lot into a day on the road. in hanoi, vietnam, she visited foreign ministry, foreign trade ministry, prime minister, secretary ruling communist party then made remarks to the u.s. chamber of commerce. >> and i've been talking all day. so excuse me. >> reporter: that's when the trip caught up with her. >> so we've come a long way in a short period of time. and that is -- excuse me. what economic state is all about. so we want to hear from all of you about what more we can do together. and at the risk of coughing any longer, i just want to say thank you and let's get to work. >> reporter: her coughing fit forced her to cut short her

speech. the state department said she's in excellent health and doing just fine. but the journey struck fear in the hearts of seasoned journalists who have to keep up with her. clinton's almost two-week trip is a mile busting marathon and it's taking its toll. flying from washington, d.c. to paris for a conference on syria then to afghanistan. and tokyo for a conference on afghan reconstruction. next stop, mongolia. then three countries in southeast asia. then egypt after its election. israel. and finally back home to washington. no wonder clinton had this to say in june when students asked her what are the biggest challenges of her job. >> the personal stamina that is required in today's world in a job like this is quite an experience. >> reporter: two weeks ago on yet another trip clinton made diplomatic history. racking up the 100th country she's visited as secretary of

state more than any other secretary in the history according to the state department. but the end is in sight. clinton at age 64 says even if president barack obama is re-elected, she won't stick around for another term as secretary of state. >> i think after 20 years -- and it will be 20 years, of being on the highwire of american politics and all of the challenges that come with that, it would be probably a good idea to just find out how tired i am. >> you know, she may not know how tired she is, wolf. but it's no surprise if the secretary's a little more tired than usual after this trip. and we did a rough calculation. and it turns out that when this trip is over, she will have added another approximately 27,000 miles to her total. wolf. >> she is definitely amazing. i had the chance to travel with her last year, jill. we went to paris then cairo then

tunisia. and i saw her in action aboard the plane. she does have a bed on her plane so she can sleep. i'm sure she doesn't get very restful sleeps aboard that aircraft. but i had covered bill clinton like you, jill, over the years. used to do day trips to bosnia. she has so much of that stamina, so much of that drive. she went in cairo for example and tunisia from meeting to meeting to meeting. she was nonstop all the way to the point that i started getting worried about her stamina. here's my bottom line, jill. i don't know if you agree or disagree, she's going to have four years to rest up. she'll be 68 years old in 2016. i wouldn't be surprised to -- that's by the way the bed she has aboard her plane. i wouldn't be surprised to see her run once again. try to make history and become the first woman president of the united states. but that's just my opinion. >> you may be right, wolf. >> jill dougherty, thanks very much. speaking of politics, the

race for the white house is entering a new phase. and it's getting personal and even somewhat nasty between president obama and mitt romney. our national political correspondent, jim acosta, is following all of this for us. what's going on on the campaign trail today? >> wolf, interestingly enough mitt romney said the words bane capital. and by mentioning bane capital by name today, mitt romney not just aides and surrogates, started to push back on his business career. >> i'm going to turn to you and ask you for any questions you might have. >> so why is the obama team and the liberal media want us to think that we should be more angry with what you do with your money than what obama has done with mine? >> reporter: it took a question at a town hall for mitt romney to offer up a rare public defense of his former private investment firm, bane capital. >> i went out and began a business. and the business turned out to be far more successful than i ever would imagine. >> reporter: and romney brushed off calls from the obama campaign to release years of additional tax returns.

>> all they're doing is attacking on every diversion they can come up with. >> should in turn release the tax returns? >> i would. >> reporter: the obama campaign says romney won't show more than the 2010 and 2011 tax records he's already released because he's hiding his foreign investments. >> he wants you to show your papers, but he won't show us his. >> reporter: even the president is piling on. >> what's important if you are running for president is that the american people know who you are, what you've done and that you're an open book. >> reporter: romney told an iowa radio station even he doesn't know the full extent of his foreign holdings because they're managed by a blind trust. >> i don't manage them. don't even know where they are. that trustee follows all u.s. laws, all the taxes are paid as appropriate. all of them have been reported to the government. there's nothing hidden there. >> reporter: appearing in swing states on the same day, romney in colorado and the president in iowa, both men also exchanged blows over outsourcing. >> newly published documents

show mitt romney's firms pioneers at helping companies outsource their manufacturing to countries including china. >> reporter: the romney campaign seized on this obama ad that accused the gop contend r of shipping jobs overseas cites fact check.org. and republicans tried to turn the tables blasting out this 2010 letter from four democratic senators who complained the president's stimulus program was using taxpayer dollars to support foreign manufacturing and foreign jobs. >> if there's an outsourcer in chief, it's the president of the united states, not the guy who's running to replace him. >> reporter: at his own event, the president appeared to repeat his outsourcing attacks in his ad. >> as long as i'm president i will keep fighting to make sure jobs are located here in united states of america. >> reporter: and both campaigns will have another chance to go at each other in the coming days with both romney and vice president biden scheduled to speak before the naacp. the president is not making the

trip, wolf. >> enough coverage of that tomorrow and thursday as well. there was an interesting exchange at that town hall meeting he had today. someone asked him about a controversial republican congressman from south florida, allen west. let me play the q and the a. >> sounds good. >> i've been listening to allen west talk, he'd make a great vice president. he's a fighter. and that's what we want. >> thank you. all suggestions are welcome. >> that was a diplomatic answer. but i assume you've checked in, they're not really vetting allen west as a potential vice presidential running mate. >> it sounds as if maybe the romney campaign has a suggestion box up in boston for vice presidential picks. but, wolf, i asked the romney campaign. i did not get a response on the allen west question. and keep in mind, the romney campaign said -- even mitt romney said he isn't talking about who he's vetting or not vetting except marco rubio.

but we can tell you one thing and that is rob portman talked to reporters earlier this morning. he disclosed to reporters today that he was up in boston yesterday, met with romney's staffers and three different meetings although he says vetting did not come up. it's safe to say that some vice presidential talk probably came up at that meeting. that is a very interesting development in the veepstakes. >> thanks very much for that. both romney and president obama by the way are pouring considerable resources into two key states. we're going to show you what they're doing and why. standby for that. and aissassiassassins, cybes and more. inside israel's secret war and beyond. and rapists at sea. why cruise ships are becoming magnets for sexual predators. a cnn special investigation. i didn't know how i was gonna to do it,

but i knew i was gonna get that opportunity one day, and that's what happened with university of phoenix. nothing can stop me now. i feel like the sky's the limit with what i can do and what i can accomplish. my name is naphtali bryant and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now.

i'm barack obama, and i approved pioneeinbthis message.e.ss jobs focus lolo, focust sanya let's do this i am from baltimore south carolina... bloomington, california... austin, texas... we are all here to represent the country we love this is for everyone back home it's go time. across america, we're all committed to team usa. yep. the longer you stay with us, the more you save. and when you switch from another company to us, we even reward you for the time you spent there.

genius. yeah, genius. you guys must have your own loyalty program, right? well, we have something. show her, tom. huh? you should see november! oh, yeah? giving you more. now that's progressive. call or click today. jack cafferty's back with

the cafferty file. jack. >> president obama and mitt romney are neck and neck in the polls, it appears the president's supporters are more fired up when it comes to hitting the voting booth in the fall. a new poll shows 75% of the president's supporters say their vote is for him. while 32 -- or 23% rather say they're going to vote against mitt romney. compare that to only 37% of romney's supporters who say their vote is for romney. 59% say they're going to vote against the president. there was a similar trend back in 2004. president bush's supporters were firmly behind him while most of john kerry's supporters were voting against bush. this poll also shows president obama benefitting from an enthusiasm gap although that is shrinking. more than half of obama's supporters back him very enthusiastically. only 38% of romney's supporters say the same. of course it's not all roses for the president. when it comes to the number one issue of the economy, 54% of all

adults, 60% of independents get mr. obama negative remarks. he also gets negative ratings on health care and immigration. and two-thirds of americans think the country is seriously off course. a majority have not approved of the president's job performance in this poll for more than a year now. nonetheless, in what's shaping up to be a tight race, motivating those few undecided voters could make the difference between who wins and who loses. in fact, it will. the poll suggests most voters have already made up their mind and are unlikely to change candidates. to try to get you motivated though, if you're one of the undecided, the campaigns will bury you now under tv ads, e-mails, phone calls, you name it in the three and a half months remaining. here's the question, how motivated are you to vote in november? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile and post a comment on my blog. or go to our post on "the situation room" facebook page. wolf. >> excellent question as usual,

jack. thank you. let's continue in the world of politics. the election battle now moving to the center of the united states with president obama in iowa, mitt romney in colorado. two very important battleground states that both campaigns are intensely focused on. our chief national correspondent, john king, is joining us with more on these two states. what are you seeing, john? >> wolf, i'm sorry, relatively small states but critically important. iowa where the president was, six electoral votes, not as big in ohio, could be critical. colorado, that's where governor romney was, they are among the states we now have as pure toss ups. this is the electoral map. 247 solid or leaning obama, 206 solid or leading romney. two top states iowa and colorado among them. switch maps, wolf. what else do they have in common? these are classic swing states. this is the 2008 map, iowa and colorado both part of the obama coalition. erase those. try this. go back in time, what do you get

in 2004? george w. bush won both of those states. go back to the year 2000 they were split. al gore winning in iowa, george bush winning in colorado. classic swing states. why are the candidates spending so much time there? one of the reasons they are not only toss up states, they are about as close as you can come. in the latest colorado poll about two months old we'd like to see more recent data. but look at that. a lot of money going into these states. look a this right now, yes, governor romney has been raising more money as of late, but tv ads spending just in the last month in colorado almost $500,000 advantage. $2.1 million for the president, $1.6 million spent just by the campaigns in the state of colorado both campaigns now beginning to invest in resources. 26 offices, that's a lot for the democrats and obama. four statewide for the romney campaign. that's the state of colorado. move these out of the way. come back to the state of iowa, wolf. when you bring up that state, again, you see something quite similar. the latest poll is a couple months old. we'd like more recent data.

it's a toss up. both campaigns say it's very close there. slide that over, again, you see this. this is where they're spending money two-to-one here. just in the last month of tv ad spending. just over $1 million for the romney campaign. they're beginning to spend om of their money investing on the ground in campaign offices, wolf, 14 for the democrats and president obama, six for governor romney. two classic toss up states. if you think they're not big, this race being so close, those two states could potentially be decisive. >> very decisive indeed. so if romney is raising more money, but obama's spending more money in those states, is that continuing across the country as well? or is it just to those two states? >> no, it is. it's a fascinating dynamic for the moment. clear this out and come back to the other map if you will. get these out of the way so they're not blocking anybody's view. come back to the electoral map, which is easier to make the distinction. gold states are toss up states. both campaigns are advertising in these states, new hampshire,

virginia, florida, ohio, iowa, colorado and nevada. the president's campaign also on the air in pennsylvania and in north carolina. governor romney on air in states except pennsylvania. they're fighting for the same states with the exception of pennsylvania at the moment. look at these numbers right now in terms of tv spending in the last month. $21 million, almost $22 million for the obama campaign. yes, governor romney is raising more money. a lot more must be money at the moment than the president. but, wolf, the incumbent president having to spend more at the moment to keep this race as close as it is. >> fascinating numbers. i know you'll watch them closely in the weeks and four months to come. thanks, john, very much. meanwhile, a fire rages in the early hours of the morning as firefighters struggle to get water to the flames despite extensive damage, i'm going to tell you why it could have been even worse. and a news helicopter

captures a ride gone awry. details on this rough landing.

ask me what it's like when my tempur-pedic moves. why not talk to someone who owns an adjustable version of the most highly recommended bed in america? ask me about my tempur advanced ergo. goes up. goes up. ask me what it's like to get a massage anytime you want. goes down. goes down. [ male announcer ] tempur-pedic brand owners are more satisfied than owners of any traditional mattress brand. ergonomics. [ male announcer ] tempur-pedic. the most highly recommended bed in america. to learn more or to find an authorized retailer near you, visit tempurpedic.com.

two strong storms are brewing in the pacific ocean right now. there's another one likely on the way as well. lisa sylvester is monitoring that, some of the other top stories in "the situation room." lisa, what's going on? >> hi, wolf. we're keeping an eye on this one. hurricane season definitely in full swing and it's already busier than usual for the pacific. two storms are raging with one of them emilia today becoming a category 4 hurricane. now while these storms don't pose a threat to land, there's a third storm brewing just south of mexico. and with very warm waters, there may be more storms coming. it took firefighters three hours to contain this raging fire, but not before it caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. it started this morning at a storage facility near houston. about a dozen rvs, campers and boats were destroyed. bit of good news though, the fire was stopped before spreading to a neighboring lumber and palette yard. and a group of hot air balloon

riders in arizona probably didn't imagine their trip would end quite like this. you can see that basket bounce and drag along the ground for 800 to 900 feet as the balloon pilot tries to bring it down. gusts of 20 miles an hour. he says it was a textbook high-wind landing. all passengers walked away unscathed. i know a lot of people would not have wanted to be on that particular balloon ride, wolf. >> pretty scary stuff. lisa, thank you. cyber attacks on iran's nuclear program allegedly part of a secret war by israel. we're going to talk to the author of a new book that reads like a spy thriller. and a baby hidden in a carryon bag and deliberately put through an airport x-ray machine. we now know why the parents did it. that's coming up in our brand new 6:00 p.m. eastern hour. the capital one cash rewards card

gives you a 50% annual bonus. and who doesn't want 50% more cash? ugh, the baby. huh! and then the baby bear said, "i want 50% more cash in my bed!" phhht! 50% more cash is good ri... what's that. ♪ you can spell. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? ha ha. ♪

assassins speeding through the streets on motorcycles carrying bombs to blow up valuable targets. cyber attacks causing nuclear centrifuges to simply spin out of control. this is no fixal thriller. included details in a brand new book entitled "spies against armagedd armageddon; inside israel's secret wars." dan raviv is the author and joining me in "the situation room." you've done an excellent job writing this book. let's go to specifics, a lot of

focus on the economic, political sanctions if that won't work, a full-scale military operation to blow up iran's nuclear facilities. there's another option you detail covert operations going on by the israelis right now. give us a little detail of what they're doing to try to stop iran from building a bomb. >> you know, wolf, taking up your point, it's almost like a middle ground. not all-out war. not just sanctions and negotiations. covert action actually means assassinations in tehran. it's known that at least four nuclear scientists in tehran have been murdered, some by gunfire mostly by bombs that have been placed on their cars on the outside by men on motorcycles who just plain got away. we're reporting in this book that those are israelis and that's an intentional campaign to try to slow down iran's nuclear program. >> so israel sends in operatives and they look for these nuclear scientists and then they whack them, if you will. >> well, a lot of people will be surprised that its israelis doing it. some experts assumed israel hires other people to do it.

we found what the methodology of the foreign operations agency don't trust other people to do it. it's israelis who have ways of getting in and out of iran, they must have safehouses, they must have transportation routes. and we find that for more than 30 years israel has had all of that. >> and the reaction from washington to these assassinations, if you will, because you detail that in the book as well. >> yeah. it depends on the timing. there have been a few occasions in which israel has carried out an assassination killing of a nuclear scientist just in tehran just when it seemed like talks might be getting underway and the u.s. was angry at that. and didn't really hide that fact. but in general, the u.s. and israeli intelligence are working together to slow down iran, working together more than they ever have in the past. that includes computer viruses but also includes field operations. that's something kwielt -- >> what does that mean, field operations? >> it means planning how to get in and out of iran, debriefing

defectors, iranian scientists and others who have been in the iranian military who leave that country. the u.s. and israel are sharing their intel. here's why. the extra element i think we're revealing, wolf, is that israel wanted the u.s. involved. get the cia and other u.s. agencies involved, you'll get president obama's attention. america's been too caught up in the israeli view with afghanistan and iraq. and they probably succeeded in getting the u.s. interested in iran again as a very big issue. >> the cyber warfare against iran's nuclear program, it's been detailed in other books. lots of stuff is coming up. and you have new information there as well and the level of cooperation between the u.s. and israel. >> well, there's an israeli unit part of the military intelligence. unit 8200, they're geniuses at everything high-tech. they've worked with america and the national security agency and together created computer viruss. you've had reports here on cnn that that's something new.

bottom line, it's something short of all-out war. even the israelis don't want to bomb iran. they have a lot of covert action that they're still attempting. >> how far would the israelis go in terms of assassination in iran? how high up the chain of command? >> well, again, looking at the playbook for decades, which is what we do in this history, they're reluctant to kill a national leader. they don't think killing the president of iran or supreme leader would accomplish them much, who would replace them et cetera. they prefer to be tactical. when hunting terrorists, that can lthey look for who is doing the planning. in the nuclear program, scare off scientists from joining the nuclear program. >> we know there's been tension on a personal level between the president of the united states, president obama and the prime minister, netanyahu. you have done some over the past

three or four years, what is your bottom line. >> we find it very strong. at times u.s. and israel have had fantastic but in the past few years with iran in the target it's really the golden age. but mr. obama and prime minister netanyahu disagree how to renew talks, they have personal friction. but on the iran issue, they're pretty much on the same page. maybe some differences of timing, but underline again the israelis would like the u.s. to take care of this problem. so they keep saying it's not israel's problem, but we find israel's covert agencies -- >> how likely is that if the sanctions fail, if the covert operations fail, that there will be either u.s. or israeli military operation? >> it's a possibility. determined iran not get a nuclear weapon. really determined that it would change the entire middle east. as i see this level of determination and i see it as a possibility, if there's no

choice of sanctions, if negotiations don't work, if iran doesn't shut down, stop, freeze the program, i think there could be military action. >> dan raviv, co-author of "spies against armageddon, inside israel's secret war." thanks for coming in. good luck with the book. >> thanks. with drought conditions across the state of texas, rain is a welcomed weather event, but not when it leads to this. ten inches of rain in just a few hours sends residents of one community fleeing to higher ground. and a teenager loses half his arm to an alligator. why he says a tv show saved his life.

our current dividend tax rate will expire this year, sending taxes through the roof and hindering economic recovery. the consequences? millions of americans will see their taxes on dividend income spike, slowing investment in u.s. companies and jeopardizing development in energy projects that create american jobs. ask congress to stop a dividend tax hike -- for all of us. for all of us. well hello, welcome to hotels.com. summer road trip, huh? uhuh yep uch let's find you a room. at hotels.com, you'll always find the perfect hotel. because we only do hotels. wow. i like that. nice no. laugh... awe uch ooh, yeah hmm nice huh book it! oh boy call me... this summer, we're finding you the perfect place - plus giving you up to $100 at hotels.com

the showdown brewing in egypt right now. lisa sylvester's monitoring that, some of the other top stories in "the situation room." lisa, what's the latest? >> hi, wolf. the power struggle between egypt's president and the military is growing. the video is the latest blow in that fight. weeks after the highest court ruled parliamentary elections unconstitutional and the military dissolved the legislature, the lawmakers convened for almost an hour. egypt's president called them into session in direct opposition to the military, which had taken over legislative powers. the court struck back hours later stopping the president's

move. and, again, ruling the parliament invalid. and there's been a dramatic turn in the trial of a pakistani british couple accused of killing their daughter because they believed she shamed the family with her western lifestyle. the victim's mother abruptly changed her story in court and implicated her husband in their 17-year-old's death. her dismembered body was found months after she disappeared. her parents pleaded not guilty. and a texas community woke up to a slow-moving thunderstorm this morning that dropped about ten inches of rain in just a few hours. flash flooding left more than a dozen homes near austin surrounded by water. the water receded by early afternoon and emergency officials say no one was injured. a florida teen is recovering after being attacked by an alligator. jeremiah jacobson with cnn affiliate wink has the story. >> the gator was about two feet away from him, just came straight at him.

he yelled, looked and punched the gator and it took his arm and he went under. >> reporter: fred's friend say the gator seemed to come out of nowhere as they went for a swim on monday afternoon. >> as soon as he seen fred, the gator was coming on the water he was coming. >> reporter: gary beck was unsure but jumped in to get fred and the other boys out of the water. >> he said my arm -- my arm's gone. he was freaked out obviously. >> reporter: friends in the river with him say he knew exactly what to do. >> he's been alligators all his life. he's smart enough to know, if he offers him his arm, it won't take his torso. he was smart. >> reporter: the teens like many of the families here are very well aware of the presence of alligators in these waters. but wildlife officials tell us now happens to be an active time of year. >> just after mating season. eggs already laid, but ago gators are very active. any commotion in the water is potential food in their eyes. >> reporter: fish and wildlife

officers say two gators called in earlier in the day. they retrieved the 17-year-old's arm. trappers also hauled in several other gators in that time. langdale's friends say it's all part of their world. >> will this stop you from heading down this river again? >> no. he'll be the first one back in. >> that boy is lucky. well, the teen credits a move he learned on the popular tv show "swamp men" with saving his life. he told his sister that as the alligator approached he grabbed the skin under its mouth to keep it from biting him and that stopped it at first but couldn't keep it away. >> fascinating story. coming up in our new 6:00 p.m. eastern hour, the mystery woman at the side of north korea's new leader, she's sparking international intrigue. who is this woman? standby. and up next, a royal welcome for the olympic torch. at shell, we believe the world needs a broader mix of energies. that's why we're supplying natural gas to

generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go. delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet the house is considering a bill to close thousands of offices, slash service and layoff over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains $5 billion a year from post office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. house bill 2309 is not the answer.

the olympic flame is making its way across england before it reaches its final destination of london. just 16 days and a little more than 22 hours from now. as the torch weaves its way through major cities, small villages and towns, today it had a grander stage than usual for one of its handoffs.

amid off and on again rain, the queen and her husband welcomed the olympic flame to windsor castle. cnn royal correspondent, max foster, has more. >> reporter: wolf, the olympic atmosphere really is building here in the uk. the queen will officially open the olympic games in a few weeks time. but this was her first chance to see the olympic torch, which is making its way around the united kingdom. wherever it goes, huge crowds, quite surprising really. and today in windsor was no exception. now, 74-year-old gina mcgregor had the honor of carrying the torch, but there was torrential rain. when she met the queen, she was dripping wet. she said she was a bit embarrassed but the queen made a joke of it and everything was all right in the end. they had to gather for a meet and greet under shelter.

in the background you can see children playing handball, one of the sports featured in the olympic games. prince phillip was there at the queen's side, sometimes famous for making jokes or gaffes if you call them. today was no exception. ran the torch in 1948 which was the last time the uk hosted the olympics and apparently charles said, prince phillip told me you look quite old, but charles replied, well, not quite as old as you. so good reply, prince phillip apparently appreciated it. now, there weren't any of the younger royals there today. but the duke and duchess of came bridge and prince harry will get their chance to see the olympic torch as it goes past buckingham palace just before the olympic opening ceremony. there's some rumor that they will actually be running with the torch themselves. we'll wait to see on that. wolf. >> we will indeed. max, thank you. max foster reporting for us from london.

jack cafferty's here with the cafferty file. jack. >> indeed i am. question this hour is how motivated are you to vote in november? i don't think people are motivated at all because we really don't have anything to vote for. whether it's romney or obama, what will change? linda in washington, i'll be voting in november, but i'm not excited about it. if romney gets in, we'll just see more billionaires deciding public policy, which would be very bad for the poor and the middle class. these people aren't giving their money to political causes without expecting a huge return on their investment. dee in new york writes i've never been more motivated to vote. unfortunately i'm a red person living in a blue state. so my vote has a chance of a snowball in hell however i will at least have my say and exercise one of our greatest rights as citizens. floyd in california says seems like the california vote's already been decided. i do plan to vote but will most likely write-in none of the

above. i feel like my vote doesn't matter anymore. sam in florida i'm 66 and very motivated to vote. this is the most important election during my lifetime. the next president will have two to three appointments to the supreme court. if president obama doesn't get re-elected, romney will appoint strictly conservative justices to the court and every gain by women and minorities will be turned back. michael writes i always vote, i'm voting for obama. no way am i ever voting for romney even if he really is a massachusetts moderate that will throw the tea party under the bus. i can't trust him. and mark in oklahoma says i will crawl on my belly through hot coals to vote against this hope and change phony sitting in the white house now. give him another four years in office, obama will undo what it took our forefathers 200 years to accomplish. i'm motivated. if you want to read more about this, go to the blog, cnn.com/caffertyfile. or through our post on "the situation room" facebook page. wolf. thank you, jack. they are motivated indeed.

a skyrocketing murder rate in chicago right now. it has president obama's close friend, the mayor rahm emanuel on the defensive. we're going there live in our brand new 6:00 p.m. eastern hour. and up next, a cruise ship rapist. a shocking cnn special investigation. like how a little oil from here can be such a big thing in an old friend's life. purina one discovered that by blending enhanced botanical oils into our food, we can help brighten an old dog's mind so he's up to his old tricks. with this kind of thinking going into our food, imagine all the goodness that can come out of it. just one way we're making the world a better place... one pet at a time. vibrant maturity. from purina one smartblend. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80%

of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral to see a specialist. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel -- and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us.

anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is.

sexual predators at sea. if you've ever been on a cruise, odds are there has been at least one such sexual predator on board your ship. in fact, one expert says cruises are magnets for rapists, some of whom may be part of the crew. drew griffin of cnn special investigations unit reports. >> reporter: it was the cruise of a lifetime, a family spending new years rounding the volcanic island off new zealand coast, on board rhapsody of the seas. january 1, 2010. this girl, then 15, decided to spend the morning alone in her cabin. and the trip of a lifetime turned to terror as her locked door to cabin 3073 suddenly clipped. >> i didn't hear the card key go in, heard the door open, and

like the lock like yeah, i thought it was my brother or sister at first. then when i saw the guy come in, i didn't recognize the bartender uniform. i just -- it was someone working on the ship. i thought it was a room attendant to clean the room because i didn't put the sign don't disturb or whatever. >> reporter: it wasn't a crew attendant, it was someone dressed in a bartender uniform, threatening the girl not to say a word as he forced the teen to perform oral sex. at her family's request, we are not showing her face. >> reporter: you were 15. >> yeah. >> reporter: scared. you didn't tell your family. >> no. at the time on the cruise, i didn't want to ruin the vacation for them, it was already ruined for me. >> reporter: on deck, the mother says the girl's demeanor changed, she was clingy, never left her side the rest of the crews. two months later, the secret

broke. >> reporter: do you feel the person that attacked you, it was the first time he attacked someone? >> no, the way he did it, he walked in like he knew what he was doing. >> reporter: do you feel was he a predator? >> yes. >> randy jakes has a strong opinion about the likelihood of criminals on board. >> every single cruise that leaves the port of miami, port everglades, cape canaveral, port canaveral in the state of florida has a minimum of one perpetrator, whether passenger or crew, on board its vessel each week. >> reporter: jakes is a former ship security officer and investigates on board crimes for victims and lawyers that may want to file civil lawsuits. he says there is no doubt cruise ships have become magnets for predators who feel safe at sea, far from police jurisdictions, and given the nature of cruises with lots of alcohol, parents who leave children unattended, the predator passengers and yes, predator crew members, he says,

feel they can get away with almost anything. >> yes. this is true. there are considerable amount of male perpetrators out there that are passengers and crew that get on board these vessels with only one thing in mind and that is to accost as many female passengers as they can, by getting them overly intoxicated or using date rape drugs. >> they're rapists. >> yes, they're rapists. >> reporter: he worked for two major cruise lines. crew members are complicit, using on board computers, passenger manifests to spot their prey. >> you know this. >> yes, i know this for a fact. >> reporter: hard to believe? we thought so, too, until we met laura haynes who worked for 17 years as an agent with customs and border protection.

the main job she says was dealing with passengers and staff on cruise ships and she shares the same opinion and concerns as jakes. >> reporter: so your estimate of ships that go out to sea loaded with passengers that may have at least one predator on board. >> yes, 85%. >> reporter: you heard right, 85%. crimes are rarely reported and in many instances, even if caught, crew members could still end up on another ship. >> the cruise line says it doesn't happen, i know for a fact it does, i have seen it. >> reporter: cruise line international association disputes her assertion in an e-mail to cnn, a spokesman told us it is disconcerting that this individual would irresponsibly offer such inflammatory, unfounded accusations. the safeties of passengers and crew are the cruise industry's number one priority and no one is served when broad and

alarming statements are made that have no basis in fact. the cruise industry points to a law passed by congress as recently as 2010, for the first time called for public reporting of all crimes on board american cruise ships at sea. cites only a handful of the millions of passengers were victims of any kind of crime. critics say that's because most crimes aren't even reported, and even fewer, especially sexual assaults, says randy jakes, are ever solved. >> the criminal knows this. the criminals know this, the passengers that are criminals know this, the crew members that are criminals know this. >> reporter: now this teenager knows this, too. when she finally reported her crime to the fbi, two months after the event took place, an fbi agent in riverside, california took the report, found her story to be credible, and forwarded information to police in australia and new seal and in an attempt, he wrote in

this report, to identify a possible child predator on board a royal caribbean cruise liner. the girl's family sued the cruise line which settled the case, but the family says it never heard from police in australia or new zealand. >> we had no one to contact over there getting a report. it was sent over there and kind of disappeared. >> reporter: in a statement, royal caribbean says once informed, it notified the fbi, new zealand authorities and interpol and provided 50 to 60 pictures of crew members, but unfortunately the guest was unable to identify the crew member in question. royal caribbean insisted it continuously supported law enforcement during the investigation of this incident. additionally, the cruise line says security personnel have been trained by the fbi and use fbi procedures. it has been more than two years. there has been no arrest. >> in effect, the person that assaulted you did get away. >> yeah. >> and could very well still be floating around somewhere.

>> yes. >> reporter: drew griffin, cnn, miami. happening now, why mitt romney shouldn't keep secrets if he wants to live in the white house. the president's pal, chicago mayor, is blamed for the exploding murder rate. and airport luggage scanner detects a baby hidden by his parents in a carry on bag. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room". if you want to be president of the united states, the american people are entitled to know almost everything about you, your life automatically becomes an open book. if you want to keep secrets, don't run for president. mitt romney has a huge decision to make. he is under increasing pressure from the obama campaign to release his full tax returns. >> i think what's important if you are running for president is that the american people know who you are, what you've done,

and that you're an open book. and you know, that's been true of every presidential candidate dating back to mr. romney's father. >> romney felt the same kind of pressure in primary season from some of his republican opponents. >> why not release it. >> i don't know why he isn't releasing tax returns. >> every candidate out there, they should put their taxes out, including mitt. >> in response, he released the 2010 return back in january, along with an estimate of his 2011 tax return, and suggested he would give us more down the road. >> i don't know how many years i'll release. i'll look at what our documents are. >> i assume mitt romney will eventually release several years of returns because that's what all presidential candidates, democrats and republicans, have done in recent years. he says he has paid all of his taxes, says he has done nothing wrong. and i certainly believe him. but i also believe if he has nothing to hide, he should open

the books so he can focus on the really important campaign issues. on that point, i agree with what the former republican party chairman, former mississippi governor haleigh barber told me yesterday. >> should he release the tax returns? >> i would, but should it be an issue in the campaign, i don't think it amounts to diddly. >> the bottom line in this, do it, release the returns, move on to the economic issues, job issues, national security issues that the country wants to hear about. let's get on, talk about some of the other top stories. i felt the same way about the president of the united states when he was running, about the president now, they've got secrets, they shouldn't be running for the highest office in the land. >> what makes it interesting about mitt romney, his father is the one set the precedent releasing 12 years of tax returns, not an issue that's going away. thank you, wolf. moving on here.

if you spend most -- sorry. here we go. russia has agreed new weapons shipments, no new weapon shipments to syria as long as the country remains unstable. that's good news. but a russian news agency says at least four russian ships are heading towards syria right now. it reports the flotilla is part of a military training exercise and the ships are carrying food, water and fuel, and the u.s. says it does not see a cause for concern right now. the house is gearing up to repeal president obama's health care law. again, a vote is expected tomorrow, and it will be the 33rd time house republicans have tried to dismantle the affordable care act. they're launching an all out war, news conferences and debate leading up to the vote. >> some of you are asking how many times are we going to do this? we're going to keep at it until we get this legislation off the books. it was a bad bill.

it has become a bad law. >> house democrats say republicans need to let it go, one drew a parallel to the obsession in the movie "fatal attraction." >> having now had 30 different debates on this floor ov over repeal of the health care law, republicans hit their boil the bunny moment. enough is enough. >> even if the house votes in favor of repeal, it faces a sure death in the senate, and beyond that, the white house has made it clear that the president would veto any such measure. very huge issue, wolf, on the hill. house votes tomorrow. >> here is what i'm interested in, kate. i want to know how many democrats will vote with the republicans, and if there's any republicans that will vote with the democrats on this sensitive issue. >> no one has a number quite yet. we heard from the number two democrat in the house today, he told in a meeting with reporters

that he -- he acknowledged they're going to lose some. democrats don't think it's going to be significant in their view, but house republicans you can be sure will use any vote from a democrat on their side to prove their political point, you can be sure of that. >> both sides think they have a winning issue come november on this matter. >> they absolutely do. republicans say they were brought to power in the house in order to do just that. democrats think they need to move on. you heard it. >> let's move on. if you spend more of your day glued to your office chair or couch, a new study says time to stand up, folks. researchers say if all americans sit less than 3 hours a day, it could add two years to the national average life expectancy. cut it down by another hour a day,e gain another year and some change. read all about that in the british medical journal open. >> that's why i am sitting. i stand a lot. two hours in "the situation

room." now sitting this hour. easier to sit than to stand. >> sit while watching us. you can stand while watching us. just enjoy. >> i am on a treadmill. running, working out. >> this is not directed towards you. >> thank you. back to the presidential race. some fighting words between the obama and romney campaigns. we've been hearing a lot lately about taxes, the middle class. add outsourcing to the list. bring in brianna keilar. the president went to iowa today, had a little company in the process. >> reporter: that's right, wolf, he had some company in the form of reince priebus, chairman of the republican committee, trying to steal some of the president's limelight and it worked. he was there unveiling a new website called obamanomics, outsourced. he was there to say the president outsourced jobs

because of stimulus money going to foreign renewable energy companies, wolf. the dnc fighting back as well as obama campaign officials. one dnc official saying they're making this stuff up, wolf. >> marine one landing now. show you live pictures of that. do a fact check for us. is it true? what's going on? >> reporter: some of the claims, wolf, there's a lot of them on this website, are credible, but there's definitely some that are completely untrue. one claim on the website is that a finish company got a $5 million loan guarantee, then made expensive luxury electric sports cars in finland. it is true they made these cars in finland, but this is a claim that was made by a conservative super pac a couple months ago and fact checked by plit fact, found it is untrue on the basis it was a loan guarantee, but wasn't even part of the stimulus, it was part of a loan guarantee program signed into

law by president george w. bush, the president's predecessor. and also, there's no doubt about it, there's stimulus money that went to some of these foreign companies, foreign renewable energy companies. when you talk to experts, they'll say some of it did create jobs in the u.s., but also benefitted the companies overseas, created likely jobs overseas as well. the thing is, even if some of it doesn't meet the strict definition of outsourcing, it doesn't mean it isn't damaging because a lot of voters may just have a problem with the fact that foreign companies benefitted from their taxpayer dollars, and also reminds voters that the stimulus which still remains very unpopular has the president's signature on it. >> yes, it does. thanks. it is called an election year time bomb, could send shock waves through the pentagon. i talk about that with two people with inside knowledge. and that mystery illness

killing children, hours after they show symptoms, only hours. we sent dr. sanjay gupta to cambodia to investigate. we go to him live and we'll tell you what he found. and the surprise culprit in the case of the missing cemetery flags. ♪ how are things on the west coast? ♪ ♪ i hear you... ♪ rocky mountain high ♪ rocky, rocky mountain high ♪ ♪ all my exes live in texas ♪ ♪ born on the bayou [ female announcer ] the perfect song for everywhere can be downloaded almost anywhere. ♪ i'm back, back in the new york groove ♪ [ male announcer ] the nation's largest 4g network.

covering 2,000 more 4g cities and towns than verizon. rethink possible.

it is horrific enough that dozens of children dropped dead from a mysterious illness. now we're learning more about the terrible pain and suffering they're going through in their final hours. our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta will join us live from cambodia in a few moments. look at this report first he filed from a cambodian hospital. >> by no means at the conclusion of our investigation. >> an investigation into the mystery of what's killing

cambodia's children at a frightening pace. >> the majority of cases are mostly -- seriously ill, many died within 24 hours of admission. >> that's pretty frightening for people to hear. >> absolutely. >> there's a lot of diseases in this part of the world, many parts of the world, but to kill that quickly. the backdrop is important here. this hospital treats thousands of children suffering from ma lar i can't, tube every week. this is a part of the world where bird flu and sars originated. still, right away, he knew this was different. >> it is a new picture for us. we never seen this in cambodia before. >> he is the head of the hospital. he allowed us into the icu where patients are treated. >> give you an idea how busy this is, even as we were talking, he was called away to

see another child. that's who we're seeing now. he says 66 children came to the hospital with the mystery illness. for 64 of them, it was 24 hours of hell before they died. you heard right. all but two died. for many of the children, it started off rather mild, a mild fever. then things progressed quickly from there. in this case, he was two years old, we don't know what's causing encephalitis. the eyes become discon ju gait. it goes from the head to the brain to the lungs. >> you see the lungs, 8:42, and five hours later, this is the lungs. >> in the last few hours of life, this unknown illness completely destroyed the child's lungs and there was no way to stop it. >> never seen anything like this

before. >> this is the first time and this make us worry. >> something called enterovirus 71, associated with hand, foot and mouth disease was found in more than a dozen patients. but that's only adding to the mystery. >> enterovirus. >> never, never. >> it has to be something else. >> i think so. but we cannot prove. but we must look for. >> and that's where the investigation goes next. cambodian health officials and who are looking into whether expired medication, the wrong medication or inappropriate medication like steroids could be to blame. >> steroids can also make a relatively harmless infection suddenly much more severe. >> yes, that is definitely a possibility. >> sanjay joins us live from cambodia. i understand they're doing some tests to see if certain drugs may have caused all of this.

is that true? how hard is it to determine what's going on? >> that's the prevailing theory right now, wolf, talking to doctors in the hospital. could this entero virus have worsened with some of the medications. it is hard to figure out. you can do blood tests. even in the case of that enterovirus, it was tough to pin it down, finding a particular drug is even more challenging. what they're going to try to do is go to some of the places the children lived, find out if they were prescribed certain medications, what they took, see if there's something in common here that may help them drill it down. but this is a real medical investigation, wolf. >> should people in cambodia, adults, others traveling to cambodia be worried now? does this just effect children? what do we know about that? >> it seems to just effect children for the time being, you

know, and this has been since april now. this is unlikely first of all to effect adults. typically when you talk about hand, foot and mouth disease, it does typically tend to be a disease of children. i will also say that if there is good news in all of this, wolf, it does not appear to be contagious, even within households where the children lived, didn't appear to spread within the household or cluster as they call it within communities. we're not exactly sure why. typically enterovirus 71 would behave that way, but it isn't in this particular case. so some good news, but still as you see, wolf, some unanswered questions. >> lots of unanswered questions indeed. thanks so much, dr. sanjay gupta, reporting to us from cambodia. kate, this is an important story. i'm proud cnn sent sanjay there to work on that. i don't know how many other news organizations did that. >> we have talked about that. great they were able to put sanjay there and get the eyes of the world focused on this. most of the children, under the age of three that are getting

sick and dying from it. so sad, unbelievable. let's go to chicago now. chicago mayor rahm emanuel is in the hot seat, defending his strategy. homicides up 38% from last year. he sticks with the plan to use beat cops instead of specialized units to combat violence. ted rowlands is there. you have been talking to community leaders. what are they saying about this? >> reporter: they're not happy. some of them say they're seeing people in their communities diane they believe that the police strategy in chicago needs to change. chicago alderman anthony beal says his constituents are fed up and it is time for change in strategy to combat violence in chicago. >> it is not just the gang bangers, right now, innocent kids and women are being shot on a daily basis, and it just appears that nothing is being done. >> reporter: beal says the problem is a policing strategy

that spreads resources around the city, instead of concentrating them in areas like his ward where the murders are happening. >> i hope that the mayor sees that, you know, the numbers are going through the roof, hopefully he'll make a call to the superintendent, say maybe we need to sit down and figure something else out because the path we're going on now is a dark one and it is not working. >> reporter: the mayor understands leaders like alderman beal are upset. >> their constituents are my constituents, i understand the impatientens. i press all of the departments to make sure our kids are getting the environment and atmosphere and ability to grow up like i want my own kids to grow up. >> reporter: despite the murder rate, emanuel stands behind the police superintendent gary mccarthy who he handpicked just over a year ago. but felicia davis from the mayor's office says when it comes to strategy, the door is always open for change. >> there's constant review and analysis to make sure things are trending well. >> reporter: he points out crime

overall is down 10% in chicago this past year, a stat great for most areas of the city, but doesn't resonate with alderman beal. >> no crime is good. when you have one stat going down, but murders going up, what's your priority? the life is the priority. >> reporter: bottom line, kate, mayor emanuel and chicago police department are sticking with their strategy, say the plan is solid. adding to it every day. yesterday they announced $4 million would be put into the system to tear down old buildings where gangs are hanging out and shut down businesses where they're hanging out. they're sticking to their guns, think eventually it is going to work. >> everyone is watching meantime. ted rowlands in chicago, thanks so much, ted. coming up next, an unbelievable picture. an infant in a handbag, sent through an airport x-ray. hear why the parents say they did it. first, here is a look what's trending in "the situation room" now. topping the list, number four,

hurricane emelia is spinning with 125 miles per hour winds in the pacific. currently not a threat to the u.s. or mexico. and a chair lift on the jersey shore, she's bruised but okay, took the leap because she felt she was caught in a quote, unquote metal death trap. stick around for the top two items trending on the list. you're in "the situation room." you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you,

around the country, around the corner. us bank. at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car, and how much the people in your life count on you.

that's why we offer accident forgiveness, where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life, or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life, so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. call us at... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance, responsibility -- what's your policy?

i just got an e-mail from sanjay. he's really doing amazing work in cambodia. he's sticking around, will help us find out what's going on with those kids. >> that's fabulous, working some long hours at the same time. let's get you back to what's trending in "the situation room" for us. to remind you, number four, hurricane emelia is category three storm, 125 miles per hour winds, as it spins across the pacific. at number three, a teenager is okay after jumping from a chair

lift in a lightning storm, called it a metal death trap. and number two on the trending list, american olympians going broke. u.s. track and field found only half the athletes make over $15,000 a year from the sport. and number one on the trending list, power struggle in egypt playing out in parliament. legislators met a few minutes as the order of the president mohamed morsi. the court says that order was illegal parliament was dissolved last month. secretary of state hillary clinton will be there this weekend amid all of the tension. >> sensitive moment, lots at stake. airport security foigtsz got the shock of their lives when a carry on rolled through the extra scanner, they could see legs and a tiny head. it was a five month old baby, and it happened in the united arab emirates.

muhammad jamjoon joins us. they put a five month old baby through the x-ray machines in an airport. what was happening? what happened here? >> reporter: well, wolf, it is shocking, and according to the police in the uae, they say the family arrived last friday, when they tried to enter the uae, they were told their five month old baby didn't have a visa, that it would take at least two days for them to get paperwork processed, and that they would have to wait at the airport. the police say by the next day, the father had grown really impatient, and persuaded his wife to try to smuggle the baby into the country, put it through in the luggage hoping security wouldn't notice. amazing picture was captured from the scanner where you can see the outline of the baby. you clearly see the baby's legs in that handbag.

the police said it is the most surprising thing they've ever seen at the airport. they can't believe the parents did it, they're just happy that thankfully the infant is safe and sound. >> that infant very young, going through an x-ray machine like that could be dangerous. how is the baby doing based on the reports you're getting? >> reporter: one of the things we saw clearly in statements issued by the police was that they were heralding the fact that this baby was spared any more radiation. the suggestion that this baby could have been exposed to a lot of radiation going through this x-ray scanner, if it hadn't been caught at the time it was caught. so there was concern for the baby's safety. the police say the baby is safe and sound. the parents are being charged. they're being charged for endangering the life of that five month old and for trying to smuggle it into the country. >> stories shock folks not just where you are but all over the

world. thanks for updating us. we looked into how the baby might have been effected going through the x-ray scanner, the baggage scanner. american college of radiology says most baggage scanners have low levels of radiation. of course, this was in the united arab emirates. we don't know what standards they have. no one can say definitively the baby won't be effected. we'll stay on top of this story for our viewers as well. >> one of those stories, there's no words. >> that's a baby going through the x-ray scanner. >> i could go off. >> people so desperate to save a day to get to the uae? >> exactly. penalty gone officials are anxious about automatic budget cuts on the horizon. isn't there room for serious cutbacks in the world's largest military? stand by. we'll have a discussion. the w. i upgraded to the new sprint direct connect.

so i can get three times the coverage. [ chirp ] [ manager 2 ] it's like working in a giant sandbox with all these huge toys. and with the fastest push-to-talk... i can keep track of them all. [ chirp ] [ chirp ] [ male announcer ] upgrade to the new "done." with access to the fastest push-to-talk and three times the coverage. now when you buy one kyocera duracore rugged phone, for $49.99, you'll get four free. visit a sprint store, or call 855-878-4biz. [ chirp ] visit a sprint store, or call 855-878-4biz. would you mind if to be i go ahead of you?omer. instead we had someone go ahead of him and win fifty thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. people don't like to miss out on money that should have been theirs. that's why at ally we have the raise your rate 2-year cd. you can get a one-time rate increase if our two-year rate goes up. if your bank makes you miss out, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

happening now. a mystery woman appears with north korea's mysterious leader and rumors fly. the u.s. military braces for budget cuts and civilian layoffs. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." top military officials are telling me they're deeply worried about the pentagon's

budget. kate has some background before the discussion. >> need to remind everyone, we're talking about $500 billion in cuts to the defense budget in the next decade, set in motion last summer in the debt ceiling agreement. that represents 8% of the pentagon's current budget and a lot of jobs. here is cnn's pentagon correspondent, chris lawrence. >> reporter: all of that bang, the sound of workers in a small town in a pennsylvania plant. what you don't hear is the clock ticking on their jobs. >> at the end of the day, these workers you see here are going to be laid off because we won't have the money coming in to keep them employed. >> reporter: come january, automatic budget cuts kick in across the board. the pentagon would have to chop $50 billion a year for the next decade. that's a lot of lost business for big defense contractors, leaving scraps for small suppliers like jwf.

>> lockheed, they're going to protect their jobs. it is first year contractors like us that will feel the impact. >> reporter: the income is under $25,000, half the national average. >> impact to this town is more brutal than billion be in the beltway of washington, d.c. because there's fewer jobs available here for these people to go get. >> reporter: there's no politics on the factory floor, but a lot of the workers are dependent on what republicans and democrats do end of the year. congressman mark krits is the local democrat. >> my worry, we have a short window to work with. >> reporter: keith is the republican run to go oust him. >> he voted to allow defense cuts go through. >> reporter: he argues house republicans passed a plan that would have saved defense jobs. >> my opponent, mark critz voted

against defense cuts. >> reporter: that would have cut medicaid and meals on wheels for seniors. no democrats backed it. defense contractors say they have to send layoff orders with 60 days notice days before the november election. it is a huge campaign issue in towns where contractors are major employers. >> they're already putting people on notice this could be very painful. >> reporter: nobody argues the pentagon doesn't have places to trim, it is across the board cuts that are causing consternation. a lot of folks saying where a scalpel is needed, this is like taking a hatchet to the problem. the real deadline is coming sooner than the end of the year, because these defense contractors have long lead times for some of these projects. if congress doesn't reach a deal until say christmas time, well, a lot of those folks will have to wait, have to be out of work probably a couple of months

because it is going to take weeks and months to get that money flowing again. wolf, kate? >> excellent point. the political will is there. >> let's talk with congressman mike rogers, republican representing michigan, chairman of house intelligence committee. also jane harm on, president of woodrow wilson center in washington, think tank, former ranking member of house intelligence committee. thanks to both of you for coming in. congressman rogers, mr. chairman, let me start with you. folks are worried. i understand defense department officials are worried. let's have some perspective. the u.s. spends what, about 600, $700 million a year in dod funds. more than the next 14 countries combined, including adversaries, friends, nato allies. so a cut, even a mandatory cut, is not the end of the world. >> well, the way they've structured it very well could be.

you're going to have for two reasons, just like the report you just heard, they're required, these contractors require 60 days out before they layoff to do notifications. that day is coming. there will be hundreds, likely over 100,000 going to people, pink slips, saying you're going to lose your job, that doesn't include the military folks won't get paid, b, will be laid off. has huge implications not only for national security posture but also for the economics that go with it. >> huge implications for defense contractors building new generation fighter jets, new tanks, aircraft carriers. the question is, can't that be cut somewhat in tough economic times with troops coming home from afghanistan, troops coming home from iraq? does the united states still need that huge, huge defense budget which doesn't even include the billions spent through department of energy on a nuclear weapons program or the

intelligence community budget. this is so much more than the rest of the world spends. >> but there's also the reason the rest of the world looks to the united states for influence around the world and the fact that there has been no greater force for good in the world than the united states. but think about where we are today. you have north korea developing nuclear weapons, rattling their saber. you have iran threatening a nuclear arms race in the middle east. if they get a nuclear weapon, that's going to spread in the middle east, turkey, saudi arabia, egypt talked that they may have to go nuclear if iran goes nuclear. you have venezuela in the south here, south america here, giving us some trouble, certainly trying to stir up trouble. we have al qaeda shifting around, al qaeda -- problems aren't going down, they're going up. you have china by the way threatening u.s. naval forces in south china sea. this is no time to back away from our strong -- >> there's a lot of waste.

i covered the pentagon for a long time ago, but there's a lot of money spent on some very, very expensive weapons the country could probably live without. >> well, secretary panetta just cut i think half a billion dollars, or no, $500 billion or more from the defense budget. >> over the next ten years. that's 50 billion a year. >> but he cut it carefully with a scalpel, got rid of a lot of waste. i think more could be cut. i think our best argument is not always our military if we want a safer world. the u.s. narrative has to include diplomacy and development and we need more of those, but i think cutting it lump sum end of this year in wait we will if sequestration goes into effect, does risk our defense. we have seen this movie, wolf. i was elected to congress in 1992. after we cut the defense procurement and intelligence budgets, bush 41 did that after the cold war, because we thought

there would be a peace dividend. well, guess what happened in the south bay of los angeles, which i represented over nine terms, there was devastation, triple ph.d.s out in the cold, we had to build back carefully over more than ten years. now we face, i agree with mike, a dangerous world with new threats we haven't envisioned before. yes, we can get rid of old legacy programs, tough to do, but yes, we should do it, but we have to do it carefully, not in a falling off a fiscal cliff. >> but talk about the reality here. the reality, pending cuts were never supposed to happen. this was supposed to be the threat that forced congress to do its job, to reach a debt deal that would reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion. this was the threat. congress knew this was coming, and there have been no real efforts since the debt deal kind of fell apart, since the super committee fell apart for any kind of real deficit reduction to happen. so is this just the punishment that congress is facing because

it hasn't done its job. >> i disagree. when the authorization bill went through, there was a paycut. you find next week on the defense authorization bill, you find another way. they have to cover about $109 billion. >> i think there were several missed opportunities, for the white house and for the republicans in congress to push for simpson bowls, going big for reducing $4 trillion. there's still time left before the election, and i think whichever party embraces this, moves forward has a big leg up in november. >> don't hold your breath for anything substantive between now and november 6th. stand by. mike rogers is here, jane harman is here. the latest threat to american security, we'll discuss that. and mystery woman spotted with north korea supreme leader.

who is she? what is she up to? we have new information. comes with some risk,nt north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing generations of cleaner-burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self-contained well systems. and, using state-of-the-art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment. we're america's natural gas. an accident doesn't have to slow you down... with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer...

with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance, responsibility -- what's your policy?

i think we're the most vulnerable and we need to do something about it.

and now is the time to do that. >> keith alexander, he had dire predictions. he is the head of u.s. cyber command, dire predictions about the state of cyber security in our country today. you just pushed through help to spearhead this cyber security bill through the house in april. so what is the state of cyber security in the states today? >> well, i'll tell you, the government protects itself very well, national security agency, cia, others, fbi domestically, they do a really good job. they take the threats that they know, they find overseas, incorporate them on protecting their systems. >> wikileaks did a good job getting state department documents out there, didn't it? >> that was a different operation. somebody inside the system was reaching into the pipe of information flowing by and picking it up. >> so somebody -- bottom line, somebody didn't do a good job protecting those secrets.

>> yes. >> the gas pipelines, infrastructure questions that effect -- >> jane, get into this conversation. there's concern bad guys could use cyber warfare to destroy our power grids. >> there's no question about it. and we need cyber security legislation. two reasons, not just to protect dot gov and dot mil space but dot com space. there's a dispute in the senate about which bill is better. with all affection for mike, impartial to the lieberman collins bill, which the white house endorsed, but there needs to be a compromise. second reason there needs to be one, to protect personal privacy. we can do both things at the same time. without legislation, that's not going to happen, we'll probably have overreaction should we have a major attack, which could easily happen. >> before the election? >> i have had great discussions

in the senate. we all realize the seriousness of the threat. you talked about somebody on the inside, stealing government information, problem enough. but 95% of networks getting attacked today are private sector networks. the chinese go in, steal intellectual property, and compete against those companies. huge problems. tens of thousands of jobs lost for that one event alone. then you have the prospect of a cyber attack. they go in, shut down your grid, your ability to access your financial information. pretty serious stuff. and now it is not just interfering with a few hours and they reboot it. they can physically break your machines now. >> wikileaks was a leak issue. we have a huge problem with leaks. and political declassification of secrets, which has gone on over numerous administrations. people die, sources and methods are compromised. i think we have the same view

that leaking of critical secrets is violation of national security and have to do more to stop it. >> jane harman, thanks for coming in. congressman rogers, thanks for coming in as well. >> thanks for having me. north korea's supreme leader. he can't stop people talking about the mystery woman appearing at his side. uldn't rep my headache, i don't think. aspirin is just old school. people have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. what's different? it has micro-particles. enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of pain. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer.

i'm barack obama, and i approved pioneeinbthis message.e.ss jobs so what i'm saying is, people like options. when you take geico, you can call them anytime you feel like saving money. it don't matter, day or night. use your computer, your smartphone, your tablet, whatever. the point is, you have options. oh, how convenient. hey. crab cakes, what are you looking at? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

when i reported from north korea, i saw firsthand how secretive its leaders can be. one of kim jong-un's secrets may be in the open, if you believe the rumors swirling about the mystery woman being seen side. ryan todd is looking into the theories. what are you discovering? >> they center on two possibilities, wolf. is this woman who has been by kim jong-un's side his sister or someone romantically involved with him? the north koreans certainty aren't saying. the face that launched 1,000 rumors. north korea watchers are abuzz over this young woman seen twice in recent days next to the country's new leader, kim jong-un. she was spotted at a musical performance seen on state tv which happened to include disney characters that disney didn't

authorize. then she was seen at an event paying tribute to kim's late grandfather. >> who do we think this mystery woman is? >> the short answer is we don't know for certain. >> reporter: the speculation is rampant and centered on two possibilities. one south korean newspaper said the woman seemed to be kim jong-un's younger sister. victor cha, former national security council official who dealt with north korea thinks that would be unparalleled. >> there is only one leader in north korea. there is no leadership by tan m tandem, and this fella who has been the anointed person for them to put a younger sister next to him and look like a co leader would be highly unusual and give the sense they're not doing things the way they have been doing in the past. >> reporter: the other possibility? a prominent south korean newspaper citing south korean intelligence officials identifies the woman as hung song wall, former singer with an electronic music band. the band was hugely popular in

north korea, had sit songs with titles like "i love pyongyang" and "horse like lady." we're not making this up. the newspaper reports they became row majoritically involved a decade ago. but his father objected. she then married someone else, according to the paper. as if you needed another twist, there is a family pattern. >> when the father of kim jong-il was around the similar age as the current leader, he became interested in a young female performer who was also married to somebody else. and that person no longer was relevant anymore. and, you know, in north korea if the kim family wants you, they have you. >> victor chi and other analysts say the north koreans have an interest in projecting this woman as a possible wife for kim jong-un, not only to make him seem more human but also to see there is going to be another generation of the kim family after this one, the dynasty will continue. it is crucial, they say, for the

kims to project that kind of strength, wolf, because they could be threatened if they don't. >> it's also in contrast. >> the analyst points out if you look at the video of kim jong-un, pictures of him at rallies, everyone around him is in his 60s, male, has a military uniform on. it could be a very desperate attempt by the regime now to project some youth, some vigor, because, again, you know, they have to project some kind of continuity here, some future. and maybe putting this woman out with him is part of doing that. >> love mickey mouse. >> they do. >> a lot of western things. >> they certainly do. i can testify to that. >> exactly. you saw when you were there. brian todd, thank you. in a world where you see odd videos all of the time, this one certainly stands out. next, the story of a clam who seems to have a thing for salt.

it's a mystery that baffled police in a new york town. who was stealing dozens of flags from civil war era graves. the answer, next. o

police in hudson, new york say they have never seen a case quite like this one. stolen flags at a local

cemetery. 35 american flags vanished from tombstones last week. police thought youngsters might be responsible. flags were replaced and 17 more disappeared one night. so cops mounted cameras and it turns out the culprit is a wood chuck. a surveillance photo shows one munching away. there was even more evidence. a camera lowered into a wood chuckhole revealed none other than pieces of a destroyed flag. case closed. >> caddyshack. reminds me of the movie. >> do you want to do the dance? >> no, you can do the dance. finally, a clam who seems to have a thing for salt. it's a truly strange video, and it's not exactly what it appears to be. if you're having seafood for din e you might not want to take a bite until after you see this report from cnn's jeanne moos. >> reporter: this is the story of a clam that did not clam up. and that little slurp launched an internet star as it slithered across a heavily salted

tabletop. >> the video doesn't appear to be fake, just not very nice. >> reporter: it was one of those images that once seen cannot be unseen. clam eats salt was its slug. its biggest effect was to gross people out and make them swear off seafood. though some saw the clam as seductive. ladies must love him. one website dubbed it, "wonder clam." the first celebrity clam ever, if you don't count man-eating mascots and bit part characters in "the little mermaid." ♪ adrift on youtube, the clam's caption reads, consider the flavor of themselves before being eaten. in reality, it's not flavoring itself? >> no, in fact, it's trying to save its life. >> reporter: so says marine biologist rebecca bray from mystic aquarium. she sees clams do this all of the time when they're disturbed. >> gross, okay. >> reporter: and that tongue? that's not a tongue. >> it's actually the animal's

foot, it's a very strong, muscular tissue. >> reporter: clams move it to move or bury themselves in the sand from predators. as for the salt, it agitates clams. a youtuber shared his technique of sprinkling salt down a hole to see it surface. others force-feed a clam a potato chip. >> it would be a lot like rubbing salt on a wound, it's very sensitive tissue. >> reporter: this salt is way more concentrated than the salt in the ocean. as for the foot, obvious mistaken for a tongue -- you know, when you eat a clam, you actually eat that foot. technically, you've got its foot in your mouth. the moral of the story? take talk of salt-eating clams with a grain of salt. we can assume this is -- this clam is not as happy as a clam. >> not even close. >> reporter: even the marine biologist admits to eating clams. but salt would just be adding insult. jeanne moos, cnn

[ burping sound ] new york. >> did you hear that burp? >> i thought it was you. >> no, not me. you like clams? >> i don't know if i'll be having them for dinner tonight. i love what that marine biologist said, the clam was trying to save his life. very serious. remember, you can always follow what's going on in the situation room. i'm on twitter at wolf blitzer kate at kate ballot wbaldwin. kate bolduan. thanks for joining us. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnetto "outfront" starts right now. out front next, president obama versus romney in a war over who is more transparent. we'll tell you what both carveds are hiding. russia sends a flotilla of warships towards syria but says it's no big deal. and your cell phone as an informant. how police are using your smartphone to spy on you. let's go "outfront."

good evening, i'm tom foreman in for erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, the transparency tornado. president obama's team is ripping into mitt romney for what they call an appalling lack of transparency. they say he's hiding things about his past, his businesses, his finances, and they're hitting hard with a new web video on a tax frattacks from t vice president himself. >> he wants you to show your papers, but he won't show us his. >> democrats have been demanding more financial disclosure from romney for weeks, and suggesting that he's got secrets he's keeping from voters. listen. >> this is the most secretive candidate since richard nixon. >> mitt romney plays by a different set of rules and keeps secrets like other things he keeps secret. >> governor romney has