situation room" on twitter. tweet me. you can always also tweet the show. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. the boston bombing suspect seeks out for the first time since his arrest. tonight, you 'll hear him. plus, the suspected colorado movie theater gunman changed his plea today and the parents of one of the victims are outfront. and shocking new information about a tornado that touched down in oklahoma. we're going to tell you just how big it really was. these images are stunning. let's go "outfront." good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. the boston bomg suspect speaks. for the first time since arrest, we are actually hearing directly

from dzhokhar tsarnaev. he had a chance to talk to his parents and they recorded what's been their son's only phone call from jail. his mother asked him if he's in pain. >> translator: no, of course not. i'm already eating and have been for a listening time. they're giving me rice and chicken. everything's fine. >> she also told him he needs to be strong. here's what he said. >> translator: everything is good. please don't say anything. >> phil black is in moscow for us tonight. phil, how did his parents and we can see his mother there in the video holding that -- looked like an iphone or a similar device up. how did they react to hearing their son's voice for the first time? >> reporter: erin, for them it was very emotional. it was the first time they have spoken to him, had any contact since the death of their old ee son tamerlan. really, the first time they have

spoken to him since their lives imploded and they said that it took all their effort not to scream, not to yell over the course of that conversation. but they believed it was their job to support him, to try to make him feel better. however, they think in the end over the course of that conversation it was really dzhokhar who made them feel better, comforted them. >> i felt like he would scream. when's going on? what's going on? he would ask the world, when's going on? but mama, instead, he was just calming me down. you know what i mean? he was trying to calm me down. mama. you don't worry about anything. >> reporter: they say that dzhokhar tried to reassure them. he's getting stronger every day. he apparently told them that the injuries to his face and neck are almost healed and he's onlygoing medical concern is a problem with one of his hands.

>> flies in the face of what his parents said originally, right? treated horribly and the ore allegations they made. and brings me to this question, phil. these are parents who still deny that their sons had anything to do with this and they're putting the tape out there. do you know why, when's their goal? >> reporter: it's difficult to know for certain but certainly in their initial deal wings the media, the family, the parents were erratic often, contradi contradictory and unhappy with the coverage at that time. in the weeks since, they have gone underground, avoid journalists and moving house to house, region to region to try to stay ahead of them. now they have clearly deliberately come out and tried to present a positive positive image of themselves and their sons and they speak about what good men their sons were and do not believe they were capable of this crime. they said they had tremendous sympathy for those hurt and killed in the boston attack and don't think their sons were

responsible for it. they believe they're the victims of some sort of elaborate set-up. erin? >> thank you, reporting live for us from moscow. chairman of the committee house homeland security committee. good to have you with us. >> thanks. >> he said he's eating food. do you know anything more about his physical condition right now? obviously when he first was captured and put in jail, he wasn't able to talk. >> no. i think he's recovered fully. he's being treated very humanely. as he mentioned himself, he's given food and being taken care of. i think the question right now, this recording by the parents to release that with a video which i saw, you know, appears to be attempt to garner sympathy and support financially for the family. what i find disturbing about the whole thing watching it is

losing sight of who the victims were in this case, are in this case. the 260-plus wounded that day. you were up in boston and saw it. the three who were killed including the 8-year-old boy who was brutally, you know, killed. and so, i think we can't lose sight of the fact of what this guy did, the brothers did that day and what he confessed to doing when he wrote down that note that we saw in the boat where he was captured. and then in the boat he also talks on the note about all the sort of radicalization process he'd gone through, how heanted to join his brother in paradise. and this was retribution for the wars in iraq and afghanistan. >> let me ask you this. because when you talk about the mother trying to garner sympathy, after releasing the tape we have heard and seen the video, she said, i know that my kids didn't do it. and now she said that before and people had said, look, this is a deranged person at the least. you've said before, though, that

you think that she could have played a specific role in the radicalization of her son. do you still think that, that it's possible she was specifically involved? >> you know, we don't know the answer, but i think it's very possible she may have. i'm very stunned but it's more interesting i guess. the idea that they're in a complete state of denial publicly saying that their son was innocent, both of their sons were innocent. had nothing to do with the bombings and it looks to me like some sort of ploy or pr effort to exonerate their sons for what they did which we know they did and, of course, you look in chechnya, they're becoming sort of local hometown heroes and i think the parents feed in to that frenzy, if you will. i think it's obviously very disturbing. i think the mother and the father played a role in this radicalization. >> the mother and the father. let me ask you then, this.

according to his mother, dzhokhar said he's getting money. i want to ask you about this. someone apparently opened a bank account for him. gotten $1,000 so far. do you know whether that's true and anything about where that money is coming from? >> i don't know where it's coming from but i do believe it is factually accurate that he is receiving money in a bank account as are the parents and, you know, really exploiting this tragedy. and these killings and wounding 260 people in boston. to make money off of. i just find it very offensive. that they're making money off of that tragic day in boston during the marathon. >> and i want to ask you also another person we have been so fascinated by and then seemed to go quiet and our viewers are familiar with this. tamerlan tsarnaev's widow. katherine russell in the middle of this. we know she's been interviewed by the fbi, lived in the small apartment with the brothers.

sources say she placed a call to her husband when she saw pictures identifying him as a suspect and called her husband. obviously, the inference is she may have warn eed him. she's not been arrested. do you think that's right? >> as a former federal prosecutor, going after spouses is very dicey, if you will. you have to be careful about how you proceed and right what about you're doing and i think in this case, you know, clearly living in an 800-square-foot apartment. pressure cookers around the apartment. hard to believe she didn't know and wasn't come police sit in this or had knowledge of the fact of what her husband had done. and so, but i think they're proceeding carefully with her. probably trying to get as much evidence as they can before they close in on her but i do believe she's in the sights. >> all right. thanks very much to chairman

mccaul. interesting. we'll see how that develops. the judge in the colorado movie theater massacre able to plead not guilty by reason of insanity today. a home evacuated because of a giant sinkhole beneath it. why these sink holes could be a much bigger problem than we thought. and chris christie set to appoint a new snoor. democratic vacancy. he could put anyone in that seat. who he says should get the job ir. oklahoma tornado sets a record. just how big was it? i'm a firefighter. i'm a carpenter. i'm an accountant. a mechanical engineer. and i shop at walmart. truth is, over sixty percent of america shops at walmart every month. i find what i need, at a great price. and the money i save goes to important things. braces for my daughter. a little something for my son's college fund. when people look at me, i hope they see someone building a better life. vo: living better: that's the real walmart.

we know it's your most important videoconference of the day hi! hi, buddy! that's why the free wifi and hot breakfast are something to smile about. now, get great getaway rates and feel the hamptonality [ girl ] there are man-eating sharks in every ocean... but we still swim. every second, somewhere in the world, lightning strikes... but we still play in the rain. poisonous snakes can be found in 49 of the 50 states, but we still go looking for adventure. a car can crash... a house can crumble... but we still drive... and love coming home. because i think deep down we know... all the bad things that can happen in life...

they can't stop us from making our lives... good. ♪ ♪ just like a tablet. so easy to use, it won a best of ces award from cnet. and it comes inside this beautifully crafted carrying case. introducing the all-new 2014 chevrolet impala with the available mylink system. ♪ [ beeps ] ingeniously connecting you to your life and the road. that's american ingenuity to find new roads.

second story 'outfront" insanity plea. a judge today accepted a not

guilty plea from the suspected colorado movie theater gunman. james holmes defense is he's insane. he's now 25 years ode. accused of killing 12 and wounding 58 in the horrific massacre last year. and the question tonight, does holmes plea add up? their daughter jessica was killed last summer. thanks very much to both of you. sandy, i know that every day this is something that you're reliving and as the trial drags on, it has to be something that just does not go away. what was your reaction to the judge's decision to accept that insanity plea today? >> oh, actually, we were expecting it. we've had a very good relationship with the d.c. and the assistant d.a. in denver who keep the families very aware of what's going on and what could happen and what might happen. and i don't think any of us were surprised by the tactic that

they took, unfortunately. >> and as you say, unfortunately. lonnie, you know, i have spoke to another father and i know you know him, his son alex was murdered that night, as well, in the shooting. and we had actually talked about this issue of whether james holmes would be insane. he said he thought there's no way he was insane. he planned it in advance and knew the repercussions and i know you know tom well, too. i wanted to play for you what he had to say an get your reaction. >> if you're insane, you don't think what you're doing is wrong. if you don't think what you're doing is wrong then you don't need to create a diversion. also, one of the things they put in there is he had on his dating site, because he had two dating sites that said, come visit me in jail. if you don't think it's wrong, you probably think you're going to jail. >> lonnie, what is your feeling?

>> well, tom is a very emotional as i am about this and trying to keep controlled and think this thing. neither one of us think that he is the term crazy or mentally ill. he was seeing a psychiatrist. he had planned this too meticulously for it to be anything else other than to promote himself. how it plays out in court really doesn't matter that much to sandy and i as long as he's not freed and i don't think that will ever happen. where he spends the rest of his life or whatever they decide to do with him is really no matter to us. we have kind of written him out of our lives. he's a nonentity to us. >> the only day we'll be in court is the day they sentence him and quite frankly the only insanity involved here is the fact that he was able to get his

hands on all those weapons and 6,000 rounds of ammunition with not so much as a background check. that's the true insanity here. >> for our society to allow that to happen without a background check of somebody with his history, the fact that his parents knew he had a history and allowed it to go on and to allow him to get his hands on those kind of weapons is what i consider true insanity. >> and -- >> in fact, i don't know if you know this, but the ar-15 that was used in aurora as well as in the newtown shootings -- >> yes. >> -- had been banned until 2008. if that ban stayed in effect and if the leaders in the government had done their jobs, neither one of those shootings would have been anywhere near as catastrophic as they turned out to be. >> i mean, those are -- just points. just frustrated so many people in the country who support what

you believe in and the back ground checks but sandy, lonnie said you'll be there on sentencing day and in terms of sentencing that you -- lonnie was saying that as long as he's never seen again. i know this has to be something you struggle with and lost a daughter who lost her life and future. when you think of that tough choice of death penalty or life in prison, where do you fall on that decision? >> i'd like to personally -- i'd like to see him spend his life in jail. and i'd like to see him be in the general population. which, of course, won't happen. but that would be perfection for me. but either way, i don't care if he gets the death sentence or not. it's just much quicker to have it over and done with if he's just sentenced to life. >> july 28th is going to be the one-year anniversary. and as i said, i know it's got to be every day for you, that you relive this and try to remember things about your

daughter. but when people hear her name, jessica, they say what do you want them to remember about her? >> the joy that she brought to life. she lived very fully. and enjoyed every moment. and taught people around her to do the same. and she's impacted a lot of lives in a very positive way. even though she's no longer here. but she lived large and she lived joyously and she lived with nothing but love in her heart for other people. and i was her biggest fan and she was my biggest fan and that's what i miss the most. >> thank you for sharing just a little bit. we appreciate it. the sink hole that swallowed part of a florida neighbor. a problem across the country and we have a special report tonight on a new and massive hole. plus, why did an airline

take 100 kids off a plane? they were going on vacation. did it have something to did with their religion? in the outtake tonight, a bird, a plane? a pepperoni pizza? i've always had to keep my eye on her... but, i didn't always watch out for myself.

with so much noise about health care... i tuned it all out. with unitedhealthcare, i get information that matters... my individual health profile. not random statistics. they even reward me for addressing my health risks. so i'm doing fine... but she's still going to give me a heart attack. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. [ whirring ] [ dog barks ]

i want to treat more dogs. ♪ our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business? i need help selling art. [ male announcer ] from broadband to web hosting to mobile apps, small business solutions from at&t have the security you need to get you there. call us. we can show you how at&t solutions can help you do what you do... even better. ♪

our third story out front, sink hole. that sinking feeling another florida home evacuated after a huge sinkhole opened up

underneath, underneath the backyard pool. see it here in winter park. now, thousands of americans in florida and in many other states live on top of sinkholes and are not even aware of the risk. some are aware of the danger but others have absolutely no clue. our john zarrella reports "out front." >> reporter: neatly kept lawns. quiet neighborhood in florida. but beneath the ground, there's a commotion going on. john furlough stepped in it literally. >> i came over and as i was walking out here, i stepped right here and my foot went down in the hole. >> reporter: it was a sinkhole right under the bedroom. so why on earth live in a home where a sink hole beneath it? >> we put everything in to this house in the beginning. >> even our inheritance. we thought we'd live and die here. we didn't have a plan b. >> reporter: now they wait for an insurance settlement so they'll have the money to fill the hole.

if you thought the problem was isolated, well, you'd be wrong. 9239, sinkhole. down the street, 9191 sinkhole. several other properties on this street all dealing with sinkholes. there is a bit of consolation for the folks in this neighborhood. the sinkholes beneath the homes can be dealt with. the ground can be filled and the homes reinforced. that wasn't the case on february 28th. the 911 call came in from seffner, florida. >> the brother-in-law is in there underneath the house. >> reporter: within hours, the world was buzzing about a bizarre and tragic event. a rare catastrophic collapse sinkhole had swallowed a young man lying in his bed. geologists say it works like this. a kaf city develops in the bedrom. over thousands of years, it widens, eventually breaching the limestone surface. then the clay and sand collapse in to the hole and everything is

swallowed up. while events are rare, sinkholes in florida are certainly not. according to state insurance statistics, between 2006 and 2009, there were nearly 12,000 claims in the state's most sinkhole prone counties. weeki wachi is in one of those counties. many retirees to florida. >> we came from colorado and i didn't know how to spell sinkhole. >> reporter: now they're living with one. sinkholes are a part of florida's natural geology. they can open up just about anywhere in the state. fortunately, they rarely have deadly consequences. erin? >> all right. john zarrella, thank you very much. amazingly frightening thinking about them around the country and how many people don't know that their lives are at risk right now. still to come, the widest tornado ever recorded strikes the heartland of this country. so, how and why did it get so big? bill nye explains next.

plus, why everyone should be putting on sunscreen. even if you have absolutely no intention of sunbathing. and why this photo of the woman in red has become a symbol of outrage and protest. and tonight's shout out, how to deliver pizza. a domino's franchise in britain release add video. a drone designed to deliver pizza. yeah, they can murder you and slaughter you in your home and deliver pizza. hyping it up as a greener way to deliver and just a concept for now. shoutout tonight to the brits for improving an american staple. pizza delivery. and i'd be remiss if i didn't do this, a shut out update. remember this picture of the taco bell employee licking a bunch of your that to shells? today taco bell said they're firing the employee and never served to customers but i must say, taco bell, how do you know?

hey kevin...still eating chalk for heartburn? yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief! [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. i tthan probablycare moreanyone else.and we've had this farm for 30 years. we raise black and red angus cattle. we also produce natural gas. that's how we make our living and that's how we can pass the land and water back to future generations. people should make up their own mind what's best for them. all i can say is it has worked well for us.

vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

we start the second half of our show focusing on our reporting from the front lines. i want to begin with this story. an orthodox jewish high school in new york city outraged after 101 students and 8 chaperons kicked off an air tran flight to atlanta. some of the students say they were treated unfairly because of their religion.

southwest airlines owns air tran and says the students would not stay seated or turn off the cell phones after being asked to. when they failed to comply, according to the airline, they were kicked off and put on other flights. southwest tells "outfront" it was full and delayed 45 minutes because of the incident. jim tillman says it's unlikely every single student was being unruly. as individual ticket holders, he says that's an unfair use of the authority. iran's supreme leader today called on iranians to vote for one of the eight approved candidates in the coming presidential election. not only votes of confidence he said of authenticity in the process. according to a reporter who attended the speech. now the eight candidates were among the guests, they were all there. an expert tells us many consider iran's chief nuclear negotiator a front-runner in the race. others say that he's only considered that because we know

his name in the west. we shall see. new jersey governor chris christie called for a special election to replace frank lautenberg. the meantime christie says he'll name an interim senator until the election. christie said he would like the person to, quote, be as much like me as possible. you know what, governor? that's a tough thing to say. patrick murray of polling institute writing for cnn says he hasn't had a u.s. senate win in more than 40 years. a study found that sunscreen daily protects against skin aging. could be intuitive. this is the first study to quantity the anti-aging power and not just whether you're to the beach. walking down the street. in the car. hundreds of adults under 55 were placed in 2 groups. those who applied sunscreen regularly and those at their discretion. after four and a half years, those using it lady did not age

as quickly. dr. sanjay gupta's advice says save your money. people spend billions of dollars on staving off aging and hi said the main ingreend cent is sunscreen. 680 days since the u.s. lost the top credit rating. what are we doing to get it back? trade agency ruled several older apple products violate a samsung patent and cannot be sold in the united states. and now the fourth story, riots rocking a crucial american ally in the middle east. by far, the biggest economy and most important country so far in terms of its strategic relationship to the united states to be rocked by these protests. new video of istanbul as protesters in turkey took to the streets for a fifth day running in more than 60 cities across the country to voice opposition against prime minister erdogan.

more than 3,000 injured. 26 are tonight in serious or critical condition. this comes less than three weeks after turkey's leader appeared alongside president obama at the white house receiving a full secret service detail on the trip across the country. turkey is a crucial strategic ally for america in the region boarding iran, syria and iraq. ivan, i know erdogan left the country. this is going on and he left. dismissed the demonstrations as the work of extreme elements, kauled ate menace to society and the pictures seem so much more significant than that. how are people reacting to the fact that he just left the country? >> reporter: actually, it may have actually helped because his political style is rhetoric, so confrontational and actually insulting, since he's gone, his deputies and other officials in the government have actually

apologized today and tried to calm the atmosphere a little bit and it seems to have worked. the crowd behind me here, 2:30 in the morning, much less agitated than it was last night. maybe because police helicopters haven't been circling overhead shining spotlights on them and maybe also because of the kind of kinder tone that the government has taken. in the capital where our nick payton walsh of cnn is reporting, he hasn't seen teargas all day. he saw flowers on the armored personnel carriers of the police that had been firing teargas and water cannons at people in previous days and maybe there's a message there to the government that a softly approach will calm people down. that we are hearing reports of violence in some of the eastern cities of turkey right now. erin? >> talking about the eastern cities, just makes me think of a lot of the country supported him. won elections with close to 50%

of the vote and people in turkey get a lot less. you have to do coalitions. he appeared to have a mandate. tripled the income of average turks. where are his supporters right now? >> reporter: well, it's an interesting question. he did get 50% of the vote in the last national election. and he actually kind of issued a veiled threat. he said, you know, i can get my 50% out. i'm having a hard time keeping them in their homes and raises fears of clashes between the supporters and opponents and that even the spector of civil war. we went to the neighborhood that erdogan grew up in and they're hard core supporters of the man saying he's the best thing that ever happened to this country. they have very negative things to say about the demonstrators. they call them vandals and looters. and they say we're waiting in the homes, we're ready to fight

for the prime minister if he asks us to come out. we come out with a word, ominous warnings, not the kind of thing that turkey probably wants to see to continue growing economically in the years ahead. >> ivan, thank you very much reporting live as we said from istanb istanbul. we'll see if it continues to quiet down. we can now confirm what a lot of people suspected. friday's oklahoma's tornado was record. in a lot of different ways. the national weather service today said it was the widest tornado ever in the united states. registered. i mean, that's amazing. 2.6 miles wide. it was also not just wide, it was fast. it was a rare ef-5 which is a measure of tornado intensity. the highest level of that. over 210 miles per hour at its peak. the death toll up to 19. tom foreman at the magic wall. can you see us how this monster storm developed? not just fast and wide but

usually is one or the other. >> this is hyperbole. this one deserves them. in your lifetime, you may rarely see anything like this. this is the town up here in el reno, oklahoma, right here. look at the town size right here compared to the storm size overall. this was the path of the storm. it was on the ground for quite a while. 6:03 p.m. when it formed way over here. it moves, stayed there until 6:43 p.m. covered almost 16 miles. doing the math there, you realize on any given area could have been grinding away for two minutes or more and as you mentioned it was not only strong, well, well, well over 200 miles per hour at the strongest area, but quite wide. 2.6 miles across at its biggest area and ef-5 and one more thing to note, erin, at one point the officials say a mile across to 2.6 miles across in less than a minute. so it was not only moving this way and grinding away, it was

not only big, it was explosive in the way that it was reaching out and roping more people in. erin? >> all right. tom, please don't go anywhere. i want to bring in bill nye the science guy for your reaction. just incredibly rare. can you give some comparison on how huge that is relative to a typical tornado and what would have possibly made it so wide? >> well, what would make it so wide is more heat energy in the atmosphere and fundamentally if you think of a tornado as being a half mile or three quarters of a mile wide, this thing's about four times that. maybe a little over four times that as wide so as a first approximation, if it's four times as wide and looking at the same area, it's 16 times as much energy. now, the problem is probably somewhat more complicated than that and on the order of two times ten, 20 times as much energy. >> wow. >> in a tornado. and you guys, i appreciate it. everybody's saying it's a rare event. may never see this again in your

lifetime. well, if this is the third tornado to go through very nearly this track in the last, say, since 1999, the last 14, 15 years, maybe it's the beginning of something that's troublesome. so this is really something for everybody to consider. >> frightening trend. now, tom, what about this? obviously, this tornado, the one we're talking about went across the plains. 2.6 miles of damage across the plains. what if it had gone through the center of a major city, oklahoma city, like the moore tornado did or what would happen if a storm that wide went through a major population center? >> the size of this, erin, spurred weather folks to consider that very idea. think about what bill said about the size of the whole vortex here working and the comparison. to move on from el reno and put that same storm over washington, d.c., look at this. this would be coming all the way across here. if you put it over the center

here, it's the lincoln monument, the white house and virtually all of downtown in one big strek. >> wow. >> up here to new york city where you are, erin, look at this. this is the island of manhattan right here. you twist that storm and put it over the island and basically cover the entire island. that's how big this thing is and we're fortunate in a way as a nation that generally these form in less populated areas. if you live there, it's a terrible, terrible thing. the fatalities are awful. that is measure of this storm. >> bill, you talk about how things have changed. so, and obviously i know this is a geography and all things that go in to where they form and seeing bigger ones, is there a chance that where they happen would change, too? >> well, yeah. just keep in mind that we had tornadoes in brooklyn last year. i mean, that's just extraordinary. and so, you can't say that any one storm is associated with

climate change. but all of the climate models we have so far indicate that storms like this will become more powerful because there's more heat energy in the atmosphere. as the air goes across these large sections of north america, dragging across the ground, starts to tumble and encounters the so-called tongue of air coming up from the gulf of mexico and they apparently get tipped on the side and create the extraordinary storms. now, if that starts to happen further and further east, this catastrophic scenario that you all just spelled out is something i'd like to stroke my chin about. but in the short term, what we can do is make sure that people in these areas have storm shelters or people often call them safe rooms. i prefer the term storm rooms where you wait out the storms. notice this one was only about 45 minutes and so all you got to do is get in a safe place less than an hour. so this is possible to do

something about it at a reasonable cost. >> all right. thanks very much. appreciate it. a big development in the murder trial of the blade runner oscar pistorius. plus are working moms destroying education in america? that's what one governor today and he said it on camera. you will get to see it. in florida, almost $600 million waiting around. somebody out there, this is your money. why have you got claimed it? [ male announcer ] erica had a rough day. there was this and this. she got a parking ticket... ♪ and she forgot to pay her credit card bill on time. good thing she's got the citi simplicity card. it doesn't charge late fees or a penalty rate. ever. as in never ever. now about that parking ticket. [ grunting ] [ male announcer ] the citi simplicity card is the only card that never has late fees, a penalty rate, or an annual fee, ever. go to citi.com/simplicity to apply.

♪ hooking up the country whelping business run ♪ or an annual fee, ever. ♪ build! we're investing big to keep our country in the lead. ♪ load! we keep moving to deliver what you need. and that means growth, lots of cargo going all around the globe. cars and parts, fuel and steel, peas and rice, hey that's nice! ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ helping this big country move ahead as one ♪ ♪ norfolk southern how's that function? ♪ spokesman i have to look my so bbest on camera.sing whether i'm telling people about how they could save money on car insurance with geico... yeah, a little bit more of the lime green love yeah... or letting them know they can reach geico 24/7 using the latest technology. go on, slather it all over. don't hold back, go on... it's these high-definition televisions, i'll tell ya, they show every wrinkle. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more

on car insurance. we know it's your most important videoconference of the day hi! hi, buddy! that's why the free wifi and hot breakfast are something to smile about. now, get great getaway rates and feel the hamptonality has a lot going on in her life. wife, mother, marathoner. but one day it's just gonna be james and her. so as their financial advisor, i'm helping them look at their complete financial picture -- even the money they've invested elsewhere -- to create a plan that can help weather all kinds of markets. because that's how they're getting ready, for all the things they want to do. [ female announcer ] when people talk, great things can happen. so start a conversation with an advisor who's fully invested in you. wells fargo advisors. together we'll go far.

[ whirring ] [ dog barks ] i want to treat more dogs. ♪ our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business? i need help selling art. [ male announcer ] from broadband to web hosting to mobile apps, small business solutions from at&t have the security you need to get you there. call us. we can show you how at&t solutions can help you do what you do... even better. ♪

we are back with tonight's outer circle where we reach out to sources around the world. tonight we go to south africa. that's where olympic runner oscar pistorius in court today for a pretrial hearing. i asked our robyn curnow in south africa when pistorius will be in court again. >> reporter: erin, while one of his family members recently told me that steenkamp is dead for almost four months and strangely and sadly enough, longer than the time they spent dating. of course, a relationship and a tragic ending not only define

his life but that of her family's, as well. of course, also, today oscar pistorius taking one more step in what will be a long, legal process. he appeared very briefly in a magistrate's court. proceedings adjourned until august the 19th where it's expected a trial date will be set. but also, again, ironically, sadly enough, august 19th is her birthday. she would have turned 30. erin, back to you. >> thanks to robin. and now checking in anderson cooper. hi, anderson. >> hey, erin. following the breaking news on the program tonight. floodwaters in missouri breached two levees. only a matter of time before a third gives way. sandbagging isn't working. officials are sending massive trucks to get rocks. martin savage is on the scene with a live report. erica brannick lost her leg in the boston marathon bombing. we'll tell you who her hero is.

keeping them honest. fires, collisions and disabled ships. when's keeping tabs on the multi-billion dollar cruise ship industry? turns out, practically no one. they're not obligated to comply with u.s. safety regulations and more at the top of the hour, erin. >> thank you. see you in a few. fifth story. blaming mom. actually, no. let's be more specific here. moms who have jobs outside the home. mississippi governor phil bryant spoke his mind today and as sometimes happens that can cause a problem. a moderator asked him how america has become, quote, so mediocre with education. here's what the governor thinks. >> i think parents became -- both parents started working and the mom is in the workplace. it is not a bad thing. i won't get in trouble. i can just see. i can see the e-mails tomorrow. >> yeah. didn't happen tomorrow.

it happened tomorrow. but you know what? reaction has been pretty harsh. "outfront" tonight, our contributors. good to see both of you. what do you think? working moms deserve the blame for when you look at households with children right now, 25% of them are headed by a single mother and you've got another 15% are families in which the mother is earning more than the married father. so the issue is that if you look at those single mothers, most of them would prefer to have a husband who could help them carry the economic weight of the family. and also in a lot of the cases with women who are outearning their his bands the same is true, they would be quite happy if their his bands were carrying more of the weight. but what we've seen happen in the last 30, 40 years is that men's relative economic position has really deteriorated partly because they have higher dropout rates -- >> so you think that's what he was saying, and he wasn't actually saying that when women made the decision, some women obviously don't have the choice -- >> exactly. women generally haven't had that

choice. now, i don't know what he was saying, honestly, but i think that actually if you're going to be sympathetic to what he was saying partly it's this. there used to be intense discrimination against women in the labor force, right? >> right. >> there's a lot less of it now than there was before. and when you have that intense discrimination what it meant is that a lot of very smart women who could have done amazing things in the workforce were at home with their kids providing some stimulation for their kids, they were oftentimes more likely to be teachers back in those days whereas actually a college educated woman now has a ton of different opportunities, not just to be a teacher at the local public school, right? so clearly that's going to have an impact on educational quality. this is not about blaming anyone. if that's what he was doing, he was wrong to do so. but it does have an effect. these changes in family structure have an effect on children. >> all right. lz. what do you think about reihan? >> you know, i've been covering education for a long time. i went to graduate school to pursue education. and i have to tell you that for me the reason there's been a

decline in education has nothing to do with working moms or stay-at-home dads. it has everything to do with the culture's focus on the importance of education. and this is what i'm talking about. you know, if you look at the number of dollars that we spend to keep someone incarcerated versus the number of dollars we spend for prek education, despite the fact that we know that a child that has pre-k education may not end up in jail, you would begin to see what our focus really is on. during the height of the -- >> what about the issue of women specifically? that women who now are working outside the homes, why education quality in america has dropped. >> well, i mean, this is all part of it. they don't exist in silos. they don't exist independent of each other. they're all interconnected. when you have 33 states during the height of the recession ramping up the amount of dollars that's being spent for prisons and dropping the amount of money that's being spent for pre-k as well as higher education, you see a correlation between more working moms, the decrease in education, and why you have more high school dropouts. you can't look at these things

as individual factors. they're all connected. >> i see your point. but reihan, what about this? finland, top-rated country in the world for education. 70% of mothers work outside the home. >> yeah. >> there's clearly no correlation there between women working outside the home and a drop in education. that's why it seems to me that all these arguments that people are trying to make, even the one that you made, is a real stretch. >> here's the thing. if you're looking at finland, sweenld, france, germany, these are societies in which about 2/3 of 15-year-olds live with both biological parents. in the united states it's actually 50% and declining rapidly. >> so single parent -- >> disruption of family -- again, these single parents, they don't want to be single most of the time. they would prefer if they were in stable relationships. but what you see happen is this huge disruption of family life that has gone much further in the united states than it has in a lot of other rich countries and that creates huge problems for kids. >> thanks very much to both of you and everybody, please weigh in on what you think. women leaving the home. part of the drop in american educational quality or not.

sofer night we take a look outside the day's top stories for something we call the out front outtake. tonight the city of zephyr hills, florida is at the center of one of the biggest mysteries in america. actually i might say in the world right now. because on may 18th somebody, somebody walked into this publix supermarket and bought a powerball ticket. the powerball ticket. and when the numbers were drawn down that night, that person had the only big winner. there are 13,000 residents of the city that could have gone into that publix supermarket. and they began the most exciting guessing game on earth. and why not? it is a $590 million ticket that somebody bought at that publix. it is the biggest single ticket winner in powerball history. i can't believe this. well, it will be if someone claims it. because as strange as it sounds, nobody has claimed it. a lot of people think you have a year to claim a lottery prize. but you know what?

that is just a falsity. a falsehood? in florida you have only 60 days to claim a lump sum powerball payout, which in this case because you've got to pay uncle sam, $370 million is all you're going to get. that would sure make you think differently about taxes, wouldn't it? since the draw was on may 18th, though, that only givers 43 days for the winner. it's not a lot of time, especially when you consider that the winner has to then travel four hours to the lottery headquarters in tallahassee to claim a prize that size. if you are the winner and you do miss the july 17th deadline, you're going to lose a heck of a lot of money. but you still get some. until november 14th you can claim a lifetime payout. that's when you get your payment divided into 30 payments over 29 years. that's if you believe there's going to be solvency in the state of florida over that time, which is a whole other debate. so where's the fun in that? "outfront" next, a warning for americans. when we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals:

help the gulf recover, and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i've been with bp for 24 years. i was part of the team that helped deliver on our commitments to the gulf - and i can tell you, safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge safety equipment and technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all our drilling activity, twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. safety is a vital part of bp's commitment to america - and to the nearly 250,000 people who work with us here.

we invest more in the u.s. than anywhere else in the world. over fifty-five billion dollars here in the last five years - making bp america's largest energy investor. our commitment has never been stronger.

awful news from india today. authorities say a 31-year-old american woman was gang-raped just outside manali, a popular tourist destination. the woman was reportedly hitchhiking back to her resort. she got into a truck with a group of men around 1:00 in the morning. allegedly they took her to an isolated area and then raped her. no information has been released on the victim's condition. police are currently searching the area for the alleged perpetrators. but this horrible event is just th l