. >> thank you, fredericka. >> yeah. were a lot of predictions within the last five years of crime rates soaring in large part because of the bad economy. this is the opposite. what is the common denominator in your view? >> well, you're absolutely right. we thought the crime rate was going to skyrocket. >> yeah. >> because of the budget cuts and so many inmates being released after the war on drugs. instead, the murder rate, the rate of serious crime has plummeted over the last four years. and, you know, i think chicago now knows what a lot of other major cities have already discovered, that the police can do a lot more than just respond to crime. they can also prevent it. they can send more and more officers to crime hotspots around the city. they can do more about prosecuting gun crimes. they can supervise our youngsters, collaborate and cooperate with the residents. the probation officers. the patrol officers. they can get involved in the gangs. they can do community policing. and all of these policies and procedures

fredericka?thanks so much, alan. >>> in eureka, california, police believe they have solved a murder of a priest using evidence found at the murder scene. and what witnesses told them. they have arrested a man. dan simon is on the story. >> reporter: this was father eric freed being formally installed as pastor at st. bernard church in eureka. he had been leading the congregation for three years. >> he was a great teacher, a great mentor. and just a very loving person. that's the biggest thing that i could say. a very loving man. >> reporter: but on wednesday morning, new year's day, he was found dead inside his rectory. police say there was clear evidence of a forced entry and struggle, and the beloved priest died from blunt force trauma. >> holy mary, mother of god. >> reporter: church members seen outside praying. >> absolutely tremendous loss not only for the st. bernard's parish but for our community in general. >> he was about the most charismatic man that -- pastor that i've had. >> report

let's toss it over to fredericka whitfield. >> i don't know. i think you guys deserve a little overtime. >> no, we're going to go ahead and give it to you. >> give me a little company perhaps? look at it that way. >> we'll call you at 2:00 a.m. when we wake up. >> in that case you guys have a good day. >> thank you. >> thanks so much. >>> it is the 11:00 a.m. eastern hour. the "newsroom" starts right now. a texas case has had a nation debating, who should control the end of a person's life? now a judge makes a crucial decision about a pregnant mother on a ventilator. >>> and justin bieber has a mug shot as part of his bag bad boy resume now. he's out of jail but will his criminal charges put a damper on his nine-digit income and could he be deported? >>> u.s. olympians are told to tone down their patriotism while in sochi. >>> in one texas legal battle there are no winners. but it appears the family of marlise munoz may finally get what they want and be able to lay her to rest. the brain dead pregnant mother has been on a ventilator for the las

let's toss it over now to fredericka whitfield. >> very good. very, very busy morning as we're going to have for the rest of the afternoon. we'll pick it up where you leave off. thanks so much. >>> it's 11:00 eastern hour. the "cnn newsroom" and it begins right now. two days with no clean water. hundreds of thousands of people can't wash their hands, drink, or cook this morning with their tap water. this after a potentially dangerous chemical leaks into their water supply. the wide spread impact of the crisis and government's response, straight ahead. >>> and damage control. newly released documents shed new life on how appointees of new jersey governor chris christie shut down lanes to a busy bridge and what they did afterward to stem the growing outrage. >>> plus, israel mourns the loss of one of its most controversial leaders. we'll take a look back at the life and legacy of ariel sharon coming up. >>> we begin in west virginia where 300,000 people still don't have access to clean tap water two days after a chemical used to wash coal leaked i

let's toss it over now to fredericka whitfield. >> very good.busy morning as we're going to have for the rest of the afternoon. we'll pick it up where you leave off. thanks so much. >>> it's 11:00 eastern hour. the "cnn newsroom" and it begins right now. two days with no clean water. hundreds of thousands of people can't wash their hands, drink, or cook this morning with their tap water. this after a potentially dangerous chemical leaks into their water supply. the wide spread impact of the crisis and government's response, straight ahead. >>> and damage control. newly released documents shed new life o

let's toss it over to fredericka whitfield. >> i don't know. a little overtime. >> no, we're going to go ahead and give it to you. >> give me a little company perhaps? look at it that way. >> we'll call you at 2:00 a.m. when we wake up. >> in that case you guys have a good day. >> thank you. >> thanks so much. >>> it is the 11:00 a.m. eastern hour. the "newsroom" starts right now. a texas case has had a nation debating, who should control the end of a person's life? now a judge makes a crucial decision about a pregnant mother on a ventilator. >>> and justin bieber has a mug

i'm fredericka whitfield. much more of the "newsroom" straight ahead.onference taking place minutes from now, scheduled to take place minutes from now. miguel marquez joining us now to take it from here. >> thank you very much. you are in the "cnn newsroom." i'm miguel marquez. we are tracking breaking news at the moment. a shooting with people killed and wounded at a shopping mall outside washington, d.c. this is columbia, maryland, this time. three people are dead including the person who started the shooting shortly before noon inside the mall. police update is due any moment now. while we wait for that news conference let's get to erin mcpike inside the mall in columbia. erin, what's happening there now? erin, can you hear us? it looks -- it appears -- >> yes, i can, yes. >> it appears that we're looking at the investigators heading to the press conference. erin, what's happening outside the mall now? >> well, the press conference is supposed to start any minute, so obviously there are a lot of people gathered here getting ready for that. miguel, wh