aeg is found liable, it could cost the company billions of dollars. >> again, our thanks to john berman for that report.

you too. >> up to speed now, berman?s lipton and sex. >> we didn't say that. we said james lipton and pimp. >> it's part of it. >>> something much more pg coming up. can you spell knaidel? >> k-n-a-i-d-e-l. knaidel. >> for all the marbles, the word to beat. and arvind mahankali nailed it. he joins us live. the new national spelling bee champ. you are watching "starting point." stereoscopic vision... distronic plus braking... lane keeping and steering assist... eleven enhanced systems in all. ♪ twelve, counting your adrenaline system. the 2014 e-class. the most intelligent, exhilarating mercedes-benz ever made. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. >>> knaidel. >> may i have the word's origin please. >> it's german. yid ish in origin. >> knaidel, k-n-a-i-d-e-l. >> the crowd was cav elling. arvind mahankali wins it all. yid ish for dumpling. one of the last 281 spellers left standing. winning the 86th annual national scripps spelling bee. >> arvind mahanka

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john berman.elopments right now this morning from the boston marathon terror investigation. cnn has learned that the bombs allegedly detonated by the tsarnaev brothers were built in tamerlan tsarnaev's apartment. and the boston marathon was not their original target. the brothers allegedly planning a fourth of july attack. dzhokhar tsarnaev telling investigators the date was moved earlier because the bombs were ready faster than expected. also this, tamerlan tsarnaev's body finally claimed by his family. we could find out as early as this morning the actual cause of his death. his parents are demanding an independent autopsy. and then there's tamerlan tsarnaev's widow katherine russell staying with her parents in rhode island. did she know about the attack ahead of time? a source tells cnn that investigators still do not have an answer to that question. obviously a key question. >> indeed. 30 minutes past the hour. happening right now. thousands of homes in harm's way as a massive wildfire burns o

john berman here.onday ended like none other as the doctor on-call at moore medical center emergency room, she sprung into action as the ef-5 tornado barrelled toward the hospital. i want piling gurney mattresses people to protect them. they comforted patients as they rode out this devastating tornado. despite the catastrophic destruction to the hospital no one died, really there were no injuries, and many survivors are crediting the team's selfless heroism. look at the destruction there. it's amazing that no one was hurt. thank you for being with us, especially despite the weather here, the rain and lightning bearing down on us. explain to me what happened that morning. you hear the tornado warnings. you know you have minutes to get ready. what do you do? >> right, well, the hospital did a great job of alerting us and we had the tvs on so we knew that it was a possibility that it was coming for us. our staff and team did an excellent job of getting all of our patients back into the -- what we call our

let's go to john berman.ontinue to talk about the recovery effort, rebuilding effort really now in moore, oklahoma, as severe weather moves in this morning. severe weather on top of all of this town has gone through over the past few days. now thunder, lightning, certainly some fear among the littlest survivors of this devastating weather. we'll be right back after the break. [ female announcer ] switch to swiffer 360 duster extender, and you'll dump your old duster. swiffer 360 duster extender cleans high and low, with thick all around fibers that attract and lock up to two times more dust than a feather duster. swiffer gives cleaning a whole new meaning. 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 p

i'm john berman. "starting point" begins right after the break. africa. 2004. 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. i am an american i'm a teacher. 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. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm john berman live in new york. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin live in cleveland. our "starting po

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john berman. it is wednesday, may 1st.he boston marathon bombing and what could be a key piece of new evidence. a law enforcement official says investigators have lifted at least one fingerprint from bomb debris. meantime the tsarnaev brothers' carjacking victim known only as danny, chinese immigrant, he is speaking out publicly, describing in detail the fear he felt, his bold get away and the 911 call he made that really helped take out the two suspected terrorists. pamela brown is in boston with all the details. you spoke face-to-face with the karnlging aing victim. what did he have to say about the ordeal? >> that's right. i spoke to the carjacking victim danny for more than an hour in an off-camera conversation. he told me that he is still recovering from the nightmare of being carjacked by dzhokhar and tamerlan tsarnaev shortly after the boston bombing. he told me it was a thursday night, he was trying to relax driving around in boston. he pulled over to send a text, all of a sudden tamerlan tsarnaev walked up to the

i'm john berman in new york. >> and i'm in cleveland.d for charles ramsey the moment he heard the screams coming from his neighbor's house. what ramsey discovered there would free three women, blow open a decade-old kidnapping case and rocket him to internet stardom in one breath. our anderson cooper caught up with ramsey near the scene of the kidnapping. >> you moved in about a year ago. >> yeah. >> you had see ariel around. >> when i moved there, only because he was my neighbor you know what i mean? >> right. what was he like? >> cool. he wasn't no freak of nature. he was like me and you. >> reporter: so yesterday what happened? >> around 3:00, i was on my porch. and the mailman put his mail in my mail, so i looked at it and i'll give ariel's mail when he -- i said, ariel, here's your mail. had the same conversation. he said, they can't get it right. i said, no, damn postal service. that's it. he left. i'm in my house. man, this girl screamed like a car had hit a kid. when i got up, i saw my neighbor across the street, he run across th

. >> i'm john berman. thursday, may 30th. welcome to "starting point." we begin to what is turning into one wild spring across the entire country. if you weren't dodging hail and thunderstorms last night, you may be today. if you're in the northeast, it's going to be really, really, really hot. meteorologist peterson is here with a look at that. >> unbelievable. storms have hit the country hard this weekend. it looks like there's going to be much more still on the way. >> reporter: this video was shot in corinth, texas. look at the hail bouncing off of the ground. the diamondbacks and rangers game postponed wednesday night when the heavy rain and lightning moved in very quickly. the ground crew struggled to gain control as heavy winds ripped the tarp right out of their hands. in amarillo, texas, heavy wind gusts were blamed for blowing down this iconic billboard, ripping its post from the ground. owners of the business watched as the 30-year-old sign fell to the ground. >> my sales associate actually went to open up the overhead door to get ready for him

i'm john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin.adoes reported overnight and a tornado touched down on the western edge of missouri and golden city. at this moment emergency crews are assessing the damage, possible injuries we understand there. meanwhile look at this. this is central oklahoma. a massive tornado bearing down on the city of shawnee. that's just incredibly huge. one man who lived in a trailer park in that area died. about a dozen people have been injured as well. the national weather service says tornado reports stretched through the country's mid-section. oklahoma, missouri, kansas, iowa and illinois. nick valencia is in hard hit shawnee this morning. what can you tell us? >> reporter: we're on the fringes of that trailer park that was devastated by the tornado that swept through there yesterday. it really is difficult to understand looking at a radar how much it was damaged but you can tell by looking at this tree, this is a 20-foot tall tree completely uprooted. these roots are almost as tall as i am. that gives you

it says john berman is here with sports.s gods sent us a message last night. don't go to sleep early and even nonhockey fans are going to want to see this comeback. the boston bruins aka the fighting john bermans found themselves in a deep hole then this happened. the toronto maple leafs built a three-goal third period lead. boston got within one minute to go, patrice bergeron fires on net. tie game. an amazing comeback. we go to overtime where it's that man again bergeron comes flying in and he finds the back of the net. game over. series over! bruins become the first team to ever win a game seven when trailing by three in the third period. boston advances to face the new york rangers. >> we found a way, and you know, not necessarily the way we would have liked to play the whole game. but you know, like i said, we showed some cork coming back in the game. >> the comeback theme continues. kevin durant and the thunder blew a 17-point first half lead now down two, durant ties the game with under seven seconds to play. and to o

i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans.ric weather. the flash flooding claiming lives of several people in southern texas. san antonio's been under water since torrential downpours started on friday. the waters are subsiding but the damage, it remains. texas not the only part of the country experiencing this extreme weather, either. flash floods also inundating eastern and central iowa over the weekend. and get this, a near impossible three feet of snow dumped on an upstate new york ski resort this weekend. three feet of snow, and it's may. not just may. it's the end of may. >> cnn's indra peterson is monitoring all of it for us. good morning, is it memorial day? i'm not sure. >> trying to keep you guys on your toes, right? we were talking about some of those heavier thunderstorms in iowa and we're still dealing with that this morning. look at this lightning around des moines. still looking for heavy thunderstorms from half an inch to an inch of rain possible, of course, larger amounts in those heavier downpours. but one pl

i'm john berman in new york. >> nice to see you, john. i'm zoraida sambolin.we have new developments unfolding right now in the cleveland kidnapping investigation, including really horrifying details of the abuse suffered by amanda berry and gina dejesus suffered over the course of time. we're getting the first look at the former bus driver who police say held the three women captive inside his home. he is facing kidnapping and rape charges. in an initial incident report obtained by cnn details how castro allegedly abducted the women in the early 2000, what officers found when they first arrived at his home on monday, and how one of the female captives was allegedly starved and beaten by castro during multiple pregnancies in order to induce miscarriages. pamela brown is tracking all of these latest disturbing developments for us this morning. what can you tell us, pamela? >> zoraida, according to this initial incident report obtained by cnn, we are learning new or rid details about how castro lured his victims into his car and then brought them to his home. in

my name is sam berman. i'm a resident of 101 lombard. this is one of several condo buildings located less than 500 feet from the outdoor stadium where the proposed concerns are to occur and i appreciate this opportunity to address the appeals board because we don't know what to do if you don't undertake this appeal in some way. i'm expressing to you the concern of many of the 600 residents in this closely located neighborhood who believe that it is highly inappropriate to allow outdoor concerts with associated loud noise and traffic congestion to occur so close to a significant residential area. this occurrence degrades our environment. reduces our property values, and is a disservice to law abiding and tax paying citizens of our wonderful city. if the appeals board member is the place to consider this, they would be most unhappy if they lived in our neighborhood. however, if the political pressure is so great that the appeals board cannot act, then they should know that our neighborhood is concerned that the stadium will become a perman

i'm zoraida sambolin in cleveland. >> and i'm john berman in new york. york.joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> welcome to a special edition of 360, "vanished." we've all watched the incredible discovery of three missing women in cleveland, and the investigation into exactly what happened to them continues. as you know, kidnapping and rape charges have been filed against 52-year-old ariel castro. authorities say dna tests confirm he is the father of amanda berry's 6-year-old daughter, who police believe was born in captivity. the prosecutor says that castro ran a torture chamber. those were his words. and private prison. investigators have removed more than 200 items from his home as they are trying to piece together how he allegedly held the women captive for so long. the three women, amanda berry, gina dejesus, and michelle knight, continue to recover.

i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it's thursday, may 30d.g threat of severe weather in parts of the country already torn up by tornadoes. >> we could see some dangerous storm threats today. >> it's been such a tough week. unfortunately as you go through todayen ev today, even more severe weather could be back in the forecast. >> storm raged from texas all of the way to new england and had nearly half of the country in the danger zone. and in texas, dangerous hail and fierce winds causing many to worry. >> look at this hail. we're going to have broken windows. >> reporter: this video was shot in corinth, texas. look at the hail bouncing off of the ground. the diamondbacks and rangers game postponed wednesday night when the heavy rain and lightning moved in very quickly. the ground crew struggled to gain control as heavy winds ripped the tarp right out of their hands. in amarillo, texas, heavy wind gusts were blamed for blowing down this iconic billboard. ripping its post from the ground. owners of the business watched as the 30-year-old sign

i'm john berman in moore, oklahoma, right now.so many people are looking for ways to help out here. one of the best ways is to go to the red cross. visit the red cross or you can text donations to the number on the screen right in front of you. people here need that help so very badly. you can see behind me right now i'm in a neighborhood that has flattened. people are going through homes trying to salvage what they can. people are in high spirits consider what they've gone through. that man trying to save his washer or dryer that seems to be in one place. the chimney is gone but i believe that's the dryer right there. the dryer seems to be doing just fine. amazingly. things like chimneys, things like washers and dryers, they can be replaced. lives cannot. what people here care about the most is their loved ones. sons and daughters. brothers and sisters. mothers and fathers. and some of the most painful experiences over the last 24 hours have been at the schools that were affected and were in the path of this tornado. one of the s

john berman, you are in new york. are you there with me?at you are seeing right there, the two brothers that will face the judge before we hear from ariel castro. ariel is there as well standing in the back there, so all three brothers are in the courtroom. the judge will deal with the first two brothers first. this is ariel castro you are looking at right now. we can't hear what's going on in the court, but the proceedings look to be getting under way there. this in the wake of new details. >> individual cases. >> thank you very much. >> let's listen. >> pedro castro, open container, 2011. how do you plea? >> mr. castro would like to plead no contest to the open container charge. i would like to point out for the record this is the only charge this gentleman has, he has been in jail four days, i would request for four days. >> $100 in costs and credit for four days. >> thank you. >> onil castro. charge from 2001, open container. >> with respect to mr. onil castro, this case is 12 years old. minor defenses, with would move to dismiss one. >

i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans.g, stunning revelation by angelina jolie, one of hollywood's biggest stars. she has had a preventive double mastectomy because she carries a gene that dramatically increases her risk for breast and ovarian cancers. she talks about the entire process in a candid new op-ed. jolie's openness will potentially help millions of women, but who should get screened? and how? senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joining us now from atlanta to talk more about this cancer gene, and more about this test that angelina took. good morning, elizabeth. >> good morning, christine. so this gene that she has is what's called the brca gene or breast cancer gene. women usually get tested in her situation, where they have a close relative or relatives with not just breast cancer, but also -- or instead of ovarian cancer, one or the other or sometimes both. so what she did is really smart. she knew her family history and she got herself tested. and when you get tested they might say guess what? you're

when you look at a situation like that we have john berman here. can do in a situation where the school is blown to shreds and there are no services on the ground. cell signals went down quickly. >> i've been driving around for the last several hours, hundreds of law enforcement officials out working the streets, they have road blocks up in place so rescue crews can get where they need to it. and also because there are telephone poles down everywhere. debris strewn across the road and if you try to drive aover it, you'll pop your tires. as you drive through some neighborhoods that have been affected lying this one you're looking at right now, from yesterday, overnight you could still see flashlights glaring, looking in every nook and cranny. >> that's why you're here, right? they get you to move so they didn't have to hear the truck and generator so they could use their ears toed find people. >> one of the things they asked us, they asked us to move from our location. we were much closer to the plaza tower school, we were in the debris field and th

i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. >> not again, a vacation up in flames, literally. thousands and thousands of passengers in life jackets. many fearing for the worst. the royal caribbean is docked in the bahamas. people are waiting to be flown back to baltimore one day after their ship caught fire at sea. look at those pictures. here is erin. >> reporter: the entire back end of a ship scorched. more than 2200 passengers were roused by a terrifying wake-up call. >> the boats have been lowered. in our life jackets. not a drill, not a joke. i was freaking out. >> reporter: for the third time this year, mechanical problems caused a major cruise ship to aban dan a caribbean ship for thousands of passengers. this time, it was a fire. a passenger told cnn -- >> it's the most terrifying thing in my life. >> reporter: in february, it was a fire on "triumph" shutting down the power for days. one month later, carnival's "dream" lost power. now, royal caribbean has their own set of problems. they said in a statement on monday, ma

. >> and i'm john berman. >>> an army sergeant assigned to a sexual assault prevention program at ft. hood, texas, accused of sexual assault himself. this latest scandal apparently involves prostitution. the unknown soldier is under investigation for pandering, abusive contact, assault, and maltreatment of subordinates. officials told barbara starr the official faces serious consequences. >> reporter: the cid now investigating the allegations against him. so this suggests very strongly a potential criminal case. >> the unnamed sergeant first class remains suspended from all duties this morning. now we're going to move to a startling statement. there is a criminal investigation into the irs. yes, the organization that collects our money and holds us accountable is itself now facing serious, scathing questions about possible overreach and political targeting. president obama blasting the agency for singling out conservative groups, and he says it's intolerable and inexcusable. he promises to hold those responsible accountable for their actions. today the attorney general will get grille

i'm john berman. >> and i'm christine romans. yanira maldonado is a free woman this morning. a mexican judge released her just hours ago, after a week in jail on charges of smuggling drugs. the key, surveillance video. rafael romo live from nogales, arizona. rafael, we just heard yanira speak. what did she reveal about her time in jail? >> well, it was a very difficult time, as you can imagine, but something that we learned about her, she's a mormon and what she told me on wednesday and repeated again today was that during that difficult time in prison, when she didn't really know whether she was going to be released, as soon as she wanted, she relied on scripture, she relaid on prayer, and also the prayers of the people outside and the messages that she was receiving. let's listen to what she had to say about what the conditions were inside the prison in nogales, mexico. >> i was told that i would be, you know, sent to another prison, a federal prison and it really scared me, but it really got my faith and reading the scriptures

i'm john berman along with chris cuomo here.sidents here are waking up to a recovery effort, a rescue effort. still very much under way. the plaza towers school is the site where so many hopes still rest right now as they dig through the rubble by hand. trying to find possibly any survivors that may still be there. or figure out exactly if there are any bodies left there as well. >> we understand the situation at this school has become a little complicated. it has a basement. lives were lost in the basement from flooding. but in doing search and recovery there, rescue recovery, a lot of that is semantics, they're looking for people, they want to find them alive potential injury to people who may still be alive there. they are going slowly, but making progress. >> there were survivors at the school and we saw families reunited at that school. but another school was affected by this storm, the briarwood school. we want to show you footage, video pictures that will really tug at your heart. these are families, teachers, kids, findi

i'm john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin.or today. >> it's a hard one though. >> it's thursday, may 2nd. glad you're with us this morning. and we begin this morning with the scope of the boston bombing investigation widening this morning with new questions about several people in the tsarnaev brothers' inner circle. sources tell cnn the wife now widow of tamerlan tsarnaev spoke to him after the fbi released his photo and identified him as a boston terror suspect. plus three friends of surviving suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev now charge with trying to cover up for him. pamela brown is in boston to breakdown all of the latest developments for us. pamela, what do we know about these three new suspects and what exactly do authorities say that they did? >> reporter: >> reporter: zoraida it's what the three suspects did after the boston marathon bomb that has them in hot water facing five to eight years in prison. investigators say that two of dzhokhar tsarnaev's friends, azamat tazhayakov and dias kaz yef threw away evidence and a thir

i'm john berman. >> and i'm christine romans.n horrific conditions for ten years, speaking exclusively to cnn. >> what is your brother to you now? >> monster. i hope he rots in that jail. >> what they want the world and those newly freed women to know. >>> then, shots and screams ring out at a mother's day parade in new orleans as gunfire wounds 19 people, including two children, and now police are asking for your help. the latest on the manhunt in a live report. >> oh. >> imagine waking up to that. an eight-foot alligator at your front door. one family's terrifying surprise caught on video. you got to see this. it's monday, may 13th. "starting point" begins right now. >> in our "starting point" this morning the final moments of a decade in captivity captured on camera. two young women who thought they were being pulled over by the cops, instead wound up as witnesses to history. >> they did it by recording police rushing in to the home of suspected kidnapper ariel castro last week with a cell phone. you'll see it all in a moment.

that's it for "starting point." >> i'm john berman. have a fantastic weekend.costello begins right now. >>> happening now in the "newsroom," breaking overnight, california inferno. walls of flames, burning through the l.a. area. >> stay until i know that our house is still here. >> as long as our families and dogs are safe, we can get through this. >> reporter: july 4th attack. boston bomber suspect telling investigators they initially planned an independence day attack in downtown boston. plu plus, reese under arrest. >> are you about to find out who i am. >> the family of the woman missing for 11 years talks to cnn. >> i hope to eventually forgive her one day.

i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans.esume at albany high school in oregon for the first time since 17-year-old student grant acord was arrested. that student is accused of plotting to blow up his school. the suspect will appear in court today while police increase security at the high school. the prosecutor said police found six types of explosives. they recovered napalm, bomb, pipe and drain cleaner bombs as well as molotov cocktails from acord's bedroom in a secret compartment under his floor. his family says he suffers from a rare form of obsessive compulsive disorder. >>> police in mexico released dramatic dash cam video of a high speed chase involving two young murder suspects. it began may 3rd on interstate 25 when officers tried to pull over the car for a traffic violation. they ended up on this chase at more than 100 miles per hour. two women inside the car ages 18 and 21 have been charged with killing the man who owned the vehicle. his body was found in the trunk. >>> so the incoming athletic director accused of

i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans.r whos who convicted jodi arias of killing her boyfriend, travis alexander. four jurors held out for life. the judge declared a mistrial. what were they thinking in that jury room? why couldn't they reach a unanimous decision? >> the defendant should be sentenced -- no unanimous agreement. >> reporter: for nearly five months, jurors in the jodi arias trial listened to gory details of a gruesome murder and were subject to intense media coverage. that jury could not unanimously decide whether she deserved the death penalty. >> juror number three, is this your verdict? >> yes. >> this you're felt the state proved its case. she voted for the death penalty. >> i don't think she ever was truly honest with us. i know that for me, i didn't see any remorse or any issues with herself for whatever that day. or for what travis went through. i didn't see any of that. >> reporter: juror die ant schwartz also voted for the death penalty and told hln dr. drew, that the crime was too heinous. >> i look

i'm john berman.he latest on the investigation in cleveland begins right now. >>> happening now in the "newsroom," cnn exclusive. daughter of ariel castro, breaking her silence. >> i have no problem cutting him out of my life. i never want to see him again. >> angie gregg, opening up, talking about her father, and piecing together the horrors that happened at her childhood home. >> ever since my mom lived in that house, the basement was als always kept locked. >> the warning signs, abuse, message to her fathers. >> there will be no visits, no phone calls. he's dead to me. >> this morning, cleveland comes together. a vigil, then a pause. to mend and heal, a special edition of "newsroom," live from cleveland, begins right now. >>> good morning, i'm carol costello, thank you for being with me. we'll get to the latest on the cleveland kidnapping investigation in just a minute. we begin with an incredible rescue in bangladesh. a miracle. a woman has

john berman has the story. >> reporter: an american mother of seven behind bars in mexico, accused ofling marijuana. yanira maldonado from phoenix, traveling to mexico with her husband to attend her aunt's funeral while returning home, the couple's bus stopped at a military checkpoint. police say allege they found marijuana beneath gary's seat and charged him with smuggling. then released gary and arrested his wife, yanira, instead. saying the marijuana was under her seat. a mexican state official with extensive knowledge of the case believes maldonado was framed. telling cnn, she would not have been able to carry 12 pounds of pot on to the bus without being noticed. gary visited his wife over the weekend at women's jail where she's being held. >> yanira saw me from a distance and she just kind of like started jumping up and down and giving me a big hug and we just cried. >> reporter: the couple, seven children and two grandchildren between them, denied the charges. gary maldonado claims they've never sold or even used drugs. their daughter, 21-year-old anna soto, pleading for her mot

i'm john berman. >> i'm krcriscokris cuomo. people were rescued alive. the numbers are not expected to change less than 48 hours after the tornado turned its fury on this community. the home, moore, oklahoma. the national weather service confirmed the twister that tore apart moore was on ef-5. maximum winds, 210 miles an hour. one of the most ferocious storms. >> they don't go higher than ef-5. insurance claims are expected to top $1

i'm john berman in new york. >> i'm zoraida sambolin live in cleveland.the latest here. a private person, a torture chamber, these are the words used by prosecutors to describe what went on for an entire ten years inside the house right here behind me on seymour street. the man who lived at 2207 seymour avenue, ariel castro, made his first court appearance yesterday. he was arraigned on kidnapping and rape charges and prosecutors plan to pursue an aggravated murder charge. why? for the death of one of his victims' fetuses. they said there were five alleged deaths there. we are also getting an exclusive look at the backyard of castro's home along with a glimpse of his shadowy past. we'll go live to pamela brown live who is near one of the victim's homes. >> reporter: we are outside the home of gina dejesus. as you can see behind me here, there are batches of balloons outside the home really just showing the outpouring of the community support since gina dejesus arrived here at her aunt's home. our anderson cooper spoke to one of her aunts, sandra ruiz, and

berman is over here squinting trying to see the resemblance. was not intentional. we would have gone with something cute, think puppy dog, not dictator. all the talk made the tea pot a hot seller. as of last night it was on back order online. >> people wanted to get their hands on the hitler tea pot? >> maybe they just thought it's a cute teapot. now jcpenney has taken it off its website. is it a stretch? >> i had to squint. i saw it after awhile. >> also, tip jars. not that tip jars. starbucks over those cups at the counter. who gets the money that goes into the tip jars. right now starbucks baristas and ship supervisors split the tips but assistant managers want in on the action. it will come down to how new york interprets labor laws. managers say they spend most of their time serving customers and they deserve the tips, too. baristas say they have a salaried job and don't need the tips. there are 250,000 hospitality workers. >> right here. we will share. i'll share with you. >> up next a family's desperate plea for help. an american woman b

aeg is found liable, it could cost the company billions of dollars. >> again, our thanks to john berman for that report. our cnn digital reporter jones me like right now. he has been in the courtroom throughout the trial. also with me is lisa plume, a legal analyst for avo.com. she is kind enough to join me by skype. slays is an attorney. he is admitted to practice in several states and california as well. alan, you are a reporter watching this first hand. alan, first to you, the jury was actually laugh something. >> yes. well the judge actually laughed, too. they made jokes at the end of the day. the judge referring to the i don't recall answer says, we've had enough of those. she says said that outside the presence of the jury. it was somewhat comic am. but this is a very serious subject because michael jackson died. the family claims it was the aeg execs liable in his death. >> well, there are times when laughing does happen. lisa, you will attest to that. we see moments of levity, even in first-degree murder cases. not when it comes to the way the evidence is actually unraveling in

john berman looks at what happened with mermaids. >> oh, my god, what is that?t creature on top of a rock supposedly captured on film by tourists. >> oh, my god. >> many watching animal planet's "mermaids," saw it as proof that mermaids do exist. the show presented as a documentary details close encounters with the mythical sea creatures. >> dr. paul robertson, welcome. >> it even featured guests reporting to be scientists from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, or noaa. but it was all in the name of entertainment. and it turns out dr. robertson is not really a scientist. so many viewers were fooled. noaa, a federal agency, felt compelled to issue a statement. it said "neither noaa nor its scientists are involved with anything related to this topic. no one from noaa was involved in making the fictional show. and the person identified as a noaa scientist was an actor." if you watch the show closely enough, animal planet did include this disclaimer during the closing credits. certain events in this film are fictional. disappointed viewers took to

i want to remind. >> this is berman's ideas as we start town dress. >> we are all part of team z.ght here, are you super z to all of us. >> i love you for that. >> we are with you through this. >> i feel you 100%. >> ovation from the crew. best of luck to you, z. >> ahead on "starting point." check out the live pictures this bridge collapse in washington state. better look at it right now. a lot of damage. we'll find out what happened to that bridge, how it happened. where else it could happen after this quick break. flying is old hat for business travelers. the act of soaring across an ocean in a three-hundred-ton rocket doesn't raise as much as an eyebrow for these veterans of the sky. however, seeing this little beauty over international waters is enough to bring a traveler to tears. we're putting the wonder back into air travel, one innovation at a time. the new american is arriving. welwhere new york state is... investing one billion dollars to attract and grow business. where companies like geico are investing in technology & finance. welcome to the state where cutting taxes

. >> and i'm john berman live in moore, oklahoma, where there are so many stories of survival. so many stories of hope as this town begins the process and it will be long rebuilding after this disastrous tornado that simply devastated and flattened this town. thank you so much for being with us this morning. we are going to start with this recovery effort. overnight, officials saying it has shifted from the rescue phase to a recovery phase. they haven't given up hope, though. as they pick through the rubble, they're still looking for the possibility that someone could be buried underneath. but right now, it say recover effort. they say that 24 people have died. they do not believe that number will change. 9 of those were children. more than 200 people had been injured in this devastation. we're covering this story from every angle, again as the scenes here, you can still see the rubble, see the devastation, as the american flag is flying some so many places. you see the messages of hope. let's go to nick valencia, he's covering the victims' angle. 24 people dead. what do we kno

i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. update you on the boston bombing investigation this morning. three friends of the surviving suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev now suspects themselves. dias kadyrbayev around azamat tazhayakov are charged with trying to discard evidence. >> robel phillipos is charged with making false statements. tamerlan tsarnaev's widow spoke with him after the fbi released his photo and identified him as a boston terror suspect. again, the timing is very interesting. >> on the evening of friday e april 19th, in new bedford, massachusetts, residents were dealing with the tragedy of the boston bombings and then this happened. >> oh, my god. do you think it's him? >> keep your hands up. no one will get hurt. >> a s.w.a.t. team, fbi, local authorities lining the street. resident grabbed his camera and began shooting the action taking place across the street from his apartment. he joins us here this morning to tell us what was happening there. it must have been just a surreal experience. tell me, why did you gra

. >> and i'm john berman live from moore, oklahoma. it is wednesday, may 22nd, 5:00 a.m. in the east. and we're going to begin here. here in moore, there are so many stories of survival, hope, but also stories of tragedy. as we transition now from the search and rescue to the recovery operation here in this ravage landscape. this right now is the latest. the national weather service now confirms that the twister that tore apart this town on monday, it was an ef-5 with winds peaking at 210 miles an hour. it really doesn't get more ferocious than that. 24 people now confirmed dead, nine of them children. and according to state insurance officials damage claims are likely to top $1 billion. it's easy to see how that could happen with 21 homes damaged and destroyed and people directly impacted by this 1.3 mile wide monster. i'm standing in this neighborhood right now where you can see the scope of what happened here. the damage is really fairly wide throughout this part of the state. but in this one neighborhood you see very specific, sometimes very small reminders of what wa

i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans, thursday, may 16th. "starting point" begins right now. >> we do begin with the dangerous deadly tornadoes. outbreak overnight killing at least six people, more than 100 others injured in north texas. right now this morning, 14 people are missing. terrifying funnel clouds bearing down on the hardest hit area. that would be granbury, texas. that is where these six people were killed in a habitat for humanity neighborhood. most of the homes were destroyed. 120. victor blackwell is in granbury for us. victor, what's the latest this morning. >> there's a rescue task force coming from dallas to search for those 14 missing persons. also here, look over here, the heavy machinery has just pulled up. bulldozers over here to start to clean up the mess left by what the sheriff calls a monster that created a war zone. >> take a look at this. video from a storm chaser in north texas wednesday night. and this. this is what a tornado looks like in the dark, lit up by lightning. >> it's just hug them and pray to god as l

. >>> i'm sam berman. i spoke on the last issue. i'd like to just make a few additional points. i live across the street from the condo that the previous gentleman mentioned. there were no messages, announcements ever made by the homeowners association about a steering committee. the steering committee represents a minority of people and does not represent the full community. and no official announcements have ever come through the homeowners association about the steering committee. s as an affected resident, i would like to commend the police department, commend the mta for their efforts in trying to make a difficult situation palatable to the residents. but the devil is in the details and those details are yet to be worked out. we had a neighborhood meeting just a week ago and peter albert is head of the people's plan still didn't understand the nature of the traffic congestion that occurs at the intersection of lombard and battery in the embarcadaro. to this late date, we have a map that was provided by one of the homeowners and he was explained what the complex traffic situ

my name is sam berman. i'm a resident of 101 lombard. this is one of several condo buildings located less than 500 feet from the outdoor stadium where the proposed concerns are to occur and i appreciate this opportunity to address the appeals board because we don't know what to do if you don't undertake this appeal in some way. i'm expressing to you the concern of many of the 600 residents in this closely located neighborhood who believe that it is highly inappropriate to

john berman reports. >> reporter: rutgers university faced tough criticism in the days after a videove toward players. coach mike rice's aggressive behavior. hurling basketballs at players and yelling homophobic slurs. the university fired rice after a public outcry and the athletic director was also forced to resign. >> "i was deeply disturbed by the behavior the video revealed." >> reporter: this time, the university's president will have to answer to governor chris christie after reports surfaced that the new athletic director -- hired to turn the university's image around -- is herself accused of being an abusive coach. the governor's spokesperson said in a statement: >> "he's not going to be making any judgments at this time, but he expects to be talking with the rutgers administration this week to get the details." it has emerged that back in 1996, all 15 members of julie hermann's volleyball team at the university of tennessee wrote her a letter. the players wrote in part, "the mental cruelty that we as a team have suffered is unbearable". "we have been lied to, publicly humil