>>> welcome back to "starting point," i'm christine romans, "minding your business."an hour away the biggest economic report of all and it affects your money because it affects your job. the april jobs report, 140,000 jobs were likely created. 7.6% unemployment. but with manufacturing slowing and forced spending cuts in effect others are expecting it to be worse. stock futures holding steady in anticipation. >>> the 15-year mortgage rate record low 2.56%. the 30-year rate, pretty cles to a record low, as well. even if you're not refinancing or buying this affects you because low rates bring in new buyers, boost home value and that can help people who are under water on their mortgage. house flipping is back. i'm not kidding. house flipping. realty track says these are the best places to flip a house. number one orlando where the average profit is 68%. that's about $65,000 profit. also on this list, las vegas. phoenix. tampa. you see the common denominator? these are states and cities that top the list of foreclosure during the housing crisis. that has created a buying

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

i'm christine romans. >>> "cnn newsroom" with carol costello begins right now. >> happening now in the "newsroom" cover up. three of dzhokhar's buddies in custody. accused of throwing investigators off the trail. minute by minute details emerging. what they knew, what they did also, seattle on edge. may day protests getting violent. >> the crowd surged around several officers on foot. >> teargas, flash bang grenades, bottle rockets. >> i don't like the police we don't need them. >> organizers call it a march against capitalism. an american arrested in north korea. >> kenneth bae in the wrong place at the wrong time. >> are you live in the "cnn newsroom." >>> good morning, thank you for being with us. i'm carol costello. boston bombing vest fwa investi our news. the widow of the other suspect is under intensifying scrutiny. katherine russell had a phone call with tamper plan tsavraev after his picture appeared on television but before investigators knew the name of the suspects. two sources telling cnn the nature of that conversation is now under investigation. and authorities want to k

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. >> 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

i'm christine romans. this is "your money." another tragedy at a clothing factory in bangladesh this week. at least seven people killed after fire broke out in an 11-story sweater factory. this just two weeks after a massive garment building collapse in that nation. rescuers just miraculously pulled a survivor from the rubble after 17 days, but the death toll from that tragedy keeps rising. now at more than 1,000. images of the dead like this one have been heartbreaking. in a moment we'll talk to christiane amanpour, she's been covering the story out of bangladesh extensively, interviewing the country's prime minister, wondering what it has to do and your money, capitalism, allow me to introduce you to your conscience. what's your connection to how this was drilled, where this was grown or to the people who made these? heartbreak and devastation in bangladesh reminding american consumers of the link between the hangers in their closet and the rubble a world away. 98% of clothes bought in the u.s. are made abroad. in the 1960s,

i'm christine romans. this is "your money." maybe you don't have that date marked in your calendar but that was the start of a major, major rally. if you're smart or lucky and definitely solvent, you bought stocks back then and you're admiring the hefty returns. the s&p 500 is up 145% from that date and hitting record after record high. if you're not in this market you are missing out and if you are in you're wondering if it's time to sell. but what if you missed the entire rally? can you still get in, or are you the sucker? there still may be some room to run. the current bull market is the fifth largest since 1928. if you compare it with the other four it could, could push even higher. the bull market is in the 1940s is just a few percentage points higher but look at 1982 to 1987-up 228%. 1948 to 1956 up 267% and the king of all the bulls, 1987 to 00 the s&p 500 surged 582%. the average span of the top five bull markets is 2,300 days, that's about six and a half years. this current rally just over four years. jim rogers is ch

. >> i'm christine romans this thursday, may 30th, 5:00 a.m. in the east. >>> developing this morning, a persistent, unrelenting threat of severe weather in parts of the country already torn up by tornadoes. we could see more dangerous storms today. meteorologist inarea petersons following all of us for us. good morning. >> good morning. storms have hit the country hard this week, and unfortunately, there is more on the way. storms raged from texas all 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 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,

. >> i'm christine romans. it's memorial day. >> we're going to start with the dangerous and deadly weather in too many parts of the country this holiday weekend. starting in texas where at least three people died in historic flash flooding. one woman swept away as rescue workers tried to desperately to pull her from her vehicle. and texas, not alone in this unseasonable weather stretching across the united states. let's bring in cnn's iger peterson. >> it's been a holiday weekend weather of extremes. that has many wondering, it really says what is on the calendar? is it really may right now? right? look at all this unbelievable weather. i want to show you what it's like out there. the unofficial start of summer looking nothing like it's supposed to. torrential rain and historic flooding blamed for at least three deaths in the san antonio area. the body of an 18-year-old missing since saturday was recovered from floodwaters on sunday night. >> whether it's the floods of '98, 2002 or again this year in 2013, pow

christine romans. we have detailed maps for our roads, so why not map the human brain? we'll show you how scientists are looking inside our minds to find the secrets to our brains. at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. >>> president obama is wrapping up a trip to mexico. he's leaving as we speak. you see those images live of mexico city of air force one. in mexico he met with president enrique pena nieto. president obama touched on business opportunities in his remarks fighting the war on drugs, gun control and comprehensive immigration reform. >> it is critical that the united states recognize the need to reform our immigration system. because we are a nation of laws, but we are also a nation of immigrants. like every nation, we have a responsibility to ensure that our laws are upheld. we also know as a nation of immigrants, the immigration system we have in the united

bill bennett, philosophy major christine romans, journalism and french. ut that liberal arts are the critical thinking, the innovation and good judgment you need to balance out all those stem people in the world. >> christine, i want to come back. >> you come back. all right. thanks. >>> college grads ren terring a job market that's still struggling and with competition so intense, today's college grads need a battle plan. after this, you may think you're done with this. but the homework has only begun. the good news, the economy is recovering. stock markets are on a tear, and companies are flush with cash. the bad news is, they're still not hiring robustly and competition is intense among new college grads. one-third of recent grads surveyed said they were make nothing more than $25,000 a year. with tens of thousands of dollars in debt to pay off and a still-sluggish jobs market, was it all worth it? >> the long-term data says that investing in a degree is the right thing to do but you've got to treat it like an investment and treat it seriously. really s

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

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 christine romans. john berman has the day off. >> a lot going on this morning. it is tuesday, may 7th, 5:00 a.m. in the east. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> and we begin with breaking news this morning. three women missing for years found alive in a cleveland home. and the three brothers suspected of kidnapping them are behind bars right now. amanda berry was one of the victims who vanished in three separate incidents between 2002 and 2004. it was her breathless 9 head of call that ended their long ordeal. >> help me, i'm amanda berry. i've been kidnapped and i've been missing for ten years and i'm here, i'm free now. >> the last time anyone saw amanda berry, she was finishing her shift at a burger king in 2003 on the eve of her 17th birthday. here's cnn's martin savidge. >> reporter: michele knight disappeared when she was 19. that was 2002. amanda berry disappeared the day before her 17th birthday. that was 2003. gina dejesus disappeared when she was 14. that was 2004. then, monday evening, a decade-long nightmare ended when amanda berry made an emotional 91

i'm christine romans minding your business this morning.h stocks, another record close. that's 22 record closes for the dow. up 17% this year. wow, 17%. that is great news for your 401(k). no surprise. new data shows consumer confidence at the highest level since 2008. americans say they're feeling better because of the job market. they say that it's strengthening and that job market over the past year has been averaging gains nearly 175,000 positions a month, net new positions. also, home prices are rising. we've learned that home prices in march jumped by nearly 11%, the biggest increase since the housing boom. the housing recovery is spreading across the country. home prices in phoenix, san francisco, las vegas, up more than 20% for march 2012. those were areas hardest hit by the housing bust. there's a lot of investor activity in those areas too. not necessarily first time home buyers buying a house for the first time with low mortgage rates. it's a lot of cash investors. meantime, another really interesting stat for you this morning. a

cnn's business guru, christine romans joins us from new york to parse the numbers. should we be doing the happy dance? >> i think we should, and quite frankly, stock futures are up. you could see records of the open if this holds. could be a record morning for stocks, watching 1,600. and here is why. for the first time in a long time, the jobless rate falls, and not because people are leaving the labor market, but people keep getting jobs, what the chart looks like for job reaction for the year. february and march were much better than expected, in february, carol, 332,000 jobs were created. the labor market is revising its numbers and stronger in february than we thought. march, thought it was 88,000, now 130,000. in april, 65,000. a lot of people who are looking for a job want to know where they are coming from. service related industry, retail trade, health care, leisure and hospitality. where we saw big job gains. when we look at overall the unemployment rate. the lowest since 2008. i want to show you how it's drifting lower here. the jobless rate is drifting lo

. >> i'm christine romans. it is friday, may 31st. welcome to "starting point." >>> and we do have a great deal of news this morning, but we want to get first to the breaking news. the arizona mother, finally free after a horrifying week in a mexican jail. a judge in nogales released yanira maldonado this morning. she was arrested last week after authorities claimed they found 12 pounds of marijuana under her bus seat. this mother of seven thanking god, thanking her family, and thanking her lawyers for her newfound freedom. rafael romo is live for us in kn nogal nogales, arizona, this morning. what's the latest? >> reporter: it's been a very difficult couple of weeks for yanira, maldonado. first, she lost her aunt, a woman who helped raise her in mexico. then she spent her first wedding anniversary behind bars. but this morning she's a free woman and is back on american soil. it happened just before midnight, an american mother of seven jailed in mexico for more than a week, finally released. tearfully embracing her husband, and thank

i'm christine romans. >> i'm john ber plmanberman.llowing the unrelenting threat of severe storms in part of the country already torn up by tornadoes. we want to quickly check back in with meteorologist. >> looking at the severe weather threat. west of oklahoma city will be watching that as it builds for the afternoon. currently, the northeast, the heat wave, 15, 20 degrees above normal today. it's all that heat that's expected to stay with us over the next several days that's banking up that cold against that cold dry air. today the threat pushing farther to the east. looking at the storm stretching from iowa down through texas. again, the biggest area of concern today is right west of oklahoma city. unfortunately we're going to be watching as those storms pop up. the other threat other than the rain no, isolated tornados will be threat for flooding. a lot of activity early hours currently right now. we'll monitor that. >> wow. what a week it's been. >> all right, indra, thank you. >>> moving on now to other news. the michael jackson

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 christine romans. highs, corporate profits are soaring, but not everyone is feeling it. as the dow moves higher, america's middle class is stuck. you should be rolling in stock market riches, instead, many of you are missing out. only 52% of you are invested in stocks. that's down from 65% in 2007. meanwhile, corporate profits are soaring. up 94% as a share of the economy in the last decade, but wages are stagnant, and america's companies are so hungry for talent, they're importing it from abroad. meanwhile, you can't pay for the college degree you need just to compete. i want to bring in terry savage, steven moore, and terry prince. terry covers personal finance.

christine romans, cnn, new york. the american dream is of a better future, a confident retirement.hose dreams have taken a beating lately. but no way we're going to let them die. ♪ ameriprise advisors can help keep your dreams alive like they helped millions of others. by listening. planning. working one on one. that's what ameriprise financial does. and that's what they can do with you. that's how ameriprise puts more within reach. ♪ that's how ameriprise puts more within reach. ♪ beep beep what?a score alert ♪if you set your phone to vibrate ♪ ♪ then it might alert your button flies all the ♪ ♪ girls and the guys wanna keep that credit score ♪ ♪ high like a private jet free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ don't forget! narrator: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com >>> nba player jay con collins's announcement that he's gay has triggered a lot of reaction. some is positive, some is not. then there's leroy butler. he spent his career in green bay, invented the famous lambeau leap and speaks out about bullying to youth groups. his four word tweet "congrats to jason collins

christine romans, cnn, new york. everyone's retirement dream is different; how we get there is not. work. we plan. ameriprise advisors can help you like they've helped millions of others. to help you retire your way, with confidence. ♪ that's what ameriprise financial does. that's what they can do with you. let's get to work. ameriprise financial. more within reach. let's get to work. angie's liat angie's list, i autyou'll find reviews. on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. if you want to save yourself time and avoid a hassle, go to angie's list. at angie's list, you'll find the right person to do the job you need. and you'll find the right person quickly and easily. i'm busy, busy, busy, busy. thank goodness for angie's list. from roofers to plumbers to dentists and more, angie's list -- reviews you can trust. oh, angie? i have her on speed dial. >>> as we promised, we'll keep an eye on severe weather all over the u.s. this weekend. conditions are good for tornadoes from nebraska to texas. by good we mean it could happen. that's not good news

i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman. it is thursday, may 23rd.ell you it's been raining very, very hard here. you may see some lightning behind me. it's been 72 hours since that tornado of epic proportions tore through this town. and this morning the search for survivors is actually over. emergency crews are shifting into full recover rry mode. we learned that some 13,000 homes were damaged, destroyed, or effected by this storm. thousands of people here are waking up homeless this morning, staying with friends or family, in hotels. state insurance officials tell us claims are expected to top $2 billion. it's easy to see how you get to that number. plus, today was supposed to be the last day of school here in moore, oklahoma. today the kids at plaza towers elementary school, they were supposed to attend an end of the year talent show. instead, students will just say good-bye to their teachers for the summer. the funeral for little antonio is scheduled for today. she is survived by her mother and her father and two sisters. she was just 9 years old

i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. our "starting point" this morning.the boston bombing investigation. cnn learning it was another holiday the suspects planned to target. we're live in boston. >>> then wildfires burning across southern california. hundreds forced from their homes, 8,000 acres burned, and it may only get worse. we will have a live report. >>> plus this is one unexpected and unwelcome passenger. how did a bear get inside this man's truck? locked the doors. friday, may 3rd, "starting point" begins right now. >>> we begin with major new developments this morning in the boston marathon terror investigation. cnn has learned that the bombs allegedly detonated by the tsarnaev brothers were built in tamerlan tsarnaev's apartment. also, the boston marathon allegedly not their original target. they had a bigger one in mind. >>> also tamerlan tsarnaev's body finally claimed by his family. his parents are demanding an independent autopsy, and there is controversy about where the body should be buried so let's go straight away right now to cnn's jaso

"starting point" with john and christine romans starts right now. >> i'm john berman. >> i'm christinests in the boston bombing investigation. friends accuse of trying to get investigators off his trail. could more people be involved? >>> new this morning. violence on the streets of seattle. at least eight officers injured and 17 people arrested after protests turned violent. dramatic details coming up in moments. >>> flames forcing people from their homes as a wildfire burns out of control consuming nearly 3,000 acres in california. we are live there with the latest on this effort to put out this blaze. >>> plus, a scary moment on the tarmac when 22 two planes clipped each other. we will tell you what happened coming up. it is thursday, may 2nd. and "starting point" begins right now. >> good morning. up first, investigators in the boston marathon bombing zeroing in on the tsarnaev brothers inner circle. sources tell cnn tamerlan tsarnaev's widow spoke to him after the fbi released his photo and public cli identified him as a bombing suspect. >>> three of dzhokhar sarn naifr's friends

here's christine romans with this week's smart is the new rich. >> more than 2400 homes damaged or destroyedating tornado that rocked moore, oklahoma. for home owners forced out of their properties by a natural disaster, the painful process of rebuilding and insurance claims starts now. mary and tom walls know a thing or two about that seven months ago their new jersey home on the floor was flooded during hurricane sandy. >> i think there was a certain shock when the water was coming in my house, i couldn't believe it. it didn't knock the front door down it just kind of rose up. >> bubbled up through the carpeting. >> what's the first call you make? the first call you make after everyone is safe, is it to the person who sold you the insurance policy? >> the first thing you should do is get in touch with your insurance company. let them know the extent of the damage and where you can be reached. when you're covered for wind damage, for fire, for falling objects, the two big disasters that are not covered, one is flood, and the other is earthquake. and you need to get separate insurance for th

i'm christine romans. this is "your money" the stock market is hitting highs, corporate profits are soaring, but not everyone is feeling it. as the dow moves higher, america's middle class is stuck. you should be rolling in stock market riches, instead, many of you are missing out. only 52% of you are invested in stocks. that's down from 65% in 2007. meanwhile, corporate profits are soaring. up 94% as a share of the economy in the last decade, but wages are stagnant, and america's companies are so hungry for talent, they're importing it from abroad. meanwhile, you can't pay for the college degree you need just to compete. i want to bring in terry savage, steven moore, and terry prince. terry covers personal finance. stephen is an economic writer and commentator, and gnomy is a left leaning think tank and author of "it takes a village, anp epic tale of deceit." the stock market is disconnected. the s&p 500 is up 20% since the lows of 2009, and a new forecast guidance this week says it's not done yet. lazlo

christine romans explains why it might not be a smart money move. >> reporter: would you trust justinieber with your money? what about russell simmons? maybe suze orman? they're all pushing prepaid debit cards. it's going to cost you. >> the fees on these cards can run the gamut, everything from a monthly service fee to an act vase fee, even fees for doing things leike calling customer service or having a transaction inclined due to insufficient balance. sometimes even checking your balance at an atm. >> reporter: all kinds of fees. all to use your own money. bank rate looked at 24 of the most widely issued prepaid debit cards. all of them charged fees for different features. the one celebrities like justin bieber are hawking? >> managing your money is important and there's a great company -- >> reporter: for the card he endorses, $3.95 every month just to have it. $2.95 to put money on it from another credit or debit card. you can transfer once from your bank account for free every month. $1.50 for an atm withdrawal. if you don't use the card for three days in a row, you pay $30. bie

christine romans, cnn, new york. >>> jodi arias gets one last chance to speak directly to jurors today said at least in the past she'd prefer a death sentence rather than life in prison. the difficult decision for the jury, that's straight ahead. everyone's retirement dream is different; how we get there is not. we're americans. we work. we plan. ameriprise advisors can help you like they've helped millions of others. to help you retire your way, with confidence. ♪ that's what ameriprise financial does. that's what they can do with you. let's get to work. ameriprise financial. more within reach. let's get to work. you deserve more than justo flexibility and convenience. so here are a few reasons to choose university of phoenix. our average class size is only 14 students. our financial tools help you make smart choices about how to pay for school. our faculty have, on average, over 16 years of field experience. we'll help you build a personal career plan. we build programs based on what employers are looking for. our football team is always undefeated. and leading companies are interest

christine romans has her story. >> reporter: a death row inmate convicted of killing her 4-year-old sonra milky had her conviction overturned by a federal appeals court after arguing for years that she was the victim of a crooked cop. known locally as death row debbie, milky has been sitting on arizona's death row for nearly 23 years for the murder of her son christopher in phoenix. >> he was my pride and joy. i mean he was so much more brighter than me. and stronger. >> reporter: in >>> in december 1989 according to the prosecution christopher was told he was going to see santa claus at a local mall. two male friends of debra milke drove him instead to a desert, where one of them shot the young boy three times in the back of the head, allegedly on her instructions. the two men told police the boy disappeared at the mall, but a day later, one of them confessed to police and led them to the boy's body. prosecutors argued that the boy was killed to collect on a $5,000 life insurance policy. she has always maintained her innocence, but the key witness said she confessed to the plot to him

i'm christine romans.ney. 27 years, that's how long it's been since the united states overhauled immigration law, but this week, we got a step closer. on tuesday, members of the senate judiciary committee reached an agreement on a landmark bill. three republicans joined the democrats in a landmark measure. immigration touches every aspect of american live. it raises heated controversial issues about national security and cultural identity, but make no mistake, at its core, immigration is 100% about jobs. under this bill, the number of highly skilled foreign workers admitted to the country would rise from 65,000 a year to 110,000 and possibly more depending on the unemployment levels. that's a major win for big tech firms. tech company ceos say they can't find enough talent at home to fill the positions they need, it also scrapped legislation requiring the companies to make a good faith effort to find american workers before hiring from abroad. that now only applies to runt companies that hire foreign natio

wall street rapper puts it. >> the market goes up, the market goes down. >> little surprised christine romansopped a little rap like that. nice way to end that money segment. we're standing by here and we've been telling you that because critics want to know more about the obama administration's handling of the benghazi attack. we are expecting to hear from the administration shortly. we'll take a break now. we're waiting for that opportunity. we'll bring you live coverage when it happens. stay with us. at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. the wright brothers became the first in flight. [ goodall ] i think the most amazing thing is how like us these chimpanzees are. [ laughing ] [ woman ] can you hear me? and you hear your voice? oh, it's exciting! [ man ] touchdown confirmed. we're safe on mars. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ hi. [ baby fussing ] ♪ >>> okay. any minute now we expect some tough q

those are questions that cnn's christine romans knows a lot more than i do. rrd highs for the stock market but investors are wary. >> they understand that this has an element of art fishialty. >> if that's what the pros are saying, manage how angst investors must feel. what about the half f almost all americans who are just too scared to invest in stocks. americans have few other choice out there to help build wealth and safe retirement. the returns on bonds an interest bearing accounts are negligible. >> a lot of individual investors are on the sidelines. what are you waiting for. >> they're afade they've seen a bull market that's already been -- one answer, look for value in companies that may be lagging behind in the recent bull market run. >> the way we've seen some of the industrial names lag really to me is a buying opportunity. i think we will have economic growth and these more sensitive companies have plenty of opportunity to get stronger and the stocks to move higher. it's perfectly good to be happy and take a little profits off the table. >> christ

back to you. >> christine romans, thanks very much. >>> that does it for me.:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room." brooke baldwin has much more from cleveland, right after this. at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. it's hard to describe because you have a numbness but yet you have the pain like thousands of needles sticking in your foot. it was progressively getting worse, and at that point, i knew i had to do something. once i started taking the lyrica, the pain started subsiding. [ male announcer ] it's known that diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is fda approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, bliste

i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman.at continues to plague the white house. the acting commissioner that recently resigned is making his way to capitol hill. will he plead the fifth or cooperate with members of the powerful house ways and means committee? >>> a cleanup in texas. the daunting task facing those residents. >>> more than half a billion dollars up for grabs in powerball. could it be yours? want to know what your odds are? we'll tell you. here is a hint. they are not great. >> and you can't miss this interview. call it skill or beginner's luck. how one texas teen nabbed this monster 800-pound alligator. what does he plan to do with the catch? we'll ask him. friday, may 17th. i'll say it one more time. it's friday! "starting point" begins right now. okay. "starting point," the first of several congressional hearings due to begin hours from now. steven miller will be on the capitol grill, facing tough questions from a house committee about the agency's targeting of conservative political groups and why he didn't

i'm christine romans. john berman has this monday morning off. >> yes, he does.n. it's just about 6:00 a.m. in the east. >>> so, dead or alive, it seems tamerlan tsarnaev can't find his place in this world. two weeks after he was killed in a shoot-out with police, the suspected boston marathon has n. his relatives want him laid to rest in cambridge, but town officials will not hear of it. susan sand yotty is live from boston this morning. susan, while tsarnaev's relatives are trying to figure out what to do with his corpse, investigators were back at the bombing suspect's apartment over the weekend. is that correct? >> that's right, zoraida. the fbi spent hours back at tamerlan tsarnaev's apartment. the place where he is suspected of building the bombs used in the terror attack. and so as the fbi searches for answers and evidence, there is still no answer about where tsarnaev will be buried, because no cemetery wants to get involved. >> back to russia. >> reporter: for days protesters outside a worcester funeral home making it clear suspected bomber tamerlan tsar

. >> i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman. cnn newsroom with carol costello begins right now. >>> happening now in "the newsroom" wild weather. >> we're watching a tornado, rain wrapped. >> oklahoma in the bull's-eye again. >>> and heat wave. ory 100 degrees. also, trapped in a mexican prison. an american mom in florida accused of drug smuggling. >> and this is a pattern, and we love each other. >> innocent or framed by mexican police? >>> plus, oh, no, beyonce. a fan dares to slap her there. don't mess with queen b. and live in the cnn newsroom. >> good morning, thank you so much for being with me. i'm carol cost tello. this morning's top story may be lurking in the skies above you. severe weather bearing down on half of the country. and there is concern, especially in the nation's midsection. tornado season spun from quiet to catastrophic since last week. a tornado ripping across central kansas last night. one of seven recorded across the state. cnn meteorologist indra peter so sons in the weather center. what's going on? >>

i am christine romans. this is your money. the stock market is litting highs, corporate profits are soaring and not everyone is feeling it. as the dow moved higher, america's middle class is stuck. you should be rolling in stock market riches. instead, many of you are missing out. only 52% of ruin vested in stocks. that's down from 65% in 2007. meanwhile, corporate profits are soaring, up 94% as a share of the economy in the last decade. wages are stagnant. america's companies are so hungry for talent they're importing it from abroad. meanwhile, you can't pay for the college degree you need just to compete. i want to bring in terry savage, steven moore and naomi prin. steve sen a senior economic writer and conservative commentator and noem i a senior fellow at demos is. she is also the author of it takes a pillage, an epic tale of power, deceit and untold trillions. terri, let me start with you, the stock market is disconnected, the s&p 500 up 120% since the lows of 2009 and a new forecast guidance this week says it is not don

christine romans is naming the names next on "your money." >>> the president probably wishes he was talking about your job, your money, your prosperity. this is "your money." president obama wants to steer the conversation towards his policy goals and the smell of scandal is getting stronger in washington. >> the white house, knocked off message by a rash of bad headlines. the irs allegedly targets conservative groups. the government is spying on ap reporters and new details about the deadly raid in benghazi. conservatives seize the moment. >> my question is who is going to jail over this scandal? >> we have got to restore the trust in government. >> i have never seen anything quite like this except in the past during the nixon years. >> the watergate scandal forced president nixon to resign but do these rise to that level? review. president clinton had two scandals, white water and monica lewinski. franklin and grant were arrested while in office. yes, it was a bad week for the white house politically. maybe the worst of obama's second term. will it derail his legacy? after all, he promise

. >> 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

"your money" with christine romans starts right now. >>> children kicked out of head start, fewer meals for low income seniors, smaller benefit checks for jobless american. the most vulnerable in america are crying out over washington's forced budget cuts. is anyone listening? the pain of forced budget cuts, known as the sequester. it is taking hold for some americans. call it a case of selective sequester around the country. head start programs are cutting slots for low-income children in the fall. the national head start association gave us a few examples. this kentucky, one large provider reports 164 spots gone. in california, three programs are slashing 382 spots. in colorado, another big provider cutting 138 spaces. ultimately, 70,000 children could lose out. low-income seniors are losing meals on wheels. the southern maine agency on aging tells us they've gone from providing up to 850 meals a weekend to 250. if you get federal unemployment benefits in california, this week your check got smaller. about $79 less on average. 19 other states and the district of columbia are also send

i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans, thursday, may 16th.egin 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.

i'm christine romans. this is "your money." for the first time since 2008 more americans now say the economy is getting better than getting worse. gallup tracked america's economic confidence every week since the financial crisis and now stands at a five-year high. why? first stocks are at record highs boosting everybody's 401(k)s. the average account is now $80,900, for employees 55 or older the average account holds $255,000, nearly doubled over the past four years. home values are rising, we hope that's making you feel richer. we learned the median price of a home sold in april jumped 11% from a year ago, it's the 14th straight year over year price increase and the fifth in a row in the double digits, and finally, unemployment 7.5%, the lowest since december 2008. yes, it is still too high, way too high. millions of americans are out of work, underemployed but the signs point to an improving labor market. >>> so is this recovery four years in now solid enough for most americans to feel it and not just you know, not just the

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.

cnn guru christine romans is in new york to tell us why this is such a concern. >> reporter: it is a sale over wholesale purchase by a company. it's the u.s. food supply. we seen china buy pork, computer companies, car companies, everything. but this is a food company. so that's why it's raising some concerns in washington. now, the company says it wants to buy this pork producer, farmland, arbor brand, wants to buy so it they can export pork to that huge chinese mark. but, clearly, when you have a big chinese company buying a stake, a big part of the food supply in the u.s., that's what's raising concerns, carol. >> i think the first question that pops to mind are the safety questions surrounding the food. as we all know, china has had its problems with that and most recently you had this big case, there was a company in china accused of dumping rotting pig carcasses into a river and chinese consumers very upsettant their own food safety. so the deal, what they're saying about this deal. what fishes are saying is this is to buy pork produced in the u.s. for export to china. listen,

. >> i'm christine romans. it's memorial day. >> we're going to start with