let's go to david mattingly live in mobile, alabama. officials said it would take about five hours to get everybody off of that boat. is everybody off at this hour? >> well, let's just say this is probably the only part of this entire voyage that went exactly as planned. before the ship even got here, they were saying it would take four, five hours to get everybody off the ship. we received a tweet message from carnival, a little over an hour ago, they said they accomplished that goal on the same sort of schedule they gave us before. those people came streaming off last night. we watched them come down the gangplank. they seemed to be moving fairly steadily and almost faster than the ship itself was moving as it came into port. a lot of smiles yesterday. finally something working right on this voyage. >> that's good news. we've been hearing for days about the filthy conditions that the passengers had to suffer on board. now we have some images inside the ship. can you walk us through those, david? >> images and some video in some cases.

david mattingly in mobile, alabama. you. so many of the folks off the ship were almost giddy. talk about the tension breaking, they must have been so happy to get out of that situation, you can almost laugh. >> what was waiting for them? about 200 employees to take care of the passengers' needs there, boarded buses from their location, headed to new orleans. 1,500 rooms reserved for them. but, unfortunately, it was like a two-hour trip they had to take to get there. not so great. and originally that boat was supposed to go to mexico and dock there. and then it was equal distance and carnival is saying the reason they chose to go to mobile, alabama, because 900 of the passengers on board did not have passports and they wanted to make its as easy as possible for them to get off that boat as quickly as possible. >> another thing interesting is the four or five lost days for these folks. people have jobs at home. kids at home. maybe you have a babysitter with your kids. taken a cruise with your wife or husband. you just thi

david mattingly has the latest on this on going investigation. what can you tell us, david?nformation we're getting about this case so far is coming from the special human rights representative of the russian foreign ministry. he says this child was a little over 3 years old when he died on january 21st of this year. a russian born boy adopted by american parents living in texas. in a statement, he said i would like to dray your attention to another case of inhuman abuse of a russian child by u.s. adoptive parents. he claims that the child suffered injuries to his head and legs as well as to his abt men and internal organs. the wounds, he said, could only be caused by strong blows. there is an investigation under way. the medical examiner's office tells us they're looking into this because of the suspicious nature of the child's death. texas child protective services also investigating. the allegations, we're told, include physical abuse and neglect. also the sheriff's office is investigating. a spokesman for the department tells us no arrests have been made and they're wait

we look at the current conditions in the ghx gx and our david mattingly is live in mobile, alabama, where family members are anxiously awaiting their loved ones arifle. we start with david in mobile. how far away do we think the triumph is right now? >> well, according to u.s. coast guard they're just 53 miles offshore from the city of mobile here. that doesn't sound like very far but it's going to take them all day to get from there to here. this dock behind me, where they're going to finally disembark and get after that boat and get back on dry land. for the people on board this ship, it's going to be the first time this morning that they've been able to see dry land, actually see land from that ship since they left port over a week ago. and when they arrive here, think about this, they are going to be five days overdue, over 500 miles offcourse and you can bet these people will be ready to get off of that boat. >> i think that's a safe bet. i can't believe it's taken so long. the conditions on that ship must be unbearable. how are passengers faring? >> reporter: we were hearing from st

david mattingly has the latest. >> reporter: joan stevens and her husband ray survived the tornado that blackened the skies over hattiesburg. caught on amateur video. the funnel was one of several tornados to batter this part of mississippi. the stevens' house is in pieces. they made it out without a scratch. the two of you were -- >> right here. and aggi was right here. >> i got her under me and i was laying on her. >> and we were just literally all on the floor and just covered up on each other. >> reporter: it could have been so much worse for so many. hundreds of houses and apartments were damaged or destroyed. in the immediate aftermath there were no deaths, only two were seriously injured. the stevens credit warning sirens installed two years ago. >> we had been watching television since we got home from church. we were ready as ready could be. >> reporter: the stevens say they had just a matter of minutes from the time they first heard the alarm to when the storm hit. afterward when they came out and saw all of this damage, they realized that warning was just enough for people to

david mattingly is there at the cruise terminal. >> all right, let's go to david mattingly now, thank you so much. i wish we could spot that cruise ship which would mean it's a lot closer to shore but no. david mattingly, once the ship docks, what will happen? >> reporter: well, that's when things are going to start moving pretty quickly for the people on board. they've got a system here where they're going to come off the gangway you see mind behind me, down, processed through and reyou nighted with their luggage and then go to buses. the customers here have a couple of choices. they can meet up with family members if they're here, they can meet them here and go on their own way or get on a bus, go to a hotel that's been provided for them, and you can bet there's a lot of people there in bad need of a hot shower right now, but they also have the option of going all the way back to galveston, texas, where a lot of people have their cars parked where they originally got on the boat there. they can go all the way back and get their car and go home tonight. they have those options. so th

david mattingly has been granted an exclusive look at the letters. >> until now, they have been the silentand against expressed directly to george zimmerman. the hundreds of cards, letters, and e-mail that only now we're allowed to see. as expected, we find words of encouragement to zimmerman. and harsh condemnation. >> but in the hundreds of personal and often passionate notes, we were able to look a little deeper, to look for trends, and to possibly see what is driving so many deeply held opinions. and immediately, there were some surprises. the accusations of racism and profiling that dominated demonstrations a year ago are not so prevalent in notes written to zimmerman. of the e-mail condemning his actions, fewer than 10% call him a racist. only 5% accuse him of profiling. the most common factor and opinions against zimmerman may have its roots right here, that mental image of trayvon martin buying a pack of skittles and a can of iced tea at this convenience store before walking home to watch a basketball game. the one thing zimmerman critics mention most is trayvon martin's age. 41%,

zimmerman says he shot trayvon martin in self-defense and zimmerman remains in florida, where david mattinglylatest. david, you are obviously in sanford where this tragic incident happened a year ago today. what's happening there? >> reporter: erin, what we saw happening here tonight was very similar to what we saw in new york, very similar to what might be happening in other parts across the country tonight. people gathering to remember trayvon martin and what that moment meant to them. and here of course, hitting home in so many ways, not just geographically but here, that case exposed very open raw sentiment within the african community here in this city, that the police department was not providing them with an equal system of justice. now today, the city of sanford has a new police chief, an african-american. also today, city officials were meeting with clergy from around the area, some from as far south as miami, talking about how to keep the peace. they were doing that with members of the community relations team from the justice department so they are now on this anniversary looking f

as david mattingly shows us ...ple issnow back home nd telling the tale of a vacation they will never forget. 3 3& their first hot brrakfaas in -3 six 3 days...all they can eat...and tteedrink thhy can't get -& enough of..."booh of yoo wanted sweet tea for poret and 10 year old allie tayllr ere the ones bbhind that vvry public wave hello fromm n top the criipled cruise ship triumph...tellingg theer moms and everyonee - watchiin...they were okky.and now these exxlusive pictures 3 from the wee hours of friday &pmorning....the muuh anticippted reunnon with thhir moms... ...caught on camera... & a hot shower aad a ssoot napp later find them littte weary...and a little more -3 worldly."i ffel a little - stronger than i was before?" mattingly::ore groonnup?"yeah pi ffels like we've been on there for a yeer at eestt.on the ruise with their fathers & allie and rebekah came home with unsettling stories nn the pictures to prove it. llke this one taken when the 3 when that wws haapening."we were scared. we jjmpeedout of ran.""

cnn's david mattingly is dockside. victor blackwell is floating in mobile bay.avid mattingly, let me start with you, what is the latest in terms of these poor people and their effort to just get back to some kind of normalcy? >> that's right, ashleigh. they just can't seem to catch a break. the conditions with the current and the wind are such that it's slowing down their arrival. it's getting pushed back hours from what had been anticipated yesterday. but when they finally do get here, they're going to find that there's going to be food waiting for them, there's going to be busses here to take them to a hotel if they want it. you know there's going to be so many people, long, long overdue for a very hot shower. and if they want, they have a bus also that will take them all the way back to texas if they want to go back and reclaim their car and drive home later tonight. ashleigh? >> david, stand by for a moment. i want to get out to victor blackwell. literally monitoring the seas. what are the seas like and the weather and the wind and why these delays? >> well,

as we watch these live pictures, david mattingly is on shore. he's in the port of mobile. david, i'm watching on the right-hand side of our screen as that ship has now come into view, but as chad myers says, so close but yet so far. they still have that channel to navigate. >> reporter: that's right. and it's going to be a very slow, agonizing process, and that long fascinating conversation you were having with larry poret, you could hear the anxiety. you could hear the frustration. you could hear the fatigue, and you can multiply that by about 4,000. that should give you an idea of what's going on on that ship. something to point out here, we heard from a vice president of carnival cruise lines who's here on the scene, he had a press conference just shortly before we heard from larry poret, that vice president telling us that the ship was in what he said good shape. he was talking about the generator they had airlifted on board so that they would be able to provide more hot meals. but now that we're talking to larry and others on board, we're hearing that a whole lot hasn'

david mattingly with the latest on the case. >> reporter: almost all of the information we're gettingspecial human rights representative of the russian foreign ministry. he says that this child was a little over three years old when he died on january 21st of this year, a russian-born boy, adopted by american parents living in texas. in a statement, the official said i would like to draw your attention to another case of inhuman abuse of a russian child by u.s. adoptive parents. he claims the child suffered injuries to his head, legs and his abdomen and internal organs. the wounds he said could only be caused by strong blows. there is an investigation under w way. they are looking into this because of "the suspicious nature of the child's death." texas child protective services also investigating. the allegations include physical abuse and neglect. also, the sheriff's office investigatin investigating. no arrests have been made and they are waiting for the results of the autopsy. we tried to speak to the boy's adopted parents. when we called, there was only this brief recorded message

david mattingly joins us with the story.s a case where obviously there's a long history of problems and tensions between the united states and russia, as you mentioned it's the third largest in terms of number of adoptions here. now you've got this. can only make this worse. >> it has already made it worse. they have a ban that has been passed and ready to go into effect. and already that was just for nationwide banning u.s. adoptions in russia. but already the region where this little boy and his brother are from, the governor there in russia has said we're going to stop adoptions right now because of this case. they're asking that the young boy's brother, his younger brother who is also in the home, also be sent back to russia. >> what happened to this little boy? >> that's the thing, we just don't know. and the state department is cautioning everyone to wait for the investigation to go through so we can get to the bottom of this, wait for the autopsy results to come out. those could be weeks, possibly even a month away be

david mattingly with the latest. what happened to this little 3-year-old boy in west texas? that relate to what russian officials are saying today, david? >> what happened to this little boy is under investigation. almost all of the information we're getting so far is coming from the special human rights representative of the russian foreign ministry. he says this child, a little over 3 years old, when he died on january 21st of this year. a russian-born boy, adopted by american parents living in texas. in a statement, he said i would like to draw your attention to another case of inhuman abuse of a russian child by u.s. adoptive parents. he claims the child suffered injuries to his head and legs, as well as to his abdomen and internal organs, drawing the conclusion that this child was hit. texas officials are looking into this. texas child protective services, the county sheriff and medical examiner at this point, the child's death has been described as suspicious. no arrests we're told. but that could change, depending on what the autopsy reveals. we did reach out to the b

cnn's david mattingly is at the port of mobile. ers to finally be reaching solid land. >> reporter: that's right. city officials just a short while ago saying that they are prepared to greet these passengers when they arrive here, prepared to help in any way. they're also prepared to help family members who are coming here to greet them before they have a chance to go to hotels or to flights to get back home. so right now, a great deal of anxiety, both on that ship and here onshore. now in their fourth day at sea, with no engine, overflowing sewage, no air-conditioning and no hot water, the guests aboard the "carnival triumph" can't get to dry land soon enough. mary and kim got a distressing phone call from their young daughters on sunday, detailing conditions on board. >> urinating -- you know, using the bathroom in bags. >> onion stand witchwachb sandw. >> standing in line for food for hours. >> reporter: traveling with their fathers, 10-year-old allie and 12-year-old are cruise veterans with eight trips between them. until now, n

fascinating story, david mattingly reporting live from florida this morning and by the way, artists and activist chuck dee from public enemy has spoken out about the trayvon martin case through his music and visual art. >> trayvon martin was a young black man that was brutally murdered and right now it's a big debate, whether was it law or was it the law as usual? "beyond trayvon" is the title that the picture kind of speaks a million words but the two words is powerful in itself. i'm very happy that the art depiction was beyond expectations. >> chuck d. and his wife will join us life in our next half hour. >>> talk back question today, who do you believe when it comes to forced budget cuts? facebook.c facebook.com/c facebook.co facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me @carolcnn. i remember the day my doctor said i had diabetes. there's a lot i had to do... watch my diet. stay active. start insulin... today, i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore. my doctor said that with novolog® flexpen, i don't have to use a syringe and a vial or carry a cooler. flexpen® comes prefilled with

i don't know if that will cut it, david mattingly. thank you for us from mobile. we'll cover the story live tomorrow afternoon when the ship arrives in mobile, alabama. >>> now to some of the host stories in flasca flash. we call it rapid fire. roll it. >> pope benedict presided over his last ash wednesday service today. this was his first public appearance since announcing his plans to resign at the end of the month. speaking earlier to those gathered in a vatican city audience hall, the pope explained what was behind his decision. >> having summoned before god my cautions, fully aware of the gravity and seriousness of such acts but also aware that it is not adequate for me to continue if i don't have the strength that it requires. >> pope benedict's final days as pope is february 28th. >>> an accused boston gangster whitey bulger says he got immunity to commit crimes and kill people while he was an fbi informant. a judge is hearing arguments on his immunity claim today as 83-year-old bulger wants to use it as his defense in his upcoming trial on a racketeering i

david mattingly is in mobile. so this isn't anywhere near the ship was supposed to land.olks, once they get off the ship, to get to their homes, where they need to be, and what are they providing them? >> reporter: carnival has arranged for several flights that are going to be departing from regional airports around mobile that will take passengers to houston, texas, from there they will disperse, go back to their homes wherever they came from to catch that cruise originally. but before that, they've also arranged for hotel rooms. this is going to be a very happy ho homecoming right here in mobile when they get off of that boat. when they get on to dry land, that means they're going to be a short bus ride away from a hotel room where they're going to get a hot shower, the first one they've had in five days, a hot meal, a soft, dry bed, and, of course, they won't have the smell of sewage around them that they've been living with for those days, as well. so this is going to be a time for them to get themselves back together to rest up a little bit before they take those fli

. >> all right, david mattingly, thank you very much. cnn.com, you can see the five things you need to know about the zoerj zimmerman and trayvon martin case. >> last night, "argo" took home the statute for best picture. we go to iran. >> plus a behind the scenes look at the film that won the best documentary. we're going to introduce you to a man who was a rock star for three decades and never knew it. >> do you not think that your story is exceptional beyond belief? >> oh, it's pretty -- it's pretty wild, the story, you know. i'm a lucky man. they don't? [ male announcer ] nope, but alka seltzer plus severe sinus does it treats your worst sinus symptoms, plus that annoying cough. [ breathes deeply ] ♪ oh, what a relief it is! [ angry gibberish ] britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled

david mattingly is following the developments for us.ils. >> what we know about the boy and the parents is not much today, but we do know that the boy and his brother were both adopted and living in the same house in texas. officials there say that the buy was found unresponsive and that his mother called 911. that happened on january 21st. that was just days after his third birthday. >> what are texas and u.s. government officials saying about this case? >> well, texas officials are looking into this because they are compelled to investigate any death of a young child that is not natural or is unknown. so there was an automatic investigation that was triggers here. they call is suspicion. they could hurry this up, but under normal circumstances we may not have the results of the autopsy until sometime in march. in the meantime, the state department says they will always take cases of child welfare very seriously, including those cases of children adopted abroad and offered to if sill at a time any sort of communication between russian o

cnn's david mattingly is there. he's got the latest on the fallout. the national weather service just upgrading that storm just within the last hour. the damage you see behind me is just a fraction of what that tornado did here in this city. but the headline out of mississippi tonight is remarkable. no loss of life. >> are you all right? >> they're just trees. i'll be careful. >> here you go. >> reporter: joan stevens and her husband ray survived the tornado that blackened the skies over hattiesburg, caught on amateur video. the funnel was one of several tornadoes to batter this part of mississippi. the stevens' house is in pieces, but they made it out without a scratch. >> the two of you were just -- >> right here. and aggie was right here, our dog. >> and i just got her under me and was laying on her. >> we were just literally right here on the floor and just covered up on each other. >> reporter: it could have been so much worse for so many. 200 houses and 100 apartments were damaged or destroyed. but in the immediate aftermath there were no deaths

. >> cnn's david mattingly is covering this story.hink why haven't the parents been charged? what do we know about the investigation? >> quite simply, the investigation hasn't gone that far yet. they're looking for results from the autopsy which could be weeks, maybe among away this the state of texas. until they get that back, authorities aren't going to pursue charges. everybody here and in russia are waiting to see how this comes out. >> what do we know about the parents? >> we know they went through a private adoption agency. this wasn't a state-sanctioned adoption. they got the 3-year-old as well as his younger brother, and the younger brother is still in the house. we've reached out to the parents for comment, and they had nothing to say, just a recording on their phone that says no comment. right now the next step is going to be the autopsy to see what sort of injuries this child may have had and what may have caused them. >> were there any reports from anybody outside his family that there had been some abuse or suspect of it?

david mattingly is live in mobile, alabama, where the ship is headed. it's called the triumph. how far away is the triumph now to where you are in mobile? >> reporter: well, according to the u.s. coast guard they're probably less than 50 miles away from mobile right now. that might sound pretty close, but it's probably going to feel like an eternity before they get here. there was a flurry of activity last night with helicopters delivering new supplies to the ship and some new generators, so that sort of implies that they might have some means to have more electricity on board and everyone to have perhaps more food and more water before they get here. but once they do arrive here, that's when things are going to start moving relatively quickly for the 3100 passengers on board. here the plans have already been made to have buses waiting for them to take them back to their cars in galveston, texas, so they can drive right home tonight if they want to or they can take them to a hotel where you can bet there will be plenty of people anxious to get to that first hot shower they have