fredricka? >> sara, is there precedence on this, where the u.s. military has doled out money, whether it be for collateral damage or other injuries or death at a time of war? >> reporter: yes. this is not all that unusual when it comes to actually giving compensation, but this case is particular unusual. we haven't seen a case like this in more than a decade where one person is accused. this is not from a bomb, a nato bombing or anything like that. so, yes, there have been cases. i think the last one we could find was that $1.4 million was paid out to a village that was destroyed by the taliban, the u.s. trying to help rebuild it. fredricka? >> sara sidner, thanks so much for that update coming out of kabul. >>> back in this country, the wife of staff sergeant robert bales has set up a legal defense fund on his behalf, saying she, quote, cannot even come close to paying for her husband's trial. carrie bales also had a message for those who want to help him. this statement from her this weekend s

>> well, i think that's the general rule, fredricka.alifornia and in many states, if one spouse is convicted of murdering another spouse, then there's no alimony, which frankly i'm not even sure makes sense. what needed to be done in california and what will happen is that crystal will take her case. she has gone to the legislature in sacramento and the law will be expanded to prohibit alimony if you're a victim of sexual assault or rape. that's justice and that's what needs to be done in most states. it does not exist that way. have you to take that discretion away from the family court judges, fredricka, in order to avoid this kind of terrible result. >> so the effort this young lady is trying to make here, richard, is that there would be a new drafting of the law, a new bill she's trying to work on so that no one would be put in the same situation that she is being put in. what are the chances of any success on that? >> i disagree with avery. i don't think this law is going to be passed. as crazy as it sounds. >> what? >> let's face

so you -- >> good morning, fredricka. thank you. >> you and other producers, director, i spoke with lee hirsch recently all fought for a pg-13 rating so more kids could see the movie. the mowings picture association felt pretty certain it needed to be r rating because in large part there were profanities laced throughout the film. when you lost that fight with the motion picture association to drop that rating so more people, more kids, in particular, would be able to see it, you decided to release it as unrated. do you feel like this is a victory or defeat? >> i think this is a commitment to make sure that we do not participate in glossing over what 13 million american kids are experiencing in this country every year. we have the mpaa gave us an r rating for six uses of f word. unfortunately, this is language many kids in this country hear every time they get on their school bus, every time they get in their schools, in the halls, in their communities. we felt like in a film that is honestly about depicting stories and e

>> fredricka, first off, i want to talk about new news. we learned from george zimmerman's attorney is he will now use the stand your ground law here in florida, previously he told us that he was planning to use self-defense in the case his client was arrested. but at this point he will use his stand your ground law here in florida. but the movement here in sanford u you see it continuing. today we're expecting several vigi vigils, one at 6:30 eastern time, and a few more planned, maybe 8:00 tonight, people coming together to support the family. and across the country, fredricka, as you mentioned, in atlanta and in new york city, we see people coming together wearing hoodies to church, showing solidarity for the family. and also today in orlando, the reverend jesse jackson spoke to the crowd there, to the congregation talking about this indication, also talking about the violence that resulted from this case. and the need to come together to support this family. jesse jackson here in florida, all of this is leading up to, fredricka, what w

you know, talk about timing, fredricka.e thought the housing market was looking better because sales were actually picking up. now this. the number of people who are underwater or have negative equity in their homes is growing. it means these are people who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth. the big issue that's weighing on those homeowners, home prices continue to fall at these levels that we haven't seen in ten years. if someone bought during the housing boom, they didn't put much money down on their house, chances are they're stuck with a big loan right as their home is losing value. this is affecting a lot of people, fredricka. 11 million people. that's about equal to the entire population of ohio. nationwide, it's almost a quarter of all homeowners with a mortgage. guess what, these numbers, they're rising. fredricka? >> is there any good news you can share with us from wall street today? >> right now, no. right now stocks are in the red. the dow is down just a bit. we've had some great news here on w

not yet, fredricka. and that's not going to be true for some time.s the biggest military in the region, qualitatively and quantitatively the biggest military. as president obama pointed out in his speech, they have engaged in joint exercises, we have made military transfers there. this is more a message to iran, it is part good cop/bad cop, bad cop putting pressure on them, sanctions, threat -- letting them know that no options are off the table, but trying to focus on diplomacy, because as the president said, in the end, historically, case after case, libya, south africa, all the other kun there's a started down that path, the way you get countries to stay away from nuclear weapons is you decide this is not in their interests, that they have more to use than to gain by that. that is going to continue to be the focus, i think. >> jim walsh, thanks so much, from watertown, massachusetts, a chance to visit your beautiful campus of mit recently, sorry i didn't get a chance to see you while i was there. next time i'll have to stay there longer. jim walsh

>> reporter: yeah, fredricka. he's been consulting on the case because in 2005 when he was governor he wrote that, stand your ground bill into the law. that's the law that says basically any civilian can use deadly force if they feel their life is threatened. what is what george zimmerman was saying. he's saying this was a case of stand your ground. well, jeb bush thought otherwise. take a listen. >> it appears to me that this law does not apply to this particular circumstance. stand your ground means stand your ground. it doesn't mean chase after somebody who's turned their back. >> reporter: and now the police chief in sanford bill lee, temporarily stepped down, giving reasons on the website why they consider this a stand your ground issue this is what he said. he said zimmerman's statement was he had lost sight of trayvon and was returning to his truck to meet the police officer when he says he was attacked by trayvon. so now, fredricka, the issue is really up to investigators. they have a special prosecutor th

john. >> reporter: hi, fredricka. yeah, i'm here at the park here in miramar, and as you mentioned, tonight about 6:00, there will be a vigil here, and unlike a lot of these marches and vigils, this one, at this one will be many, many people who knew trayvon personally, who knew trayvon intimately from the time he was 5 when he grew up on these fields, playing football, until the time he went to high school. and right over here, to my right, this is the concession stand we've heard so much about where after he stopped playing football, he volunteered his time working in that concession stand. just a little while ago, i talked to his football coach, who had told me that, you know, people asked him all the time. the boy that was killed, was that the young man who used to work right there in the concession stand? and the football coach would answer, yeah. that was him, and he been working there pretty much right up until the time of his killing up in sanford. so we don't know exactly, fredricka, how many people are going

>> well, look, anything is possible, fredricka.ut him in florida. i think it is a smart move. i think what jeb bush is signaling, let's get the party started, wrap up the show. i think you'll see more support rallying behind romney like we saw in illinois. >> suspicious to wait this long or that the timing would be now? >> yeah, the timing is obviously suspect. particularly given the fact that george bush sr. already endorsed mitt romney and did so a long while ago. i do believe that -- >> and barbara. >> exactly. i think this is not a game changer, not a huge boost to the romney campaign. what it does do is give them free publicity for the day and positive publicity. so it provides a temporary small benefit to them. >> is this over? mitt romney way out front? is he not nominee? are you saying he's the inevitable nominee? >> look, fredricka, we have been talking about this, we have been saying this since the beginning of the year, and i think that the double digit sweep in illinois and let's also remember, romney won the woman vote

>> reporter: hi, fredricka. what has emerged so far is a soldier under emotional, physical strain after having served four war tours after the last ten years. we have a picture, this is somebody who faced enormous financial pressures. his wife put their home up for sale at a price significantly less than what they paid for it. a former neighbor also tells cnn that they didn't pay their homeowners association fees for like three or four years and that their condo was basically in a state of disrepair. bales, meanwhile, grew up in cincinnati, ohio, a suburb of cincinnati, and his former high school friends described him as a patriot and someone deeply moved by 9/11. take a listen. >> i can't believe it. i still can't believe it. i can't believe it. the bobby that i knew is not the bobby that could have done that. he'll never be the same and he's such a great person. that just crushes me. i don't know. i think everyone has the same question because everyone knew the same bobby. what happened? >> as you mentioned, h

i'm fredricka whitfield. >> a painful day of cleanup as survivors of a deadly storm system battled grief and immense piles of rubble. the death toll has risen to 37. the national guard is helping with the cleanup and providing security patrols in at least four of the hardest hit states. live coverage from the devastated town in just a moment. president barack obama says the united states is committed to standing by israel. he talked to the largest american jewish lobbying group today amid concern from israel about where the u.s. stands on threats from iran. the president said while he prefers peace, the possibility of military action is not off the table. >> israel and the united states have an interest in seeing this challenge resolved diplomatically. after all, the only way to truly solve this problem is for the iranian government to make a decision to forsake nuclear weapons. >>> a vintage helicopter in flight during the shooting of a television show crashes and amazingly no one is killed or even hurt. it happened in arizona. >> oh, my god! >> the pilot and crewmen on board that vinta

. >>> remember to join fredricka whitfield at 4:00 p.m.very sunday to focus on the race. >>> a piece of space history is lying on the ocean floor and nasa wants it back. the lost treasures from the apoll joe 11 mission. the problem is someone else is going after it but the government has already called dibs. >> maybe you're planning your spring break or something as a summer getaway. the sun-soaked beaches of libya? really? >> announcer: this is the day. the day that we say to the world of identity thieves "enough." we're lifelock, and we believe you have the right to live free from the fear of identity theft. our pledge to you? as long as there are identity thieves, we'll be there. we're lifelock. and we offer the most comprehensive identity theft protection ever created. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. twenty-five thousand mornings, give or take, is all we humans get. we spend them on treadmills. we spend them in traffic. and if we get lucky, really lucky, it dawns on us t

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tornado watch, fredricka, just issued for parts of texas and western oklahoma.arting to fire up on the dry line. no warnings right now. but we'll continue to monitor this situation. we'll talk about what you can expect in the days ahead with this storm. that's coming up before the end of the hour. >> good. look forward to that. thanks so much. >>> we're in the midst of spring break now. i know those pictures of snow make it hard to believe, but just in time for the annual trek to the beach, something else is happening. a rash of shark attacks. three in florida just this past week. this 15-year-old girl, boy, is she lucky. she's all smiles now. but four days ago, her mom was pulling her out of a shark's jaws. it happened in the waters off new smyrna beach, florida. the mom says she watched her daughter paddling on the surfboard when the girl got pulled under water, twice. >> it was, to me, like a scene out of jaws where the girl is getting sucked under and i said, there is no way this thing is going to kill my daughter. >> wow. so to keep that from happening, tha

>> fredricka, surprisingly, a rather quiet day here

on the west coast, i'm fredricka whitfield in for suzanne malveaux on assignment. teenager trayvon martin has spoken out. in a cnn exclusive interview robert zimmerman jr. said medical records will back up his brother's claims that george zimmerman was injured in a fight with the unarmed 17-year-old. the gunman's brother insists the shooting was at self-defense. >> when you have a a bag of skittles and an iced tea. nobody just stands there with a bag of skittles and iced tea. george was under assault. he was barely conscious. the last thing he remembers is moving his head from the concrete to the grass so if he was banged one more time, he wouldn't be wearing diapers for the rest of his life and being spoon-fed by his brother and it would be very george dead. >> a person who wants to remain anonymous told cnn he saw two people in the grass that would seem like a scuffle. after the gunshot, he saw one of the men walking towards him. he said the man did not appear hurt. >>> mitt romney picked up the endorsement from another republican. this time it's paul ryan, a fav

but there could be an advantage to that, fredricka. >> what?inancial assistance before they come forward. anyone who has a winning ticket who does have a winning ticket, you have to keep it in a safe place. >> you get so excited even though you can't play. >> can't play! >> ma >> margaret, thanks so much. we hope we get that winning ticket tonight, if not, there's tuesday. >>> spike lee is admitting that he didn't do the right thing. and now he's apologizing to a florida couple who had to leave their home after he tweeted out their address. that and more in our "showbiz" update. you're someone very s. ♪ werther's original caramels. but last year my daughter was checking up on me. i wasn't eating well. she's a dietitian, and she suggested i try boost complete nutritional drink to help get the nutrition i was missing. now i drink it every day and i love the great taste. [ female announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to help keep bones strong and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. and o

that's out and shake in my bag i've got a cake yet i don't want to hear you go that's great for the fredricka believe it will open sir we can see you in africa. now vegetables what a great job you did i talked with a guy named hans and that's ne ohio madonna. when you keep coming and your guests and citizens of bertie because you must have missed what we need here today at an important crossroads in our lives recently seen little we must decide whether or not to live in harmony with our conscience and convictions by founding the independent country of peace land at spot height seven hundred eighteen. so i'm not here by i solemnly declare that peace land is here and the right to all to be a free and independent state. of connection between it and the czech republic is dissolved as a stop and just got it and so i'm i bring you. the dems it's her to morrow we will send an official letter to the main constitutional agents. the president the prime minister and the heads of parliament also now to vote for the about you from the regime will request that citizens uniformed personnel of the czech repu

. >>> now, my time is almost up today but the newsroom continues at the top of the hour with fredrickahitfield. what have you got for us? >> we're going to keep an eye on the storms that are threatening states along the east coast and our legal guys will be with us as they always are. avery and richard are very fascinated with the nicollette sheridan case, the former desperate housewife is suing for her job back for one or at least back pay in the amount of millions. she's also alleging that the show creator assaulted her. our legal guys will weigh in as to whether or not she stands a pretty good chance of getting what she believes she is owed. and then katy perry, the singer, she's multi-talented and you'll see that in a new video game that she is now the subject of. and our marc saltzman is going to give us an inside preview of what this game is all about and why and how it will be up to adults and kids to decide how she sounds and her new look, what color her hair should be, all that good stuff. and then if you're thinking about changing careers, you need to ask yourself at least fi

>> fredricka, surprisingly, a rather quiet day here in sanford, which is contrary to what we have seen earlier this week with so many rallies and protests. just the other day, we did see a one-hour prayer vigil here in sanford at allen ame church. we're also now starting to hear from george zimmerman's side of the story. his attorney is starting to speak. we asked him about one question, the question that has everyone talking, was this shooting racially motivated. >> absolutely not. george is friends with people in the african-american community. he was actually a mentor for a woman who has -- doesn't have a husband and he took in a mentorship program, he took the 14-year-old young african-american boy, would take him every other week, take the young boy and his wife had a 13-year-old daughter, and took them every otherther week for tr three hours, to go to the mall, to the science center, to play basketball, go to lunch, do things like that. during that period, i have spoken to the mother, who is an african-american woman. she doesn't believe he's raisest. he helped in a fund-raiser f

i'm fredricka whitfield. we look at the 2012 presidential contenders in this political hour. first, an update on some of today's top stories. a busy painful day of cleanup as survivors of a deadly storm system battled grief and immense piles of rubble. the death toll is 37. the national guard is helping with the cleanup and providing security patrols in at least four of the hardest hit states. >>> a vintage helicopter in flight during the shooting of a television show crashes and amazingly no one is killed or even hurt. it happened in coolidge, arizona. >> oh, my god. >> a pilot and crew men were on board the vintage military chopper and were able to walk away. the aircraft was being filmed for an episode of "top gear korea." the cause of the crash is still under investigation. >>> former republican presidential candidate michele bachmann says rush limbaugh's recent comments don't hurt her party. he used some nasty language to describe a law student who testified for expanded access to birth control. limbaugh has since apologized, but bachmann says the controversy has no effe

there are actually accessories fredricka. this is a case that i love.the bluetooth keyboard case. not only protects the tablet, which i always recommend you getting something to protect your investment, like a case, but it also has a wireless keyboard right here. so as you can see, it's a keyboard not quite full size but built right into the case. so as you see, can you do some typing. word processor. it you are traveling for work, or if you want to respond to a lot of e-mails or maybe writing a travel diary, it might make sense to bring an accessory like that with your tablet, or bring a netbook or ultrabook with you. >> makes a lot of sense. now what about this new smartphone that you highly recommend? >> sure. so there's no shortage of great smartphone, but smartphones are great travel companions because they're like a digital swiss army knife. there's so many apps that are great for travelers like kirns convert currency converters, language translators. the samsung galaxy note. 5.3 inches, an idea how big it is subpoena p is. it's almost two inches

i'm fredricka whitfield. coming up at 2:30 earn time, five apps to get your tax refund faster. >>> right now, time for dr. sanjay gupta with "the next list." ♪ >>> welcome to "the next list," i'm dr. sanjay gupta. you're about to meet a group that's an eclectic bunch of physicists, roboticists, musicians, circus performers, even a molecular chef that believes science can inspire extraordinary art. >> a lot of it's almost impossible. that's absolutely by design. couldn't happen without the contribution contributions -- and we're proud of that. >> they're headquartered in this unassuming 5,000 square-foot building which has been converted into this hybrid science lab/fun house. as you're about to see, innovation at the labs is sparked by pure unadulterated fun and a healthy dose of science. ♪ >>> my name is adam sidowsky. and i'm an art collector and people come together to create newly fun and interesting, innovative art. >> what is the unofficial motto here? >> well, there's a couple. geeks with girlfriends.

and of course, he was. >> florida representative, fredricka wilson, i thank you for your candor and foru. >>> up next, a new study about going to church and how it might make you feel. [ female announcer ] the next generation of investing technology is now within your grasp with the all-new e-trade 360 investing dashboard. e-trade 360 is the world's first investing homepage that shows you where all your investments are and what they're doing with free streaming quotes, news, analysis and even your trade ticket. everything exactly the way you want it, all on one page. transform your investing with the all-new e-trade 360 investing dashboard. over a million people have discovered how easy it is to use legalzoom for important legal documents. so start your business, protect your family, launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side. who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testost

i'm fredricka whitfield. thanks for being with me.n lemon is coming up with more of the "newsroom." have a great week. and hurtle us all into space, which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd and you still need to retire, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans? [ male announcer ] the cadillac cts sport sedan was designed with near-perfect weight balance from front to back... and back to front. ♪ giving you exceptional control from left to right... and right to left. ♪ the cadillac cts. ♪ we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. brad needs car insurance, but, uh, brad doesn't want to spend too much. who's brad? this is brad. ahh! well, progressive has lots of discounts for a guy like brad. brad's intrigued. paid in full, safe driver, multi-car, going paperless -- all can help brad save a bunch. sign brad up. cool! j

let's take a look at what's coming up tomorrow in the cnn newsroom with fredricka whitefield. >> reporterblican presidential field may be slimming down tuesday. michele bachmann has been quiet about her endorsement. is she ready to support one of the candidates? michele bachmann joins me sunday for an indepth interview. we'll discuss politics and her position on iran, as talks on that country begin in washington. join me sunday afternoon starting at 2:30 eastern right here in the cnn news room. >> thank you very much. coming up next, lots of concerns in the florida keys about the fragile coral reefs. but not because of storms. one expert diver shows us how he's restoring marine life. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. >>> look at that. this week's cnn hero has watched the beauty of the sea disappear. now he's working to bring life back to an underwater world in crisis. meet ken niedermayer. >> i grew up diving in the florida keys, and it was just the most magical place. t

. >>> coming up live next hour, south florida congressman fredricka wilson will join the same discussione is slamming authorities for their what she says is their inaction on this. >>> now let's head to deb feyerick for other headlines making news. >> good morning, christine, good morning, everyone. the army staff sergeant accused in the massacre of afghan civilians will be formally be charged today, robert bales faces 17 counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder and assault. if convicted bales could face the death penalty. the major hurdle is that the african victims were buried quickly in keeping with islamic tradition. as a result the prosecution does not have forensic evidence from occupancies in the case. we're learning before joining the military bales engaged in securities fraud while working as a financial adviser. according to financial records, bales failed to pay $1.5 million judgment for defrauding an elderly client in a stock scheme. >>> and an overnight explosion rocks a silicon plant in portland, oregon. two workers were to the hospital with minor injuries, inside a