>> all right, isha, please stay with us. we'll be back with isha in a moment. i've traveled to nigeria to cover its positive story, it's one of the fastest growing economies on earth, and the negative story, the story of the underwear bomber was from the muslim-dominated north of nigeria and since then, boko has gotten stronger, more vile, and more ambitious. ♪ ♪ bring back our girls >> a nation changed april 14th, the night terrorists posing as soldiers arrived at a school in northern nigeria, telling 276 girls, gather, to take their o-level or high school graduation exams that they were nigerian military. >> translator: we thought they were soldiers and they asked us to board a vehicle and my friends and i jumped from the vehicle and ran back home because we realized they don't look innocent to us. >> reporter: abubakar shekau is leader of boko haram. today he took pride in kidnapping the girls, who may be used as sex slaves. this is not the first terrorist abduction of schoolgirls by boko haram. in at least one other incident this spring, up to 25 girls were

isha sesay is in nigeria. she joins us on the poen. isha, what do we know about the exact number of girls missing and what the government is doing now to try and get them released? how difficult is this task ahead? >> reporter: hi there, errol. i think the issue surrounding the exact number of girls that were taken and the confusing surrounding it is one of the very troubling aspects of this story. the fact that that number has been revised several times since these girls were abducted in the middle of the night from their school in northeastern nigeria. just this past friday the number was revised again with a new figure emerging. a much higher figure. nigerian authorities now saying 206 girls were taken, adding at least 53 escaped, leaving 223 in the hands of their captors. before anyone thinks that's the end of the matter, we now have -- they have been transparent at least in saying that that number could well go up because they are still going through school records. and so that number of 223 still in the hands of their captors cou

isha, great to see you.h. >>> still to come here on "cnn newsroom," we'll look at the heart wrenching defense of a woman's faith in sudan. what will she sacrifice for it? >>> plus it's anti-homophobia day. more next. let me get this straight... [ female voice ] yes? lactaid® is 100% real milk? right. real milk. but it won't cause me discomfort. exactly, because it's milk without the lactose. and it tastes? it's real milk! come on, would i lie about this? [ female announcer ] lactaid. 100% real milk. no discomfort. come on, would i lie about this? so i use lactaid® members are cottage cheese. ry. it's 100% real dairy without the lactose. so i can make these creamy dishes my family enjoys without discomfort. discover more delicious lactose free recipes at lactaid.com >>> welcome back, everyone. human rights activists around the world are furious about the sudanese court's decision to execute a pregnant woman. what did she do? she refused to recant her christian faith. and for that a judge says she must pay wit

cnn's isha sesay is live in capital. isha? >> reporter: hi there, jake. the answer to that question will become clearer in the days ahead but the pentagon spokesman already saying on this friday that time is not on their side. the bottom line is, these girls have been missing more than three weeks now. he also added that the geography is not on the side of the nigerians but is still in the lead in this investigation. let's be very clear with our viewers. the u.s. team is on the ground, not combat forces. they are here to provide critical expertise, surveillance reconnaissance expertise and that's what they will be here to do, to fill in the gaps of the nigerian government. as to whether they can make up for lost time, we'll have to wait and see. jake? >> isha sesay, thank you so much. >>> now for the national lead, there are new allegations today that a second veterans hospital has been scheming for wait time. san antonio's department of veterans hospital is now under fire. seemingly some of the people that served the country died while the hospital stall

isha sesay, thank you so much.se, we've got more information on this story and the growing worldwide outrage over the handling of this story at cnn.com/impact. issu isha sesay, thank you from lagos. >>> all right. an after party prom turns into gunfire. how did this turn into a frightening moment? >>> first, athletes at every level will some day face the same challenge. coming back from an injury. dr. jordan metzel offers a few lessons in today's "fit nation". >> i'm going to show you a couple of exercises to do a couple times a week. the first one is a simple squat. spread your feet and put your arms out here. keep your chest up and you're going to squat down below your knees. good man. watch me first. i'm going to come down and do an easy jump and come right back down. the benefit of this is you're strengthening your muscles. five more of those and you see what happens to your heart. number two exercise, it's an isometric. we're going to introduce a plank which is great to strengthen your core muscles. i want you

we do have isha sesay now. what can you tell us about this group of eight new girls that have been kidnapped? sorry? we do not have her at this point. we'll take a break and talk to her when we can. what caused a huge computer outage across southern california paralyzing flights? how about this? a spy plane. a spy plane. so what is a spy plane doing over california, you ask? that's ahead "@ this hour." scott: appears buster's been busy. man: yeah, scott. i was just about to use the uh... scott: that's a bunch of ground-up paper, lad! scotts ez seed uses the finest seed, fertilizer, and natural mulch that holds water so you can grow grass anywhere! seed your lawn. seed it! >>> a very old plane is causing very big problems for thousands of travelers or at least it did. remember that computer glitch th that paralyzed flight operations in southern california last week? >> it was caused by your every day u2 spy plane. they flew during the cold cwar but are getting in way of air traffic control in california. u2 spy

our correspondent isha sesay is in the nigeria capital of abuja right now. what can you tell us about these latest kidnappings? >> reporter: hi there, wolf. we continue to work this story and get more details. what we're learning is boko haram militants stormed a village in northeastern nigeria. we're told they went door to door. a local source telling us it was in search of girls and went away with eight of them, aged between 12 and 15. in addition to taking these girls, we know they collected goods, they collected money and they took livestock before disappearing into the night. this nightmare continues. also getting word, wolf, in the last few minutes, that today, today, tuesday, in the afternoon, at around 3:00 p.m., there was another attack in another village in that same vicinity where at least two people lost their lives. this coming to us from local residents. it was seen that despite all the international attention on nigeria right now and the nigerian government saying they are clamping down on boko haram, the attacks continue. wolf. >> isha, we sa

isha sesay is joining us. what's been the reaction, isha, in nigeria, because this is causing an international uproar. >> yes, it certainly is, wolf. as you've pointed out, it's been three weeks now since these girls -- [ inaudible ] to see the man, believed to be the leader, saying proudly, defiantly, on tape, as he abducted the girl, and going on to say what he would do, and these are chilling and sickening words and really confirmation of the worst fears of many here on the ground in nigeria who in the days since have -- [ inaudible ] taken from a place in the country that is under a state of emergency, and yet boko haram was able to go into the school and take them and these girls have not been seen since. great feeling of despair. when you speak to people. [ inaudible ] -- doing more to find these girls, that is the perception on the ground in nigeria. other than in a statement made on camera yesterday by the president, in which he said aircraft and helicopters were being used to scan the area. very littl

isha sesay from lago, nigeria.right back with more after this. to prepare our kids to compete main today's economy?way woman: a well-rounded education that focuses on science, math, and career training for students who don't choose college. man: and that's exactly what superintendent of public education tom torlakson has been working on. woman: because every student needs the real world skills for the jobs of tomorrow. man: torlakson's career readiness initiative is helping schools expand job and technical training across the state because it makes a difference. woman: so tell tom torlakson to keep fighting for the career and technical training our students need. what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together reliably fast internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! we must have encountered a temporal vortex. further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operati

let's go live to isha sesay who is joining us live from nigeria. what are you learning, isha?porter: well, wolf, this video that emerged today with the leader of boko haram is gut-wrenching and sickening. it's been three weeks since these girls were snatched from their school in nigeria and today we heard from the group that says they are responsible and it only deepened the anxiety and the desperation being felt by the families of these girls and the people of nigeria. new horrors from a brazen and increasing terrorist organization. boko haram is claiming a grim fate for the girls kidnapped in the dead of night during a fiery attack on their school three weeks ago. >> translator: i abducted your girls. i will sell them in a market. by allah. >> reporter: rambling threats in the nearly hour-long video. there is financial help and training from al qaeda for boek c boko haram. boko haram means western education is sinful. its goal, to create a radical islamic state in nigeria. >> translator: a law says i should sell. he commands me to sell. i will sell women. >> reporter: protes

>> isha sesay live in abuja for us, thank you.is the author of the book "bring back our girls." you spoke to one of the fathers of the girls. describe that conversation. >> well, the communication is really rough but he and the other parents are just beside themselves because their daughters -- this is an area where most women are not literate and their daughters are the brightest lights in their communities. they are now on the cusp of graduating from high school, becoming doctors, lawyers, teachers. they embody their families' hopes, their community's hope and now because of a lack of security they have become kidnapped and now they are being sold for $12 each to be sex slaves for militants. and it adds to their grief and despair when the nigerian government seems to have little interest, frankly, in pursing the kidnappers. these dads went after the kidnappers with bows and arrows into a nearby forest, pursing them and villagers said, yes, the girls were taken in here and they told the nigerian authorities who then didn't do muc

>> isha sesay sat down with three such girls who say despite the danger they are determined to get anducation. >> reporter: tell me about the impact that this had among your group of friends and what people were saying in school and how it affected your lives. >> most of the friends, after lectures, everyone goes home. most of us, we didn't really feel safe. so we just came to school and immediately went back home. >> did you ever think about not going to school? >> yeah, it crossed my mind. but i felt if i stayed at home, it might happen to me at home, it can happen to me at school. >> sometimes it's not about not going to school. even if you go to school, do you feel comfortable in class? >> the concern obviously is that not where you're from maybe but this will have an impact and more and more girls will become afraid and we know that they're already large numbers of girls going to school in the north. talk to me about your feelings about the future for where you're from? >> to be honest with you, if this goes on, many parents in the north, i don't think they will allow their daugh

let's bring our own isha sesay. just as help from the u.s. is arriving, it seems like finding all of these girls got a lot harder. >> reporter: absolutely, jake. there is no doubt about it. a senior u.s. official telling cnn that u.s. intelligence believes that the girls could have been broken up into smaller groups, according to some reports of seven or eight. and i want to put this information into context for our viewers. you have to understand that the borders with neighboring countries in that region, in the northeast, which is where this attack took place, it's extremely pourous. it's very easy to slip back and forth and move these girls out of nigeria into one of these places. i was speaking with someone who mediated on behalf of the government about this issue and moving the girls. could they be here or elsewhere? he made a very interesting point to me that i think is worth putting out there. accordi ahe belongs to ethnic group and his point is they could have moved these girls to those places because they are supported of shekau, sup

isha sesay live for us, thank you. >>> now, we want to return to our top story next matthew chance is standing by at a polling station in moscow where ukrainian expatriates are voting in a controversial referendum already. we'll check in with him after the short break. stay with us. thit's not the "limit yoursh hard earned cash back" card . it's not the "confused by rotating categories" card. it's the no-category-gaming, no-look-passing, clear-the-lane-i'm- going-up-strong, backboard-breaking, cash back card. this is the quicksilver cash back card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every single day. i'll ask again... what's in your wallet? (agent) i'll walk you guys through every step. there are a lot of buyers for a house like yours. (husband) that's good to know. >>> welcome back. a controversial referendum is underway in a number of eastern ukrainian self-declared republics but let's get the view from russia because matthew chance has expatriates voting in this referendum. certainly the fact that you have something like this makes it look more likely russ

>> isha sesay, thank you so much. keep up the great work. how involved will the u.s. be?joining me now is richard downey, deputy director of the african program for center for strategic and international studies. he's also a former bbc cropp correspondent. he said after weeks of the u.s. pleading for the nigerians to accept help from the u.s., they are now formally accepting the assistance despite some sparsing earlier. u.s. policy makers have been so frustrated. what do you think, are the nigerian leaders embarrassed? why do they seem to be dragging their feet on this? >> i think there is some embarrassment. nigeria is a proud sovereign nation and is used to helping out in the region of west africa rather than asking for help itself. maybe their also a worry, a concern that having overt support from the united states could make the situation worse because boko haram, this terrorist group may be very quick to seize on this partnership. >> richard, let's talk about boko haram, the name of the group means western education is sinful. they have been called nigeria's taliban.

cnn's isha sesay is live at the capital.s video is adding to the grief and frustration at this point. >> reporter: no doubt about that, jake. really creating a sense of despod despondency here. three weeks have passed and there's been a feeling until now the government has not put enough effort into that. the government says otherwise, they are doing the best they can. but to the people that we have spoken to here on the ground in nigeria, the sense is that the government is not doing enough and certainly not sharing enough operational detail about what they are doing. there had been these reports that the girls had been taken into the forest and that they have been married off to some of their abductors. none of that confirmed but to have the tape today in which the leader of boko haram says on tape, i have abducted your girls and will sell them off and allah says i should do this creates so much distress. i spoke to people here on the ground and there's a real sense of despondency. jake? >> does the tape offer any clues as

ashleigh. >> isha sesay. ka could you explain why he is on tv saying somehow the family of these girls have been this rt wh thwarting the efforts to find these girls? there's a good reason for this, isn't there? >> yeah, i mean, there are multiple reasons that could factor into this. there's this whole issue of trust. a lack of trust between people there in the northern part of nigeria -- at least some people and the nigerian government. the federal government. you have to remember the federal government declared a state of emergency in this area some months ago and has been accused by some human rights groups human rights violations as they go after boko haram, using widespread violence. there's kind of a breakdown of trust between some and the government. but there's also another point. there are those parents, we have been told, who are afraid to give that information, the names of their kids and photos, because they fear boko haram could be watching places like cnn, could be paying attention to the media,

isha sesay, legos. >>> once a year at the washington correspondents' dinner they hear about what people like it or not. would washington work better if they heard it more often? laygrod and i'm his mom at the dog park. the kids get trail mix, and here's what you get after a full day of chasing that cute little poodle from down the street. mm hmm delicious milo's kitchen chicken meatballs. they look homemade, which he likes almost as much as making new friends yes, i'll call her. aww, ladies' man. milo's kitchen. made in the usa with chicken or beef as the number one ingredient. the best treats come from the kitchen. >>> maybe you've been walking down the street, glanced up and saw it, a camera watching your every move. tonight morgan spurlock asks if we better get used to the end of privacy? >> does everybody get access to everything just for the fear of terrorism? is this the guise we'll live under forever? >> everything we say and do electronically is out there in the cloud and stored for an indefinite period of time. >> this is real fourth amendment issue. sure, there should be prote

want to bring in isha sesay in nigeria's capital. good to have you with us.his story is so important for us to be talking about. tell us more about this video we have just shown. it really could be the first look of these girls since they were abducted from the school four weeks ago. i know authorities will comb over this. what more can be seen and heard on this video? >> reporter: no doubt about it that authorities will be forensically going through this video. what is clear is that there are over 100 girls in this video held together in an open space. this video is filmed in broad daylight. i think it really does speak to the brazenness of boko haram that that they could put the girls on tape all together and tho shows they think they are in control of the situation. you see the girls reciting parts of the koran making declarations of faith but you also see in another part of the video three girls who one after the other are asked questions by a male voice off camera about islam and the koran and it is quite clear that all of these girls are under duress. t

my cnn colleague isha sesay is following these developments. what's the latest on the fate of these late eight girls who have been taken? >> ashleigh, good to talk to you. we have no word on what going on right now in attempts to find these eight girls. almost too much to bear, to think that having seen that video just a couple hours ago, the video of the boko haram leader, talking about what he intended to do to the previous batch of girls he took some three weeks ago, that boko haram has struck again, taking eight girls. these girls younger, between the ages of 12 and 15. as you said, those boko haram militants storming this village in northeastern nigeria, making off with these girls late sunday into monday. and one can only imagine the sheer fear, the terror, the heart break that these new families are now enduring. also, with the very fact that the government in nigeria has already admitted when it comes to the 200-plus girls that went missing two weeks ago, they have no idea where they are. to have this happen off the back of it, ashleigh

isha sesay, thank you so much. >>> after a weekend of the deadly clashes in eastern ukraine the country closer to civil war. this morning, russia is blaming the government in kiev for targeting the pro-russian separatists. >> let's bring in "state of the union" host candy crowley in washington. i bet a lot of people are watching this wondering is this playing into putin's hand, does escalating violence give him the excuse he needs to invade ukraine? >> it certainly is the thought of a growing number of analysts and also some within the u.s. government that the fact that the violence has increased and the fact that you're hearing those in the russian government saying gosh, we're getting an awful lot of calls for help from inside eastern ukraine, that this is the excuse, this increased violence that putin feels that he needs to go in there, not that he needs an excuse in crimea. nonetheless there's also the thought that he really doesn't want to go this far. so you can find both viewpoints in washington right now. number one, that he would prefer to just foment unrest inside ukraine with

>> isha, obviously today is mother's day, our hearts even heavier for these families who have to be goingugh so much pain they wait anxiously. how are these relatives holding up? >> reporter: it is a desperate time for these families. it's almost hard to put into words when you're in a room with these affected family members, just the feeling you get. they are so desperate. they are so fearful. i spoke to a father who lost two daughters in this raid, two daughters were taken off by boko haram in the raid april 14th. he told me all they do in his home is cry. he also gave us more insight as he has spoken to some of the girls that escaped as to what happened that night. take a listen to some of our conversation. >> they say that we are army, going to protect you, don't fear. from that time they all got together in one place. so they start banding the school. they say they are not good people. they start to escape or to run away. >> reporter: 200 plus girls taken, still have not been recovered and the international community is here to try and change that. ana, victor? >> i mean, your heart

>> isha sesay reporting live this morning. thanks so much.f you would like to help girls worldwide try to overcome barriers to education, go to our website, cnn.com/impact. [ ship horn blows ] no, no, no! stop! humans. one day we're coming up with the theory of relativity, the next... not so much. but that's okay -- you're covered with great ideas like optional better car replacement from liberty mutual insurance. total your car and we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. learn about it at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? what are you waiting for? (vo) celebrate this memorial day with up to 40% off hotels at travelocity. (gnome) go and smell the roses. >>> checking some top stories at 48 minutes past the hour. a man on oklahoma's death row is getting a six-month stay. charles warner's execution was scheduled for next week but the state is continuing an investigation into the death of clayton lockett. he was give an three-drug cocktail and died of an apparent heart attack. >>> 27 mil

isha sesay reporting live from nigeria. kidnapped from their school in the northern nigerian town. it's a day's drive from the capital. we will hear a report over the coming days. now one of the girls is talking after being able to escape her captors and explains why the town lives in fear. >> reporter: by an absolute miracle, some of those girls managed to escape on that horrifying night. even for them, this nightmare isn't yet over. one of them has agreed to speak to us but she's asked that we don't identify her in any way and we don't give away her name, family house, anything that could bring about what she fears the most, the kidnappers could come back for her. >> what kind of car? was it one or more? and this was at 10:00 at night? so did that make you feel that they had come to get you, to get the girls? that's when you knew they had come to kidnap you? >> that was really brave of you. can you describe the men that came and took you? what did they look like? were they wearing civilian clothing or military uniforms? w

the father of two them spoke with our isha sesay today. she asked what the government has done to help. >> nothing on the ground. >> nothing? ? >> nothing, nothing. up to 21 days, nothing has been done. >> but vlad duthiers is in the capital of abuja tonight. when i ask the questions, many say the military is inept, the military is corrupt. he says he thinks that is grossly unfair. but on the ground i know you're hearing a lot of frustration, aren't you? >> that's right, erin. the report by amnesty international dovetails very closely with what people on the ground in chibok have told us, which is that the military security officials were not around when this attack first happened. in fact, one gentleman that we spoke to, father of two daughters who have been abducted said that the few security guards that were there actually dove into the bush with the residents of the town as the town came under attack, as the school itself was under fire. the military, the defense ministry just moments ago releasing a statement themselves saying they do

>> isha sesay in nigeria.stand by to hear about this discussion today. >> thank you. >>> also in sudan, a woman who converted to christianity has been given a death sentence for refusing to renounce her faith and accused of adultery and sentenced for marrying a christian man. the woman is eight months pregnant. she's in prison with her 20-month-old son. her lawyer says the sentence should not stand. human rights groups around the world are condemning that ruling. we'll keep on that one as well. it is the best and worst of time, let's say, in the nba. >> if you are watching the playoffs, these games are amazing. they are coming down to the final seconds, bad calls, amazing shots and then it's overshadowed by this man, donald sterling. his future as owner of the clippers is in question here. we'll have more on the bleacher report. when jake and i first set out on our own, we ate anything. but in time you realize the better you eat, the better you feel. these days we both eat smarter. and i give jake purina cat c

isha joins us from abuja, nigeria.ernment denies they knew of the plans in advance, this report from amnesty international. what are you hearing? >> reporter: the nigerian government strenuously rejects that and says that is not the case. but i have to tell you that cnn has spoken to multiple residents in that local area, and they paint the same picture. they paint a picture of giving the government, giving the security forces an advanced warning that something was about to happen, and they say that they were failed by their government, that there was an inadequate response to the attack, and in the aftermath, that the nigerian government was not there to pursue the attackers and get their girls and bring them back home. you mentioned the u.s. elements that are on the ground, here in an advisory capacity. we must be clear with our viewers, these are not combat troops. they're here to provide advice to the nigerian government and really determine whether gaps exist in their capabilities. victor? >> all right, isha sesay

in an exclusive interview with cnn's isha sesay. >> this place is under a state of emergency. the government said they would crush boka haram. instead what we have seen is 200-plus girls are missing. this without a doubt undermine it is nigeria government's claims they can beat broke ha haram. >> you let me understand, in pakistan which has been in insurgency for more than ten years, there's been insurgency for the last ten years . >> cnn is doing its part to put pressure on the nigerian government to help these girls. even as nigeria is bowing to pressure and finally accepting washington's offer to send help, new details are trickling out about other terrorists snatching other girls. gunman going door-to-door rounding up eight girls between the ages of 12 and 15. we're now hearing from the parents of the abducted girls who have been afraid to speak out. let's head to nigeria's capital and check with cnn's vlhave duthier sufrnlths. >> reporter: we're learning more about what this reign of terror is like that boka haram since 2009. we spoke to a family who risked their lives to

isha sesay, thank you so much. >>> we have more coverage of the missing girls throughout the hour, includingrch. the #bring back our girls helped bring awareness to the cause. but does activism on social media make us less likely to do more? >>> is ukraine on the edge of all-out war. several countries came together to talk about that fear, and see what can be done to stop it. >>> and then, how a biplane from the last century snarled air traffic at one of the world's biggest airports and led to delays across the country. those stories, and more right after this break. stay with us. passion... became your business. at&t can help simplify how you manage it. so you can focus on what you love most. when everyone and everything works together, business just sings. nineteen years ago, we thought, "wow, how is there no way to tell the good from the bad?" so we gave people the power of the review. and now angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. you can easily buy and schedule services from top-rated providers. conveniently stay up to date on progress. and effortlessly turn your photos in

let's continue our coverage with isha sisay in nigeria. >> reporter: the outrage grows every day. nigerians are asking, what is their government doing? where are the details of the search and rescue operation? there was an information blackout here in this country with little to no information being shared. on sunday the president making his first on-camera statements about this matter saying the government is doing all they can saying they are using helicopte helicopters. what number of troops are being dedicate ed dedicated to the mission? what proportion of the area has been combed? what leads have they followed up? so many unanswered questions. people here in nigeria, it's created a sense of mistrust and they are saying that the government needs to ask for help. international assistance so they can move this along. we spoke to the finance minister yesterday. she admitted they need international help and she's asking for it, telling us they will be reaching out. we know the u.s. government said they will aid nigeria in this time of need. this is a desperate situation and it's n

cnn's isha sesay has more. what are we hearing about the help on the way?time is of the essence. we're hearing a uk team, a british hostage rescue team has arrived in abuja, made of counterterrorism officials, military add sizers to advise the nigerian government. as you mentioned, they will be joining the u.s. team that is arriving as well, although there's also a number of american personnel already here that have been here for some time. we're seeing a ramping up of the international effort. the hope is that will be the turning point in this search and rescue mission. as we get more details as to how that horrific night played out for these girls. as you mentioned, some 200-plus girls missing now for over three weeks. we're hearing from some of the girls who tell us they escaped. kate, it is just terrifying as they describe these armed militants coming into this school, rounding them up, setting fire to the buildings all around them, emptying the school store of all the food items they had and loading them into these vehicles and taking them out and into