jake rush is everything you could want in a congressman and maybe more than you do. >> jake rush running for third congressional district. >> selling himself as a conservative straight shooter, but guess what, he happens to be a vampire. (laughter) >> stephen: did not see that coming. it with a name like jake rush, you would think soft-core porn but as a vampire he goes under the name chazz darling. seen here as a malevolent lord of the undebt who has just had his eyes dilated by an incompetent ophthalmologist. jake rush is deeply involved in live action role playing or larp. larp is also the sound his campaign manager made when he saw this picture. and chazes darling just one of the characters jake rush plays. others include lord staas van der winst and archbishop ketering who was born in 1146, making him younger than many florida voters. (laughter) and jake rush was once an actual ala'chua county sheriff deputy where his role playing experiences were considered an advantage when applying for undercover work. bad news, criminals, he's not actually a drug dealer, he's chazz darling, vamp

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the world lead. a major announcement by the commander in chief. the next to zero option, combat operations will finish in afghanistan by the end of this year. they will soon head for the exits as well. critics ask, what happen if al qaeda comes back? the national lead. what caused the man that killed six people in santa barbara to suddenly snap? well, actually, it doesn't seem as though it was sudden at all. we're learning his chilling plans were years in the making. >>> and the pop culture lead. all you have to do is look at one of his fund-raiser lists to see how many fans president obama has in show business but have some of his controversial policies finally turned hollywood against him? good afternoon. i'm jake tapper. it's the longest u.s. war ever and in that time and both wounds and otherwise, for the thousands and thousands of afghan civilians killed. operation enduring freedom has been enduring all right. there are high school freshman who cannot remember

jake? >> nick paton walsh, thank you. >>> a lot has been said about nigeria's, shall we say, lumbering response to the militants who kidnapped close to 300 teenage girls. now we're finding this out and amnesty international says military commanders had a four-hour heads up that the terrorist group boko haram was heading there. they sat on their hands because they could not wrap up enough troops to respond. instead, they left it to a handful of soldiers to take on a terrorist group that got weapons training from al qaeda, according to american intelligence, one that may be responsible for the deaths of 2,000 people over the past year. today, finally, some help has arrived from the u.s. and the uk. will it be enough? 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 mor

jake owen reached a settlement in 2010.s, melodies from famous blue musicians in the past. but this jake owen case is a more recent vintage and you have to wonder if that settlement did not perhaps inspire spirit or the family of randy california to bring this suit. randy california was talking about this in '96, '97. this is hardly the first time that somebody has noticed this similarity. >> joe, thank you. >>> wolf blitzer is here and it's called the forgotten bombing. >> long before benghazi in 1983, terrorists blew up the embassy in beirut killing about 60 people including the cia station chief. we've got the author of a brand-new book, "the life and death of ames" is coming into "the situation room." he's got some explosive new allegations. i think you're going to be interested. if you watch homeland. >> of course. >> then you'll love this. >> tuning in in seven minutes. mr. blitzer, good to see you. >>> coming up, the first lady angry at those who want to skip her school lunches. that's next. hey, razor. check this ou

jake? >> nick paton walsh in ukraine, stay safe. they are holding a hearing where assistant secretary of state are testifying in front of the committee about the u.s. assessment of what is going on in ukraine. let's just say newlan was not falling for the support. >> there are russian agents on the ground. russia can still step back from supporting accept p supporting separatism and do the right thing. >> joining me is robert menendez of new jersey. good to see you, as always. president obama said last week, i believe, that if russia was meddling with the elections that he would impose these larger sanctions on entire sectors of the russian economy. in your judgment, are they meddling and should those sanctions be enacted? >> i think there is another calibration to go right now which is looking at the oil company, the russian gas company and exports which is their arms exporter sending arms to syria, by the way, and looking at those three companies as potential targets of sanctions. >> the

jake?brera, thank you so much. >>> coming up, democrats one by one saying that they don't agree with the president with the v.a. secretary keeping his job. are they worried that the scandal could cost them their jobs? >>> plus, he was just cut from the team. some are wondering whether landon donovan's dismissal from the world cup team is part of a personal van debt ta. you, my friend are a master of diversification. who would have thought three cheese lasagna would go with chocolate cake and ceviche? the same guy who thought that small caps and bond funds would go with a merging markets. it's a masterpiece. thanks. clearly you are type e. you made it phil. welcome home. now what's our strategy with the fondue? diversifying your portfolio? e*trade gives you the tools and resources to get it right. are you type e*? when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. adv

jake? >> pamela brown, thank you so much. many are going to focus on this killer and why he did what he did and, of course, that is what somebody like him would want. we try to keep focus on the victim, such as 20-year-old weihan wang and george chen and cheng yuan hong when he attacked them as they slept. >>> and then the horror moved to the sorry sisters, katherine cooper, who went by katie for short and veronika weiss. she was a math whiz. the final victim was christopher martinez. he was shot dead at a deli. he was reportedly preparing for a year of studying abroad in london. the father of christopher martinez showed his anger and agony to the nation, blaming not just the man who killed his son but those who represent the rights of gun owners. let's bring in our own kyung lah who is live in isla vista, california. what did the father tell you? >> reporter: he said that this sort of pain is unimaginable. this was his only child who he lost. and he says he is filled with rage. he says he

>> well, jake, thank you for having me. these folks will be there mainly to support the aircraft that will be flown out of chad to conduct these reconnaissance flights out of nigeria and chad. these are folks to maintain the aircraft, and the data and imagery that comes off the aircraft. but they're support personnel. because they have to be armed for their own security that called on the president to help. >>> why chad and nigeria, not cameroon? >> well, we have a great relationship with them. chad is a great location in the area in which we're going to be looking in. roughly about the area of west virginia. and it doesn't just include nigeria but other countries. and so just geographically, chad is a great location to do this from. >> how long do we expect the forces to stay and help in the search? and do we have any idea when this mission will start? >> they have already started deploying to chad. they are already there. >> all 80 are there, sir? >> well, i don't know about all 80. you know, we're just working our way th

jake? >> barbara starr, thank you so much. >>> earlier, as you know, i spoke to the former head of the cia and the national security agency, general michael hayden, he applauded the obama administration's efforts to get involved in hunt for boko haram but cautioned this could put another target on america's back. >> there's acost, all right? you've got this al qaeda franchise movement from pakistan to west africa. pakistan, afghanistan, those al qaeda guys are committed against the far enemy, you and me. boko haram is not. boko haram is local. and now we're making a choice, i think it's right, but it carries consequences. we are putting an american face on opposition to boko haram. an organization that doesn't target americans yet. we may accelerate that process because of what we've done. again, i think it's right thing to do. but i can see why we had been hesitant to do it up until now. >> can boko haram strike us here in the u.s. or are you concerned about american targets in africa? >>

>> look, i'm with you, jake.fundamentally he's messing as a society, an economy, and political entity. i would think that he's already crossed any reasonable line. what i wasn't privy to are the details between the exchange of the american president and his german counterpart. what we also don't know and what i think we should be looking at is not simply what kind of sanctions would be introduced but whether the europeans fully support them. are the europeans prepared to begin a process of reducing their energy dependence on russia, which over time could be at least as important? what steps are the europeans willing to take within nato and their own defense spending. so there's a whole number of steps of which sanctions towards russia is simply one of them. >> merkel has been viewed as the only european leader that putin would consider listening to but a month ago, do you think she still has sway with putin? >> germany is the most important economy from russia's point of view and also the most important country i

jake? >> alison, you and i talk a lot about how while the stock market continues to go up and up, average americans are not seeing the impact when they look at their checking accounts. there might be good news on that front today. >> we can only hope. what economists are saying lately, jake, is that this year -- this could be your year for your paycheck to get bigger. the thinking is that as the unemployment rate falls, the pool of perspective workers is going to get smaller. that's going to push employers to give fatter raises. some say the increases will start to push around 3%. but that's only after wages -- they haven't budged for a while. look at this. over the last month, average hourly earnings rose less than 2%. that's not a lot. it's been stuck in that range since 2009. it's not been going anywhere. part of the problem with this is that many jobs that have been available have been low wage jobs. economists are also saying, as we see the economy pick up steam, so will pay hikes. >>

jake? >> where does this offensive go next? >> reporter: the offensive, i think the fear is in the days ahead they may move more convincingly. they have to have something to show in the past few days and they were not in the building. there's a very strong pro-russian militant force in the middle of that and there's a timetable, may 11th, they want a referendum and really that's a euphamism for joining russia or staying with ukraine. on the 25th of may, presidential elections. we have a lot of political maneuvering here but on the ground the violence is getting intense daily and i think people are very worried, really, as to whether any presidential elections occur. >> nick paton walsh, stay safe, my friend. there have been sanctions on russia and sanctions on russia but a group of republican senators say it's high time the u.s. did more, such as sending weapons to bolster the ukrainian forces. senator bob corker of tennessee sponsors a bill. he joins me now. senator, good to see you. micha

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." >> no one should be treated this way in a country as great as ours. >> practices of intimidation and coverups has to change. >> the national lead. a national disgrace. the v.a. secretary getting an earful from both sides over absurd and deadly wait times first reported by cnn. does the white house trust shinseki to make it right? do you? >>> also, they are not just fires. they are potential crime scenes. there is suspicion that the fires burns around san diego are no accident. >>> and yet, also, another confirmed deadly virus. can officials contain it before it becomes a pandemic. good afternoon, everyone. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. at this hour we're keeping a very close eye on the massive fires burning in the san diego area. tens of thousands of area citizens evacuated, hundreds of structures in peril. the images, just insane. we'll go live to california in just a moment. but first, it is nothing short of a scandal. our nation promised them health ca

i'm jake tapper. the politics lead. as bad as we thought it was, turns out it was even worse. the watchdog for the veteran affairs department released a scathing preliminary report follows up on a story that cnn first broke about excessive wait times, even secret waiting lists and coverups at phoenix v.a. hospital. just so happened to surface today, the very day that president obama spoke to the next generation of men and women officers who could serve on the front lines. cnn's senior investigative correspondent drew griffin broke the story of the scandal at phoenix v.a. and he joins us now. what is in the report? >> let's start with what's in the report about phoenix. the office of inspector general identifies additional 1,700 veterans waiting for primary care appointments but not on any electronic waiting list, they weren't on any list that would get them an appointment with the doctor. a sampling over 200 phoenix veterans, just a sampling, the administration was reporting that those 200 had been wa

jake? >> dana bash, thank you very much.back, a new report, finally released by malaysia airlines nearly two months after flight 370 vanished. it's raising questions about the initial response. why did it take four hours for an official rescue operation to be activated? >>> plus, the underwater search expands again. i'll ask the australian ambassador to the u.s. about the next phase of the search. that's coming up, next. ndred and seventy-seven thousand dollars per minute. that's what big oil made last year... now they're spending it to rig the system against you. pushing washington to cut american-made biofuels... bullying gas stations to use more of their oil... all so they get richer...and you pay more. truth is, biofuels are cleaner, better for your engine and less expensive. washington, don't let big oil rig the system any more. protect the renewable fuel standard. ♪ no matter what kind of business you own, at&t business experts can help keep it running... seamlessly. so you can get back to what you love. when everyone

jake? >> athena jones, thank you so much. >>> the cdc is trying to assure travelers that the risk of mers is low for them but the virus has reached the white house. >> the cdc is monitoring the situation closely. it's something of a nature that would be briefed to the president and has been briefed to the president and our team is watching it very closely. >> our senior washington correspondent joe johns is standing by live at the white house. how big is the level of concern over mers in the obama administration? >> i think you really hit it there, jake. the concern about mers has now reached the highest levels of the government. this has been on the front burner for quite some time. many federal agencies, homeland security, health and human services, the centers for disease control, the national security council. but now at the point where the president himself is getting briefed, despite a low number of cases in the united states, a handful of people and protected, this is being seen as a

i'm jake tapper. the "closing bell" is ringing. now on to our world lead, you could fit the size of the u.s. response to the nigeria kidnappings on a city bus and still have plenty of seats left. about 11 military personnel from the u.s./africa command are on the ground. more are expected tomorrow. no shadowy figures with a very particular set of skills, at least not publicly or officially. the u.s. appears to be in advisory mode. president obama at an event last night seemed to lament, they can't snap their fingers and get these girls home. >> when there are times in which i want to reach out and save those kids and having to think through what leverage, what power do we have at any given moment? i think drop by drop by drop that we can erode and drop down these forces that are so destructive, that we can tell a different story. >> the first lady also joining the international outcry to rescue these girls. she posted this photo on twitter last night with the message, our prayers are with the missing nigerian girls and their famili

jake tapper and gloria borger is with us. let's go to you jake first. spent a lot of time in afghanistan. you've written a book about fighting going on there. what do you make of it? >> it was interesting that he mistakenly referred to 98,000 troops being there at the beginning of next year as opposed to 9,800. because president obama is the president who tripled the number of u.s. troops in afghanistan. it was about 100,000. and according to conversations i've had with aides close to him, i don't think he would do that again today if he knew then what he knows now. he wouldn't have done that. he has come to believe that there are limits to what u.s. military force can do. the concern that many experts have, many in the military have, is not so much with afghan security. president obama said he was reassured after being in bagram over the weekend. it's the logistical support. this is not a sexy issue. but anytime you send 5,000 troops, you need 3,000 troops to support them, the resupply of ammunition, the medical and food. the concern that i heard, when

jakes! >> he says his success is due to his faith in god, the wisdom of good parents, intellect, and instinct. >> one of the things i've tried not to do throughout my life was to underestimate the challenges that were before me. >> bishop t.d. jakes, living beyond the dream. it's a good thing, we get to learn a lot from him. i really like what he was talking about, intellect and instinct. instinct pulls the trigger and how many times have we missed opportunities because we didn't act on instinct. >> it's true. and usually your first instinct is typically right. >> natural ability. >> go by your gut. >> yeah. >>> remember that controversial beef product known as pink slime? do you remember that? >> i do. >> all right. it might be back on your table. >> come on. >> yep. >>> and hitting the supermarket shelves near you, in fact. what exactly is pink slime? and should you be worried about serving it up at your barbecue? we are joined live with all of the answers. >>> and pope francis touring the

because they don't have other brick and mortar stores but that's where we see formula retail like jake spade and others fall through the cracks it's typical i hope to see some variations it is a real problem that we don't necessarily address i agree >> thank you, commissioner for the question one of the issues it's to complicated we not seen any proposed language from my elected official that captures the jake spade with the initial definition the parent companies need to be naeflts established retail so in the example ms. burns gave the brick and mortgage stores a- that the owner company if you have more than 50 percent ownership if you're a formula retail then everything you own is formula retail that's whether or not it's at&t's an individual they're not formula retail if they're a holding company and own a lot of affiliate retails then you are. one last thing not mentions is that then if we do have the definition that could change as the ownership structure changes then we're evaluating a formula retail establishment and looking at the concentration of other formula retailers in th

what jake's company is doing is he is filling that gap.illion jobs open in this country. jake's company whether it is in person or online can help people who are self-motivated to build the career skills. >> do you see one particular hole that gives your company a reason to be? >> when we started, we started as a community based in new york city around the tech community in new york. we have seen that combination of truly secular trends with the cyclical upturn in this sort of general public fascination with technology and startups. a lot of the jobs that were available for young people even 10 years ago whether it was financed going through training ranks have really shifted in nature. there is an explosion in opportunity to work with smaller shops and consultants, and to join these companies that are on the cutting edge of building what is going to be the 21st-century economy. >> jake, this is dan. you start with in person training. now you're utilizing the technology and your training people to expand into a much larger reach and making

>> you're speaking to jake rush. >> that was a great character name. >> that's my real name. >> jakeh woke early one morning, he didn't know why there was blood on his sheets, all he knew, there was a dead woman in bed with him. what happens next what happens next? >> hopefully he gets out the vote, gets people motivated to come out. >> what a mismatch of minds there. anyway. rush says -- that's rush there, says being ohm about his vampire role playing helps him focus on privacy rights, and personal freedom. that's "hardball" for now. coming up next, "your business" with j.j. ramberg. at delta we're investing billions of dollars, improving everything from booking to baggage claim. we're raising the bar on flying and tomorrow we'll raise it yet again. little things, anyone can do. it steals your memories. your independence. insures support. a breakthrough. and sooner than you'd like... ...sooner than you think. ...you die from alzheimer's disease. ...we cure alzheimer's disease. every little click, call, or donation adds up to something big. alzheimer's association. the brains behind

i'm jake tapper. in our national lead, you know what they say about arizona, it's a dry heat but it's way too dry right now. dangerous drought conditions leaving the area between sedona and flagstaff as kindling for a wildfire burning at an alarming rate. it was 450 acres and today it is more than ten times that size. burning near slide rock state park. the fire is threatening 300 structures. we're talking mainly homes and vacation homes. thousands have been evacuated. more than 800 firefighters are making a stand against the flames but officials say the fire is 0% contained at this point. 0%. the team includes 15 of those elite hotshot wildfire crews. this comes less than a year after a wildfire near yarnell killed all but one member of the granite mountain hot shots. two cities that attract a lot of visitors during the summer season which unofficially kicks off during this memorial weekend. heavy smoke may be drifting north into flagstaff. that's where ana cabrera is standing by live for us. >> repo

>> you're speaking to jake rush. >> that was a great character name. >> that's my real name. >> jake rush woke early one morning, he didn't know why there was blood on his sheets, all he knew, there was a dead woman in bed with him. what happens next what happens next? >> hopefully he gets out the vote, gets people motivated to come out. >> what a mishmash of minds there. rush says -- he says being open about his vampire role helps him focus on privacy rights and personal freedom. that's "hard ball"for now. up next "your business." because beautiful skin goes with everything. [ female announcer ] aveeno® daily moisturizing lotion has active naturals® oat with five vital nutrients naturally found in healthy skin. where do i wear aveeno®? everywhere. aveeno® daily moisturizing lotion.. and try the body wash too. aveeno®. naturally beautiful results™. >>> looking around in hamilton, missouri, you might think this is a sleepy little town but you'd be wrong. find out how they're resurrecting themselves. find out next on "your business." >>> small businesses are revitalizing the economy an

an i think this is jake. it may be billy. but we're -- i'm almost 100% sure it's jake.elter we call them the book-end boys or the twogs for twin dogs, but they're adorable. still puppies. just under a year. >> okay. >> they're neutered and current on their vaccines and ready for a forever home. >> looks like a little terrier perhaps. >> absolutely. >> really cute. >> he is very cute and they both for terriers have mellow personalities, get along great with other dogs, don't mind cats. we think they would be great for any family. >> awesome. >> jake told me he's the happenedsome, nice -- handsome nicer brother. billy told me the same thing. we hope you find a forever home. you are cute. exactly what a dog is supposed to look like in my brain. find out more about jake and billy on our website -- on the pets in need website, pets in need.org. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> well, we know she can hit, but how is her curveball? talking about tara the hero cat. she tackled a dog after it bit this boy's leg managing to chase the dog away. so brave and incredible her strorl we

>> they're firing back at the u.s., jake. just to put in in context, a war of words between the u.s. and china on this issue for awhile. now, the u.s. is putting the gauntlet down with the indictment. the chinese government is lashing out with the foreign ministry spokesman calling the accusations absurd and fictitious. he said china is the real victim of being spied on. there's a lot of finger-point g ing going on. the u.s. says five military officials from the people's liberation army were spying on six u.s. companies. draining the u.s. economy of billions of dollars and putting people out of jobs. eric holder is calling on china to cooperate. >> it's our hope that the chinese government will respect our criminal jus sis system and let the case proceed as it should, let justice take its course. we expect, hope that the chinese government will work with us in connection with this and bring the indicted men to justice. we continue to be vigilant. >> speaking with a lot of people, jake, on the idea that these men will be broug

jake?u so much. >>> coming up, he might be best known for his role in an '80s classic, but it was one of ben stein's first memories that puts him front and centers. i'm talk to his memories of the '60s. (woman) the constipation and belly pain feel like a knot. how can i ease this pain? (man) when i can't go, it's like bricks piling up. i wish i could find some relief. (announcer) ask your doctor about linzess-- a once-daily capsule for adults with ibs with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation. linzess is thought to help calm pain-sensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. it helps you proactively manage your symptoms. do not give linzess to children under 6, and it should not be given to children 6 to 17. it may harm them. don't take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain especially with bloody or black stools the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe, stop taking linzess and call

jakes. his message, follow your instincts. >> instincts will always pull the trigger. >> and the unidentified remains of a 9/11 terror attacks on the world trade center are taken to their final resting place. >> more than 12 years after the attacks on 9/11, the unidentified remains of 1,115 victims made their way back to ground zero, meang closure to some families, next. with diabetes, it's tough to keep life balanced. i don't always have time to eat like i should. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [male announcer] glucerna... i quit smoking with chantix. before chantix, i tried to quit... probably about five times. it was different than the other times i tried to quit. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it's a non-nicotine pill. chantix reduced my urge to smoke. that helped me quit smoking. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depresse

jake tapper. this is the lead. 17 countries, make that 18 countries now, all with confirmed cases of middle east respiratory syndrome, including the u.s. everything you need to know about the deadly spreading virus that has no vaccine. >>> the politics lead. >> first they said she faked her concussion. now they say she's auditions for a part on "the walking dead." >> bill clinton defending his wife from insinuations, false one, about her health. the couple returning to washington with dreams of reigning over it again. not if our guest rick santorum has anything to say about it. >>> for 46 years, the hunt for the zodiac killer continued. now one man says he found the killer in his own family tree. we'll ask 1 of 2 people to survive the zodiac, does he buy it? >>> you're looking at live pictures from outside the san diego area. more than 11,000 people have been evacuated so far because of these fires. 350 firefighters out in force. according to authorities, 1500 acres have been scorched outside the

how is jake? >> jake is doing okay.s struggling with pneumonia from flu he caught and was admitted on sunday but he seems to be progressing in the right direction. >> all right. let's talk about him. jake is 3 years old and suffers from spinal muscular atrophy. tell us about his struggle with the disease and his prognosis. >> sure. he was diagnosed when he was roughly six months old. he's got type 2 which is he's able to sit but not stand or walk. he's, you know, he's a wonderful boy and his prognosis is the -- there's no treatment for it right now. there's a lot of clinical trials and potential in regards to it but there's really just a matter of being taken care of for him. there's no -- in terms of his development, there's a certain level he'll plateau which i think is probably pretty close to where he's at now and that's about the level of ability that he will have. >> are there drugs though which exist right now but which don't have fda approval that could potentially help your son? >> yeah, absolutely. i mean ther

jim and barbara, jake, thank you. to you, drew, once again, i'll say it early and often, you're the reason we all come to work every day, the kind of work you've been doing for over a year now to uncover this and to start this ball rolling makes us very proud. thank you to you, all of you, but drew griffin in particular. i want to bring in the republican representative from indiana. she was the first member of congress to call for the resignation of shinseki. congresswoman, is this enough, are you satisfied, or is this the tip of the iceberg? >> this is the tip of the iceberg. i am grateful. i've said it before, general shinseki is an honorable man. but it's time. one of the reasons i was one of the first people to call for his resignation, it's time to get to the bottom of what's happening with the va. think it's a great stuff forward. i agree with the president. this is systemic. i think when the nation, and i think the american people and the rest of congress and the senate found out this was systemic, you know, th

jake from state farm at three in the morning. who is this? it's jake from state farm.at are you wearing, jake from state farm? [ jake ] uh... khakis. she sounds hideous. well she's a guy, so... [ male announcer ] another reason more people stay with state farm. get to a better state. ♪ get to a better state. man: we know when parents and teachers work together... woman: our schools get stronger. man: as superintendent of public education, that's been tom torlakson's approach. woman: torlakson has supported legislation to guarantee spending decisions about our education tax dollars are made by parents, teachers and the local community... and not by sacramento politicians. and we need to keep that legislation on track. man: so tell tom torlakson to keep fighting for local control of school funding decisions. sfloo pretty significant news. shelly sterling is claiming that she's co-owner of the clippers. the clippers beat the golden state warriors, by the way, in game seven not being distracted by all of this. last night they advanced to the western conference semifinals.

jake, tonight still 12,000 people are out of their homes. the big concern is this escondido fire and the winds that have kicked up. >> ted rollins stay safe. fortunes are shifting with the winds in carlsbad, california. 48 hours ago the sky in carlsbad was orange with smoke and flames looking like mass godzilla leaves behind. today it seems as though things are starting to look up for the community. i'm joined now on the phone by carlsbad mayor matt hall. i know it's been a crazy week four. at this point do you believe your firefighters have the fire completely contained? >> we're at 85%. any time you have conditions that we're in today, trying to get the hot spots out can sometimes take several days. so we weigh in on the side of caution and we still have people out in the area, you know, looking at some of these places that are still smoldering. >> what's the status on the evacuation order. has it been lifted for everyone in your town? >> it's been lifted for everyone. there's some areas where the most damage was done where we're still hav

jake spades those are companies that have resources that go through a conditional use progress and the community should be mravrpt. furthermore, we believe it's a benefit to the business for them to engage in their local community they can learn more information by reaching out to the organizations. and hate ashbury association is actually, we do the holiday lights and engaging in the process all the people volunteering their effort and energy and resources are the local businesses. we feel that again, it must be a fair and level playing field we'll request that when you are formulating further review of the dings the subsidies do be included as well as planned locations. thank you very much >> thank you. next speaker. on this side of the room. >> hello, i'm kyle. i'm a resident of the mission district and currently work for supervisor campos on his campaign for the assembly. i've been working in various capacities and i'm going to focus on what we don't agree with in the proposal but several not unappreciative. i learned one of my favorite institutions was being pushed out of their pl

that leaves jake worthington and josh kaufman. the winner of "the voice" is -- josh kaufman! wins it for team usher! >> look at usher. oh, wow! wow! >> with the kids and the family. >> he's got three little children. like 6, 4 and 2. they're real little ones. >> how awesome. they were all awesome. and we should reveal, because we don't really recall, we actually picked who we thought was going to win. and josh is actually on the show with us. >> this could be awkward. >> josh, we love you, josh. we love you. okay. that was mine. >> you called it. >> hoda picked jake. >> but let me tell you, josh, josh, if you're listening, the reason i picked jake, i actually thought you had the best voice, but i thought all the -- i did -- but i thought all the country music people were going to come vote like crazy. so my heart was with you, but i went with what i thought was the vote. now, you -- >> i did the same thing. >> -- did the same thing! >> i thought the country people were going to vote in droves. >> josh, can i tell you something? we've been rooting for you since the beginning w

you can see jake's entire interview with chuck hagel this afternoon on "the lead" at 4:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. >>> all right, this morning the va secretary and president obama expected to visit arlington national cemetery, where the president will lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns to mark memorial day, this a day after an unexpected trip to afghanistan, where the president saw the status of the withdrawal there firsthand, but he's promising troops will remain, even if in a limited role. white house correspondent michelle kosinski has more for us. >> reporter: well, the president didn't mention the va hospital scandal by name, but he did seem to touch on it when he emphasized to troops americans' sacred obligation, as he put it, to take care of wounded warriors. also, the president mentioned that this is really a pivotal time for u.s. involvement in afghanistan as well as foreign policy. he did mention that he hopes for a bilateral security agreement, and both of the presidential candidates in afghanistan who were involved in a runoff election right now have me

jake from state farm at three in the morning. who is this? it's jake from state farm. what are you wearing, jake from state farm? [ jake ] uh... khakis. she sounds hideous. well she's a guy, so... [ male announcer ] another reason more people stay with state farm. get to a better state. ♪ >>> most of the time i love it when companies make acquisitions in this environment, not just because you get a big instantaneous gain in the takeover target, but longer term these deals tend to be good for the stock of the buyer, too. not every acquisition is negativesly a winner. at&t overpaid for directv today. my view. more on that later. occasionally a smart deal might not be enough of a reason for you to buy the stock of an acquirer. let's talk sausage. consider what's happening with hillshire brands, company formerly known as sara lee. came out of the break-up a couple of years ago. the most meat-centric food brands, jimmy dean, hillshire farm, state fair. don't you love these? the old sara lee frozen bakery products, chef pierre piece. a week ago we learned that hillshire snap

ashley of "rock the body both" and jake policymakers. and environmental issues in general as a big wedge issue in the elections coming up? >> you know, i think that the environment is going to be a huge issue. young people care about protecting the environment right now, and rock the vote is really focused on making sure that we are out there making sure people are registered so they can have a voice on the issue, and that politicians are talking about it in what their positions are. >> jake, what have you seen in your research on this? is it something people care about? >> the two young women in the tape are millenials and they epit miz what we see. this is an issue that there's an incredible amount of controversy about where people don't know how to shake out. there's obviously environmental issues on stake and economic issues at stake, and that's another reason why politicians should be using social media to engage young people and stake out a position and tell us where we should fall in the line. >> ultimately no amount of engagement

and i give jake purina cat chow naturals. made with real chicken and salmon, anit's high in protein like aow cat's natural diet. and no added artificial flavors. we've come a long way. and whatever's ahead, we'll be there for each other. naturally. purina cat chow naturals. i'm taking off, but, uh, don't worry. i'm gonna leave the tv on for you. and if anything happens, don't forget about the new xfinity my account app. you can troubleshoot technical issues here. if you make an appointment, you can check out the status here. you can pay the bill, too. but don't worry about that right now. okay. how do i look? ♪ thanks. [ male announcer ] troubleshoot, manage appointments, and bill pay from your phone. introducing the xfinity my account app. >>> it was major news on fox news when major news surfaced on benghazi. for most of the mainstream media, not so much. that led to this denunciation by bill o'reilly when i was on the factor and to some scoffing at msnbc. >> athat failure by the national press to tell the american people t

the final three, team blake's jake worthington, team usher's josh kaufman and team adam's christina grimmie. >> okay. if you guys haven't seen it, we're about to tell you who you won. if you have, let's just enjoy the moment again together because it was a nail-biter.

jake from state farm at three in the morning. who is this? it's jake from state farm. wearing, jake from state farm? [ jake ] uh... khakis. she sounds hideous. well she's a guy, so... [ male announcer ] another reason more people stay with state farm. get to a better state. ♪ >>> and now for the way, way forward, giving you a major heads up about something coming up not this week or next week, but soon enough to start thinking about it. so who hasn't dreamed about be an astronaut? 705 people are applying for a shot to be the first humans to visit mars, but there's always a but, and that but is namely, they won't be coming back. 200,000 people applied for the mission. its sponsored by mars i, nonprofit that aims to blast off in a decade. cnn's jason carroll talked to six people about that one-way ticket to mars. >> forever is a very long time. and i'm wondering if psychologically you have really thought about the idea of possibly being there for the rest of your life. >> i, for one, personally would like to come back. i'm cautious about leaving that i have behind here a