brooke. >> ed lavandera, stay with me.ant colonel scott mann military adviser and also david rhode investigative reporter for reuters who was kidnapped and held by the taliban for a number of months. as we talk about desertion, this is as serious as you can get. you have to have proof that this individual left the base left the platoon never ever intending to return and a possible punishment. again, we have to let the justice system run its course but this could lead to death. how is this the news of these two charges. how is this sitting with you, sir? >> well you know i'm just trying to apply the same re restraint to it that most of our military men and women are as well. let the system work itself out. these are serious charges. they deal affect morale. but i think the smart thing to do right now as this plays out, especially in light of like president ghani, let the system work itself out. a fair process. >> david rohde, i know you're making note too, everything we've learned about sergeant bowe bergdahl even before he

let's go first to ed lavandera. he's live with so much to impact on this. i think as we await sort of news of any kind of disciplinary action let's begin with the possibilities. what are the options he could face? >> brooke i just hung up a phone call with the attorney for bowe bergdahl. and he tells me confirms to us that what the u.s. military will announce here at 3:30 eastern time is that bowe bergdahl has indeed been charged with two charges, desertion and misbehavior before the enemy and that his case is now being referred to an article 32 hearing which is the equivalent of a grand jury proceeding in the u.s. military court system. so bowe bergdahl apparently will face criminal charges. this according to his own attorney who was brief on these matters a short while ago. and we expect this to be the announcement here in a couple of hours from ft. bragg, income. >> that's huge that you just got off the attorney with those two criminal charges here which means they obviously have to have evidence in hand in order to bring these charges. hopefully we'll g

cnn's ed lavandera has more on the details of the investigation from ferguson. >> reporter: the report that's expected to be released by the justice department here in the united states will confirm what many residents here in ferguson, missouri have been saying for years, that the ferguson police department they say have been engaged in racial bias specifically targeting its african-american residents. we've gotten ahold of some of the preliminary statistics expected to be released in that report. here's a breakdown of what this report is expected to show. even the city is 67% black, 93% of the arrests involved african-americans during a two-year period. 90% of citations issued by police officers were given to african-americans. 85% of all vehicle stops by police involved african-americans. and any time a police officer here in the city of ferguson used force, 88% of those times it involved african-americans, as well. many community leaders here say this is a wakeup call throughout not just the city of ferguson but many of the other small cities in the st. louis area. they say this is

ed lavandera, ferguson missouri. >>> it's written in the bible it's better to give than receive.tor is asking his congregation to give him. it's more than the cloud. it's security - and flexibility. it's where great ideas and vital data are stored. with centurylink you get advanced technology solutions from a trusted it partner. including cloud and hosting services - all backed by an industry leading broadband network and people committed to helping you grow your business. you get a company that's more than just the sum of it's parts. centurylink. your link to what's next. will you help us find a house for you and your brother? ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ woooooah you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. zillow >>> northeastern australia has been dealing with heavy rain as a pesky cyclone circles the region. let's get more on tropical cyclone nathan. this nathan, it seems to be strengthening, and it's working its way towards queensland australia. >> it is. this storm system has been very little in the way of moving this region. and typically we've seen

ed lavandera is out front.from all the way across the country. what is he saying now in his defense defense? >> reporter: this is unexpected. we had a statement from the lawyer and the various documents beau derg call's attorney released including a 2 page decision in beau bergdahl's own words what happened in captivity. in the first three months, he was chained to a bedspread eagle and blindfolded tortured shackled and chained inside cages for months on end. some of the shackles causing severe wounds that never healed. at one point he writes i was kept in constant isolation during the entire five years with little to no understanding of time. i was told i was going to be executed. told i was never going to go back. told i was going to die there. he also talks about beau bergdahl made 12 attempts to escape. one of the significant ones came toward the end of the first year of his captivity. when he said he was able to be on the run for nine days. without food and only putrid water to drink, my body failed on top

ed lavandera, cnn, dallas. >>> a student who was expelled from the university of oklahoma for reciting chant at a fraternity party bus issued an apology. >> that's right. he and another member of the fraternity were kicked out of school after this video when viral a few weeks ago. in it, fraternity members hurled racial sures and refer to lynching. >> let me start by saying i'm sorry. deeply sorry. i'm so sorry for all the pain i've caused. i want you all to know that directly from me. although i don't deserve it, i want to ask for your forgiveness. there are no excuses for my behavior. i never thought of myself as a racist, and i never considered it a possibility. but the bottom line is the words that were said in that chant were mean, hateful, and racist. >> also, oklahoma, when we come back, twisters have reduced parts of the central u.s. to rubble. all the details in a few moments. stay with us. sure! i offer multi-car, safe driver, and so many other discounts that people think i'm a big deal. and boy, are they right. ladies, i can share hundreds in savings with all of you! just vi

ed lavandera, cnn, dallas. >>> at 3:30 p.m.more than an hour and a half or so from now, the pentagon will be making an announcement about his fate. will he be court-martialed, will he be relieved of duty? what will happen to bowe bergdahl. we'll have coverage of that announcement as far as sergeant beau bowe bergdahl is concerned. 3:30 p.m. that announcement will be made at ft. bragg. >>> the ceos of lufthansa and germanwings are getting ready to make some statements about what's going on in the investigation. by the way, we've just learn eded from the state department, jen about, s a psaki saying that another american on that doomed flight. we're getting information on this third american. let's take a quick break. much more on both of these developing stories right after this. >>> once again we're standing by for a news conference of the ceos of lufthansa and germanwings. they're getting ready to make a statement. we'll have live coverage here on cnn. in the meantime we're getting new information on those two so-called black

. >> ed lavandera is there live in port gibson mississippi. a news conference is coming up shortly.we learn there? >> reporter: this is expected to happen around 4:00 eastern time brooke. the local sheriff here in the town of port gibson, mississippi, where we are and federal and state investigators immediately called into the scene after the discovery of otis byrd's body was made thursday here just outside of port gibson. we were told by the sheriff earlier today that the autopsy was being done on mr. byrd's body and perhaps they would get clues and clearer indication as to whether or not the folks here are dealing with a murder investigation or if otis byrd took his own life. he was last seen on march 2nd. on march 8th, his family officially reported him missing and a search team was going through the wooded area behind the home where he lived outside of port gibson when they made the discovery of his body hanging from a tree. we were able to get to that location earlier today you really have to work to get there. incredibly dense area to get to the location where mr. byrd's body

we will go if ferguson and ed lavandera is there, and also e e evan perez is in washington for us if this evening. and evan walk us through the details of the justice department finding. >> el well, don, there is stark findings from the the justice department investigation. you just hit just a few of the high points, but or rather the low point, right? but this is the department according to the justice department investigation was using traffic stops, jail sentences, and targeting african-americans routinely for very minor offenses and they went p beyond the ferguson police department accord ing to the justice department investigation, the ferguson municipal court system was also used to essentially raise the money off of the backs of african-americans, and low income people in that area, and hi will give you one quick statistic that we expect to hear more of when the justice department releases the findings but according to the justice department 21,000 people who lifve in ferguson, 16,000 people who have outstanding arrest warrants and most of these are for very minor offenses lik

cnn's ed lavandera joins me now live from ferguson. ed, thanks for joining us.this report to be released publicly tomorrow. what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, these findings, the reaction, it has been the kind of thing many ferguson residents have been talking about and saying, we told you so. this is what the disruption here was all about the past few months. let's point out some of the details. this was taken from documents over a two year period and showed that 93% of all arrests by the ferguson department involved african-americans. 90% of police citations were issued to african-americans. 85% of all vehicle stops involved african-americans. and any time a ferguson police officer used force, 88% of those times involved african-americans and these are exactly the things we heard by residents in ferguson. they said they were fed up with, had taken a toll after years and years, jake. >> we should point out the population of ferguson missouri is about 67% african-american. those numbers much higher than that. ed, legally, what's next for the ferguson polic

ed lavandera reporting live from ferguson. >>> stay with us this morning because at 11:00 eastern we'll have live coverage of me i can call brown's parents and their reaction to this justice department report. >>> a knife attack of justice. north korea praises a gruesome attack on the u.s. ambassador to south korea, mark lippert. this was the scene earlier in the capitol city of soule. authorities say this man, a 55-year-old north korean sympathizer, ran up to the ambassador screaming anti-american sentiments and then slashed him with a 10 inch knife. officials believe the suspect was protesting current joint south korea/u.s. military drills. plus this new information shows the suspect leaving his home and arriving at the venue moments before the attack. this morning the american ambassador is in good condition. surgeons say if the injuries had been any deeper they could have been life threatening. andrew stevens is live in hong kong with more. >> reporter: yeah carol, 80 stitches and that was just in the facial wound alone on the right side of the face there. he also suffered deep cuts

let's get the latest from cnn's ed lavandera.ed. >> reporter: christine and john, the report expected to be released by the justice department today confirms what many residents here in ferguson say that they have known for quite some time. the accusations that the ferguson police department has been involved in widespread racial bias for years. some of the statistics expected to be released in this report include showing that during a two-year period, even though the city of ferguson is 67% black, it found -- the report found that 93% of all arrests involved african-americans. 90% of traffic citations were issued by police officers were given to african-americans. 85% of all vehicle stops involved african-americans. and at any time a ferguson police officer used force, 88% of those times, it involved african-americans. and many leaders here say that what they hope this will do is send a message throughout st. louis county and other cities like ferguson here in the area. many community leaders here say that this is not just confi

ed lavandera cnn, ferguson, missouri. >> as a black woman myself i was extremely offended by some of those racist e-mails. >> i can imagine. i think most people were offended regardless. >> it was just horrific what they were saying. >>> this winter has been unrelenting in the united states. and guess what? another storm is on the way. it just never seems to end. this one could bring a bit of everything depending on where you live. we are talking heavy snow ice, rain and maybe some flooding as well. >> everything that isn't good. the front is moving slowly. it will extend some 2,000 miles and 90 million americans are under a weather, warning, watch, advisory. eric vandam -- derek vandam. >> nice to meet you, john. >> i'm going to washington, d.c. tomorrow. >> you might want to double-check your flight. this will be impacting people all along the east coast. we have three cities with the potential of breaking the snowiest storm for the winter season. >> you sound like a broken record. >> let's take a look at the graphics. the nation's capital, washington, d.c. louisville kentucky and

ed lavandera, ferguson missouri. >>> well from one extreme to the other.e united states which were just buried in snow announcing record-breaking heat. >> many states have some unusually warm weather now especially in the central part of the united states which is setting records for the month of march. >> march is a wild month for weather and here's our wild meteorologist pedram javaheri to tell us about it. >> it's melting pretty rapidly, and these are remarkable temperatures. we're going from a very cool winter. and in parts of the country now temperatures going well into summer-like readings. so we'll show you what's happening as far as the summer-like temps. north platte nebraska nearly 40 degrees fahrenheit above what is considered normal for this time of year. 91 degrees. records date back to the 1870s. they've never had a temperature this hot in the winter season. sioux city iowa 90. but you see the perspective, when it's warmer in kansas city than miami, you know things are toasty. that was the scene across the united states. as of march 1st we ha

let's go now to cnn's ed lavandera in mississippi. he joins us with the latest. what are you learning ed? >> reporter: well investigators here in claiborne county mississippi, brianna, are still trying to figure out, as you say, whether or not the case of owe the at this time byrd is a case of murder or was it suicide. the sheriff here in claiborne county said bird's body was discovered in a wooded area. he described what investigators and search teams found when they arrived on the scene yesterday. >> a wooded area about a quarter mile down in the woods. it was near an area where someone had been. we got down there and see a man had a rope tied around his neck. >> reporter: brianna, he was found about 500 yards away in a wooded area from where he lives here in claiborne county. now otis byrd 54 years old, was last seen on march 2nd. family members reported him officially missing on march 8th. so it's been about 2 1/2 weeks and obviously the time line he was last seen going into a casino in vicksburg, mississippi. that's a 45 minute ride from fort gibson mississi

ed lavandera has the latest. >> reporter: the gunfire set off a frenzy of fear just outside the fergusondepartment. now prosecutors say jeffrey williams admits he fired the shots that wounded two police officers during protests last week. but the 20-year-old insists he wasn't aiming at officers. prosecutors say williams might have been shooting at someone else in the crowd. but williams' attorney tells cnn police have arrested the wrong person. >> any statements that he made i'm not confident that those were voluntary statements. one thing that i can be clear, from my conversation with him, was that this was no police ambush. as it was stated earlier. there was no intent of any to target out any police. and that he's not part of the protest community. >> reporter: but prosecutors say they found a 40 caliber handgun inside williams' home that matched shell casings found at the shooting scene. he's been charged with first-degree assault and three counts of armed criminal activity. williams was already on probation on a charge of receiving stolen property. the st. louis county prosecutor is

cnn's ed lavandera has the latest.orter: you know chris, many of the anecdotal stories that are talked about in this length ri reporty report issued by the department of justice many citizens say they relate to extremely well. months after racially charged protests in ferguson a new justice department report is exposing the ugly and pervasive culture of racism that ignited the unrest. >> our view of the evidence found no, no alternative explanation for the disproportionate impact on african-american residents other than implicit and explicit racial bias. >> reporter: the justice department's report reveals a pattern of practice of racial discrimination of african-americans by ferguson police and municipal court employees. it's filled with specific cases and shocking racially offensive e-mails targeting the president and first lady. one e-mail depicts president obama as a chimpanzee. another includes a photo of a group of bare chested women dancing in what appears to be africa with a caption that reads michelle obama's