nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: president obama spoke at the base where seal team 6 took off to kill osama bin laden on the president's orders. >> the goal i set to defeat act and deny it a chance to rebuild is within our reach. >> reporter: he met with troops and gave them credit along with his drone campaign for killing 20 of bin laden's top 30 commanders. >> we have been able to decimate the ranks of al qaeda, and a year ago we were able to finally bring osama bin laden to justice. >> reporter: the president had flown to afghanistan secretly overnight. to sign a new 10 year treaty with afghan president karzei. u.s. forces will focus only on the fight against what is left of al qaeda. critics see it as an election year photo-op, a victory lap on an anniversary that off to have been off limits to politics. >> we have a clear path to fulfill our mission to afghanistan while drivering justice to act. >>> the president sees it as a promise kept, a second war ending on his watch. steve handelsman, nbc news at the white house. >>> tonight, don't miss an hour long special edit

nbc's steve handelsman has the story. >> reporter: the full body scanners probably would have picked up the latest al qaeda bomb. >> i think, all things considered, yes, in high likelihood it would have been detected. >> reporter: the fbi is analyzing the device. the next version of the underwear bomb that fizzled in 2009 worn by al qaeda terrorist, umar farouk abdulmutallab. >> they are adapting and we see just between the last underwear bomb and this one increase in the sophistication of the device they are using. >> reporter: the cia is adapting in yemen, scoring a huge coup, where al qaeda is the most active. >> we don't have to worry about the ied or would-be bomber. >> reporter: >> reporter: sources say the bomber was never a worry. infiltrating al qaeda would be a breakthrough. >> this is time we have been trying to do a long time, these methods of collecting intelligence are the crown jewels of disrupting the plots. >> reporter: the same source helped target a u.s. drone. officials tell nbc news, that killed the head of al qaeda on sunday. administration officials are feeling

steve handelsman has details. >> reporter: at the white house, the president lunched with congressional leaders to avoid a repeat of last summer's fight that trashed the nation's credit rating. barack obama versus john boehner, on spending cuts and tax hikes. they failed to make a grand bargain, and their short term deals expire in december president obama would vow no down to the wire talks this fall. right now he wants tax cuts for small businesses, that hire more workers, saying the recovery can't wait. >> one of the ways we can sustain momentum is for congress to take some actions right now, even though it's election season. even though there is gridlock, partisanship. >> a clear election move countered by boehner who like the hogies but not the program that would increase the deficit. >> where is the president's plan to tackle our looming debt crisis? >> reporter: in florida, mitt romney agreed, small business needs help. but. >> you don't raise taxes on them like the president is proposing, you lower the marginal rate. >> reporter: joe biden fired back, the democrat's plan to hike

steve handelsman reports from washington. >> reporter: on a bbc, barack obama became the first sitting president to back gay marriage. he came to realize that wasn't enough for same sex couples that he and his family know. >> members of my own staff who are incredibly committed, monogomous relationships, same sex relationships, raising kids together. malia and sasha have friends whose parents are same sex couples. >> reporter: gay activists are applauding. >> great deal of hope and inspiration to same sex couples across the country who genuinely struggle. >> reporter: gay marriage is an emotional issue and not necessarily a winning one for obama-biden. >> this is potential big wedge issue in the african american community, works class whites. this is an issue that will mobilize the evangelical and conservative vote. >> reporter: voters in the swing state of north carolina overwhelmingly passed a measure to ban gay marriage and civil unions. mitt romney said his position has not changed. >> i pointed out i'm in favor of traditional marriage between a man and woman and don't favor civil

steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: u.s. officials say no passengers or u.s. bound airliners were ever in danger. they say they foiled the plot before a suicide bomber could buy his ticket. and officials say the fbi has the bomb from yemen in its labs for testing. they say it's the next generation of the underwear bomb that fizzled, burning confessed al qaeda operative umar abdulmutallab on a flight into detroit christmas day 2009. the bomb was nonmetallic, designed to pass through undetected through security, proof that al qaeda is still targeting air travel and yemen is home to al qaeda's most active organization. >> this country has to continue to remain vigilant against those that would seek to attack this country. and we will do everything necessary to keep america safe. >> reporter: on sunday u.s. officials say an american drone like this one killed al qaeda's top commander in yemen. fahd al quso, they say, had intimate knowledge of the new bomb plot. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> after weeks of negotiation including an hour-long, face-

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> nbc news has learned and viewed two medical reports that may tell two different stories about february shooting death of florida teen trayvon martin by neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman. nbc's correspondent michael isikoff reports from sanford, florida. >> reporter: trayvon martin died from a single bullet wound to the chest, fired from a gun at intermediate range, according to an autopsy report prepared by a medical examiner and reviewed by nbc news. there was one other fresh injury on martin's body, according to the report. an abrasion, no more than a quarter inch in size to the left ring finger below the knuckle. as for the man with whom he struggled that night, now charged with his death, george zimmerman, he too suffered injuries according to a separate medical report prepared by his family doctor the day after the shooting. that report also reviewed by nbc news, states that zimmerman had a likely broken nose, as well as swelling, black eyes, and scalp lacerations. but there were no sutures needed. these reports are only a

>> from washington, anaheim steve handelsman -- from washington, i'm steve handelsman, wbal-tv 11 news >> friday's economic news sent stocks plunging. the dow jones industrials fell, the s&p 500 slipped 22 points. reports show some investors feel the lack in jobs is a sure sign of a weakening economy. >> the cessna 48 collected their lottery win. a group of 48 philadelphia transit workers that pooled their money and won $178 million in the lottery. each employee has a story to tell, but one is particularly touching. >> six years ago i battled and beat an aggressive stage 3 breast cancer. on january 10 of this year, i was undergoing heart surgery to remove a mass inside my chest. 16 depaze later i won the lottery. >> that will help her with those medical bills. >> each will receive $6.2 million after taxes. >> where you -- >> the bad news, expect to pay more at the aquarium. the good news, it will trickle down to more time spent with the dolphins. >> good morning. we look at our live h.d. doppler radar. we have of some sprinkles overnight. most rain is tied up in west virginia into kent

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news at the white house. >> mitt romney praised president oi obama. romney said it is appropriate for the president to take credit, but he says the president should not use the terrorist death as a political issue.ed a new york firehouse, that lost men in the september 11 attacks. >>> campaign controversy for mitt romney. top adviser for the gop candidate is off the job two weeks after he was hired. wendy. [ no audio ] >> reporter: he can't go on his personal life has become a distraction. he was hired as an adviser. he is openly game. conservative supporters took issue. he is taking more heat for some crude comments he tweeted about the appearance of prominent women. those women included newt gingrich's wife calista and secretary of state hillary clinton. the tweets were before his hiring. and have since been deleted. still, he feels the damage is done. and in a statement to "the washington post" he writes -- my ability to speak clearly and forcefully on the issues has been greatly diminished by the hyperpartisan discussion of personal issues that so

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> elsewhere, nbc news has viewed two medical reports that may tell two different stories about february's shooting death of florida teen trayvon martin by neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman. nbc's national investigative correspondent michael isikoff reports from sanford, florida. >> reporter: florida teenager trayvon martin died from a single bullet wound to his chest, fired from a gun at intermediate range, according to an autopsy report prepared by a medical examiner and reviewed by nbc news. there is one other fresh injury on martin's body, according to the report, an abrasion no more than a quarter of an inch in size to his left ring finger below the knuckle. as for the man with whom he struggled that night and is now charged with his death, george zimmerman, he, too, suffered injuries, according to a separate medical report prepared by his family doctor the day after the shooting. that report, also reviewed by nbc news, states that zimmerman had a "likely broken nose" as well as "swelling," "black eyes" and "scalp lacerations

nbc's steve handelsman has details. >> reporter: at the white house, the president lunched with congressional leaders to avoid a repeat of last summer's fights that trashed the nation's credit rating. barack obama versus john boehner on spending cuts and tax hikes. they failed to make a grand bargain, and their short-term deals expire in december. buying hogies to serve at talks, president obama would vow no down-to-the-wire talks this fall. right now, he wants tax cuts for small businesses that hire more workers, saying the recovery can't wait. >> and one of the ways that we can sustain momentum is for congress to take some actions right now, even though it's election season, even though there's gridlock, even though there's partisanship. >> reporter: a clear election move by the president. countered by house speaker boehner, who liked the hogies but not the call for another program that would increase the deficit. >> where's the president's plan to tackle our looming debt crisis? >> reporter: in florida, mitt romney agreed, small business needs help, but -- >> you don't raise taxes on them

when the white house said you can report it, then it was confirmed. >> steve handelsman at the white house, thank you, steve. >>> occupy protesters are out in full force today. demonstrators taking to the streets to mark may day. here in d.c. may met up with union groups for a rally at meridian hill park this afternoon. they're calling for a day without the 99%. they want people to skip school and work and not take part in any sort of business to boycott all commerce. one protester spray painted the words "foreclosed" on a bank of america branch downtown. the may day group plans to march to the white house this evening. >>> may day marchers were not so tame in other cities. in chicago they blocked a bank. in oakland, california, protesters pounded on bank windows. police used tear gas and tasers to subdue the crowds. dozens of arrests were reported. up in new york city protesters confronted police in riot gear in front of the bank of america in manhattan. letters containing a white powder were sent to banks in new york. they included a note which said happy may day. this is a reminder

shows a slump for the second month in a row. 11 news reporter steve handelsman explains.the mostly bad news broke, president obama tried a positive spin. >> our economy created 130,000 private sector jobs in april. >> only 115,000 new jobs were created. that was beneath what it was expected top. >> romney is right on the april jobs number and on the problem. the unemployment rate dropped .10 of a point to 8.1 not because more people got hired. more americans gave up looking for jobs. they weren't counted. but some of them retired. and some economists see solid job gains just ahead. >> it would not be at all surprising if unemployment were definitively below 8% by the end of the year. >> with that number over 8, nos u.s. president running for re-election has ever won. barack obama knows it. >> there are still a lot of folks out of work, which means we have to do more. >> mitt romney knows it. >> this is a time when america wants to have someone who knows what it takes to create jobs and stop unemployment. >> that has to change over the summer. it can't wait until the fall.

steve handelsman, wbal tv 11 news. >>> coming up, a better look at the ravens new plans for training camp. >> fans can still come out, but space is limited. how to best secure your spot. >> it has been two years since yeardley love was murdered by fellow uva lacrosse star, and her mother has filed another civil lawsuit. >> your experience with the dolphins at the national aquarium will be changing. coming up, why you will no longer have to pay for the dolphin show. ♪ ♪ hit the road, jack ♪ and don't you come back no more ♪ ♪ no more, no more, no more ♪ hit the road, jack ♪ and don't you come back no more ♪ [ male announcer ] want your weeds to hit the road? hit 'em with roundup extended control. one application kills weeds and puts down a barrier to stop new ones for up to four months. roundup extended control spray once. stop weeds for months. >>> the mother of cut cockeysville native yeardley love has filed a civil suit, this time against bee uva lacrosse team coaches, the athletic director, and the state of virginia. the wrongful death lawsuit comes two years after yeardley love's

steve handelsman have the latest. >> barack obama is headed to the west coast for three fund- raisers, one hosted by actor george clooney, where the president's decision to back same-sex marriage is sure to get a warm reception -- reception and helped raise millions in cold hard cash. >> it was moving. it was historic. >> big-name democrats denied was political, but claim it reveals the president's character to voters. >> who he is, what he stands for, what he believes he is right for america. >> mitt romney plans to make gay marriage more of an issue. >> he believes marriage should be between a man and woman. that was president obama's decision until 24 hours ago. >> house speaker boehner said he does not want to fight over marriage. >> the president can talk about it all he wants. i will stay focused on what the people want us to stay focused on, and that is jobs. >> of last night, he allowed eight -- a house vote to support the defense of marriage act that defines it as heterosexual. the voters reacted to the president's move in boston. >> he's trying to please everyone. >> in nort

steve handelsman has our story. >> reporter: mitt romney got good news about florida, the biggest swing state. he has turned the race there around, up by six in today's quinnipiac poll. in a state with a lot of hispanics. republicans figure romney needs 40% of latinos. romney got just 27% in the new nbc news "wall street journal" telemundo poll. he appealed for support today at the latino coalition summit in washington. not by focusing on, say, immigration reform. but a more urgent issue to many latino families. public school education. >> here we are in the most prosperous nation on earth but millions of our kids are getting a third world education. and america's minority children suffer the most. >> reporter: the big problem, said romney, is powerful teachers' unions blocking needed reform. and he charged, president obama is giving the unions a pass because they are big donors to democrats. >> we have to stop putting campaign cash ahead of our kids. >> reporter: mr. obama was at a commencement. the u.s. air force academy. reminding graduates who were just school kids on 9/11 that he i

steve handelsman on capitol hill with more on this. steve? >> i'm sure you're not surprised to hear this is more political. didn't take long for the latest wall street scare to fire up one of the biggest fights in the 2012 race for the white house. how to fix our economy. how to keep our banks stable should government do more or do less. >> protesters outside the jpmorgan shareholders meeting today in tampa. some demanded suffer federal regulations. >> jpmorgan speculated it lost $2 billion, maybe 3. jamie dimon took the blame. >> this should never have happened. i can't justify it. >> dimon kept his job at $23 million a year and kept up his opposition to some of the new obama banking regulations. on trades call it hedges that reduce risks if they're done safely. >> however, we also understand the need for rules and practices to make sure it doesn't morph into something different. >> on abc's "the view" president obama demanded congress finalize the toughest rules. >> since these banks are insured, backed up by taxpayers, we don't want you ta

steve handelsman, wbal tv 11 news. >> it was back in march when millions watched a viral video about brutality in a gondola. >> and now, there may be a break. details coming up. but first -- >> yes. >> imagine calling 911 and ca -- hearing a snoring dispatcher on line. a woman's frantic call turns even more desperate. >> and a serious injury and a firework a [ jared ] uh, michael? you know... big game... that was sort of supposed to be for all of us. [ slurping ] [ male announcer ] give 'em what they love. subway! giant subs, sandwich and cookie platters. and big-time value. subway catering. order today! [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> 11 news at 5:00 in hd continues now. >> a teenager from glen burnie is recovering after suffering an accident with fireworks. he is still lucky to have his right hand after a fireworks exploded faugh -- in his hand yesterday. >> kim dacey has the story. >> he has his right hand bandaged tight, but his mother and doctors consider him lucky. he and his friends f

steve handelsman has the latest from capitol hill. >> with jpmorgan chase stock still dropping after bad trading debts. -- bad trading debts, it could cost the bank $3 billion or more, and president obama had a graduation ceremony just uptown from wall street took credit for tighter banking regulation. >> we know we are better off when there are rules that stopped big banks from making bad debts with other people's money. >> mitt romney has said that the obama crackdown has not controlled the big banks. >> they have gotten bigger and the small community banks have been the most hurt. >> jpmorgan forced the entire and of the investment chief. ceo jamie diamond was contrite on sunday at meet the press. dimon opposed some regulation, but he was known as cautious. >> jpmorgan was suppose to be the gold standard in terms of controlling risk. there are a lot of entities that could very well have that type of risk. grex republicans are asking if banks insured by taxpayers ought to get billions. >> it is questionable whether the banks to -- should be able to engage in this activity. >> exper

official site weeks steve handelsman has the latest. >> all things considered, -- >> the fbi is analyzing the device. >> they are adapting. we see the differences between the last under armour and this one in the sophistication of the -- of the device they are using -- between the last underwear bomber and this one. >> we do not have to worry about the i e d or the bomber. >> sources say an asset brought the bomb out of yemen. infiltrating alcott would be a breakthrough. >> the sources because infiltrating in al qaeda would be a breakthrough. -- infiltrating al qaeda would be a breakthrough. >> the head of al qaeda in yemen was killed sunday. administration officials are hailing this today. >> since 9/11, not one plane has been brought down by a terrorist. >> but from the tsa to the cia, the ballot today is not to let up. i'll type -- al qaeda proved it is still targeting u.s. aircraft. >> a new bill under consideration baltimore county would require restaurants that have a license for customers to bring in their own alcohol. lowell melser is live in towson to tell us more about it. >> he

steve handelsman has the latest. >> reporter: mitt romney is stronger in three key states. ohio, virginia, and florida. big battlegrounds. president obama still leads in today's nbc news/marist poll. there's still good news for the president. 48%, he's ahead in all three states. ♪ romney campaigned today in a fourth swing state, pennsylvania. visiting a charter school in mostly african-american west philadelphia. >> nice to meet you. hi. how are you? >> reporter: romney disagrees that smaller classes mean bigger achieveme achievement. overnight in california, president obama called romney out of touch on economics. important pushing the same less tax, less regulation plan of george w. bush. >> most good business people i know if something doesn't work, they do something different. so he must either think that there's going to be a different result or he's hoping you don't remember what happened the last time we tried it his way. >> reporter: romney promise as difference from president obama. in his new ad -- >> ending the obama era of big government, helping secure our kids

steve handelsman, news4. >> a second former aide to d.c.ayor vicinity gray pleaded guilty an hour ago. howard brooks was arrested yesterday. news4's tom sherwood joins from us d.c. superior court with the details of the plea. tom? >> reporter: the u.s. attorney says this scandal deceives city voters. today the second felony guilty plea as the investigation continues. 64-year-old howard brooks, veteran community worker, stood nervously in federal court and answering guilty to a felony charge in the ongoing gray campaign scandal investigation. brooks with attorney glen ivy standing with him admitted funneling thousands of dollars in secret money to tilt the 2010 race for mayor. what can you say about your client and what the plea means today? >> well, you know, today -- he decided to come out in public and accept responsibility for the mistakes he made. and the guilty plea today is the first step in that process. >> reporter: the brooks pleading comes just two days after co-conspirator thomas gore pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi and promis

steve handelsman on capitol hill with more on this. >> reporter: a distraction named donald trump. who is again questioning barack obama's birth place. prompting the white house today to say the american people are fed up but mitt romney so far is dodging the issue. >> on the day he is set to clinch the nomination, mitt romney was in colorado promising to roll back obama administration regulations that locals blame for hurting the nearby coalmine and power plant. >> i want government that is anal i've business. >> he charges president obama wasted tax dollars pushing low pollution businesses. not just solyndra. >> sun power. more than $1 billion in loan guarantees. lost half a billion last year laying off workers. >> but that romney message may be lost today. thanks to donald trump who romney appears with tonight. trump is back to questioning the obama birth place. this morning on cnbc. >> you're not allowed to be president if you're not born in the country. but let's see what happens. i'm be faping flames. this came out last week. a lot of people are questioning his birth certific

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news washington. >>> after weeks of negotiation including an hour long face to face meeting last week, mitt romney has finally received the endorsement of his former top rival rick santorum. tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that and all the latest from the campaign trail. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. final word from rick santorum, i'm backing mitt romney. we were expecting this to come sometime soon. it came in a late night e-mail to his supporters saying he thinks they all should back romney as the party nominee. the two met last week before this endorsement. all of this after santorum called romney the worse republican in the country. romney is taking credit for the recent success for the auto industry. president obama has two members saying or suggesting that they back gay marriage. first joe biden and now arne duncan who says he supports same sex marriage. is this president obama shift, aides say no. >>> north carolina votes today on a referendum on same sex marriage that's drawn national attention. the constitution all amend

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, at the white house. >>> five men are now in custody in ohio accused of plotting to blow up a bridge near cleveland. they were arrested late last night when they allegedly tried to remotely detonate some fake devices they had bought from undercover fbi agents. the suspects range in age from 20 to 35. authorities say at least three of them are self-described anarchists. they have been plotting the bombing for many months. but authorities say there's no evidence they are tied to any international terror group or that the scheme had anything to do with the anniversary of osama bin laden's death. nbc's pete williams will join us at news 4. >>> two men are dead today after two separate stabbings in the district overnight. the first happened here about 1:30 in the 4500 block of coral street northeast. police tell us 34-year-old lamont da vor of northeast was found unconscious and not breathing from a stab wound to his stomach. less than an hour later officers found another man stabbed near the intersection of fifth and florida avenue in northwest. 32-year-old d

steve handelsman is on capitol hill now with that part of the story. steve? >> reporter: hi, doreen. thanks. good evening. job wise today this is all about the dropouts. people who were no longer looking for work. here is a stunning statistic. the share of americans now seaboarding work is down to just 64%. it is the lowest in more than 60 years. as the mostly bad news on jobs broke, president obama tried positive spin. >> that our economy created 130,000 private sector jobs in april. >> reporter: 15,000 government jobs were lost.(1 mitt romney focused on the down side. >> as a matter of fact only 115,000 net new jobs were created. that was well beneath what was expected. it should have been in the hundreds of thousands. but it wasn't. >> reporter: romney is right on the april jobs numbers and on the problem. the unemployment rate dropped 0.1 to 8.1 not because more people got hired. more americans gave up looking for jobs. they weren't counted. but some of them retired and some economists see solid job gains just ahead. >> it wouldn't be at all surprising if

on capitol hill, i'm steve handelsman. >>> we continue to monitor the weather out there. people are getting pounded by the rain. >> not just the heavy rain. we're talking about line and also some small hail reported from some of these storms, too. these storms, numerous out there. right now we're in the district. also in toward northern virginia right around tyson's corner. then back on 66 just to the north. northern fauquier county, southwestern portions of loudoun county. then follow this line right through rappahannock county of baltimore. then back around toward fredericksburg. this is another line i'm watching just to the north of fredericksburg. it continues to form and expand. it will move out in through southern portions of fauquier county. they have been hit very hard the last two to three days. it looks like it will be hard again tonight. >>> coming up, a wife watched her husband being attacked during their romantic getaway. >> i watched him take his very last breath. >> the news4 i-team on vacation tragedy. and what is behind the travel warnings? >>> a cyclist

today president obama hosted a bipartisan lunch and offered ideas to avoid that but as steve handelsmaneports republicans find some of the ideas on the president's to-do list a little hard to swallow. >> reporter: at the white house today the president lunched with congressional leaders to avoid a repeat of last summer's fights that trashed the nation's credit rating. barack obama vs. john boehner on spending cuts and tax hikes. they failed to make a grand bargain and their short-term deals expire in december. buying hogueies to serve at today's talks, president obama would vow no down to the wire talks this fall. right now he wants tax cuts for small businesses that hire more workers, saying the recovery can't wait. >> one of the ways we can sustain momentum is for congress to take some actions right now even though it's election season, even though there is gridlock and partisanship. >> reporter: a clear election move by the president countered by house speaker boehner, who liked the hogies but not the call for another program that would increase the deficit. >> where is the president

. >> reporter: steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> a look at other stories making news, in colorado amazing video of a motorcyclist who survived after a car slammed into him, just unreal there, police say the car ran a red light, other views show the motorcycle rider upside down in mid-air, just from the force of the impact. he had to undergo a number of surgeries in the days following the crash. >>> in new york, another car plowed in people in buffalo including a teenager sent flying. police say the driver didn't even stop, the victim is now out of the hospital and 19-year-old accused of being behind the wheel is under arrest. >>> in oregon, a life saved with only seconds to spare. a sheriff's deputy grabbed a suicidal man as he was about to jump off the bridge. the deputy and his partner quickly restrained the man, they had caught up to him moments earlier after getting a report he might try to kill himself. >>> and finally, in florida not everyone had a happy easter, like this guy. the yellow rat snack, swallowed a ser ammic easter egg left out for a holiday hunt. the egg could b

i'm steve handelsman, news4. >>> dozens of guilty verdicts handed down today in one of the deadliest shootings in recent history here in washington. five men are convicted in connection with the south capitol street massacre of 2010. they are accused of killing five people and wounding several others over the course of two days. all apparently over a missing piece of costume jewelry. san kwan kartd carter, orlando carter, robert boast, lamar williams are all convicted of murder and dozens of other felony counts. pat collins will have more from the survivors of these crimes coming up tonight at 5:00. >>> john edwards' core ums trial is in its third week. prosecutors are trying to show that edwards knowingly and illegally used campaign donations to hide his pregnant mistress. edwards and his daughter cate arrived at the courthouse this morning. today alex forger was back on the witness stand. he is the lawyer for virginia heiress rachel bunny melon. memorandum only gave thousands of dollars to edwards when he ran for president and that the money was for a personal need of edwards. pros

i'm steve handelsman, news4. >>> it is graduation day at the u.s. naval academy. 1 you are 99 midshipmen became commissioned officers today. they became the 100th class to toss their graduation caps into the air. they said they started the tradition in 1912. today's ceremony included a flyover by the navy's blue angels. defense secretary leon panetta addressed the class. >> to serve this nation at a time of war. you have set yourselves apart in a profound and in an honorable way. >> as the saying goes, you put in the time one nickel at a time, and you made the effort. this is your day. >> the graduating class also recognized retired lieutenant commander wesley brown today. brown broke the color barrier at the naval academy in 1949. he died in silver spring last week at the age of 85 following a battle with cancer. >>> another pioneer is being remembered today. thousands crowded the streets in northwest washington today to bid farewell to the godfather of go-go. chuck brown. chris gordon has more. >> reporter: the howard theater with long lines outsi

i'm steve handelsman, news 4. >>> in just a few hours, the caps will hit the ice at verizon center torock the red. tonight they play game three of their second round playoff series with the rangers. the series is tied a game apiece thanks to a late goal in fwgame two by alex ovechkin. game time tonight at 7:30. watch it on nbc sports network. >>> the nfl is dropping the hammer today on four players involved in the new orleans saints bounty scandal. punishments were handed down today. linebacker jonathan vilmo also got an unprecedented 16-game suspension. he will miss all of next season. the league says he offered $10,000 in cash to any player who knocked quarterbacks kurt werner and brett favre out of the playoffs. linebacker scott fujita and lineman will smith and anthony hargrove were also suspended, ranging from three to eight games. >> today pitcher andy pettitte admitted he might have misunderstood when he thought he heard roger clemens say he used human growth hormone. he was cross examined here at the federal courthouse in washington. the baseball great is accused of lying to c

steve handelsman on capitol hill. thank you, steve. >> you're welcome. >>> our coverage continues now with chris gordon and how this could impact the gay marriage debate in maryland. >> well, the battle has been waged for years in annapolis. this spring, the maryland legislature passed the same-sex marriage bill and governor martin o'malley immediately signed it into law. but opponents launched a petition drive for a referendum to put the issue before the voters across the state in this november's general election. maryland governor martin o'malley and legislative leaders appeared today to announce a special session next week to take care of unfinished budget business. i asked the governor if he is confident that maryland voters will ratify the same-sex marriage law in light of yesterday's voter in north carolina, banning same-sex unions. >> they've given the opportunity to expand rights more fully to more of our citizens or to limit rights to other people. we have, for the most part, throughout -- or the long arc of o

steve handelsman has our story. >> reporter: as the mostly bad news on jobs broke president obama triedositive spin. >> that our economy created 130,000 private sector jobs in april. >> reporter: 15,000 government jobs were lost. mitt romney focused on the down side. >> as a matter of fact, only 115,000 net new jobs were created. that was well beneath what it was expected to be. it should have been in the hundreds of thousands but it wasn't. >> reporter: romney's right on the april jobs number and on the problem. the unemployment rate dropped 0.1 to 8.1% not because more people got hired. more americans gave up looking for jobs. they weren't counted. but some of them retired and some economists see solid job gains just ahead. >> it wouldn't be at all surprising if unemployment were definitively below 8% by the end of the year. >> reporter: with that number over 8 no u.s. president running for re-election has ever won. barack obama knows it. >> there are still a lot of folks out of work which means we have to do more. >> reporter: mitt romney knows it. >> this is a time when america want

as steve handelsman reports romney picked up a key endorsement today from a former rival. >> reporter: congresswoman michele bachmann never won a primary and quit the race for the white house in january, but she was a powerful voice for the tea party and for republican women and she spoke out today in virginia to endorse mitt romney. >> president barack obama, president mitt romney. you decide. >> another beautiful lady. how are you? >> reporter: what women decide could determine who wins. polls show romney trails the president with those voters. many in the tea party movement dreamed of one of their own with the nomination, santorum, gingrich, perry, michele bachmann, not mitt romney. >> what mitt romney has going for him is the deep and broad antipathy to barack obama on the right among conservative women and among tea party types he can capitalize that to compensate for his own short comings in appealing to them. >> reporter: another issue for romney is choosing his runningmate. florida senator marco rubio is being mentioned and rick santorum. those two topped today's reuter ipso's

steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: a picture of bipartisanship. obama hosted both presidents bush 41 and 43 and their wives at the white house. for the unveiling of george w. bush's portraits. >> behave yourselves. >> reporter: he paid tribute to his dad. >> i am honored to be hanging near a man who gave me the greatest gift possible -- unconditional love. and that would be number 41. >> reporter: president obama paid tribute to his predecessor. >> president bush understood that rescuing our economy was not just a democratic or republican issue. >> reporter: but the president's campaign team had opened a new attack on the republican running to be president. mitt romney charges the new obama video failed as massachusetts governor. >> governor romney's plan for america right now is the same plan that he sold to the people of massachusetts in 2002. >> top obama adviser david axelrod went to romney's home turf, boston. >> romney economics didn't work then and it won't work now. >> reporter: mitt romney meanwhile made his own partisan play in californi

steve handelsman joins us live from capitol hill with more. hi, steve. >> thanks. >> reporter: this was more evidence that republicans, even those proudly on the right wing of the party, are coming around to romney. >> he will win. >> reporter: congresswoman michele bachmann never won a primary and she quit the race for the white house in january. but she was a powerful voice for the tea party and for republican women and she spoke out today in virginia to endorse mitt romney. >> president barack obama, president mitt romney. you decide. >> another beautiful lady. how are you? >> reporter: what women decide could determine who wins. polls show romney trails the president with those voters. many in the tea party movement dreamed of one of their own with the nomination, santorum, gingrich, perry, michele bachmann, not mitt romney. >> what mitt romney has going for him is the deep and broad antipathy to barack obama on the right among conservative women and among tea party types. he can capitalize that to compensate for his own short comings in ap

i'm steve handelsman, news 4, capitol hill. >>> mortgage rates are once again at a record low today but it's not helping out with home sales. right now the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan stands at about 3.84%. that is the lowest since long-term mortgage rates began in the 1950s. 15-year mortgage rates are now just over 3% but despite that home sales remain weak. that's because many potential home buyers don't qualify for loans because of higher down payments and other requirements. >>> turning to the weather we've had another warm afternoon but don't put the sweater away. >> not yet anyway. let's get the first word from veronica johnson in the storm center. >> a lot of us needed our jacket this morning, right? i know i sure did heading out. a little on the cool side. we're talking about temperatures tonight that will be even lower. but look at that beautiful, beautiful blue sky there with the monument there in the distance. also the jefferson, hey, the reason for a clear sky, big area of high pressure just to the north and it's moved in behind yesterday's weather front. so if you

steve handelsman, from capitol hill. >>> a new poll out done for "the washington post." it suggests virginia governor mcdon has lost some public support. his approval rating dropped 6 points over the past year from 62% to 56%. 35% of those followed say that they disapprove of the job that mcdonnell was doing. nine-point increase in disapproval from one year ago. the governor lost support among independent and urban women. uproar over a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before they could have an abortion. partisan stand-off over the budget also alienated some of the voters there. president obama is expected to get a major fund-raising boost from hollywood superstar. george clooney is hosting a private dinner at his house, clooney's house, thursday. the price of admission is 40 grand. according to the hollywood reporter, the evening is expected to raise as much as $12 million for the president's re-election campaign. >>> next week france will inaugurate its first social head of state in nearly two decades. francois hollande defeated sarkozy in yesterda

the firm's top investor was forced to retire and as steve handelsman reports congress wants to know ifhe tighter regulations put into place after the 2008 financial crisis are tight enough. >> reporter: with jp morgan chase stocks still dropping after bad trading bets that could cost the bank $3 billion or more, president obama today at a graduation just up town from wall street took credit for tighter banking regulation. >> we know that we're better off when there are rules that stop big banks from making bad bets with other people's money. >> reporter: but mitt romney has been saying the obama crackdown has not controlled big banks. >> they've gotten bigger and the small community banks are the ones that have been most hurt. >> reporter: jp morgan today forced the retirement of investment chief ina drew. ceo jamie dimon was contrite sunday on "meet the press." >> in hindsight we took far too much risk. >> reporter: dimon opposed some tighter regulation but was known as cautious. is the rest of wall street taking too many chances again? >> jp morgan was supposedly the gold standard in

steve handelsman has our report. >> reporter: a picture of bipartisanship. president obama hosted both presidents bush 41 and 43 and their wives at the white house. for the unveiling of george w. bush's portrait. >> behave yourselves. >> reporter: he paid tribute to his dad. >> i am honored to be hanging near a man who gave me the greatest gift possible -- unconditional love -- and that would be number 41. >> president obama paid tribute to his predecessors. >> president bush understood that rescuing our economy was not just a democratic or republican issue. >> reporter: but the president's campaign team had opened a new attack on the republican running to be president. mitt romney charges the new obama video failed as massachusetts governor. >> governor romney's plan is the same plan he sold to the people of massachusetts in 2002. >> reporter: top obama adviser david axelrod went to romney's home turf boston. >> romney economics didn't work then and it won't work now. >> reporter: mitt romney meanwhile made his own partisan play in california, showing up at

steve handelsman has more from capitol hill. >> reporter: thanks. mitt romney today is condemning democratically sponsored ads against him and bain capital at the same time that he is protesting the idea of that attack ad against the president. >> i want to make it very clear i repudiate that effort. >> reporter: mitt romney called it the wrong plan saying the campaign ought to be about jobs not about chicago preacher jeremiah wright and his association that ended in '08 with barack obama and a $10 million attack ad campaign will not be launched. billionaire conservative joe rickets said he saw the plan but rejected it throwing cold water on the morning's hot story from the "new york times." but president obama is being attacked by karl rove's conservative super pac. >> today i'm pledging to cut the deficit we inherited by half by the end of my first term in office. >> broken because he hasn't even come close. >> reporter: vice president biden attacked mitt romney over bain capital's takeover of steel dynamics in the '90s. >> 750 workers lost their

from capitol hill i'm steve handelsman. >> thank you. our team coverage continues with chris gordon who spent the day with mitt romney. in the battleground state of virginia. chris? >> good evening, doreen. mitt romney is attending a fundraiser here at the ritz-carlton hotel in pentagon city tonight along with virginia governor bob mcdonald who is said to be on romney's short list of potential runningmates. now, virginia is one of a handful of so-called battleground states that are considered crucial for victory this fall. mitt romney kicked off his virginia campaign in chantilly, talking about creating jobs, standing before women business leaders. >> people asked me, what would you do to get the economy going? i say, well look at what the president has done. and do the opposite. and i -- >> reporter: after speaking to the crowd of several hundred, romney worked the room shaking hands, signing autographs. >> thank you, governor. >> reporter: and taking pictures with many including lisa jones and her 5-year-old son braden. >> we are suppo

i'm steve handelsman, news 4, capitol hill. >>> mary kennedy the estranged wife of robert f. has been found dead. nbc news has learned that officials found mary kennedy's body inside her home in bedford, new york this afternoon. mary kennedy was married to robert f. kennedy jr. the son of the former u.s. attorney general and presidential candidate robert f. kennedy. the couple was married for 16 years. they filed for divorce in may of 2010. authorities have not revealed the circumstances or the cause of death at this time. >>> 42 years ago an army soldier sacrificed his life in an act of valor that saved his comrades. today president obama posthumously awarded the medal of honor to a rifleman killed in cambodia. in 1970 specialist leslie salveo jr. sowsaw his platoon surrounded by the north vietnamese and grabbed an enemy grenade and threw it away and threw his own grenade to attack an enemy bunker. >> then he grabbed a grenade and pulled the pin. it said he held that grenade and didn't throw it until the last possible moment knowing it would take his own life but knowing he

steve handelsman at the capitol now with more. steve. >> reporter: thanks. it's a huge development, and there's a lot of satisfaction tonight, in official washington. after the cia's first ever revealedin filtration of al qaeda, and homeland security is saying that its system seems up to this challenge. u.s. officials say the full-body scanners in many u.s. and overseas airports probably would have picked up the latest al qaeda bomb. >> i think all things considered, yes, in high likelihood, it would have been detected. >> reporter: the fbi is analyzing the device. the next version of the underwear bomb that fizzled in 2009, worn by al qaeda terrorist, omar abdulmutallab al ab. >> we see an increase in the sophistication of the device. >> reporter: and the cia is adapting in yemen, scoring a huge coup, sources say. in this nation, where al qaeda is the most active. >> we don't have to worry about the ied or the would-be bomber. >> reporter: sources say the bomber was never a worry, but, in fact, a cia source, an asset, who brought the bomb out of yemen. infi

steve handelsman has the latest from washington. >> in north carolina, mitt romney tried to thank change the subject back to jobs. >> we're on the verge of a manufacturing resurgence in this country. jobs will come back with the right policies. >> where romney was kept the big issue out front. same sex maveragete north carolina -- marriage. >> same sex couples should be able to get married. >> yesterday came the story that romney allegedly bullied a boy whom he thought to be gay. romney claims he does not remember. >> i did some stupid things when i was in high school. obviously if i had hurt someone in high school, i would be very sorry for it and apologize for it. >> in an event at george clooney's mansion last night the president was applauded when he bragged he had made news and his campaign took in a record estimated $15 million. today the president went to nevada. he took credit for a program of saving the keller family $240 a month on their mortgage and asked congress to expand it. >> i'm calling on congress to give every responsible home owner the chance to save an average of $3,