nbc's steve handlesman has that story. >> reporter: 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 umar farouk abdulmutalleb. >> they are adapting. the last one and the increasing sophistication of the device they're using. >> reporter: the cia is adapting in yemen scoring a huge coupe. >> we don't have to worry about the ied or the would be bomber. >> reporter: sources say it was never a worry but a cia source, an asset who brought the bomb out of yemen, infiltrating al qaeda would be a break through. >> this is something we've been trying to do for a long time. these sources of our collecting intelligence are the crown jewels in terms of disrupting these plots. >> reporter: the same cia source helped target a u.s. drone. senior u.s. offic

steve handlesman on capitol hill with more on the historic turn of events. >> big week. hi, doreen. thanks. if you believe the white house, the obama campaign didn't plan to make this a week about gay marriage, and the republicans definitely didn't. in north carolina, mitt romney tried to 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. >> reporter: but where romney was today kept the week's big issue out front. same-sex marriage. north carolinians voted tuesday to ban it. president obama backed it wednesday. >> same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> yesterday came the story that romney allegedly bullied a boy thought to be gay, 50 areas ago wh year ago when they were teens at this michigan boarding school. romney claims he doesn't remember. >> i did stupid things when i was in high school, and if i hurt somebody by it, i would be sorry for it and apologize for it. >> reporter: and obama cashed in on supporting gay marriage. the president was applauded when he bragged he ha

i'm steve handlesman, nbc, washington. >>> last night on nbc's politics nation, roger cressy stressed they're still very active. he told host al sharpton that it was the latest scheme that was foiled by good intelligence work. >> another good news story because it means the united states working with international partners and what that probably means is intelligence services in the regoj were able to identify this plot well in advance of execution and get control of this device before it ever became a threat to an airplane. the administration's pretty clear though that this plot was not tied to the anniversary of bin lat din's death though they have said they believe that the individual wanted to conduct the attack in this month, in the may time frame. you raise an interesting question though. what does it mean for al qaeda's strength. this is another example of why this affiliate in yemen is such a concern for the u.s., because even though al qaeda central has suffered tremendous losses, aqap as it's known continues to try to do these type of attacks. you mentioned the 2009 attack,

steve handlesman, wbal-tv 11 news. >> is savage attack in miami, a naked man eating the face off of another nude man in the middle of a downtown highway. >> the details when we cover the nation. >> i'm lowell melser and explain coming up. >> in developing story out of afghanistan. the u.n.-led nato forces has killed the highest -- second highest leader of al qaeda in the eastern province. he was a response before commanding and directing attacks against nato and afghan forces. the coalition will not release the name of the top leader because of ongoing security concerns. most of the senior leaders are now believed to be based in pakistan or they fled after the invasion. at least 15 people are dead in the shaking knocked down factories, warehouses, and churches. officials there believe that they are trapped in the earthquake. >> a bizarre story out of miami. laser tried to fill in the blanks about what led a naked man attacking another to to literally try to chew a face off the victim. on the highway of ram saturday, keep in mind both of these men are naked. they confronted the attacker duri

steve handlesman, with the latest from the trail. >> reporter: in north carolina, mitt romney tried to 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. >> reporter: but where romney was today, kept the week's biggest issue out front. same-sex marriage. north carolinians voted tuesday to ban it. president obama backed it wednesday. and yesterday came the story that romney allegedly bullied a boy thought to be kay, 50 years ago when they were teens at this michigan boarding school. romney claimed he doesn't remember. >> i did some stupid things when i was in high school. i would be very sorry for it and apologize for it. >> reporter: barack obama cashed in on gay marriage, george clooney had an event in a clear tent. he bragged when he made news and his campaign took in an estimated $15 million. today, the president went to nevada. he took credit for a program that saving the keller family $240 a month on their mortgage, and republicans agreed to expand it. >> i'm calling on congress to giv

steve handlesman, news4. >>> memories of some iconic children's books are on the minds of many today, as we mourn the loss of maurice sindamage, the author and illustrated died this morning at a connecticut hospital. he suffered a stroke four days ago. he wrote and illustrated books like "chicken soup with rice" and the somewhat dark "where the wild things are" which later became a motion picture. he said he thought of himself as an author who told the truth about childhood. he was 83. >>> civil rights icon rosa parks is going to be honored at the national cathedral. this thursday, a new sculpture will be dedicated in the cathedral's human rights porch, a section of the church devoted to those involved in the fight for social justice and equality. in 1955, parks refused to give up her seat on a montgomery, alabama bus to a white passenger. her action was a major step forward in the fight to end segregation. the sculpture will be dedicated during an evening ceremony, one of parks' nieces is expected to attend. >>> a major letdown for the caps. oh, no! >> and we are still hurting on thi