. >>> up next, an unprecedented event in vatican city. find out what this is and see how it is united jews, roman catholics and orthodox christians, this easter. >> as christians celebrate the death and resurrection of jesus christ, a one of a kind event is bringing jews, krat licks, protestants and orthodox christians together. as george thomas tells us, it is all happening in the shadow of the vatican. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: in the heart of the smallest country on earth -->> to have this selection of rare documents altogether in one police is extraordinary. >> this easter, as millions descend on one of the world's most holy places. >> we want to say here is a book we all love and cherish, let's celebrate that. >> in latin the word of the lord brings together more than 150 rare jewish, roman catholic, protestant, and orthodox christians artifacts to vatican city. >> what is the sense? >> cure ray to, dr. scott carol is a scholar on ancient manuscripts. >> when i think about those that studied it, it is an interfaith effort. >> steps from st. p

melanie alnwick has our roundup. [ applause ] >> reporter: 100,000 catholics gathered in vatican city. in america, the catholic church has wielded its political power when it forced the president obama to change its rules on contraception coverage. on face the nation, cardinal timothy dolan said it's not realistic to have complete separation of church and state. >> i think politics, like business, education, arts, culture, only benefits when religion, when morals, when faith has a place there. i think the public square in the united states is always enriched whenever people approach it when they're inspired by their deepest held convictions. >> reporter: meet the press discussed faith and politics. >> i think we need to take god off the ballot. this issue surfaces every two years. but for sure, every four years. and i think people exaggerate certain positions in order to help themselves politically. there is no war on religion. >> reporter: some believe mitt romney's role in the mormon church will become a political issue, but not all. >> perhaps religion will be less important in fal

those sands gathered in vatican city for an easter vigil mass celebrated by pope benedict. the service took place at st. pete er's basilica. the service started in complete darkness. the pope sang a hymn announcing the meaning of easter. >>> coming up tonight, a shooting spree in tulsa. five people shot and random. but one thing all the victims had in common. >>> plus, the youtube video that has students from byu making national headlines. we'll tell you what sparked a massive pillow fight on the national mall today. ♪ >>> one direction is headed to snl tonight. we caught up wit [ male announcer ] a car is either luxury or it isn't. if you want a luxury car with a standard power moonroof, your options are going to be limited. ♪ if you want standard leather-trimmed seats, you're going to have even fewer. ♪ and if you want standard keyless access, then your choice is obvious. the lexus es. it's complete luxury in a class full of compromises. see your lexus dealer. >>> we are trayvon martin! >> protesters held a million hoodies march in d.c. today. it was one of several around

the at the same time, half a world away, pope benedict xvi delivered his annual easter mass in vatican city. the pope prayed for a renewed peace effort in the middle east, specifically an end to the violence in syria. >>> and he's not drawing vatican mass numbers, but nfl quarterback tim tebow is delivering an easter message to a team near austin, texas. the new york jets quarterback is known as much for his religious devotion as for his performance on the football field. a big crowd turned out to hear tebow speak at the outdoor easter gathering. >>> republican presidential candidate newt gingrich says campaign front-runner mitt romney has the nomination all but locked up. speaking on fox news sunday, gingrich said romney is, quote, far and away the most likely republican nominee. gingrich vowed to support romney if he is nominated, but says he's staying in the race to push for his personal platforms. >>> and join me today at 4:00 eastern time for a special hour dedicated to the presidential contenders in the 2012 election. >>> all right. disturbing new developments surfacing in just the la

pope benedict presided over the easter eve mass in vatican city tonight. about 10,000 catholic faithful lit candles as the pope moved along the central aisle on a wheeled platform he uses to conserve strength. for catholics illuminating the darkness symbolizes the salvation brought about by jesus' resurrection. he said that -- >>> after years of silence, gay and lesbian students from a strict mormon college are speaking out. 22 students from brigham young university in utah recently posted a first of its kind video on youtube. the creators want to assure other gay and lesbian youths struggling with their faith. the mormon church forbids gay marriage. the video already has more than 100,000 views. >> i know what it's like when your father condemns you. i know what it's like when people won't talk to you. >> in the video, the students estimate more than 1,800 lgbt students attend the university of 34,000 students total. several students confessed, they considered suicide because they did not think they could be both mormon and gay. >>> coming up next at 11:0

. >>> pope benedict began easter services tonight in vatican city city. [foreign language] >> the pontiff entered the holy building carrying a white candle over the next several hours believers around the world will be celebrating the most important event in christianity, the resurrection of jesus christ. thousands of faithful awaited pope benedict's arrival through the rear entrance. on sunday morning the pontiff will celebrate easter mass in st. peter's square. >>> thousands of christians marched through jerusalem's old city in observance of easter saturday. the procession was led by palestinian guards. they pounded their staffs on the cobble stone ground. they were followed by franciscan monks. believers then gathered to pray on the site where jesus was buried. >>> coming up tonight on 9news now, d.c. looking for a few good teams. >> it's an opportunity to give the young people some skills of safety, responsibility and make some money this summer. >> over 200 summer jobs in the district's rec department are now being filled. we'll have the details. >>>

. >>> and in vatican city tens of thousands gathered today to mark the beginning of holy week.e benedict xvi held palm sunday mass this sunday. holy week is the last week of lent. it sends next sunday in easter. >>> in japan, a man and woman took the plunge into marriage. literally taking the plunge. the happy couple road on the roller coaster. he's one of the roller coaster operators and she is also a park worker. >>> a survey of one of the greenest cities made it into the top ten. in this case green includes things such as grass and trees. travel and leisure magazine ranked the nation's 35 biggest cities. it looked at the amount of area dedicated to public parks, the amount of litter and if it's pedestrian friendly. portland organ game in as number one, savannah georgia number two, and san francisco came in at number nine. every day in portland feels like earth day. and noted san francisco's recycling of 78% of its garbage. >>> it is illegal and could lead to arrest. our special report goes inside a bay area lab to explain why scientific tests are being run on marijuana. >>>

. ♪ love can be so mystical ♪ >>> in vatican city, people from all over the world gather to celebrater mass with pope benedict xvi. the pontiff made his easter greetings in 56 different languages and then went on to talk about the joy of easter and how it should change people's lives. the pope offered a special prayer at mass for those christians around the world who are discriminated against or persecuted for their faith. >>> thousands of early risers came out for the annual easter sunrise service at the lincoln memorial. pastor dodge from capital church led the easter celebration that included a live orchestra, choir and worship. the service at the lincoln memorial is considered one of the large of the easter sunrise services in the nation. >>> and president obama took the day off from politics to spend easter with his family. the first family took a stroll across the street to attend a service at st. john's episcopal church. later today, the obamas will host the annual white house easter egg roll welcoming 3500 guests to the south lawn for games, stories and a traditional egg roll.

this was easter service at vatican city this morning, and pope benedict celebrated with tens of thousands in the square. the pope presided over a three-hour long vigil last night, and also worth noting, pope benedict turns 85 years old next monday, april 16th. >>> a pretty looking day outside today. it will be on the breezy side today. winds 15 to 20 miles per hour, and maybe higher than that at times, so hold on to your pabo t bonnets as you head out the door today. and the bright sunshine is starting the warming trend. 56 degrees at national airport. and fredericksburg, 57. st. mary's city, 55. and waldorf and l, 57. and charlottesville, virginia, a bit of moisture trying to get into the mountains, but the air is so dry those rain drops have no chance of messing up our easter forecast. highs today up to 70 degrees. a beautiful day coming today. a few more clouds and a chance for light rain showers. pollen-cleansing drops is what we need to call them, and they show up tomorrow afternoon. >> music to my ears. >> and your nose. >> and my eyes. >> and everything else. >>> it has been called

peter's square in vatican city. greg? >>greg: a beautiful ceremony today at st.day, a massive crowd here this morning, if you do not like crowds, st. peter's during holy week is not the place to be. rome, for that matter, because so many pilgrims from all around the world come here. people come to rome for all sorts of reasons but those who are here this week, it and primarily about seeing the pope, about living the easter mystery. in his homily he said they have to ask, what idea do i have of god? he said this is a crucial question that no one should try to avoid, and, certainly, not during this week, the pope making a special plea to the young people present, challenging them to make christ the center of their lives. and, finally, it is not exactly the final four, but there is a kind of final four in rome, the last four days holy thursday, which marks, of course, the last summer, commemoration of the last surgeon, good -- last supper, and good friday, and the joy of easter sunday. the crowds, today, are nothing compared it easter sunday. heather? >>heather: tha

this was the scene this morning in vatican city where thousands of catholics gathered for easter mass. millions of christians all over the world will have headed to church to celebrate the resurrection of jesus christ. >> from baltimore's bravest and finest coming together for friendly competition. members of the city police fire department went head-to-head in a basque blogging saturday. proceeds benefit the ryan stevenson's purple kisses foundation. >> he always wanted to help kids. that's the reason we created this foundation to keep his memory alive and keep what he started going. >> the purple kisses foundation raises money for scholarships for baltimore city students. they are also working on fundraising for a new rec center. >> again, happy easter, everybody. it's a beautiful start to the easter sunday. i did have to wear my winter coat. >> winter coat that spring colors. it's a very chilly start today, but just kind of wait it out. temperatures go up nicely. if you liked yesterday, which was about 65 degrees, it will be 5 degrees warmer today than yesterday. >> no complaints.

we begin with pope benedict the 16th celebrating mass at vatican city. christians around the world celebrating. pope benedict looking tired said mass before a group of 100,000 at the vatican this morning in his easter message he implored the syrian regime to end the bloodshed and violence. lots of other services this morning some at lincoln memorial for sunrise and some at the national cathedral we will check in now with gwen to see what kind of weather to expect. good morning gwen. >> good morning melanie happy easter. a little chilly start this morning for easter sunrise services hopefully people were prepared for that things will improve in the course of the day let's look at mapcurrent temperatures right now across the area we currently have 51 degrees at regan national airport, 49 at bwi marshall, 41 degrees dulles. we had some pretty cold conditions late last night, early this morning freeze warning for many areas west that now has been quite improved, it now effects areas such as tucker county and garrett county still in effect until 9:00 a.m. this

leland vittert in the holy city of jerusalem and let's start with greg, streaming live outside of vatican citygood morning. >> reporter: good morning, beautiful easter day and so many people have come to rome, they have been blessed for this whole -- holy week and the crowd at st. peter's square, absolutely overflowing and you can see from the faces and the flags, people are coming from across europe and from around the world to get here to rome to celebrate easter. as usual, the square was really decked out well for such a festive occasion and so many people celebrating the biggest day on the christian calendar and the pope's message, one of hope, one of joy and says easter means reliving what mary magdale magdalene, encountering the risen christ and this is an encounter which changes people's lives in a radical way and is a healing encounter, to gets you to know good's goodness, and, it is a day of joy, and pope benedict xvi mentioned places around the world where christians are facing suffering and discrimination, putting out a special prayer for them, guys? >> eric: thanks. >> jamie: a spe

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this was the scene a little while ago in vatican city as thousands of catholics gathered for mass. palm sunday is the start of holy week which ends on easter sunday. >>> after several weeks and millions and millions of busted brackets, the ncaa basketball tournament has come down to two teams. it's certainly no surprise. the top-seeded kentucky wildcats had another big game against their rivals, the cardinals. kentucky wins this one in a shootout down to the last second, 69-61. for a while it looked like ohio state would be meeting them there. the jayhawks battled back taking the lead in the game 64-62. another exciting final to be had. and so the title game is set. the number 1 kentucky seat will battle the number 2 seeded kansas. the game is a rematch of sorts. kentucky coach loss against kansas in the 2008 ncaa title game back when he was coaching. while cats versus jay hacks this monday night. >> did your bracket, with kentucky versus kansas? >> now. >> i thought i had two different teams in the bracket i have until i looked at it yesterday and realized one of my teams was gone

. >>> and in vatican city tens of thousands gathered to celebrate the start of holy week.ope benedict xvi held palm sunday mass in sat peters square. holy week is the last week of the lenten season and ends next sunday on easter. >>> the u.s. marks a somber anniversary, 44 years wednesday an assassin shot and killed martin luther king many memphis. the man convicted the man, james earl ray died in prince in 1988. memphis will honor dr. king by renaming a local road for him and in the bay air, they will conduct a teach-in at the allen temple baptist church. >>> the national weather service is trying out a new tornado warning system aiming at getting more temto seek shelter. in residents in tornado-prone areas have become desensitived by frequent false alarms. the weather service will try using warnings that describe the damage that could come, for example, some of the new warnings will say "complete destruction of entire neighborhoods is likely." also another one might say, "mass devastation is highly likely," making the area unrecognizable to survivors. >>> all right, we'r

the outrage is a kin to someone walking into vatican city and in the middle of a million catholics saying not only believe in god, i love the devil, i respect the devil because the guy has been around for so many years. that is the perspective that the cuban americans and cubans and americans of cuban dissent have down here because to them fidel castro is the devil incarnate. he is not the benign figure that passes out cigars to national leaders around the globe. this is a guy that to them and, in fact, was a terrorist leader, was a guerilla, a murderer and to them was a guy who broke up millions of families including my own and so it frayed nerves. it's a big deal down here and it's a big deal. >> i think you did put it in perspective. given that analogy you gave is this five game suspension enough? >> well, obviously he showed a lot of contrition. he not only apologized in one language, he apologized in two languages. i have never seen that in my entire career. he said i'm sorry, i apologize, i'm embarrassed at least 62 times during that 46 minute press conference. i buy it. i think tha

pope benedict held mass today in vatican city. the thursday before easter is the day christians commemorate easter, the last supper. easter celebrates christ's resurrection. >>> the weather seems to be cooperating, though it's a bit cooler today. there's a mixture of clouds and sun out there today. wjz has weather and traffic together. meteorologist tim williams is here with first warning weather. >>> taking a look at a very nice afternoon. albeit, just a bit cool from time to time. the winds are coming from the negotiate and west. there's very warm temperatures to our south. we're at 62 degrees. 49 in ocean city. 50 in oakland. and 60 in elkton. because of the cool winds coming in from the north and northwest, we have a freeze warning in effect for the top tier of the state. really from harford county right on over to basically allegheny county, garrett county has a freeze watch in effect. that's from 3:00 a.m. this coming morning until 9:00 a.m. this coming morning. it's all because of high pressure up to our northwest. it's fun

halfway around the world, pope benedict xvi delivered his annual easter mass in vatican city. the pope prayed for renewed peace effort in the middle east. specifically an end to the violence in syria. >>> and he's not drawing a vatican mass numbers, but nfl quarterback tim tebow delivered an easter message to a crowd near austin, texas. the new york jets quarterback is known as much for his religious devotion as his performance on the football field. a crowd turned out to hear tebow speak at the outdoor easter gathering. >>> we're in the final hours of the final day of the masters golf tournament in augusta, georgia. and there's a lot of flip-flopping over who's on top of the leaderboard. you're looking at phil mickelson there. but in the last 20 minutes, leaders peter hansen and phil mickelson made a few mistakes. but south african louis westhisen posted a rare double eagle to move to the top of the leaderboard. get used to the name. >>> while the masters tournament is winding down, the controversy stirred up this year may linger. the all-male augusta golf club refuses to all

at the same time, half the world away, pope benedict xvi delivered his annual easter mass in vatican city. the pope prayed for a renewed peace effort in the middle east. >>> all right. let's go forward now with this political hour, recapping mitt romney, a big primary win in the wisconsin, maryland and district of columbia. several caucuses will be held next weekend. then more primaries on tuesday, april 24th. here's where the delegate count stands right now. mitt romney has 659, rick santorum, 270, newt gingrich 137, and ron paul at 71. newt gingrich is reassessing his chances in a gop presidential race. he said mitt romney is the likely republican nominee. >> you have to be realistic, given the size of this organization, given the number of primaries he's won. he is far and away the most likely republican nominee. if he does get to 1,144 delegates, i'll support him, and do everything this fall to help defeat obama. the primary goal of the entire republican party has to be to defeat barack obama. i'm glad i did this. for me, it was important as a citizen to try to do some very hard thing

. >> alisyn: and let's go to vatican city, and the pope is leading easter mass and greg burke with morethe pope's message. happy easter, greg. tell us what you're hearing there. >> reporter: happy easter, alisyn. this is like a double-double deal the pope's mass just ended and everybody is headed to the square and the crowds are incredible, overflow and it's always on easter and certainly more today. because it's such a beautiful day. and the pope going to balcony and he will give his easter message and easter greeting, actually in 65 different languages and you can tell the square is decked out with the flowers, with the band, it's all about the joy of easter and benedict saying today the easter message, all christians relive the experience of mary magdalene, and folks said that encounter is one that sets christians free in a radical way, healing them and making them experience god's goodness. now, last night, the pope's message was a little darker and talked about how man doesn't seem to know the difference between good and evil and groping in the dark, but of course a message of hope

the message the pope had for tens of thousands of people gathered in vatican city.d morning, even welcome to mornings on 2. happy easter on this sunday, april 8th i'm mike mibach. >> and i'm claudine wong. rosemary orozco has a quick check of your forecast. >> a lot of kids giddier about easter sunday. i'm giddier about the weather. partly cloudy skies and chilly this morning. our temperatures will be back in the upper 60s and loan leo 70s. we will be turning wet and cool. i'll break this down for you coming up. >>> three alarm fire burned several businesses in oakland. i want to show you the aftermath. a couple fire trucks on scene at fruitvale avenue. four businesses were damaged. firefighters got the initial around 3:20 this morning. also want to give you a look at what they found when they got on scene. heavy smoke and flames coming from one business and then another and then another as the fire spread. they called the second alarm within seconds and then a third alarm once they saw flames shooting through the roof. that is when firefighter got out of harms way

why one democratic congresswoman is hopeful that tell fuel her anti-bullying bill and live to vatican city for palm sunday. america's news headquarters live from the state's capitol starts right now. >> shannon: the two g.o.p. frontrunners have a lot to say. big in-- endorsments from mitt romney, but rick santorum says he is in it for the long haul. peter has more. >> senator santorrum and speaker gingrich both said that governor romney will have to earn the 1144 delegates needed. if he does and they are satisfied there are no disputed delegates, they will help him win burks until then, it is going to be a fight. >> a poll came out this week that 60-plus percent of the people don't want me to get out of the race because they want a conservative. right now, this is the chance, rick santorum. hopefully, we will show that here in wisconsin. >> we are all committed to defeating barack obama. >> whoever wins the republican contest has to reset for a challenging general election with president obama and vice-president biden. this mornings vice-president biden said he is not so sure that his team

thousands of people gathered in vatican city for an easter eve vigil service presided by pope benedict the faithful. this morning, he celebrated easter mass in st. peter's square. time for a look at what is coming up on "meet the press." >> good morning call. >> let's talk about the latest jobs report which was not great but will that report the depths -- detrimental to mr. obama? >> the president talked about ups and downs in the economy and this looks like a down time because of more uncertainty, many people have abandoned looking for work. it is a reminder of how central the economy is to this presidential race and what economic recovery will look like. people seem to be a little more optimistic about the future of the economy and get the pace of growth is very slow. what will it take for us to come out of that? it gets into the presidential debate as far as the role of government and what they can be doing to help this recovery along. that is what you already here president obama talk about when it comes to taxes and budget and governor romney as well. >> mitt romney has won the la

vatican hill. it is their testimony, their witness in this city, which establishes rome as the firm foundation of thee center of the empire. he would have been drawn to proclaim the gospel to the christian community that was present. paul, on the other hand, appealed to the roman emperor during his trial in jerusalem and, therefore, was brought here as a prisoner. ♪ >> reporter: millions of visitors come to rome, many for artistic reasons to see the splendor of the city and others for spiritual reasons. today the pope lives in rome and the city is the spiritual home of bishops, cardinals and more than 1 billion catholics, worldwide. it is all because the fisherman from galilee came here nearly 2,000 years ago, the first big step in the spread of christianity. in the roman empire, christian faith was paid in thousands of lives, coming up, greg burke will take us inside the catacombs where it is believed christians hid to escape the executioner. [ male announcer ] a car is either luxury or it isn't. if you want a luxury car with a standard power moonroof, your options are going to be limited. ♪ if you

vatican. the united nations and arab league envoy kofi annan say alarming casualty's have been reported in syria even after the government agreed to withdraw funds from protest city's. >> russia and china have joined in in stepping up the pressure on president bashar al-assad. if this is carried out, he will call for a complete cease to hostilities two days after the deadline. >> members of the u.n. security council still have doubts that president bashar al-assad will keep his promise and withdraw forces from opposition strongholds before the deadline. special envoy kofi annan made a special plea by a video link. >> i plea for clear instructions, so the message goes down through the country to the fighter and soldier. >> the syrian regime says it has already begun withdrawing forces from flashpoint cities, but eyewitnesses report continued shelling. >> even if the regime announced its acceptance of the kofi annan issued a, we believe it is an attempt to buy time and reorganize militarily. >> some observers fear that syrian forces are trying to gain as much ground as possible before the cease-fire comes into effect. >> the view from washington on this, let's bring

worshipers in jerusalem, walking in the city's procession there, and at the vatican, pope den pweubgtlf leading the passion of the lord. gregg burke is streaming live from rome. greg. >> reporter: jon, well, as we speak the pope is in saint peter's basilica leading this momemration of the passion, a very solemn ceremony, essentially a number of parts to it, there are several readings, reminding all those present of their since and the need for conversion, then the adoration of the cross, then the communion service, this is one of the few days of the year in the catholic year where there is no mass but a communion service. it is a very busy four days for pope benedict xvi. it kicked off yesterday with two different passes -- mass, one in the morning for priests and one in the afternoon at the basilica of saint john john, the mass of the last supper which includes the washing of the feet as christ washed the feet of the apostles. it's a very important celebration and joyous feast. it was also the institution of the ukirs, but one taking place just hours before the passion and the crucif

vatican pope benedict xvi of began the easter vigil in st. peter's basilica. the lights were lowered to symbolize jesus tomb before his resurrection. tomorrow the pope circuit citiesmass for thousands in st. peter's square. >>> during his weekly address, president obama skipped politics and instead reflected on the meaning of this easter and passover weekend. mr. obama says, "both holidays remind americans of the common thread of humanity." >> the notion that there is something out there that is bigger than ourselves. these beliefs help unite americans of all faiths and backgrounds. they shape our values and guide our work. they put our lives in perspective. >> the president and the first lady hosted a seder at the white house earlier this week and tomorrow mr. obama says he will celebrate easter with his family. >>> in news of the worldtoid in syria thousands turned out in support of president bashar al- assad in damascus. elsewhere government forces bombarded areas. the u.s. warned syria it won't be able to deceive the world if it doesn't comply. >>> in pakistan there is no sign of life after a avalanche came down on a military complex near a glacier in the moun

vatican. ♪ >> some 100,000 worshipers crammed into st. peter's square to hear it, an appeal for africa and the middle east. afterwards, the pontiff gave his traditional blessing in 16 different languages. >>> in new york cityousands of parisioners packed st. patrick's cathedral for easter services. it marked the first time the archbishop of new york celebrated the holiday as a cardinal. >>> the first family celebrated the day with a walk to church. they attended services at st. john's episcopal church. along the way, the president wished everybody a happy easter and during the service they received communion. the weather turned a bit chilly, though. his youngest daughter walked out with her sweater on her arm. that's when the first lady went into mommy mode and helped her daughter on with her sweater. being a mom. >>> every journalist has a hero, the one they set for the bar of excellence. for many of us that legend was mike wallace. he died thursday at the age of 93, and with every interview he did, wallace proved he was the best. this is the guy who asked thekh crazy. >> how many blacks are there on your staff? >> i couldn't honestly answer you. >> no, that speaks for itself. >> huh? >> i say that speaks