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i'm fredricka whitfield along with jonathan mann. talking videotapes, dvds, thumb drive, all of that that were seized from osama bin laden's compound just shy of a week ago when he was target and killed by u.s. forces and today the pentagon intelligence officials revealed just a slice of that cache. >> in fact, the strangest home movies you're going to see today, including images of the al qaeda leader releasing recorded messages to the world. they were promising and threatening more terror. then there was a private video of him watching himself on television while he sits huddled up, crunched up under a blanket. another shows him in a robe. the pentagon says they're the biggest largest haul ever from a single source. >> pentagon correspondent barbara starr was there for the debriefing. she's with us now. what more can you tell us about the strategy of releasing this kind of information? >> well, let me reset this for everybody right now. i'm sorry. you're hearing saturday afternoon in the pentagon. you're hearing the testing of the

i'm fredricka whitfield. breaking news in south louisiana. mandatory evacuation orders are under way as floodwaters threaten thousands of homes, businesses and farms. 2,000 people in st. landry parish west of baton rouge have been told to pack up and leave. they have until 6:00 p.m. eastern time. six other parishes in the region are also expected to flood. the evacuations come after the army corps of engineers started opening flood gates on the morganza spillway. more will likely be opened in the days ahead. they're merging spillways away from new orleans and baton rouge, but that puts nearly 4,000 people in the path of that flood. we're joined from st. landry parish where people have gotten the word. they're packing up as fast as they can. ed set up the scene for us. >> reporter: we're in a little stretch of community in a man-made lake called red mile lake, and they've been told they need to evacuate by this afternoon, so we've encountered lots of people packing up to leave their homes. authorities have been going door to door with the nati

but coming up after the break, our last shot together, me and fredricka whitfield on the end of days. one a good one. we're coming up after the break. man: all right. we were actually thinking, maybe... we're going to hike up here, so we'll catch up with you guys. [ indistinct talking and laughter ] whew! i think it's worth it. working with a partner you can trust is always a good decision. massmutual. let our financial professionals help you reach your goals. you could spend as much as $200. olay says challenge that with an instrument that cleanses as effectively as what's sold by skin professionals for a whole lot less. new olay pro x advanced cleansing system. the 3.6-liter pentastar v6 engine in the jeep grand cherokee has a best in class driving range of more than 500 miles per tank. which means you don't have to worry about finding a gas station. which is good... because there just might not be one. >>> all right. i've been waiting on this all morning. fredricka whitfield, you have no idea how good it is to see you. >> it's always great to see you, under any circumstances. >> on

i'm fredricka whitfield. we begin with breaking news, the taliban is claiming responsibility for a suicide attack that killed seven people in northern afghanistan today. among those purportedly wounded, one of the highest-ranking nato officers in the country. we'll try to get more information on that story as it develops. >>> meantime, rare morning explosions rocked libya's capital city today. a government official says one of the blasts hit a compound in tripoli belonging to leader moammar gadhafi. nato confirmed and bombed a vehicle storage area in a second strike nearby. egypt reopened its border crossing into gaza that opens the door to the outside world for palestinians. officials say hundreds passed through the border town of raffa today. israel worries that terrorists will now ship arms across the border. the egyptian government had supported an israeli blockade imposed back in 2007. >>> president barack obama wants to make it easier for polish tourists and business people to visit the u.s. during a vi

i'm fredicricka whitfield. we begin with the growing list of republican hopefuls. herman cain announced his candidacy at a rally in atlanta. he is the fourth republican now to toss his hat into the ring. >> this day this hour, this moment i came to declare my candidacy for president of the united states of america. >> her main cain there. mitt romney meantime is in south carolina focusing on jobs and the economy, also a hopeful for the presidency. it's his first visit to the state since gearing up his political machine for possible presidential run in 2012. so far the former massachusetts governor's candidacy is undeclared. peter hand by is at the event and joins us on the phone from suburban columbia. it's presumed he's throwing his hat into the ring. otherwise, why would he put so much mileage to get his message across. >> it's a game we play. mitt romney is not officially a candidate. he came to south carolina obviously because this state is one of the first four states along with iowa, new hampshire and nevada that kicks off the presidental nominating process.

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i'm fredricka whitfield. the libyan government says it's a war crime. it says a nato air strike has killed one of muammar gadhafi's sons, 21-year-old. they say they ran a command and control facility but there is no evidence to support the claim that gadhafi's son or grandchildren were killed. we have been to the compound that was bombed. he joins us from tripoli. what else can you tell us about this? any confirmations either way? >> this, fredricka, is not the compound gadhafi normally uses. it's a much smaller compound. it's also in downtown tripoli. it's basically got three houses on it, very small houses. the one that was hit was a two-bedroom, one-story house. it appears to have been hit by four bombs. only three of those bombs actually exploded. the interesting thing about this fredricka, is aside from the libyan government telling us that gadhafi's youngest son was in here, they also said muammar gadhafi was on the scene as well as muammar gadhafi's wife when this happened. they said both muammar and his wife escaped unhurt, but the second younge

i'm fredericka whitfield. one week ago a tornado pack 2g 00 mifrp winds ripped through the city leaving at least 142 people dead and hundreds more hurt. >> numbers continue to rise. this isn't about a scoreboard. those numbers have far exceeded what never had ever hoped for and far exceed all the tornados in our country. today we bring everyone together go focus on it and inspire others to come together as the they have here. >> we'll hear from both the president and the govern right here on cnn. >>> lockheed martin says hackers who attacked their system did not get anything important. it's one of several military vendors that hackers targeted. the aerospace security team took countermeasures to protect information from being compromised. >> back in joplin, our white house dan lothian is also there. dan, with so much destruction, where do they find a building large enough to actually accommodate everyone, including president and security detail? >> reporter: that is such a good question. they found it here on

i'm fredricka whitfield. a look at our top stories right now.sident barack obama stressed his support for israel today during a speech to a pro-israel lobby group. critics raised questions last week about the president declaring that the middle east peace negotiations should be based on israel's pre-1967 borders. speaking to the american/israel public affairs committee, this morning mr. obama said his support for the jewish state remains strong. >> good morning. a strong and secure israel is in the national security interests of the united states not simply because we share strategic interests, although we do both seek a region where families and children can live free from the threat of violence. >>> meantime, los angeles police have arrested a suspect in connection with the brutal beating of a san francisco giants baseball fan at dodger stadium. other suspects are being detained. bryan to stow was leaving the game wearing a giants jersey when he was attacked by two men wearing dodgers apparel. >>> a tragic night in northeastern kansas. at leas

nuri al maliki continrm "newsroom" continuing at the top of the hour with fredricka whitfield. >> we'veal guys who are going to begin with us. they're going to be talking about that edwards case and what could be expected. will be there charges? >>> and then "hangover ii," that starts this weekend. did you see the first one? >> i did. mike tyson, the tiger, the baby. >> speaking of mike tyson, that signature tattoo, the creator of that tattoo is raising a big stink in this "hangover ii," this movie also didn't come out this weekend as a result of that copyright issue. we're going to delve into that. >>> 2:00 eastern time, the dolans, financial experts that they are, are going to be with us to talk about how you can try to avoid being hacked. that's a big problem that seems to be growing these days. >> huge. and they'll take just a penny from everybody who has a bank account at a bank or something and get rich. >> and all of a sudden they have millions. >>> also, national parks, it's memorial day weekend. this is a big one for going to national parks. yellowstone is closed. we'll explain

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you're in the cnn newsroom this saturday, may 14th, i'm fredricka whitfield. saving two of louisiana's biggest cities at the sacrifice of flooding homes and farmland. that's what will likely happen as the u.s. army corps of engineers opens the morganza spillway beginning an hour from now. while opening the gaelts would slowly divert floodwaters from baton rouge and new orleans, areas in yellow could get up to 20 feet of water, in green up to 15 feet. the morganza spillway hasn't been opened in nearly 40 years. but for the u.s. army corps of engineers, it's a necessary move to protect major cities. they're going to open it slowly so people and wildlife are not caught by surprise. >> there's a slow opening for a lot of reasons. one is from an engineering perspective. the water will come out of here pretty quickly. you don't want to scour the back side of this structure. from an environmental perspective, ofb yous think there are lots of bear and other wildlife. we want to make sure they have the opportunity to get to higher ground. last but most importantly, fro

i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> a manhunt is under way in oklahoma city for two men who shot and wounded an off-duty deputy. major john waldenville was working security at a restaurant overnight when the gunman shot him in the head. the 25-year-old veteran is listed in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery. >>> police in mexico arrested the leader of one of the country's most notorious drug reasons. balderas operated the gang. i talked to a former dea agent a short time ago. >> this is major. you've got to remember this gang was responsible for large shipments over a long period of time, over ten years, coming from mexico to united states. you're talking about cocaine, marijuana. also, because they were able to free up the borders and get control over the borders, there is methamphetamine and heroin that crossed the borders as well. >> barragan was wanted in the united states. the united states offered a $5 million reward for his capture. >>> a suicide bomber attacked an afghan military hospital in kabul. a taliban spokesman claims 51 people died including foreigners. th

i'm fredricka whitfield.ck right after this. >>> the government's debt trouble and one automakers plan to get out of debt, our money team has that and more. first to alison kosik. >> hi. the government hit its legal spending limits this past week. $14.3 trillion. treasury secretary geithner is buying lawmakers time by cutting back investments in federal retirement funds. that gives congress until august 2nd to decide whether or not to raise the debt ceiling. if they fail to do so the government will default on its debt payment. linkedin debut made a splash with one of the biggest ipos since google. shares initially priced at $45 a share and doubled on the first day of trading. >> poppy has a look at what's something up next week. hi, poppy. >> thanks a lot. chrysler may take a big step next week towards paying off the $7 billion bailout it received in 2009. the automaker is lining up bank loans and bond sales to raise cash and that would allow the italian automaker fiat to boost its stake in chrysler to more

i'm fredricka whitfield at the cnn headquarters in atlanta. on this first sunday after that deadly string of tornadoes comfort and prayer services among the rubble. the death toll now at 339 across six states. survivors are praising both volunteers and the federal government for responding so quickly with aid, supply and support. cnn's martin savidge is near the alabama border in the devastated town of smithville, mississippi. marty, how are many there marking this day? >> reporter: well, fredricka, we were just watching here. a lot of people are marking the day by trying to get what they can. this is mel's diner. melanie is the owner here. she's just off camera here. they're trying to salvage what they can from this place. it's been a business 14 years. they plan and promise they will reopen. they just can't say exactly when that will be. for a lot of other people as you can see there isn't a whole lot that they can reclaim. there's not much at all as they try to sift through the pieces and pick up their lives. it is a day of faith sunday smi

i'm fredricka whitfield. "your money" starts right now. >>> it's the economy, stupid. or is it? i'm ali velshi. welcome to "your money." 82% of americans say economic conditions are poor. if history is a guide, president obama should have a tough time convincing voters to give him another term next year. candy crowley, chief political correspondent and anchor of "state of the union" is with me. why are more republicans not lining up to take this president on in 2012? >> reporter: i think there are a lot of individual reasons for individual candidates who decided not to run. but i have to tell you, you look at those figures and you say, whoa, the president is in for a rough reelection ride. should he get it simply because if that many people think the economy is poor, that certainly is not going to help him at the voting booth. but here's the rub. they don't actually blame president obama for the economy. 55% of americans blame george bush. just 30% blame president obama. so he is running counter to conventional wisdom in that people still blame president bush and i think, by ext

bud selig is here in atlanta for this weekend's event and he sat down with our very own fred reka whitfielde talked about baseball's efforts to rid the game of steroids as well as at the lie guy built of certain players for the hall of fame. he also had some very interesting things to say about pete rose, currently banned from the game for betting on baseball games. >> so cleaner now than ever? >> no question about it. we banned amphetamines which was a great problem in major league baseball for years. the incidents of steroids in terms of positives are almost down to nothing. we're the only american sport testing for human growth hormone. we're giving blood tests in the minor leagues. i'm proud of where we are. we have to be on the lookout. chemists are always trying to develop things. but this is the first time baseball ever had a drug testing program. we went through the cocaine era in the '80s. now there's very stringent testing and i'm proud of the great progress we have made. >> how will that impact the eligibility of players in the hall of fame, sammy sosa, barry bonds, jose conseco,

i'm fredericka whitfield. more of the newsroom coming up next. trained tech experts, staples makes trouble-shooting and repairing technology just the way you want it -- easy. easy to buy. easy to fix. easy to save. staples. that was easy. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> we are following two separate security threats aboard an airliner as a passenger was trying to open the exit door in the middle of flights leading to security fears after

i'm fredricka whitfield at cnn world headquarters in atlanta. here's our top stories.andatory evacuation orders are under way as the mississippi river's floodwaters surge through the morganza spillway. 2,000 people in st. landry parish west of baton rouge are being told to pack it up and get out. right now, four floodgates on the morganza spillway are open. more openings are planned in the days ahead. >>> the head of the international monetary fund is about to be formally charged in new york with attempted rape. police say 62-year-old dominique strauss-khan tried to attack a maid at his luxury manhattan hotel. he is also accused of committing a criminal sexual act and unlawful imprisonment. strauss-khan is expected to enter a not guilty plea during a court appearance today. >>> all around israel's borders today scenes just like this. palestinians facing off and clashing with israeli troops. in the golan heights on the lebanese border in gaza, several people are reported killed, many more hurt. today is the day every year when palestinians angrily protest the creation o

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. >>> i'm fredricka whitfield in the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. >>> president barack obama hasust arrived in joplin, missouri, getting ready to see for himself the devastation from the nation's single deadliest tornado. the president joins the governor at a memorial service in about an hour from now, and cnn will be carrying that live for you. 146 people are now dead in joplin. search crews are still trying to find 44 other people still missing. the city will observe a moment of silence at 5:41 central time. that's the exact moment the ef-5 tornado struck one week ago. >>> the defense department contractor lockheed martin says hackers did not get any sensitive information. lockheed martin is one of several military contractors whose security network was attacked by hackers just last week. the company's security team detected the attack and took countermeasures. >>> and thousands of people are taking part in the annual memorial day rolling thunder motorcycle ride in washington, d.c. bikers rode from the pentagon to the national mall to draw attention to u.s. troops missing or he

john, i'm fredricka whitfield. >> drew griffin continues in two minutes with breaking news.eos. don't go away. lovet to♪ e moy ♪ ♪ounow i ve it too soy ♪ndbrinity y ♪ ♪ounow i ve it too [ thunder rumbles ] [ male announcer ] the motorola xoom. designed to access anything and everything on the internet with adobe flash. upgradable to 4g lte for blazing-fast web surfing. and access to the fast growing, endlessly exciting apps in android market. it's everything the tablet should be. starting at $599. mom! [ male announcer ] you know mom. mom! [ male announcer ] we know diamonds. and with an extra 10% off storewide now through saturday, we'll make this mother's day one she'll never forget. that's why only zales is the diamond store. >>> breaking news this hour. >> we'd like to welcome our viewers in the dwroous and around the world. >> our first look at videos seized from osama bin laden's hideout. five videos of a man who was the biggest terrorist. released today by u.s. intelligence officials. each with the sound removed, we're told to avoid spreading osama bin laden's message

i'm fredricka whitfield at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. our top story, president barack obama defended his stance on middle east peace negotiations today and he went in front of a tough audience to do it. he spoke to the american-israel public affairs committee on aipac. it describes itself as american's leading israel group. he insisted his stance is no threat to israel. >> by definition, it means that the parties themselves, israelis and palestinians, will negotiate a border that is different than the one that existed on june 4th, 1967. that's what mutually agreed upon swaps means. it is a well known formula to all who have worked on this issue for a generation. it allows the parties themselves to account for the changes that have taken place over the last 44 years. >> cnn's senior u.s. state department producer elyse labben is in washington right now. how important was it for the president to make this speech? >> well, i think it was very important, fred, for him to, as you would say, clean up some of the messiness that residuated over

and my goodness, what a joy it is right now to see fredricka whitfield. >> he's always so happy at thes morning. it's here. i'm the cue. >> been an interesting morning. >> it's been fascinating. >> how's the tweeting been going? >> i'm doing okay. still baby steps, training wheels. it's taken me a while to go without the training wheels. >> take your time. >> i'm not in a hurry. >> she's @fwhitfield. you can find her. >> every time you say that, i get a couple of more friends. can you say that on tweet? >> no. that's facebook. >> what is it on twitter? >> your followers. we look like a couple of tweeps right now. >> that would be twirps. >> what do you have for us? >> miami heat's chris bosh in the middle of an interesting lawsuit that he has pursued. he's saying the chick who's on -- he didn't say chick, i did. i say it all the time s. that a bad thing? >> i don't know. >> the young lady who is not his wife, but the mother of his child, he is suing to say she shouldn't be on the show professing my business, my personal business, our family life, et cetera. so our legal guys are going

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i'm fredricka whitfield. we start with breaking news out of st. louis. a second passenger plane has been diverted today. this one a continental flight bound for chicago. apparently there was an unruly passenger on board. he approached the front of the plane and tried to get to the exit door. the passenger had to be restrained. he was taken off the plane in st. louis and is being questioned by federal authorities. the plane was allowed to continue on to chicago, and now this comes after this taking place in new mexico. albuquerque, delta flight 1706 was forced to land there because of a potential security threat, according to the tsa. a flight attendant on the san diego bound flight discovered a suspicious note in the lavatory. the passengers are being checked out by the fbi there at albuquerque, new mexico. that flight that started out in detroit on its way to san diego, diverted to albuquerque, new mexico. you're seeing that picture there of the flight on the ground in albuquerque. cnn is following both of these stories. one out of st. louis. this one o

. >>> it is time for me to hand it off to my dear lady, fredricka whitfield who now simply just goes by @fwhitfield. >> oh, my goodness. >> i'm not going to let this go. good to have you on twitter. >> thank you for encouraging me to stay on board. seven tweets and counting. >> you'll be up there with many more. >> that's what they're telling me the in your opinions are. i'm not counting. i'm just there. >> but it's all yours. good to see you. >> you have a great day. we're continuing to watch a lot of things. three big stories, same as t.j. for the last hour. flooding on the mississippi river, the aftermath of the deadly southeastern tornadoes and a briefing taking place at the pentagon this hour. that briefing focuses on intelligence gathered in the raid that killed osama bin laden. cameras are allowed inside that briefing. but our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, is there and will tell us know what happens, what is to make of anything seized from that compound. and what intelligence may have been used to help american forces catch their man there in pakistan. >>> in the mean

the shoulders of ambassador andrew young, general benjamin davis, fredricka whitfield, and laurie stokes. the shoulders of toni morrison, taraji henson and michelle miller. you stand on the shoulders of our mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, we stand on the shoulders of all who have struggled, all who have sweated, all who have bled, all who have yearned, all who have sacrificed, because they join in celebrating howard university's class of 2011 united, under god, indivisible, with liberty, justice and a commitment to excellence, equality and high expectations for all . . congratulations class of 2011. this is your mission. this is your moment. good luck and godspeed. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> later today, remarks from supreme court justice samuel alito on supreme court practices and traditions. he told an argument -- an audience that cases usually involve reading five. pages or more of legal briefs. he spoke at a bar association luncheon. you can see his comments today a