clock. next month, the 30-year-old shuttle program will end with a mission of another shuttle, the at lan hi atlantis. pressure is mounting on congressman anthony wiener to answer two questions posted on his twitter account. how hot is it getting? >> how about you do the questions, i do the answers and this jackass interrupts me. how about that as the new rule of the game? >> let's catch you up on this stoefrmt on friday night, a picture of a man in his jupd wear briefly showed up on wiener's twitter account. it was intended for a 21-year-old woman's site. that many would, a college student told the new york daily news that, yes, he followed her on twitter but the lewd post did not come from the congressman but from somebody who has harassed her before. on monday, he blamed the photo on a hacker. on tuesday, cnn's dana bash asked him, if that was true, why not go to the police? >> you are here, which we appreciate but you are not answering the questions. can you just say why you haven't asked law enforcement to investigate what you are alleging is a crime? >> you know, dana, if i was giving a speech to 45,000 people, and someone in the back of the room threw a pie or yelled out an insult, would i spend the next two hours responding to that? no. i would get back. >> this is into the situation. >> i would get back. >> reporter: this is not the situation. >> you want to do the briefing? >> reporter: you sent from your twitter account a lewd photograph was stoent a college student. answer the question. was it from you or not? >> sir, sir, permit me. do you guys want me to finish my answer? >> reporter: yes, this answer. did you send it or not? >> if i were giving a speech to 45,000 people and someone in the back threw a pie or yelled out an insult, i would not spend the next two hours of my speech responding to that pie or that insult. >> you are the one that said that you were hacked. that's a criminal, potential criminal offense. >> i am going to have to ask that we follow some rules, you ask questions and i do the answer. >> i would love to get an answer. >> that would be reasonable, you do the questions, i do the answers and that jackass interrupts me. how about that as the rule of the game? >> you heard him call a man a jackass. that man was our long-time cnn capitol hill producer, ted barrett. welcome and thank you for joining us this morning. i know you had a long night last night. first of all, congressman wiener said he didn't want to talk about this. he just wanted it to go away to concentrate on more important things. tell us the circumstances of this particular appearance yesterday. >> reporter: well, we had been staking out his office for a good part of the day. prior to this news conference, he did a news conference a few hours earlier where he gave really the very exact same answers that he did at this one about the heckler, about throwing the pie and those answers obviously were not really material to the question about the lewd photograph and the twitter account. because he so clearly was relying on those talking points and we felt strongly we wanted to get the answers to these questions, that's why my colleague, dana bash, and i were pressing him so hard to specifically address those allegations. >> you wanted a yes, no, answer, number one, was that lewd picture of you, yes or no, congressman wiener? number two, if there was someone who hacked into your account as a lawmaker, as a u.s. representative, why aren't you going to the police or should you go to the police? you wanted a yes or no answer to that question. you didn't get that. you got those talking points. why is it important that representative wiener answer these questions like flat out yes or no? >> reporter: well, i think from our standpoint, it is not so much about the salacious details about the lewd photo and the like. that happens to be what this is about. i think that his answers have not been forthcoming. he has not tried to offer any evidence or specific proof as to why this was a prank or a hack, as he had said. so we needed to get at why he wasn't being forthcoming with us. that speaks to, you know, i think a person's integrity and the like. again, it wasn't about the salacious details. it was more about that he was not, didn't appear to be forthcoming in his responses. he wanted to turn it and talk about something else. he kept doing that again and again and again. >> right. it seemed as if he was evasive instead of just telling voters the truth about what happened. you have worked on capitol hill for cnn for years. what kind of reputation does congressman wiener have? >> reporter: well, i think he has a very good reputation. he is a partisan democrat. if you are a democrat you like him a lot. if you are a republican, you probably find him a worthy opponent. he is known to be very media savvy. that is one of the reasons i think that sort of our flag went up yesterday when he kept repeating the same media strategy to dealing with these answers, because he is a very disciplined carrier of messages. he wanted to stay on this message, talking about debt ceiling. talking about you who he wasn't going to be distracted by this. so he is a very talented politician. no question about that. >> ted barrett, cnn congressional producer, thank you for joining us this morning. sarah palin's bus tour has taken an unexpected detour for a quick stop at the trump tower m manhattan. she sat down with donald trump who announced he would not announce a white house bid. they got some tongues wagging with the idea of the pale lynn trump ticket. we had a great time, a great denner. we discussed a lot of things. >> politics? >> politics and other things, marvin. >> reporter: can you share with us what the political discussion was? >> someday, i will. at the bottom of the hour, we will take a closer look of the possibility of a trump/palin ticket. we know it is never going to happen. we will talk about much more with very well think iowa donors traveling to new jersey to try to recruit other republican candidates to head into the republican race. we will talk about that. since the economy tanked a few years ago, many of us have tried to spend less thand pay off more of our bills. a couple of weeks ago, the feds maxed out their credit cards, reached their spending limits. the death ceiling is $14.3 trillion, trillion with a t. they want to bump up their spending limits another $2.4 trillion. lawmakers aren't just saying no. they are saying heck no, by a par jen of more than 3-1, the house has rejected the white house's request. president obama will make his pitch in person to congressional republicans to get them to change their minds. they will arrive at the white house with demands they say are non-negotiable. the white house must make sharp spending cuts and major reforms on how the government sfends our money. it is the end of an error for the space shuttle "endeavour." earlier this morning, it completed its final mission with a perfect landing in florida. have a journey of 6 1/2 miles, "endeavour" landing in darkness, the engeneral knewity of every flight and dreamer that helped it ply. >> it means that nasa's 38-year-old space shuttle program has only one flight remaining. john zarrella is at the kennedy space center in florida. were you there in 1992 for the first flight. how did it feel to see her wrap up her career this morning? >> reporter: book ending it from the first flight to the last flight, "endeavour" probably never would have been built if nor for the tranlg gic challeng accident. watching it come in on that picture perfect landing early this morning, you are thinking to yourself, that's it. it is not flying again and there is only one more left that will fly again. it is pretty interesting feelings that go through your mind. the crew that just wrapped up this mission held a news conference just a few minutes ago and, of course, mark kelly, the commander, was asked about his wife, congresswoman gabrielle giffords, who made it here for his launch but did not come for the landing. he kind of explained why. >> one of the reasons we didn't have her come down here is because it was really late in the night. what she is going through now is very physically challenging and difficult thing, very busy schedule. it certainly would be disruptive. we all have kids right now that are just crashed from being up all night. for anybody, anybody in this room, for us, it is kind of easy, because we have sleep shifted. what i am going to say to her? i really miss her and can't wait to get back there tomorrow to see her. we are all looking forward to spending time with our families. >> reporter: he said that before the news conference, he had not called her yesterday, because he did not want to wake her up. he didn't even know if she had gotten up to watch the landing or not. but that he was certainly going to make the call once he finished up the news conference and got back. in houston, they are an hour behind. it it was a little early to be waking her up. >> i wanted to ask you about "atlantis," it is supposed to launch in july. is everything still on track for that? >> reporter: absolutely. a phenomenal day. as "endeavour" was flying in, "atlantis" was rolling out to the launch pad the last time a shuttle will ever make it, the 4 1/2 mile, from the vehicle assembly building behind me, over to launch pad 39-a. it is out there now. nasa says that they are on track for a july 8th launch. interesting, carol, if they actually get off on july 8th, they would return to earth on july 20th, which, of course, is the anniversary of the first moon landing. carol? >> you will be there. john zarrella, reporting live for us this morning. thank you. the flight aboard united 990 it had just taken off from washington dulles on a trip to ghana. a fight broke out when one passenger reclined his seat upsetting the guy behind him who started swinging. the flight crew swung around back to dulles, escorted by fighter jets. united 990 heavy, supervisor wanlths wants to know if you have the passenger secure. >> negative. >> police met the passengers at the gate. in the end, no charges were filed. we reached out to united airlines for more information. so far, no reply. the brutal killing of a 13-year-old boy allegedly by syrian security forces has fueled opposition protesters there. it has already outraged human rights groups and governments around the world. zain verjee joins us from london. u.s. pressure is rising because of this? >> exactly, carol. this has been ratcheted up with the poor boy, humza, that was killed in syria. lis stone what hillary clinton said. >> i too was very concerned by the reports about the young boy. i can only hope that this child did not die in vain but that syrian government will end the brutality and begin a transition to real democracy. >> secretary clinton, carol, also added that the syrian regime is weakening and that there has been a total collapse, she called it, of willingness on the side of the regime to even listen or work with its own people. it has been something like ten weeks now of protests in syria and there have been some pretty brutal crackdowns. the boy, humza, who was killed, has become a symbol for so many people in syria protesting against the regime. >> zain verjee, reporting live from london. the world health organization is saying your cell phone might cause cancer. coming up next, a noted brain surgery says you should also look out for memory loss too because of your phone. a tv reporter helps a woman whose suv got stuck on a flooded roll. the dramatic rescue as cameras roll. 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[ male announcer ] this city was once nicknamed "the paris of the midwest." and now this city's most promising new car comes with a beautiful interior, leather seats, and french stitching. perhaps that nickname will come back. ♪ ♪ >> the world health org gab zation is not saying don't use your cell phone, just careful, because it might, and i said might, cause cancer. the group's new warnings compares the dangers from the phone to hazard causing problems with led, chloroform. the study, they are saying is inconclusive and more research is needed. let's get some answers with mortality and miracles. dr. keith black joins us now. welcome, doctor. >> good morning. >> doctor, it seems like a lot of this report is incon drclusi. you yourself said proving something like this could take decades. why scare people? >> i think what the who classification does is puts consumers on the alert that we can not con clues civil say it at this time that cell phones are absolutely safe. when they looked at the hundreds of art cals that have been published, some negative, some positive, trying to look at the correlation between cell phones and cancer, the conclusion of the panel was that there is a possible link between cell phones and brain cancer. people should be aware of that and take precautions if they elect to try to reduce the amount of microwave radiation that brains could be exposed to. >> we are going to talk about the precautions in a second. i want to get into something else. cancer isn't the only danger from using cell phones. there could be memory loss too. what else? >> essentially, a cell phone is a moy crow waive antenna that generates microwave radiation and energy. if you hold it next to the head, it can go right into the brain. you need to think of it as similar terms as you would a microwave oven. they are emitting microwave energy into the brain that violates the water molecules in the cell. over time, it can produce changes in the cells. we don't know the long-term consequential. we don't know what happens after decades of using the cell phone with memory loss and aging. in the young brain, the skull is much thinner. the tap cap is thinner. could it have effect on learning? >> the simple ways is to protect yourself is to hold your cell phone away from your ear our use -- >> an earpiece. >> i am trying to think of the word. you know what i'm saying, doctor. >> right. the amount of microwave energy that is emitted from the cell phone that's related to the square of the distance. when you have your insert with your cell phone, they might advice you to hold it an inch a from your head. holding it two inches away reduces the amount of radiation about four times. keep the cell phone away from the brain. the best way of doing that is to use handsfree, blue tooth in the car. use a speak are or use an earpiece so that is not right adjacent to the skull. >> i will do that. dr. keith black, thank you for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> if you want to know more ways you can protect yourself from possible wireless phone radiation. go to our website cnn.com back slash health. you will see six tips on how to use your cell phone safely. checking stories across the country. another international businessman is arraigned for sexually assaulting a hotel maid. bail was set at $60,000 for egyptian executive, mahmoud abdel-salam omar. he was accused of sexually assaulted a maid at another new york hotel. florida has a new law requiring adult welfare recipients to undergo drug tests. rick scott signed the measure. it goes into effect may 1st. authorities in chicago closed the north avenue beach after several people fell ill from the heat. >> they just started throwing us all off the beach. the cops were walking up and down saying you need to get out of the water. finally, in arkansas, a tv reporter went from covering the use to making it. it was all caught on tape. karp reporter, adam rodriguez, swam to the rescue of a woman holgs suv got stuck on a blooded road. as you can see, the story ended well. supermodel, naomi campbell's notorious temper is back in the news. a chocolate company used her name in a candy bar ad. that's coming up. >>. >> i'm victor gasher. we can make an impact for people with alzheimer's. as i witnessed my father's decline, there is nothing more painful to witness and then my mother developed it and i became her principal caregiver. i became what is known as a champion for the alzheimer's association and organized a team in my mother's name, which was part of a walk. be proactive. get on board. let's all work together for a cure. join the move, impact your world, cnn.com/impact. 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[ female announcer ] nourish plus. only from aveeno. for softer, stronger... ... hair with life. we're going to head on into the interview. evan, sandy . . . evan .. what pushed you toward the explorer? it was less expensive. better technology inside. there was stuff that we have in our car that i didn't even know existed. how does your music gear fit in there? it fits perfectly. i mean, i got a keyboard, acoustic guitar, merchandise, cds to sell and it all just fits like a nice game of tetras. what would you say to a friend who's skeptical about buying a ford. do you want to borrow my keys. a chocolate company used naomi campbell's name in a candy bar ad. she said it was insulting, hurtful and racist. let's check with zain verjee in london. what's this all about? >> let's go straight to that picture. let's have people decide and see whether it is hurtful and insulting. what you see there is cadbury's bliss chocolate that sits on top of a pile of diamonds. it says, move over, naomi, a new diva in town. she had a statement that said, it is upsetting to be described as chocolate, not just for me but all black women and black people aa race. she says she does not find any humor in it. she adds too that she is weighing her options. she could sue and she may yet have her sweet vrevenge. carol? >> what's the chocolate company saying? >> they are saying they did not intend it this to be offensive. this was meant as something light hearted. they ensiftedencyst it was pulle she complained. others think it is a good campaign. some might think of it as racist. zain verjee, live in london, thank you. coming up, trump, palin and pepperoni. the businessman and former vice presidential candidate eat pizza and talk politics in new york. we will talk about the sum milt in times square. these pictures are making one comedian salivate. he is hoping palin, especially, runs for president for comedy's sake. he says he is tired of the comedy recession in washington right now. we will talk to him later. sarah palin's east coast bus tour made a stop in new york for pizza with none other than donald trump. donald trump and sarah palin shared pepperoni slices and political thoughts. cnn's jim acosta joins us from washington. was this planned, you think? >> reporter: i think it was -- it is hard to tell, carol, with this palin bus tour, what is planned, what is imprompty. th some of this is being orchestrated behind the scenes between palin and her team. she went up to new york city yesterday with a pretty big stop on her itinerary meeting with donald trump. the new york press was out in force trying to pen both of them down as to exactly what they are up to. donald trump has said, he may now run for president again as an independent. he is already stirring the pot with respect to his future plans. sarah palin was obviously asked why are you meeting with donald trump. she said very candidly to reporters yesterday afternoon, carol, that she ndand the donal were handicapping the current presidential field looking at whether or not the current field is a good fit for her and donald trump. they both had a lot to say about each other. there is a little bit of sound to play. here is what they had to say about each other yesterday. >> what do we have in common? a love for this country and a desire to see our economy put back on the right track making sure we have a balanced trade arrangement with other countries across this world so that americans can have our jobs, our industries, our manufacturing again. >> donald, do you support sarah palin as president? >> she didn't ask me for that. she is a terrific woman. she didn't ask me but ile tell you she is a great woman and a terrific woman and a good friend. >> carol, they were also asked about whether or not they would run as running mates in 2012. some of these questions are starting to get a little absurd. they do have a lot in common, the reality tv show, the fact they are both mavericks, they don't mind bucking republican party leaders. somebody somebody headed up to new hampshire. we understand sometime later this week, which is stoking all sorts of speculation about her future plans. the donald is also very good at that as well. they have all lot in common. >> they are very good at attracting the media also. >> a reminder, for all the latest political news, go to our website. some other stories making headlines, president obama meets with congressional republicans next hour to talk about the budget deficit. comes a day after the house of representatives shot down a bill to raise the debt ceiling without deficit or spending cuts. the faa plans to get tough on people who shine lasers into the cockpits of planes. pilots reported over 2800 cases last year. the faa says the lasers can temporarily blind a pilot making it impossible to safely land an aircraft. they plan to announce stiffer penalties next hour. space shuttle "endeavour" back home. after a 16-day mission to the intin international space station. atlantis will make the last space shuttle liftoff set for july 8th. the nba finals are underway. one cleveland sports store owner is showing his true colors. the store is stocking dallas mavericks apparel. the mavs are, of course, playing lebron james-led miami heat and anti-lebron fever remains high in dleefcleveland. lebron scored 24 points leading the heat to a 92-84 win over the mavs. more highlights from that game in 20 minutes. at the end of a long hard day, there is nothing we americans want more than a nice glass of wine. a new study shows we drank a record amount of wine last year. we go to the new york stock exchange for details. a marijuana growing superstore opens up in arizona. that story next in the "newsroom." uh, laugh lines? 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[ female announcer ] roc multi-correxion. correct what ages you. -aging... -bring it on. t adththod it's dif - alcium crhea ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] and just like that, it's here. a new chance for all of us: people, companies, communities to face the challenges yesterday left behind and the ones tomorrow will bring. prudential. bring your challenges. for years, france has been synonymous with wine. it still is. a new study shows the biggest wine drinkers are right here in the united states. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange with the no so sobering details. good morning. good morning, carol. yes, move over france, the u.s. can now drink you under the table. we are now the biggest wine consuming nation. americans drank a record amount of wine last year, how much? we drank 330 million cases last year. the french drank 321 million cases. this is coming from the wine institute of san francisco. analysts are saying it is becoming more popular here and less so in france. also, new creative, cheaper wines are being made, affordable pinot noirs. trader joes came out with a $3 chuck. the recession has a lot to do with it. the study shows the most popular wines are under $25. talking about prices under pressure, stocks pulling back after a weak labor report. the dow down 43 points. this labor report shows that 38,000 private sector jobs were added in may. 175,000 were expected. this was a big miss. i will have more on that in the next hour. back to you. alison kosik, thank you. checking stories across the country. two iraqi nationals face life sentences for providing weapons to iraq. they were arrested last week after months of surveillance. the feds say they recovered one of their fingerprints frommen aundetonated ied in iraq in 2005. in illinois, same-sex civil unionses are now legal as of today. they have the same protections as heterosexual couples have. in phoenix, it is open dag for the weed grow store, a big box retailer that promotes itself as the place to buy your marijuana cultivation equipment. the company's third store front and first outside the state of california. one comedian really wants sarah palin to run for president. why? he says the political comedy well has run dry thaand that pa will fill it back up. actually, not just palin. there are plenty of politicians to choose from. who need imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your mobility and your life. one medicare benefit that, with private insurance, may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. hi i'm doug harrison. we're experts at getting you the power chair or scooter you need. i didn't pay a penny out of pocket for my power chair. with help from the scooter store, medicare and my insurance covered it all. call the scooter store for free information today. at least one comedian says there is a recession in laughs. you could hear him salivating when sarah palin and donald trump had their pizza summit, pep roni, cheese and comedy gold. another comedian, craig ferguson, touched on that topic. today in new york city, sarah palin had a meeting with donald trump. if those two join forces on a presidential ticket, it would be the greatest gift ever given to comedy. he is not the only one that feels that way, as i said. dean obadala is the founder of the arab-american comedy festival. you have started a twitter group called comedians for palin. there are plenty of politicians to go aren't, isn't there? >> there are but this has to do with presidential politics. there has been political comedy. i think we have been in a political comedy recession. not that obama doesn't give us some material here and there but there is not a specific take on him. president bush couldn't speak english well and president clinton had the sex ka bads. president bush used to say el ca ca caieda. what about dennis kucinich, he is running around the country trying to find a district to run in. he is funny in himself? >> it was a hard choice. among the comedians i know, we talked about it. if trump stayed in the race, he had a lot of potential. his hair makes you appreciate justin bieber's hair. sarah palin has a track record. she has a proven track record. that's what makes us happy. to us, she is like george bush without the lipstick. that's the difference between sarah palin and george bush, islip sticis lipstick. just recently, she said, in libya, we have a squirmish going on. alvin the chipmunks, maybe she thought it was okay to add to any word. we want her to run for president. i am not saying i want her to win i want her to run for president. >> i am wondering why most comedians pick on the republican side of the aisle. is it because they are all democrats? why is that? >> a lot of comedians are a little more on the progressive side. we do tons of jokes about president clinton. it is about the person. president obama, if he didn't speak english as well or was unfaithful, it would be better for comedians. we look at sarah palin who says we have to stand with our north korean allies and said sometimes she has foreign policy experience. it is like being on a plane and hearing a voice go, today, i'll be flying. i'm not the pilot but i live about two miles from the airport. it is going to be an interesting time. she will create jobs. all those people that lost the job from the bush comedy industry, they will be back in business better than ever with president palin. >> that is ridiculous. i am going to give you a little fodder. when you saw donald trump and sarah palin sitting down to eat pizza, what went through your mind? >> the greatest ticket would be palin and charlie sheen. impossible to happen. i imagine i don't know what their conversation could be. to me, they are like the a-team, instead of trumping the hair, she is the crazy murdock, howling mad. it is an interesting time for us. if they were to run together, i can assure you the political comedy would dominate, dominate the comedy horizon. >> the reason we are talking to dean is because he has written an interesting article on cnn.com. be sure to check it out and if you would like to post a comment, you certainly can. there is a place for you right on cnn.com. hey, kids, let the old guy take some shots. he is not a ringer. he is the premier of china. he is not much bigger than the school kids. more sports in ten minutes. 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. ♪ [ male announcer ] if you find yourself between a rock and a hard place, on second thought... ♪ she got an attitude ...you never will. the 2011 jeep wrangler. adventure is never ordinary. ♪ now sign and drive a jeep wrangler sport 4x4 with zero first month's payment, zero down and zero due at signing for qualified lessees. headlines today, a 1:30 eastern, a federal appeals court will here a challenge on the at 2:00 eastern, congresswoman elect kathy hopele will be sworn in today. and tonight at 9:00 eastern, family and friends of tornado victims will gather for a candle light vigil in tuscaloosa, alabama. names of those killed in the april 27 storm will be read aloud. let's check in with zain vergee. hi, carol. we are going to tell you what the up in headlines around the world are saying today about syria and about that brutal killing of the 13-year-old boy, ham hamza. >> i'm elizabeth coeen in atlanta. the world health organization has a new verdict about cell phones and cancer. why doing this may not be the best idea. i'll tell you why at the top of the hour. i'm brianna keilar at the white house where president obama is set to meet with almost all of the republicans in the house of representatives, a rare meeting and this comes one day after the house failed to pass an increase of the debt ceiling. i'll have that at the top of the hour. >> plus, we'll talk to one of the iowa businessmen who flew to new jersey's capital and asked him why he wants governor chris christie to run for president. christie says he's not going to do it. was the trip worth it? we'll find out in the next hour. [ kimberly ] when i was 19, i found myself alone with two children and no way to support them. people told me i wasn't going to do anything. and i just decided i have more to offer than that. i put myself through nursing school, and then i decided to go get a doctorate degree. university of phoenix gave me the knowledge to make a difference in people's lives. my name is dr. kimberly horton. i manage a network of over a thousand nurses, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. and i am a phoenix. we share. shop from anywhere. and are always connected. we live in a social world. isn't it time we had a social currency to match? membership rewards points from american express. use them to get the things you love from amazon.com, ticketmaster.com, and more unexpected places. they're a social currency with endless possibilities. if you're complaining about the weather and how hot it is, you're certainly not alone. let's head over to the weather center and rob marciano. looking at those temperatures, it is just crazy. >> a couple weeks ago we were complaining about how cold it was. if you lost a.c., somebody who is elderly or have health problems, humidity is not included in these records. richmond, virginia almost tapping 100 yesterday and baltimore, maryland, seeing 9 7 degrees and washington, d.c. seeing 94 degrees. similar numbers in other areas. we don't expect this to let up, at least across the southeastern third of the country. 96 today in atlanta. looking ahead toward tomorrow, the heat continues across the southeast. we may see somewhat cooling from chicago up towards new york over the next couple days. then the heat builds back into chicago as we get towards -- as we get towards friday. watching that, also watching this. it ask t it is the first day of hurricane season. we have a disturbance that will be rolling into florida here. national hurricane center put the orange box on this. watch for development. it won't develop much furtherer than this. florida needs the rain, they'll take it. we'll watch the gulf. who knows what happens there. we'll also want to talk about this in regards to hurricane season. have some disturbances down in the caribbean. the northwestern caribbean and the gulf of mexico during the move june, those are the areas we watch for development. and this year, carol, we're looking at an above-average season once again and the first name will be arlene and you'll be happy to know the "c" name is not carol, it's cindy. >> i'm glad it's cindy. i think carol has been retired. >> she was quite the storm. >> she was. i'm glad she's gone. rob, thank you so much. >> see you later. game one of the nba finals last night, neither the miami heat nor the dallas mavericks shot well, both under 0%. when it came to crunch time, the heat scored and the mavs did not. less than three minutes to go, lebron james makes the sweet move. you saw the dunk. heat up by nine. next, lebron finishes with 24 points. he scores on the alley-oop. the heat win, 92-84. game two tomorrow night in miami. cliff lee is one of baseball's best pitchers. last night his pitches were taking too much of the plate. dannyess -- espinosa sends this one home. last night's game, the lowest attendance ever. get this, the 11,000 fans did show up, this 3-1 blast helps beat the orioles. seattle has won 11 of 13. texas rangers pitcher c.j. wilson takes one for the team. watch closely as he bare hands this shot up the middle by tampa bay's justin on his pitching hand. that's got to sting. rays 5, rangers 4 was the final. president obama is not the only leader who likes hoops. the chinese premier shows off his game with sixth graders. boy, he can make the layups. they're playing with a lower basket. it was kind of cheating. an outbreak of horse herpes in the west has owners pulling their animals from competition. still, as jeanne moos reports, the shows must go on. >> reporter: what do you do if horse herpes turns real horses into no-shows? forget your saddle, just straddle a stick horse. >> a stick horse, it's a lot different. you have to do all the work. i think it will be a lot more tiring. >> reporter: in davis county, utah, the mounted posse junior queen contest had to pony up with sticks. >> it's kind of weird. you can't really help the disease is going around. >> reporter: 75 or more cases of horse herpes in nine states. nope, horses don't give people herpes, just other horses and it's often fatal. but a stick horse sticks around forever. giddyap, come on. giddyap, boy. actually, long before horse herpes at ranch rodeos like the western heritage class nick texas, kids were riding bucking stick broncos. instead of shaking a stick, they pretended a schick was shaking them. the western heritage classic up to 100 kids do their best to simulate getting thrown. you know what those kids needed with their stick horses? sound effects. those monty python guys didn't even need the stick. >> you're using coconuts. >> what? >> you've got two coconuts and you're banging them together. >> so. >> reporter: stick horses have been used in contests to cut cows from a herd. they've been used to imitate famous routines. okay. you may never see a stick horse commemorated by a statue but at least with a stick pony you get to pick out a horse that matches your outfit. ♪ happy trails to you >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn. ♪ till we meet again >> reporter: new york. it is 10:00 a.m. on the east coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. and a very busy morning in the cnn newsroom. good morning to you, i'm carol costello sitting in for kyra phillips. right now at the white house, the federal debt comes front and center president obama about to meet with republicans. all of them. right now feds are announcing a crackdown on the knuckleheads who shine lasers into aircraft cockpits. safety experts say they can blind pilots and jeopardize landings. last year there were 2,800 cases, nearly double from the year before. new federal penalties will include massive fines. since the economy tanked a few years ago, manufacture us have tried to spend less and pay off more of our bills. not the federal government. just a couple weeks ago, the fed's maxed out their credit so to speak. the government's debt creeling is $14.3 trillion. that's trillion with a "t." the white house wants to bump up its spending limits another $2.4 trillion. 2 would push the new debt limit to 16.7 trillion. lawmakers in the house rejected that request yesterday. and at this hour, president obama will make his pitch in person to congressional republicans to change their minds. breanna keie brianna keilar is at the white house. will it help some? >> reporter: president obama has not met with all of the house republicans and certainly there will be a few who aren't here. the ideas that these are certainly almost all of the republicans in the house, he's only done this a couple other times by my count. this is being billed by white house press secretary jay carnie and also republican sources on the hill as a chance for the president to listen. this is going to be republicans kind of airing their concerns and saying their peace. the way we understand it, president obama will open this discussion briefly and then house speaker john boehner will take over and he'll be calling on republicans who will get to answer -- ask questions of president obama. this meeting is scheduled for over an hour, an hour and 15 minutes. you can imagine there will be a lot that will be discussed. the debt limit will be discussed. that vote failed last night with republicans voting against it and some democrats joining republicans. as i understand it from republican sources they will be making demands that he puts forth the vision on entitlement reform. this is a closed meeting. we don't have access to what's going on inside. both sides have been emphasizing to me these are not negotiations, that those are going on separately, of course, with vice president joe biden who's leading those negotiations with democrats and republicans in congress. >> how are those negotiations going? >> reporter: there was skepticism at first. a lot of people were paying attention to what was going on with the bipartisan six in the senate. those discussions went all but belly up. a lot more attention is being paid to what's going on with vice president joe biden. you talk to both sides and they're putting very much an optimistic spin on things. listen to what jay carney said yesterday talking about agreement on deficit reduction. >> we are committed to reducing the deficit. that's why we have moved so aggressively and seriously with these negotiations, why we're encouraged by the fact that we have produced positive results so far. >> but here's the thing, carol. you and i will continue to talk about this in the coming weeks. there is disagreement, republicans have said they do not want tax increases. of course, the white house is pushing that for wealthy americans. they say they want spending cuts and there is not, of course, overarching agreement on that ahead of that august deadline that the treasury department has set -- or said exists for increasing the debt limit. >> brianna keilar, you're right, we'll be talking about this for a long time. all this talk about the debt ceiling, what does it mean? kind of makes your head spin, doesn't it? the debt creeling is sort of like the credit limit for your credit card only much, much bigger. you've heard it's about $14.3 trillion. this is money the government has already spent. stacked on top of each other, 14 trillion dollar bills would reach from the earth to the moon, more than four times. your share of this pile of debt, just under $47,000. we hit the debt ceiling on may 16th. so the treasury secretary is now juggling bills to keep the country from defaulting until august 2nd. secretary geithner says not raising the debt limit by then would be, quote, catastrophic. we'll see what happens in congress and that meeting at the white house. let's talk about sarah palin and her bus tour, it took a swing through manhattan and she made a stop at the trump tower where she met, as you see, donald trump who recently announced he would not launch a white house bid. the two shared a pizza, a private conversation and very few details on what they discussed. >> what do we have in common? a love for this country and a desire to see our economy put back on the right track, making sure we have a balanced trade arrangement with othercountries across this world so that americans can have our jobs, our industries, our manufacturing again. >> do you support sarah palin as president. >> she didn't ask me for that. she's a terrific woman. >> donald and sarah -- >> she's a great women, a terrific women and a great friend. >> a bit layer, a cnn crew pressed palin for a few more details. listen. >> talk about specific candidates and potential candidates, what our perception was of each of these folks. it was interesting. yes. kind of on the same page there. >> how wasdiner. >> dinner was great. we had great pizza, wasn't that good? real new york pizza. it was fun to get to be there. >> as for palin's political plans she'll only say she's seriously considering a presidential bid. some iowa businessmen aren't happy with any potential gop candidates for president. they want zborgovernor chris christie, the new jersey governor to run. he's said repeatedly he was not running. was the trip worth it? we'll ask one of those powerful businessmen in a few minutes. also overseas, the brutal killing of a 13-year-old boy in syria draws a strong response from secretary of state hillary clinton. gruesome pictures of the boy's body were posted online. activists say he was tortured and mutilated by government forces. here's what secretary clinton had to say. >> every day that goes by, the position of the government becomes less tenable and the demands of the syrian people for change only grow stronger. and, therefore, we continue to urge an end to the violence and the commencement of a real process that could lead to the kinds of changes that are called for. >> let's bring in cnn's zain vergee with international reaction to this. hi, zain. >> hi, carol. hamza's death is really top of the mind of most up ins around the world and editorials. in "the guardian" in the uk, this is the headline "teenage victim becomes a symbol for syria's resolution." it says, hamza has come to symbolize the innocent victims in a struggle for freedom against tyranny and repression. the international herald tribune, syrians see tortured boy as symbol of brutal state. it says, the youth's battered body has cast into shocking relief the terrors wielded by the syrian state against its people. thailand's nation has this headline, ear rows on the streets will bring end game for syria's bloody junta. it will allow it to ride on the backs of the people, to insult them and torture them in ways they had never previously dreamed of. carol? >> zain vergee, i wonder what leverage the united states has over syria and our possible role of what happens in that country. >> the united states didn't have the a lost effective leverage right now, carol. there are already sanctions in place. they want to push for harder sanctions. they have already frozen the assets of specific individuals and also the thing, too, is unlike in other countries, there is no cohesive opposition that the u.s. can back. and the developments in syria have wide ramifications for the u.s. if it goes down. it's definitely really worrying. >> zain vergee, live in london. thanks so much. it's fair to say the story about congressman anthony weiner and that lewd picture sent from his twitter account is getting for intense. >> is that the new rule to the game, this jackass interrupts me? >> we're talk about what the congressman is saying and what he isn't saying in a few minutes. plus, is mcdreamy mcdone with "grey's anatomy"? the latest stories in show biz coming your way, next. 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[ male announcer ] we won't be beat. we have low prices every day. on everything, backed by our ad match guarantee. save money. live better. walmart. the pressure is mounting on congressman anthony weiner to answer questions about that lewd photo posted on his twitter account. and things are getting heated. >> i do the answers and this jackass interrupt mez? how about that as the new rule to the game. >> congressman -- >> he's also trying to get answers. >> let me just give the answer. the objective of the person who is doing the mischief is to try to distract me from what i'm doing. for the last couple of days that has happened, i've made a decision, i'm not going to let it happen today or tomorrow. you're doing your job. i understand it. just go ahead and do it. you'll have to do it without me. >> the 21-year-old woman who supposedly -- who was supposedly meant to be the recipient of the picture says the congressman did not send it and weiner says his account was hacked. the man you saw questioning that congressman is a long-time capitol hill producer, ted barrett. here's what he had to say about the exchange on capitol hill. >> i think his answers have not been forthcoming. he has not tried to offer any evidence or specific proof as to why this was a prank or a hack, as he had said. and so we needed to get at why he wasn't being forthcoming with us. >> kate baldwin live on capitol hill. tell us a little more about congressman weiner. >> he's well known up here on capitol hill, carol. he's a new york democrat, a reliable liberal member of the house. he's married to a long-time aide to hillary clinton, actually. if you're a democrat, you like having him on your side. if you're a republican, if you don't agree with him politically, he is a worthy opponent and a fiery opponent at times. i think some of our viewers may remember most congressman weiner from a while ago having quite a heated debate and very passionate words on the house floor during a debate over a health care bill for 9/11 first responders. i think we have a little bit of that debate to remind our viewers of. >> do you think this will go away eventually? >> i mean, that kind of is up to the media coverage as well as amo congressman weiner. just to rewind a little bit, showing that debate i was talking about on the house mr. floor. >> you vote yes if you believe yes. if you believe it's the wrong thing, you vote no. >> yield to the gentlemen. >> i will not yield to the gentlemen and the gentleman will observe regular order. the gentleman will observe regular order! >> this is one of his colleagues on the republican side. anthony weaner is known for not being shy for calling out even his own party or the white house. he frequently criticizes for not standing their ground. while we are not seeing the side of him right now that we're seeing our viewers, he's known for quick whit and be quick to make fun of his own name. he's a seasoned politician and media savvy. now he has answers -- well, we'll hopefully get more answers today. >> simpler answers and not talking points which he seems to be giving out. kate baldwin, live on capitol hill, thank you. another international businessman accused of sexually assaulting a new york hotel maid. he's been arraigned. bail was set at $50,000 for that egyptian executive. last month as you might remember the head of the international monetary fund was accused of sexually assaulting a maid at another new york hotel. it's the end of an era for the space shuttle "endeavour." it completed its final mission with a picture perfect landing in florida. singer sean kingston is expected to make a full recovery following a jet ski crash in miami. sources tell us the 21-year-old suffered a broken jaw, a fractured wrist and water in his lungs. some republicans in iowa are not too happy with the list of potential republican candidates for president. they are more interested in new jersey governor chris christie, even though he's repeatedly said he's not interested in running for president. still, yesterday this group of powerful republican businessmen flew to the governor's mansion in trenton to meet with him and maybe get him to bend a little. bruce rastetter is the ceo of hawkeye energy and summit farms. thank you for being with us. >> well, thank you for having me. >> tell us what happened at the meeting. >> well, we originally set the meeting up to build a relationship with governor christie to ask him to lend his voice to national issues and encourage him to run for president. it wasn't out of we don't think the field is strong enough, we just think highly of governor christie and thought it was important at this juncture in the country that he consider running for president. >> i hear you. i still would like to ask you this question. what does chris christie havey nur mined that mitt romney doesn't? >> well, i think what chris christie has that a number of political aspirants don't have is the ability to be blunt and direct and articulate and be able to communicate in such a way that you know exactly what he's thinking. he has a common sense approach to government in terms of how he approaches issues and problems. and i think clearly at this time when there needs to be blunt talk on how we cut the budget and deal with budget deficits and how we prioritize and make things better, i think his style of governing and his approach and humility is really critical in how he has that common sensibility. >> some republicans say that sarah palin has a common sense aura to her. when you see her on her bus tour going across the country, seeing her meeting with donald trump in manhattan, what goes through your mind? is that a good thing for the republican party? >> well, i think the broader the field, the better. and i've met sarah palin and i think one of the abilities she has is to talk in a way that connects with people in america. >> should she run for president? >> i think rather than beat around the bush, i think people know where she's coming from, where she's at and if she chooses to do that, there's a number of people that will support her. >> she hasn't exactly reached out to, you know, prominent politicos in iowa. she's running an unusual campaign. what is your reaction to that? >> i don't know that she's running. i think that she's -- she has again, an interest in having a discussion and sending a message and clearly communicating with americans. she has been to iowa a number of times and met with a number of people, including fund-raisers a year ago. she's been here. >> just back to chris christie. do you think there's any way that you or anybody else can convince him to run for president? >> you know, i think, my sense was from last night, he's made a commitment to the people of new jersey. and i think the people of new jersey need to ask themself the question, if they'd be better off and we'd be better off as a country having chris christie as their governor or as their president. and i think as the summer goes on, that would be a great question for people in new jersey to ask and clearly the governor has a commitment to make sure does he as good a job at being governor of new jersey as he can. >> mr. rastetter, thank you for being with us. we appreciate it. >> thank you. another celebrity's emotional drama takes center stage. >> i just felt so betrayed. this is not some random guy. this was someone i was with for a few years. >> that you loved? >> i thought i did. >> paris hilton opens up about her sex tape scandal as her mom breaks down on air. that's next. and are you feeling less stressed these days? according to a new gallop poll it may be about where you live. washington, d.c. ranks number five among the least stressed states followed by south dakota, north dakota and wyoming at number two. which is the nation's least stressed state? we'll tell you after a break. ♪ [car horn honks] our outback always gets us there... ... sometimes it just takes us a little longer to get back. ♪ so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now, i've got the leading part. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, take the lead. ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. and as promised we've identified the nation's least stressed state. you guessed this. but if i could have a drum roll. thank you. the least stress state in america is hawaii, the aloha state tops the gallup poll for three years in a row. katie caperton has all the dirt for us. katie, welcome. patrick dempsey will go? >> he might. he might. he gave an interview to italian "vanity fair" and he said next season, that's it, i'm out, i'm done. and of course his publicist has followed up with a statement saying it was out of context. that's not what he men to the say. he meant to say his contract is up next season. we don't know what the future holds. >> is "grey's anatomy" still doing well. >> people love it. it's still doing well. there's a big fan reaction this morning. everyone saying please don't go. please don't go. in my opinion it isn't like george clooney leaving "e.r." but it's "grey's anatomy." katherine heigl left "grey's anatomy." that was a big back and forth for a few months if she was going to stay or go. >> i hate talking about this but i guess we must because that's what my producer tells me. paris hilton is back. i don't know why. she's back. she gave an emotional interview to piers morgan. i always think is that really real? >> it's real. yes, she's back. you can't avoid her. it's funny. for somebody who is in the spotlight so much for so long, warranted or not, we didn't hear from her a lot over the last two years. she's staging a comeback of sorts. she has a new reality show on the oxygen network. they talked about the sex tape on piers. she said she's sad and upset. piers asked her how she would like to be remembered at the end her life. for making people smile and having a big heart. i think the sex tape is how we're going to remember you. >> i think we have a clip from the piers morgan show. let's let her roll. >> now when people look at me, they think that i'm something i'm not, just because of one incident, one night with someone who i was in love with. it's hard because i'll never -- i'll have to live with that for the rest of my life and explain it to my children. it's something that has changed my life forever. i'll never be able to erase it. >> oh, come on. >> the look on your face. >> i think she's had brushes with the law, drunk driving. she went to jail. she was crying. >> yes. >> she based a reality show on the pub she got from that sex tape. >> the public is fascinated by her. >> maybe a segment. okay. thank you very much. it was a fun conversation, though, i must say. sarah palin's bus tour makes a stop in new york city for pizza and she asked donald trump to join her. what message is coming out of this pizza party? we'll have more on that, coming up. [ woman speaking chinese ] thank you. do you have an english menu? no english. [ speaking chinese ] [ gasps, speaks chinese ] do you guys like dumplings? i love dumplings. working with a partner you can trust is always a good decision. massmutual -- let our financial professionals help you reach your goals. i don't have to leave my desk and get up and go to the post office anymore. her bus tour stops in new york city and sarah palin invites donald trump out for pizza and late-night comedian jimmy kimmel puts his spin on how he thinks that meeting went. >> here's a weird pairing. sarah palin had dinner with donald trump. she shot that rodent right off his head, first thing out. they had a two-hour conversation, consisting mostly of you're fired and you betchas. >> a rapid fire look at the hottest political topics of the day. each of our brilliant political observers get 20 secs to answer three probing questions. welcome to you all. let's get to question number one. the president meets with a bunch of republicans at the white house today. in fact, that meeting is going on right now. they'll be talking about whether the debt ceiling should be raised. is this a good sign or a waste of time? cornell? >> it's a good sign. what's a bad siren is yesterday you had republicans go on the floor and basically, you know, introduce the bill they knew they weren't going to pass and then they back channeled their wall street buddies saying don't worry about it. they were putting on political theater. this is say good thing ultimately because we have to get this passed. >> will? >> look, "a," there must be spending reform, the people want it, politicians know it. "b," the debt ceiling must be raised, period. unless you're an advocate for depression, a concept that is not without its merits. these guys have to get together. is it a waste of time? no. is it a good sign? we'll see. >> dean? >> i think it's a great sign. i think they have to do more than that. they should go to dinner, maybe go to a broadway show, a carriage around new york city. they need to talk. my mom is an older american, she depends on medicare. >> question number two, sarah palin and donald trump meet over pizza in new york. what message are they sending the republican establishment? will? >> that they're two peas in a pod, reality television hosts, tell people what they want to hear. what does that mean, establishment? it's anybody for whom sarah palin and donald trump don't send a tingle up their leg. >> cornell? >> establishment is all the people you have running for republican nomination. what this is saying, the field is so weak, you can have someone without an ounce of policy experience leap into the race and end up being the second person if not the front-runner in your republican primary. >> dean? >> i think they're testing the waters for a great new reality show that i would watch every day. palin and trump would be a great time. how frustrating is it for mitt romney and pawlenty. >> it's time for the buzzer beater. ten seconds apiece. congressman anthony weiner, evasive about a lewd tweet supposedly sent to a college student. will this hurt him politically? cornell? >> i don't think -- i hope it won't hurt him politically. i don't understand the story. look, i'm old school. if you want to send me naked pictures, send them to my e-mail. >> will? >> either his facebook and twitter account were hacked which is a big deal or he took a picture of himself in his britches half massed. i don't see how this doesn't hurt him politically. >> dean? >> anthony weiner's changed things. like officials send pictures of their own underwear to their constituents. they have nothing to hide. that's what americans want, a different time of politician. >> i'm glad time ran out on that one. i was getting scared. thanks to all of you for playing "political buzz." checking the top stories, joran volcaan der sloot, his la is throwing in the towel. van der sloot is a one-time suspect in the disappearance of alabama teenager natalee holloway. beginning today, civil unions are legal in illinois. that means same-sex couples can enjoy many of the rights usually reserved for married couple which is include hospital visitation, the ability to make emergency decisions for their partners and adoption. five other states plus d.c. have similar laws. will and kate, a month after their wedding, a never-before-seen photo is featured on the cover of "vanity fair." the magazine also has details of the couple's honeymoon. exposure to cell phone radiation might cause cancer. elizabeth cohen has been following this. the word might is in there which says to me, i don't know what to think about this. >> they use the word possibly. >> that makes it better. >> cell phones possibly being a carcinogens for humans. this say big deal, the first time a big respected group said there might be a link here, a possible link here. before everyone said there's no there there. saying there is there there is a big deal. it puts sell phones in a category along with things like lead and car exhaust and chlo chlorophorm. >> how freaked out should i be? >> whatever damage you might have done is done. if you were on your cell phone 24/7 -- >> great, elizabeth. >> we don't know that damage was done. but if it was done, it's done. here's the other piece of good news. there's something you can do about the future. that is -- let me get my phone here. >> props. >> do not do this. all right? >> which i've been doing for the last 15 years. >> right. >> there's really no reason to be doing that. because we have these things called head sets. we need to remember these. a blue tooth head set is fine. put this on and hold your phone at a distance. that way the radiation goes out into the air instead of into -- you know what's on the other side of this phone, brain. >> right into other people walking near you. >> sort of the good news here is this radiation, it dissipates very quickly. if you hold it like this, you're not really hurting yourself nearly as much as if you're doing this. >> what about holding the phone? what about holding the phone? doesn't the radiation from your phone affect your hand. >> i suppose that might be true. that's not the same as affecting your brain. that's a whole different thing. all the experts i talked to, even the ones extrooply concerned about this say, look, just do this. it's very simple. just do this. >> what do cell phonemakers say about this? they can't be happy right now. >> i don't think they are very happy. they've been saying for years we don't think this there is a link, for get it. we have an actual statement from them. let me read part of it. the wireless association says this classification from w.h.o. does not mean cell phones cause cancer. the finding is based on limited evidence. >> i'll talk like this. i'll use my ear buds. >> do you want me to lend this to you? catch. >> we appreciate it. japan's nuclear crisis, remember that, newest hope may now rest in the oldest hands. >> translator: my generation, the old generation promoted the nuclear plants. if we don't take responsibility, who will? >> retirees volunteer to return to the crippled nuclear plant for a final mission. we'll have their stories coming up. these sweet honey clustery things have fiber? fiber one. almost tastes like one of jack's cereals. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? uh, try the number one! i've never heard of that. [ wife ] it's great. it's a sweet honey cereal, you'll love it. yeah, this is pretty good. are you guys alright? yeah. [ male announcer ] half a days worth of fiber. not that anyone has to know. fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. this morning some new developments in japan's nuclear crisis. a short time ago on international group of atomic watchdogs issued a mixed report. the iaea blasted japan's planning for tsunamis but praised its overall response to the disastrous meltdown. and now a group of seniors is volunteering to help bring the crisis to an end. cnn's kyung lah has more on these so-called suicide corps. >> reporter: in this cramped office, these seniors are leading the charge to get retirees back on the job for one last and critical call. >> you want to do this? >> yeah, sure. >> reporter: why? age says 72-year-old yaseteru is a plus. it's highly contaminated with radiation, after the tsunami caused a full meltdown in at least one of the reactors. these workers are the front line to control the national crisis. at high risk of exposure and long-term health impacts. the elderly says this group don't worry much about anything long term. "death becomes familiar" as we get older. i don't want to die but we're not afried of it. she's not the only one. 250 volunteers over the age of 60 is compiled in this database, calling into the group, volunteering to work at the plant, a team calling themselves the skilled veterans corps. an idea that japan's pointman to the nuclear crisis initially brushed off last week, saying, quote, our principle is we should stick to procedures that will not require such a suicide corps. a label these seniors reject, saying they prefer doing what's right. my generation, the old generation promoted the nuclear plants. if we don't take responsibility, who will? whether concerns of a worker shortage or the persuasive seniors, just this week, the same government pointman who called the seniors a suicide corps appears to be less resistant to the idea of elderly volunteers. he now says -- i met the leader of the group and we've started a discussion, looking for any possible practical next step. >> kyung lah reporting. cross-country now. a commercial flight from washington, d.c. bound for ghana got turned around after a fight broke out between two passengers. >> the passenger is not secured at this time. the passenger has settled down, though. but an assault has taken place. but at this time, he is not secured. >> united 990 roger. >> police met the passengers at the gate but in the end no charges were filed. we did reach out to united airlines for more information and we've gotten no reply. to arkansas now, a reporter went from recover covering the news to make the news. it was all caught on tape. kara reporter adam rodriguez swam to the rescue of a woman whose suv got stuck on a flooded road. both reporter and rescued woman are okay. her vehicle is another story. and florida has a new law requiring adult welfare recipients to undergo drug tests. rick scott signed the measure. it goes into effect next month. there's a live event happening right now involving our secretary of state hillary clinton. she's speaking to the press at the state department. she's talking about afghanistan now. we wanted to listen in. >> are very concerned any time there is any civilian casualty caused by the nato isef military mission every single one of the issues or events that is brought to the attention of the military command is investigated thoroughly. general petraeus has consistently faemphasized we ha to do everything in our power to reduce the number of civilian casualties and we are seeing a steady increase of afghan lead through their army and security forces on any night raids and procedures are being put into place in preparation for a transition to greater afghan responsibility to ensure that such operations are properly authorized and approved by senior representatives of the government of afghanistan. so we're going to continue to do everything we can to express our deep regret when a terrible incident occurs and civilians are injured or killed. and i would only underscore that that stands in stark contrast to the indiscriminate kill be, the suicide bombing, the ied, the improvised explosive devices that are used by the insurgents without regard for any human life. with respect to yemen, we continue to watch the situation and we are where we've been for weeks in doing everything we can, along with the international community, to convince president saleh to step down from power. if it wasn't obvious before, it certainly should be now that his presence remains a source of great conflict and unfortunately as we have watched over the last several days, military action and violence. president saleh was given a very good offer that we strongly backed by the gulf countries. and we cannot expect this conflict to end unless president saleh and his government move out of the way to permit the opposition and civil society to begin a transition to political and economic reform. and finally you asked me a question about a third country in one question. >> mubarak and trial. >> mubarak's trial. that is a decision for the egyptians to make. obviously we want to see the rule of law. we want to see appropriate due process. and procedures followed in anyone's trial, particularly in such a highly charged trial as that will certainly be. and we are keeping very close watch on events in egypt. we're, you know, disturbed by the reports of efforts to crack down on journalists and bloggers and judges and other which is we don't think is in keeping with the direction that the egyptian people were heading when they started out in tahrir square. >> next question goes to -- >> madam secretary -- >> we're going to step away. hillary clinton answering questions about three country which is would be egypt, yemen and also afghanistan. on the afghanistan front she was answering questions about the hamid karzai's demands that the u.s. led coalition stop air strikes on civilian homes. that demand came after a u.s. military air strike in the helman province killed nine civilians, including women and children. we'll keep following that press conference. if there's any more information to come out, of course we'll pass it along. a man many republicans would like to see run for the white house is facing a flap in his home state. chris christie took a help capitoler to see his son's game. our political ticker comes your way in less than ten minutes. we'll be back. eat tasting tap ww come from any faucet anywhere. introducing the brita bottle with the filter inside. you can do this... get the ball, girl. hmmm, you can't do that. but you can do this. bengay pain relief + massage with penetrating nubs plus the powerful pain relief of bengay. love the nubs! ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] with amazing innovation, driven by relentless competition, wireless puts the world at your command. ♪ wireless puts the world at your command. a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] and just like that, it's here. a new chance for all of us: people, companies, communities to face the challenges yesterday left behind and the ones tomorrow will bring. prudential. bring your challenges. the dow down now 164 points. not good but hopefully an uptick will take place soon. we'll get to the new york stock exchange shortly. right now, imagine a not for profit straun that the serves the hungry customer and the community, too. cnn's tom foreman has the recipe in his building up america report. >> reporter: in busy downtown charlotte, by lunch time folks have built up an appetite. so at the king's kitchen restaurant that's when the real building begins. because chef jim noble's goal every day is to help his diners help their community. >> i think everybody wants to help. they just don't know how. >> reporter: noble is one of the state's most renowned chefs and deeply religious. he opened the king's kitchen a year and a half ago as a nonprofit restaurant. the money made here goes to programs that feed the poor throughout the community. last year $50,000. mindful of recessionary pit falls that could redale this effort, the chef started by raising enough donations to open without any loans. >> this is not the best time in the world to go into debt in a restaurant. so we wanted to do this debt-free. >> what does that say? >> reporter: the restaurant also offers job training for jobless people. folks such as phillip lewis who joined the program less than two months ago when he heard about it at church. >> i have more than i've asked for here, faith, finances, everything i needed. this place has given me. it's a life-changing place, no matter where you are in your life, it will bring something positive to it that wasn't there before. >> reporter: sure, this nonprofit restaurant competes with chef noble's for-profit places but he has faith there's room for all. >> sometimes in life you have to make a distinction between success and significance. >> reporter: and for him, the significance lies in knowing every plate that goes out of the kitchen here means poor people are being fed all over town. tom foreman, cnn, charlotte, north carolina. coming up in the n hour of the cnn newsroom, a man drowns in san francisco bay while firefighters and police do nothing. it's all because of budget cuts. next hour we talk to the fire chief. look, every day we're using more and more energy. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪ sarah palin's east coast bus tour made a stop in new york for pizza and palin shared that pizza with donald trump. you see the picture right there. jim acosta joins us from washington. what did they talk about, jim. >> apparently they were handicapping the field for 2012. that might give us some hints as to what sarah palin and donald trump might be up to. trump recently said he's not running and now has been hinting he may jump back in as an independent. palin and her family did go to the statue of liberty this morning and they're heading up to boston and then we're expecting to see her up in new hampshire. plenty of 2012 speculation there. also, the other story we're watching this morning is chris christie, the governor of new jersey, according to media reports out of new york including our affiliate wpix in new york city, they are reporting that the governor there used a state help capitoler to go to his son's baseball game on the taxpayers dime in new jersey yesterday. so we're following oup on that one as well, carol. >> not good for chris christie. we'll see what happens. jim acosta, live in washington. many thanks to you. >> you bet. >> "cnn newsroom" with suzanne malveaux coming up after our break. at bayer, we've been relieving pain for over 100 years. and today, we're re-inventing aspirin for pain relief. with new extra-strength bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles so it enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief right to the site of your tough pain. ♪ in fact, it's clinically proven to relieve pain twice as fast. new bayer advanced aspirin. extra strength pain relief, twice as fast. now use the best suncare recommended most by dermatologists. neutrogena®, with technologies like helioplex... it provides the highest average spf and unsurpassed uva protection.