0 been almost 2 1/2 million days since january 1st, 4734 b.c., it will start over again in a.d. 3268. you better order your new calendars now. thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. i will see you next week. hello, everyone, i'm fredricka whitfield. a look at our top stories here in the "newsroom." a texas district attorney and his wife found dead in their home, at any moment now new details may be revealed outside the kaufman county sheriff's office, they were found in their home outside dallas and we're waiting to hear if there's any possible connection to the death of an assistant district attorney in that same county two months ago. and pope francis leads easter sunday mass with a huge crowd at st. peter's basilica. we'll tell you why some traditionalists are questioning his decision during his first holy week as pontiff. and in new york, a possible abduction. this video shows two men suspected of forcing a man and a woman into a van in broad daylight. video you are likely to see momentarily. but police say no one has reported anyone missing and they haven't been able to identify the possible victims. there the video. we'll have more on this later. first, to kaufman county texas, police are expected to give more details about the shocking death of district attorney mike mccleland and his wife cynthia, they were found dead in their home yesterday afternoon. kaufman county is about 30 miles outside dallas. this comes two months after mccleland's district attorney was shot and killed outside the courthouse parking lot. they say he had feared for his life. ed lavandera is live for us from kaufman county. the death of the d.a. and his wife is coming after the death of the assistant d.a., the d.a. had said he was hoping to get the scum responsible for the assista assistant d.a.'s death, is there a connection authorities are looking at right now? >> reporter: well, the mayor here in kaufman we spoke with earlier this morning and said they believed or he believed these two men had been targeted, that there had to be some sort of connection. authorities have not come out and said that, but the way these attacks were carried out has really raised a lot of suspicion surrounding that. fredricka, here, any second the authorities, the kaufman county sheriff is expected to come out and brief reporters on what they have been doing and what they have discover since mike mccleland and his wife were found murdered in their home not too far from where we are in kaufman county. the authorities are starting to make their way out. here's the sheriff, fredricka, i'll begin the process of stretching away. this is the first time we heard from him since mike mccellland and his wife were found dead last night. we'll let him update from here. >> good afternoon, i'm david burns, sheriff of kaufman county. on yesterday afternoon on may 30th, shortly after 6:00 p.m. we received a call of possible two deceased persons in the shamrock ridge addition of kaufman county. we proceeded to that scene and did find the district attorney mr. mccleland and his wife cynthia deceased at that time. they both had been shot. we are in the process of completing a crime scene work-up right now. this is a joint investigation. sheriff's office, texas rangers and fbi, and i want to emphasize this is an active investigation, and all official information regarding this will come through the sheriff's office. we have numerous local, federal agencies, state, constable's office, kaufman police department, terrell police department, terrell isd, the police, the u.s. marshals, atf, the whole spectrum and we are actively pursuing this. we're working very hard to ensure the public safety of the county and i want to assure the citizens that we are doing that. and we'll continue to strive to do that. we do have a tip line set up. the number is 1-877-847-7522. or they can submit a tip to the kaufman county tip line or crimestoppers. and that's basically what we know at this time. >> sheriff, what are you doing actively? >> we're not going to get into that on security matters what we're doing on that. just to say that we are taking precautions to protect other elected officials in the county. [ inaudible question ] >> is this the work of white supremacist gang, do they have people here? >> i'm not in on that at all. i have no indication of that. >> do you believe it is definitively connected to the murder of mark hasse? >> pardon? >> do you believe the murders yesterday are definitively connected to the murder of mark hasse? >> i can't say that, no. we have nothing indicating that for sure. >> will the prosecutors office be open tomorrow or have you told them not to show up to work? >> i don't know if they'll be open or not. >> can you describe the crime scene. what did it look like when you went in last night? >> we're not going to discuss that, that's evidentiary. [ inaudible question ] >> pardon? >> i heard you provided security overnight for members of the d.a. office. >> we're not going to discuss any security arrangements. >> were there any signs of forced entry at the home yesterday? >> we'll not discuss that. >> sheriff, there was a deputy protecting the district attorney for a while. what happened to that deputy? >> i'm sorry? >> the deputy that was assigned to protect the district attorney, was he still with them? was he there at the weekend? >> as i said, we're not going to speak about security measures. >> sheriff, can you assure the public that's going to go to the courthouse tomorrow that they are going to be safe? >> yes. there will be increased security at the courthouse tomorrow. visible security. >> are you worried that this isn't the last here in kaufman county, there might be another murder of high ranking individuals? >> certainly we're considering that obviously. >> sheriff, talk a little bit about how unserving it is to have a second murder on a public official. how are you feeling right now? >> well, it's pretty obvious it's unnerving and it's unnerving to the law enforcement community. it is unnerving to the community at large and that's why we're striving to, you know, assure the community that we are still providing public safety and we'll be able to do that. we're meeting all of our obligations plus the investigative responsibility. >> friends -- >> what were -- >> pardon? >> when you got the call about last night, what went through your mind? >> it went through my mind to call people and get them on the scene. >> friends of mr. hasse said two months ago he feared for his life leading up to his murder. mr. mccleland voicing that concern to you as well? >> not to me. >> were any of the investigators? >> i can't speak for them. >> you do speak for the investigators with all due respect. >> not in that sense i don't. >> sheriff, are there any suspects, any leads -- >> we won't talk about that. that's way proo matuemature to about. >> we'll start an e-mail list and name list who is here so i can have your information. >> you hear from the sheriff david byrnes there in kaufman county texas outside of dallas won't talk about any suspects or leads as it relates to the shooting deaths of the district attorney mike mclellaand and hi wife cynthia after several calls coming in from the neighborhood to the sheriff's office there. also unclear to the sheriff whether the deaths of the d.a. and the wife are in any way linked to the death of an assistant district attorney two months ago. that person was shot and killed outside of a courthouse also in kaufman county east of dallas. still no assurances from the sheriff's department whether there is a link, but, of course, the investigation continues and of course we'll continue on that story and that investigation throughout the day here on cnn. in the meantime, overseas, christians, in fact, all over the world are celebrating easter today. ♪ but overseas in rome pope francis delivering his first easter blessing since becoming pontiff, thousands of worshippers from around the world made their travels there to rome packing st. peter's square. jim bittermann is live for us from rome. and so much is being evaluated in terms of what the pope said, but perhaps actions speak louder than words, jim, as well, because what a moment that was that he would go right into the crowd and have that beautiful moment with what appeared to be a disabled young man and also delivering a message of peace to the rest of the world on this first easter mass. in fact, there's a video there, so touching. really bringing tears to the eyes of so many. >> reporter: absolutely, fredricka. it was a really touching moment. and the pope once again as he has on previous occasions here gone through the crowd in the popemobile, no bullet protective glass around him, basically exposed to the crowds and stopping at least today, stopped at least a half dozen times to kiss children and to embrace the young man that you saw there. basically the pope just a very engaging person when it comes to the crowds at st. peter's square. he has this way of smiling and of waving as if he's recognizing somebody in the crowd. i don't know if he really is or not, but in any case it certainly looks that way, and then, of course, his message was one of peace. this is the kind of thing we do hear traditionally from the popes on easter. the message to the city and to the world in which popes wish for peace in various parts of the world where there are conflicts. today he specifically highlights the middle east and syria, iraq, and then he also added to the list of places the conflict zones mali nigeria and interesting enough, the korean peninsula. fredricka? >> jim bittermann, from rome, we'll talk later about the nontraditionalist pope francis. all right, jim. in new york a woman screams and men force her and a male companion into a minivan and the police are called in, but then the real mystery begins, who are these people and why is there no missing persons report? this bizarre incident occurred friday in the washington heights neighborhood of new york with part of the possible abduction being recorded on surveillance camera as you see here. in the video a man in a mask races around a corner near a park, the person who appears to be a man with a plastic bag over his head following. so two young girls told police that they saw one of the men point a firearm and force the woman into the vehicle which sped away. but police said no one has been reported missing in the area. police put up posters in the area asking for help. identifying possible suspects, and the people who appear to have been taken against their will. very mysterious case there. still lots of unanswered questions. all right, big changes at the vatican. two popes attending easter mass while pope francis shakes up hundreds of years of catholic tradition. but not everyone apparently is happy about this. plus, we're following thecation of a district attorney and his wife found murdered in their home two months after the prosecutor's assistant was gunned down. the latest on that investigation straight ahead.