numbers that we were hoping to see and hopefully will continue. so new jobless claims plunged to 352,000 last week. that s a huge drop. down by 50,000. this demonstrates there are fewer layoffs. however, jobless claims can be a little volatile. for example, we saw claims jump a few weeks ago because of the temporary holiday workers that were laid off. and also the prior week was revised a little bit higher, not much. just by about 3,000. it did go above 400,000. we need to stay below that in order to associate that with actual job creation. today s report is good news. we need to see it continue in the long term. all right. felecia, thanks so much. let s get to politics now. we begin in iowa. yes, iowa. just when you thought it was a done deal. well, the des moines register is reporting the iowa caucuses were a virtual tie, that rick santorum actually ended up with a 34 vote advantage and that romney did not win. so now we re being told that in about 15 minutes we re goin
on this memorial day, i want to begin on cordova, alabama. it hit on the morning of april 27th by a powerful ef-3 tornado, and then the very same day ef-4 tornado hits that same town that night. cordova, alabama, is not the town that you see here in some of the video, some of the aerial pictures here and satellite images. a lot of folks have certainly lost their homes, but as we told you on friday, the cordova mayor jack scott is invoking a ordinance that rejects any trailer which is being offered by the federal government to folks whose homes have been destroyed. and jack scott is saying emergency or not, the law is the law. and as we showed you on friday, none of the folks in cordova are none too thrilled about the 50-year-old ordinance. we will talk to some folks live in a moment, but first, listen to this. what i suggested is putting the fema trailers in my backyard, because of the mayor, we want do that. we can t help our neighbors, because he won t let us. that is s
republicans. one of the reasons they increased them is from pressure from people right here. the big talk of this conference is bupt cuts. government spending, reducing the deficit. as you mentioned it s cpack, it s one of the oldest and largest. 11,000 people here, 11 thises this convservative activists. haley barbour was talking today about fiscal responsibility. a big theme. he s one of ten people who are here at this conference who are thinking of running for the white house and they re on a straw poll that will be out. the results of that straw poll will be presented a little later today. now one person who was not on that straw poll, donald trump. he was the big surprise. the donald. the real estate mogul was a late add. he spoke here on thursday to some applause and also to boos. he s not on the straw poll. but check this out. steve rusk found this. a petition going around to get donald trump as a write-in candidate on the straw poll ballot. we ll have the results in 5:00
streets and tell you what the military is saying about egypt s international treaties. the chief palestinian negotiator quits. hear why saeb erakat gave up his post and what impact his move could have on the middle east peace process. and later gop potential candidates at a huge conservative gathering in washington. we ll take you there live. we begin with a sudden change in the middle east that could impact the peace process in the region. the celebrations in egypt haven t even settled yet and the chief palestinian negotiator has resigned. this as the palestinian authority promises elections in september. celebrations break out in gaza, and israel deals with a potential new security concern on its border with egypt. cnn jerusalem bureau chief kevin flower joins us live with the latest on these developments. kevin, what do you make of all of this? pick one of them. well, there s a lot happening. i would say it s worth pointing out that there are currently no negotiation
right now on cnn, hurricane igor is bearing down. thousands either fleeing or bracing for the worst. it is a giant storm and our hurricane headquarters is tracking every single movement. a story beyond frustration. trying to prove you re an american citizen. no one believes you and you re deported. don t think it can t happen to you. you won t believe one man s story of many this hour. and they live on one of the most famous streets in the world where everyone, even the people who live there, wonders how to get to, but some residents of sesame street have found their way to our studio. grab the kids, everyone, elmo is in the house this hour! hello, i m don lemon. we start with this story. it s a strange one unfolding in southern california. more hannah dozen people, including many children, that were reported missing overnight and they were feared they were about to take their own lives in a cult-like mass suicide. they have been found and everyone is okay, but now, the