how beautiful she was. but only few of them of you know how good she was. >> and you had charles manson himself. the charismatic leader of the family who didn't show any remorse or any respect for the system. >> are you all happy with your courts? >> yes. >> am i happy? >> yes. >> it's your court. wouldn't accept it. >> the problem is he did not physically participate in these murders but only manson had a mottive to commit these murders. that was helter skelter. >> they thought the white man would turn against the black man if a black man committed these murders. manson first saw the black man would win this war. he said the black man would not be able to handle the reins of power so we had to look at those who survived from helter skelter, in other words, turn it over to charles manson and his family. >> when the words helter skelter were first said. >> man san sat through all this saying nothing but today he had an "x" scratched in his forehead. it is his way of say he has x'd himself out of soed. susan adkins, leslie to show they are with man san and he is with them. >> the three women were coached by charlie every morning. here's things i want you to do, so they would do everything from sing mocking songs to the judge to when charlie is making one of his impassioned speeches, mouthing the words along with him. >> i don't have any guilt. i know what i've done. nobody can judge me. are you bitter? no. >> you've paid some price so far. >> price, eyes, open them. >> charlie manson is a great presenter but vincent was better. when he put these two antagonists into a courtroom, america thought, this is entertainment. >> people who are curious about the tate murders go to the los angeles hall of justice where they wait in long lines. some people get to the courthouse at 4:00 a.m. >> the world is getting kraedz. one read part of a letter man san wrote to the district attorney. >> i'm not getting a fair trial. one man, alone, defending myself. contrast this with the facilities you have to you. >> here is a man who is guilty, directly or indirectly, of eight murders without reason. here is a man yet who as far as the coverage was concerned appeared to be a rather glamorous figure. >> "times" next morning, manson guilty, nixon declares. manson got ahold of the paper and stands up in front of the jury with a silly little smile on his face. members of the manson clan continue their vigilante since the start of the trial. >> if charlie were convicted of these charges, what happens to the rest of the members of the family? >> there is no if. charlie will get out. we'll all go to the desert together. >> the jury hearing the charges against charles manson and three girl members of his so-called family brought in its verdict this afternoon. >> and outside the krort court the manson girl followers got the news by radio. >> they've convicted these people and you are next, all of you. there's a revolution coming very soon. >> today the judge formally passed sentence on charles manson and his girls. the death penalty, he said, for seven senseless murders pep said not only was the sentence appropriate but almost compelled in this case. so death in the gas chamber, he said. >> the very name manson has become a metaphor for evil, catapulting him to mitt logical proportions. there's a side of him that for whatever reason has fascinated pure zooefl if the death penalty means anything in the state of california, this, unquestionably, was a proper case of the imposition of the death penalty. >> that will save five women and 220 men, including charles man san, from the gas chamber. >> i'm the one asking you. >> but if i don't give you the answer you want -- >> doesn't matter to me. it's your opinion. >> well, i don't have the authority to say anything like that. >> you have the authority to believe. >> i believe what i'm told to believe. don't you? ifor all the wrong reasons.gical you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin®. because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. try zyrtec®. muddle no more®. a boy was shot right at the side of the car and the girl apparently trying to run, she was shot and found 28 feet further on. >> do you have any idea what the possible motive might be for this killing? >> we have no motive at this time. >> the zodiac killer, this unknown person, committed dozens of murders in the 1960s, the 1970s. we really don't know the full dimensions of the discase, but we know he's the zodiac because he started writing to the police, claiming credit in great detail. articulating and explaining what he did to these victims. >> "the chronicle" received two letters. they notified us immediately. the criminologist were sent over to the newspaper, as were inspectors. the two letters were examined and opened. >> the zodiac's reaching out to the police repeatedly and in great length was something new. >> the psychotic killer has already murdered five. one at a lover's lane near a lake just north of san francisco. three others in nearby vallejo. the latest, a taxi driver in san francisco. the zodiac killer seems to crave publicity. he sent letters and cryptograms to newspapers and police recounting his crimes, threatening more murders and making bay area residents very edgy. >> in the '70s there was a certain kind of killer who had the skill to get away with murder long enough to assemble a body count where they would be classified as serial killer. >> in los angeles, a killer the police are calling the hillside strangler has murdered ten young women and left their bodies on the hillsides along the highways. today, the police found another, number 11 they think. >> two young paper boys discovered what appear to be the latest victim. the body had been dumped 15 feet down an embankment in a residential neighborhood. the victim was a woman, about 20 years old, and the body was nude. >> the series of murders has had a chilling effect on the people in the city. >> in los angeles more women than ever before are learning to defend themselves. susan ball skipped night school for a week. she says she can't sleep because of the murders. >> i guess i want to learn how to maybe give myself a few seconds so i can live. >> there have been enough bodies found over a wide enough area to strongly suggest more than one killer. but police say they really don't know. >> today the los angeles police say they have a suspect. a man in jail in another state. >> los angeles police say they have enough evidence to charge 27-year-old kenneth bianchi with ten of the hillside stranglings. police focused on bianchi only after he was arrested last january for the murder of two college students in washington state. >> what the police did not know is there is not one strangler but two. today in a bellingham, washington, courtroom, kenneth bianchi, in the hope of avoiding a death sentence, confessed to participation in the los angeles hillside stranglings and went on to accuse his cousin, angelo buono, of being his accomplice. >> kenneth bianchi, he was motivated because he was trying to show his older custody, who he revered, that he was tough. for angelo buono, he enjoyed the fact that he had his younger cousin listening to him. we see this time and time again. pairs of killers who urge each other and together they are extremely vicious and violent. >> is there any doubt this is a body? >> no doubt. there's a skull and jaw bone and everything. >> when did you first get word there might be some bodies buried here? >> this morning. >> had you had any indication before? >> the man behind the killings was dean corll, 33 years old. or was. he was shot and killed wednesday evening by wayne henley, 17 years old. henley was one of two teenagers who lured young boys to corll's home. >> dean corll would pick up kids and once he had them in his house he would incapacitate them, put them on what he called his death board, and rape and kill them. >> the texas sex and torture killings have now become the worst mass murders in american history. four more bodies of young boys were dug up today and that brings to 27 the number of bodies discovered so far. >> some people trying to make it appear the police department has not done all that it could or should have done in these cases. the police department feels these parents are not exactly discharging their own responsibility so as far as raising and disciplining their children. >> these shocking murders focus national attention on a major problem, that of runaway children and what can happen to them. >> the children have run away from home today are not the children we had running away in the '60s. in the '60s we had what we called then flower children and they ran away basically for sociopolitical reasons. today children are running from a situation rather than to a situation. >> kids are spaerlg and the police would say, well, probably ran away. it was to the demise of many, who, in fact, were picked up by sexual sadists, like john wayne gacy. >> in des plaines, illinois, near chicago, a man who served time in prison for sex crimes was let out. today they found the bodies of at least three young boys buried under his house. >> police today found six more boweds under the john gacy house. >> illinois authorities today made their first positive identification of the 28 bodies unearthed so far. >> this grisly search ended tonight and will be resumed after christmas. >> prior to his arrest, gacy was well known in the community. he frequently dressed in a clown outfit for the benefit of youngsters. he was generally seen as a man young people liked. >> the coroner of this county has seen nothing like it. >> it's frightening. that's the only word i can use, frightening. frightening. from new york, this is abc news. >> good evening. the supreme court ruled today that there is nothing unconstitutional in the death penalty. >> the court says the death penalty is an expression of society's moral outrage at particular crimes. >> in the 1970s, we had a four-year moratorium on the death penalty. the u.s. supreme court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional. eventually, 1976, with new statutes, the u.s. supreme court said it's constitutional. and then we started seeing the death penalty back in place. death rows repopulated with new criminals like gary gilmore. >> it seems the people of utah want the death penalty but don't want executions. i took them literal and serious when they sentenced me to death. >> the crimes were not especially extreme. it was two robbery/murders. but when he was convicted he wanted to die. he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory. so two years later he was put to death by firing squad. and became the very first person in america in this new era to be executed. and his words were "let's do it." >> the order of the fourth judicial court of the state of utah has been carried out. gary mark gilmore is dead. ♪ >> tonight, our topic will be murder as a growth industry. these are the national homicide figures. for the past ten years, every year has set a new high for murder in america. >> the statistics were stupendous. violent crime of all kinds were soaring. the spectacles that people were seeing on their tv screen were unlike anything they'd had to absorb before. >> a small grocery store has been robbed. the owner of the grocery store, nathan hurt, has been shot and killed. >> what happened? >> as i understand a man came to the store and had a gun and asked for money and my grandfather reached for a gun he had and grabbed at the man's gun and it went off or he shot him twice and my grandfather fell to the floor. >> why did he feel he had to have a gun? >> because there are so many robberies in the area and he thought he needed it for protection. >> today ordinary citizens who would not otherwise dream of having a gun are buying one because they are scared out of their wits. >> william rubiak is a ukrainian immigrant who owns a store outside washington, d.c. he's been robbed at gunpoint four times in the past two years. now william rubiak has bought a gun and he says next time he will use it. >> i will shoot and i will shoot to kill. >> fear is the biggest seller of guns. studies have shown each urban crime wave has touched off a new round of gun-buying. >> we have german lugars, derringers, small revolvers, magnums. some of these saturday night specials are small, they can be palmed in your hand. >> it was shortly after 10:00 california time when the president left his hotel. not seen by the following cameras but scattered by secret service agent larry buendorf was a hand with a gun in it coming through the crowd. the commotion erupted. secret service agents forced the assailant to the ground and handcuffed her. she was identified as 27-year-old lynnette alice fromme, one of the earliest followers of charles manson involved in the tate la bianca murders of 1969. >> about the same time gerald ford becomes president, charlie writes he has new rules. they want to do one big thing that's going to get the nation's attention back on charlie. so squeaky, wearing a red robe, comes up to the president of the united states with a big gun, points the gun in his face. the secret servicemen wrestle her to the ground and squeaky's first words were, can you believe the gun didn't go off? >> following your own close brush with death in sacramento i wonder if this has convinced you all that we need tough gun legislation in this country? >> i prefer to go after the person who uses the gun for an illegal or criminal purpose. that to me is a far better approach than the one where you require registration of the individual or the gun. >> just minutes after making those statements, gerald ford walked in to the street and heard the sound of gunfire. >> my god, there's been a shot! there's been a shot. they're being pushed back by the police. somebody has fired a shot here. we don't know if anybody has been hit. my god! somebody fired a shot. >> the president was not hit. witnesses heard the sound and saw a puff of smoke. the woman identified by police as sara jane moore was immediately seized. >> sara jane moore jumped out of the crowd, fired off a weapon and was tackled by another citizen. her background it turned out was as a sort of eccentric, kind of lower-rung political figure. she was kind of an odd duck. >> when gerald ford became president, within the space of one month were two attempts on his life, squeaky fromme and sara jane moore. both tried to shoot him. it's like, what's going on? why can't this be stopped? >> once again this nation has narrowly escaped the tragedy, the trauma of the assassination of our president. above all else, this points out the need for some additional measures, some additional precautions to protect the life of the highest elected official in the country. will it take another assassination in our lifetime to finally force some action? need to hire fast? go to ziprecruiter.com and post your job to over one hundred of the web's leading job boards with a single click. then simply select the best candidates from one easy to review list. and now you can use zip recruiter for free. go to ziprecruiter.com. 8 layers of wheat... mini-wheats®... and one that's sweet. to satisfy the adult and kid - in all of us. ♪ nutritious wheat for the adult you've grown into and delicious sweet for the kid you'll never outgrow... feed your inner kidult with frosted mini-wheats®. try new kellogg's mini-wheats harvest delights with sweet drizzle and bits made with real fruit. in the '70s, new york was really in danger. the whole social fabric seemed to have been torn in half, and crime was just one of the many indications that we were lost. >> i would say the last ten years, the homicide rate has increased by leaps and bounds. we hit our peak probably in 1972, when the bronx had 430 homicides. in the '70s the bronx looked like berlin after world war ii. literally looked like berlin. >> 1.5 million people live in this borough. once that smoke on the horizon signified industry, progress, jobs. now it means someone is burning down a building. it has become the arson capital of the world. it happens 30 times a day and the flames are the signal of a national disaster. >> is there anything that can change the situation? >> the bronx, my own estimation, is doomed with a capital "d." >> a lot of gritty stuff went down in new york and when you think of new york in the '70s you think of the son of sam murders. >> christine freund, soon to be married, is dead today. dead in a shooting that has no apparent motive. >> the end of 1976, they transferred me to queens homicide. the first victim i came across was a woman named christine freund, who was sitting there with her boyfriend coming from a movie and got her head blown off. >> this was a series of random shootings, and the ballistic comparison determined indeed it was the same killer using the same gun, a .44-caliber weapon, on these homicides. therefore the police nicknamed it the .44 caliber killer. >> he struck april 17th at 3:00 in the morning, killing 18-year-old valentina suriani, and her fiance, 20-year-old alexander esau as they sat in a parked car in the baychester section of the bronx. >> we got the shooting back in the bronx. a girl named valentina suriani. but at that scene where that shooting occurred left a note addressed to my supervisor and he called himself the son of sam. >> he talks about being possessed by a man he refers to as sam and the man he refers to to as his father. and he says that his father requires blood. >> this got people's attention. i think it was the sheer randomness of it. the fact you could be doing something as simple as sitting in a car talking to a friend, and someone would come behind you and open fire. it was pretty terrifying. it was frightening. >> i was in charge of the nighttime operation. task force that wanted to shoot him on sight. that was our job. take him out on the street. we flooded the streets of new york. >> people died and we're trying to stop it. it's not you. it's everybody. that's all we are trying to do. >> okay. >> in terms of the victim count, that doesn't place him at the top of the list in terms of the most deadly serial killers, but it was new york city. what happens in new york city, well, that's international news. >> good evening. harry is on vacation. here are our top stories. 100 more police join the hunt for the son of sam killer in new york. >> the search continues for the .44-caliber killer come to be known as the son of sam. >> he warned in one of his sick and threatening letters to the press and to the police, sam's a thirsty lad and he won't let me stop killing until he's had his fill of blood. >> it was a really miserably hot summer in new york. everything went dark. i heard someone on the street go oh, it's a blackout. >> the looters were out almost instantly. and it felt apocalyptic. i remember going to bed that night thinking it was the end of the world. >> new york city in the early morning after a night of no electric power. what it did have in the dark streets was a wild outburst of crime. >> when the greatest city in the world goes black, it showed a crumbling america. then you have the son of sam on the loose. we always look for patterns in victims. there was this belief he was only killing women with long dark hair. >> i know the .44-killer is after girls with long brown hair. so when i go out, me and my friends go out at night, we put our hair up. >> my hair is down to my shoulder. >> i cut it short because of the .44-caliber killer. >> his last victim was actually blond. >> a 20-year-old new york city girl died this evening a day and a half after she and her companion were shot by the son of sam. he's the nighttime killer who has stalked new york residential boroughs for a year. >> a postal worker walked out of his yonkers apartment last night, turned the ignition key in his car, and found himself surrounded by police. well, he said, you got me. police say those words ended the biggest manhunt in new york city history with the capture of son of sam. and this is what they say tripped up the .44-caliber killer, a parking ticket. david berkowitz drove this ford galaxy from his home to bensonhurst, brooklyn. then police say he went to stalk his 12th and 13th victims. but in the place he parked was a fire hydrant and police had the lead they needed. >> when we get him and i interrogate him my attitude at this time, i want to take him and throw him out the window. this guy was so pathetic. it was like talking to a zucchini. never blinked. constant smile on his face. so after a while i start to feel sorry for the guy. you know, he's -- gone. >> i feel great. i think the people of our city will feel great relief. >> praise the lord. it's over. we're very, very happy. >> that was the first thing we heard this morning. it was fantastic. it was great. >> serial killers tend to be cunning. that allows them to stay at large. when they get caught it's usually because of luck. good luck for us. bad luck for them. >> when we caught him we searched his car. the bag on the seat had the .44-caliber gun that did the shootings. what more do you need? then a machine gun fully loaded in the backseat. and the night of the interrogation i directed i said, well, what were you going to do with the machine gun? and he said, i was on my way to the hamptons. and i was going to spray the place and kill as many people as i could. i'm caridee. i've had moderate to severe plaque psoriasis most of my life. but that hasn't stopped me from modeling. my doctor told me about stelara® it helps keep my skin clearer. with only 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses... ...stelara® helps me be in season. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and increase your risk of infections. some serious infections require hospitalization. before starting stelara® your doctor should test for tuberculosis. stelara® may increase your risk of cancer. always tell your doctor if you have any sign of infection, have had cancer, or if you develop any new skin growths. do not take stelara® if you are allergic to stelara® or any of its ingredients. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. serious allergic reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you or anyone in your house needs or has recently received a vaccine. in a medical study, most stelara® patients saw at least 75% clearer skin and the majority were rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. stelara® helps keep my skin clearer. ask your doctor about stelara®. i just wish it had been for a better reason. me, too, but the eulogy that frank's daughter gave was beautiful. i just feel bad knowing they struggled to pay for the funeral, especially without life insurance. i wish they would've let us help. but, it did make me think, though. about what? 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we must never allow that. because this is the kind of thing that ushers in the terror of a hitler's germany. we must not allow these kind of things to enter our consciousness. >> i wanted to write a story about this guy and his power an the reach he had. so i began to contact ex members and they said all is not so good inside. that there were beatings if you got out of line. there was a lot of the sex abuse. and the story took on a new life at that point. very soon afterwards, the church members began leaving san francisco for guyana. >> you're seeing in the sdangs housing complexes that will be built. >> he figures if i'm in guyana, it really doesn't matter what's said or written. nobody's going to get me here. ♪ we are a happy family we are a happy family yes we are ♪ >> it was an escapade almost unparalleled in the history of religious movements. they had very little communication with loved ones at home. and naturally there was concern about where they had gone and what was happening out there in the jungle. >> i think jim jones took his group down there because he was afraid to face publicity and answer the questions here in this country. >> he was talking immigration, he was talking helping people. he was talking better this and better that. >> what about now, what's your impression now? >> my impression now, those are fronts for him. i think he's gone crazy. >> congressman leo ryan started hearing the name jim jones more regularly, and he wanted to expose what he believed was going on down there was wrong. he thought it was certainly worth inviting members of the press to join him. >> very glad to be here. this is a congressional inquiry. i can tell you right now whatever the comments are, there are some people here who believe this is the best thing that ever happened to them in their whole life. >> so it's towards the end of the evening. don harris, who was the nbc reporter, had been walking around the pavilion. and two people slipped him notes. and he hands the notes over to congressman ryan, who opens them and says, oh, my god, it's true. everything we've been told is true. >> then word spread and more and more people wanted to leave. >> do i both understand you to say that you both want to leave jones camp on this date -- >> yes, ma'am. >> -- november 28, 1978? >> then i remember seeing this couple with a child between them. >> you bring those kids back here! you bring them back! don't you take my kids! >> you could feel the tension. >> last night, someone came and passed me this note. >> people play games, friend. they lie. they lie. what can i do about liars? you people leave us. i just beg you, please leave us. >> instead of just letting that plane take off with minimal damage to his movement, jones snapped. >> good evening. for about the last 30 hours we here at nbc news have been trying to establish what happened last night at the airstrip at a place called port kaituma. we have a particular interest in it. two nbc newsmen were shot to death there. >> don harris was killed. bob brown was killed. congressman ryan was shot 45 times. >> every time somebody would fall down wounded, they would walk over and shoot them in the head with a shotgun. >> i was shot five times. i was lying on my side with my head down, pretending i was dead. just came and shot me at point-blank range. >> they are shooting. people die, including leo ryan. and back in jonestown, jim jones is calling for a revolutionary suicide, where we are all going to kill ourselves and make a statement to the world. >> i first flew into jonestown last evening around sunset. there was absolute silence. nothing living was around. jonestown last evening is a city of the dead. >> they found tremendous quantities of potassium cyanide poison. it had been mixed with kool-aid. it killed quickly, within five minutes. >> we will never know how many people voluntarily drank the poison. but other people were either coerced, brainwashed or took it against their will. they were murdered. >> i was lifted into this medevac plane, and i was so grateful. >> good evening. the searching american soldiers have finished counting the bodies in jonestown, guyana. 910 died in the poison ritual of the people's temple last week. >> this was americans killing other americans and themselves. in its own interest for its own well-being. this nation will have to find out why. there were a lot of strange people who had committed a lot of strange crimes in the 1970s, but none of them was as mediagenic as ted bundy. >> were you surprised to be in jail. >> i didn't know what to expect. never been in jail or arrested before. >> bundy was a prolific serial killer. we don't know how many killed. we know it's dozens. he was handsome, very involved this politics, was in law school. it didn't seem like the glassy-eyed lunatic that many americans believed serial killers would be. >> we still don't believe it. it just can't be. i keep shaking my head day after day saying how can this be because our son is the best son in the world. >> what the press wrote about bundy and his crimes wasn't the full details. the full extent of the barbarism, the fact he would have sex with their corpses, mutilate the victims, that didn't fit with this image of the boy next door. >> you feel that everything will turn out all right, that you are innocent. do you feel that still? >> yeah, more than ever. >> do you think about getting out of here? >> well -- well legally, sure. >> bundy was to stand trial on the charge of murdering a young woman in aspen. that trial never completed. during a court hearing break he was left alone in a law library. bundy bailed out of the second floor window and escaped. >> he high-tailed it up to the hills where they chased him around nearly a week. he got lost up there and probably would have died of exposure if they hadn't arrested him. they caught him and he was put back in jail and at christmastime 1977, he escaped again. >> bundy, starved down to less than 140 pounds, slipped through a hole in the ceiling of his cell and was free again. >> the fbi responded by putting bundy on its ten most wanted list. posters with a picture of ted bundy were circulated throughout the nation. >> ted did not have a plan when he escaped. he just wanted to get as far away where he might be identified as he could. so he stole a car and went to florida. >> his new quarters are cramped. he's under 24-hour guard and faces intense questioning. he is theodore bundy, jailed in florida. >> bundy was living in tallahassee at the time when five florida state university coeds were attacked on or near the campus. two of the young women died as a result of the attacks. >> the police in pensacola, florida, stopped a man driving a stolen car and found to their surprise, and perhaps pleasure, it was bundy. >> step out, mr. bundy. what do we have here, an indictment. all right. why don't you read it to me. you're down for election, aren't you? >> mr. bundy -- >> you told them you were going to get me. you said you were going to get me. you got the indictment. it's all you are going to get. >> bundy, having had some law training and a great deal of arrogance, decided to represent himself. for him he was the star in the courtroom. >> since i have been in dade county i've been -- >> don't shake your finger at me, young man. don't shake your finger at me, young man! >> inside the courtroom, the trial will be covered by a still photographer and one television camera. upstairs there are some 250 reporters and television technicians from around the country. >> bundy's personality is fascinating to a lot of people. he doesn't fit the usual profile of a criminal. when he defends himself in court it's fascinating to people to watch. >> each day the courtroom is filled with spectators drawn by a fascination with theodore bundy himself or the gruesome details of the crimes. what is unusual to see is many of the onlookers are women, young women. >> you are fascinated by him? >> very. i'm not afraid of him. he doesn't look like the type to kill somebody. >> to try to imagine yourself in his place, see how he's feeling. >> the bizarre spectacle of ted bundy as a sex symbol really bummed out feminists, as you can imagine. he became a folk hero. there were t-shirts because he was handsome. on the other hand, his violence was so incredibly woman-hating and his insouciance about that we wound up being pretty depressed. >> i had a broken arm and crushed finger. >> i had five skull fractures and multiple contusions on my head. >> is that man in the courtroom today? >> yes, he is. >> would you point him out for us, please? >> are you prepared for a guilty verdict? >> i think so. but you never know. i've never had to go through this before. >> after six and a half hours of deliberation, the jury had a verdict, 32-year-old theodore bundy remained composed as he listened. guilty of first-degree murder in the strangling deaths of two florida state university sew sorority sisters 19 months ago. >> it is therefore the sentence of this court that you be sentenced to death by a current of electricity and such current of electricity shall continue to pass through your body until you are dead. >> in some ways, ted bundy is an icon of the '70s. he mixed kind of showbiz and violence in a way that had never been done before. >> at the end of the '70s, we have had a destruction of our innocence we had at the beginning of the '70s. >> it became an era where americans began to expect the worst. >> america certainly had lost its way. criminals were lauded and killers were romanticized. >> it was the news media that helped carry this message that america is a dangerous place. that americans had a love affair with violence. actually, it was much more like a marriage. and the marriage for some people was till death do them part. >> for a crime social scientists describe the wave of violence that struck our cities as an epidemic. and they identified some of the causes. poverty, broken homes. for some, violence has become a permanent part of the fabric of life. sociologists call it a subculture of violence. the current wave of violent crime is well into its second decade. while we have deplored violence, we've not done much about it. perhaps this is because confronting the problem of violence forces us to confront the most serious defects in our society. a passenger jet crashes in southern russia, killing all 62 people on board. this hour we'll bring you the details from moscow and dubai where that flight originated. he has been on the run now for four months but the paris terrorist attack support salah abdeslam is finally in custody. with barack obama about to make an historic visit to cuba, we'll tell you how the island nation is preparing for his arrival. live from cnn headquarters in atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell. "newsroom" starts right now. a good day to you. with begin with the breaking news we're following. this devastating plane crash in southern russia. flight dubai, flight 981, one of its two flight recorders has now been found. the 62 people on board that plane all died. the video you see here appears to show the moment the boeing jet made a -- slammed into the ground into a fiery ball. cnn is covering this story from all angles. live in moscow with matthew chance following the investigation and cnn producer john jenson in dubai with us with what the airline is saying. we begin in the russian capital where it is just after noon this hour. matthew, what more have you learned about this investigation into the crash. >> reporter: we're looking at a lot of detail about what progress the investigation is making. first of all, you mentioned they found one of the flight recorders. we're not sure which one, whether the cockpit recorder or data flight recorder. they need one of those components to determine what the exact cause of this crash was. there are at the moment strong suspicions as to what could have been to blame. the weather conditions, for instance, were extremely bad at the time of the crash. the boeing 737, very modern aircraft, had made one attempt at landing, which it aborted. it circled around the airport for two hours, presumably waiting for the weather to clear before attempting a second landing. the second landing ending fatally with the loss of all 260 people on board. the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, as i say, are going to be essential in establishing what it was that caused the crash. was it weather? was it technical fail you're or pilot error associated with the weather conditions that could have contributed as well. all these questions the investigators are poring over to try to find answers. >> another key question in all of this is why the pilot of this plane, the pilots attempted a second landing, when a previous plane, given the conditions, diverted to a neighboring city to land. >> reporter: this pilot would have diverted, he would be alive today, so would other passengers. because the other plane that did make the decision to divert to the airport landed perfectly safely. but for some reason, the crew of the flight dubai aircraft decided to circle around the airport. as i say, they did that for two hours, which is an extraordinarily long period of time to wait for the weather to clear. it's not quite clear yet why they did that. it's not clear they did -- whether or not they did it for so long, they were running low on fuel and they had to attempt that second landing despite the weather. again, that kind of information will be hopefully clarified when the flight data recorders are examined. >> matthew chance live in moscow. thank you for your reporting. let's tern to john jenson, where it is just after 1:00 p.m. in dubai. good to have you. a programming note for our viewers, we are waiting to hear from the ceo of fly dubai at a news conference that will happen at any moment. we continue to monitor that. i know you got a chance to see the video statement released already by the ceo on facebook. what did you learn from that? >> reporter: the ceo of fly dubai came out earlier. he will be speaking any moment. earlier he took to facebook to express the shock and the grieving process for this new airline. take a listen. >> our flight from dubai in russia has crash landed. this morning our thoughts and prayers for those on board and their loved ones and family. we are doing everything that we can to help those who have been affected. >> george, this is a relatively new airline for the region. it was founded in 2008. they have around 50 mraendz and fly about 1400 flights a week. certainly not the first time this airline has flown into the airport in southern russia. they started that route in 2013. george? >> jon, what about this particular airline and this particular aircraft, the safety records for both? >> it was a boeing 737-800, we understand, a fairly new airplane. it's got a very good safety record. flydubai has a very good safety record. they started flying in 2009. the 50 aircraft in their livery are fairly new and they have been flying without major incident for the past five, six years. that's why it's come as such a shock for dubai. dubai is becoming one of the busiest transport hubs, not only for the region but the world. you're seeing a lot of shock right here in dubai. >> jon jenson live in dubai for us this hour. thank you for your reporting. as we heard there, weather may have played factor in this crash. our meteorologist derek van dam has been following that angle in the international weather center. >> i think the investigators will certainly be looking deeply into why this particular plane made this second failed attempt to land when other planes diverted successfully around the weather and landed safely. certainly there was rough weather in the area. we move into the region. satellite loop across the area shows a cold surge through, with very chaotic winds as well. roughly between 60 to 90 kilometers an hour. something interesting to note. we did digging on flightradar24.com and we honed in on the 60 seconds, the last 60 seconds of doomed flight fz 981 and you're seeing that 60-second timeline. this blue-shaded line right here is actually the altitude of the flight it made its second attempted landed, realized something had gone wrong and then it increased its altitude before dropping dramatically within that last few seconds, roughly 4,000 people. in fact, some of the information recorded there flight radar 24 indicates it dropped at a rate of 21,000 feet per second. this was significant stuff. it was falling very, very quickly. take a look at the flight path from dubai into the rostov-on-don region. it circled across this area for roughly two hours. what you're looking at here, i'll get rid of the top title bar. here's the horizon. here's the airport at the bottom portion of the screen. this line shows the first attempted landing and then making its way across the area for two hours. but the second failed attempt. here it is as it comes in towards the air strip and actually increases in altitude and ultimately fails. we'll monitor what caused this dramatic failure, that 4,000-foot drop, which was ultimately the doomed part of the aircraft. this was the wind across the area. they had wind gusts in excess of 90 kilometers per hour. meteorologists and pilots look to what it called metar codes, which indicates the variable weather conditions preflight, flight and post flight. according to those codes, the last few moments of the flight winds were roughly 90 kilometers an hour. you can imagine the crosswinds that plane had to navigate. >> derek van dam following the weather angle of this story. thank you very much. we'll stay in touch with you as we continue to learn more about what happened here. move to europe where belgian police have arrested the most wanted man in paris terror attacks. police arrested abdeslam during this raid in brussels where he was shot in the leg. french president hollande says paris will urgently request abdeslam's extradition. >> translator: salah abdeslam was arrested with two accomplices and he was formally identified today. i'm thinking of the victims right now of the attacks of the 13th of november in paris. because salah abdeslam is directly linked to the organization and preparation of -- and, sadly, the perpetration of this terrible attack. i think also of the families who have been waiting for this arrest. >> let's go live to our senior international correspondent fred pleitgen in brussels this hour. it is good to have you with us. he's been on the run for four months. there are fears he managed to get away, but they found him. how important was this get for investigators? >> reporter: well, it certainly was important. it was important for several reasons, george. on the one hand, of course, this was the most wanted fugitive in all of europe ever since the paris attacks happened on november 13th. so, this was definitely something that european law enforcement, quite frankly, needed. there was a lot of criticism of the french authorities, of the belgian authorities along the way that said, why isn't it possible to apprehend this man? and then you recall, there was a raid earlier this week, on tuesday, when the police raided a building. they had a fire fight with three people. two of them managed to escape. one person was shot dead. it later came out that abdeslam had been in that building, both dna as well as fingerprints were found in that building. a lot of people were asking, you're after this man. it appears as though it's almost impossible for you to apprehend him. this it definitely very important for european law enforcement, for belgian law enforcement to have the success to now say the man who was, by far the most wanted man in connections with the paris terror attacks, is now in custody. then, of course, the law enforcement authorities because of the fact he was taken alive or going to be able to get a lot of information from him. on the one hand, they're going to find out more about how the paris attacks happened, how the paris attacks were planned, where the paris attacked were planned. then also who else might have been behind this network. one of the interesting things, french president francois hollande said, we're finding out as this investigation goes along, there are far more people who were involved in the whole web around the paris attacks than anybody could have previously thought. you go back to that raid that happened on tuesday. the person who died in the fire fight was apparently one of the other master minds in the paris attacks. one who was calling the paris attackers as the attacks were going on. by and by, european law enforcement is uncovering what's behind these attacks. as they do that, they believe they are also possibly thwarting attacks that happened in the future because they don't necessarily believe the people behind the paris attacks and the whole web that surrounded them would necessarily stop doing all this as time goes along. they believe these people remained dangerous. so, in many respects, this is something that was a huge success for european law enforcement, george. >> fred pleitgen line for us in brussels. thank you so much for the insight and reporting. we'll stay in touch with you. abdeslam's capture shows us more on brussels. good to have you live with us in london at this hour. if you could talk to us about this tarl suburb, which has been a focal point in these terror investigations. >> molumbiq is a strategic hub used for planning, recruitment. a lot of belgian foreign fighters come from there and notoriously, abdeslam is from there and that's where he decided to hid for four months since the paris attacks. it also illustrates the lack of trust between community and the police as why was there no information coming from people. that trust issue has to be dealt with it they're going to move forward. >> there are a good number of men and women of faith that live in this neighborhood, and so many are upset to see such police present in that neighborhood. given there could be others associated with abdeslam and terror attacks, how does that community continue on, given there will be continued investigations there? >> you raise a very important point. the overwhelming community are law-abiding. they don't want any role with isis but there is that small fragment in that community that acts as the invisible community, that is submerged, plotteding, planning, recruiting. the aim is how to extract them out of the community. more needs to be done in cooperation. one has to point out to those naive, young, impressionable people who may have a degree of sympathy to isis that isis is no friend of anybody. they kill more muslims than they kill anybody else. unfortunately, that doesn't get enough attention. people like abdeslam do the recruiting, the radicalizing and he also cares fair too much about his own life. unlike the other paris attackers, he didn't die in a hail of bullets. he chose to save himself. which illustrates he may play a double game with the community he tries to exploit and at the same time claiming to represent a noble cause which, of course, isis is not. >> you describe what seems to be a surgical effort, really, to reach out to those who might be influenced, to reach out to them. also not aggravate others who have nothing to do with this. how do police officers, how do law enforcement build that trust to get the information they need? >> there needs to be more at the grassroots level. united kingdom has led the way in community policing efforts and building trust with local community leaders who then end up being the key source of human intelligence when it comes to counterterrorism operations. police in britain would not be able to successfully disrupt terror cells without the assistance from local community members. and i would say that is a part that needs to be used in belgian. the other problem, george, in belgian is that you have the dual challenge in linguistics that french and flemish people have their own way things are done. there has to be two roles for every job. that mires the ability on counterterrorism operations on top of the trust issue with the community. >> it's a complicated situation. thank you for joining us from london with your insights. you're watching "cnn newsroom." still to come this hour, the republican movement to stop donald trump. it's picking up steam as party leaders now announce this person who is now voting for another candidate. we'll explain. later, we'll show you how cuba is preparing for an historic visit from the u.s. president. "cnn newsroom" continues right after the break. expert?business sure am. my staff could use your help staying in touch with customers. at&t can help you stay connected. am i seeing double? no ma'am. our at&t 'buy one get one free' makes it easier for your staff to send appointment reminders to your customers... ...and share promotions on social media? you know it! now i'm seeing dollar signs. you should probably get your eyes checked. good one babe. optometry humor. right now get up to $650 in credits to help you switch to at&t. dog chow for 36 years now.d i've been making my dog girlfriend is 17 years old. she's been eating dog chow from her very first day and she can still chase squirrels. she can't catch them, but she can still chase them. after 17 years i'm still confident in feeding her dog chow because i see the high quality ingredients that go into it. i'm very proud to make dog chow right here in edmond, oklahoma. take care of whatealthy makes you...you. aveeno® daily moisturizing body wash and lotion with active naturals® oat. used together, they provide 2x the nourishment for beautiful healthier looking skin. aveeno® naturally beautiful results® testing, testing... 1, 2, 3, 4... ♪ ♪look out honey... ♪because i'm using technology...♪ ♪ ♪ain't got time to make no apologies...♪ ♪ ♪soul radiation in the dead of night...♪ ♪love in the middle of a fire fight...♪ ♪ ♪honey gotta strike me blind... ♪somebody gotta save my soul... ♪baby penetrates my mind... ♪ ♪ [cheering] ♪and i'm the world's forgotten boy...♪ ♪ ♪the one who's searchin'... ♪searchin' to destroy... ♪ ♪and honey i'm the world's forgotten boy...♪ ♪ america's choice, 2016 and the race for the white house, protesters turned out for donald trump's rally in salt lake city, utah. the crowds outside tried to breach the entrance before the doors were abruptly closed by the secret service. this comes a week after the threat of clashes forced the republican front-runner to cancel rallies in chicago. inside the event, trump went after mitt romney after he announced he's voting for ted cruz. >> everybody's so amazing. and do i love the mormons, okay? i love the mormons. i have many friends that live in salt lake. i have a lot of friends. by the way, mitt romney is not one of them. did he choke? did this guy choke? he's a choke artist. i can't believe. are you sure he's a mormon? i can't be sure. he choked. he choked. it was so sad. he should have beaten obama. >> donald trump there. the effort to block donald trump from getting the nomination has accelerated in the last week but is it too late? what is undeniably clear is donald trump has sparked an identity crisis in the republican party and he's not the first rogue candidate to do so. dana bash has this story. >> reporter: love him -- >> it's donald trump or nobody. >> reporter: or hate him. >> i don't want to see donald trump get in. >> reporter: donald trump is leading a realignment of the republican party. >> there's this is a movement. >> reporter: one stop trump forces pose poses an existential threat to the grand old arty. >> i think if we.com nominate donald trump, we lose our heart and soul. >> reporter: people say this is a fight for the heart and soul of the republican party. you agree? >> absolutely. >> reporter: steven miller insists it's for the better. >> lindsey graham's party is a party of more foreign wars, of large-scale, wage-suppressing immigration and trade deeldz that sent our manufacturing jobs overseas. that's not a long-term recipe for growth. >> it's so incredible. >> reporter: some scholars compare this republican identity crisis to the one in 1964 when barry goldwater was on the ticket. until then the gop was the civil rights party of abraham lincoln. but goldwater opposed the civil rights act of 1964. >> i will never vote for republican nomination in any civil rights bill because i think it's unconstitutional. >> reporter: party leaders inside the 1964 republican convention worked against him. and protesters outside in the streets warned goldwater wouldn't just ruin the gop, but nation. >> i am compelled towards negros and all people of goodwill to vote against him. his election would be a tragedy and almost suicidal for the nation and the world. >> reporter: back in 1964 george romney said about goldwater what mitt romney is now saying about donald trump. >> if we republicans choose trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished. >> reporter: but trump supporters argue american anger he's tapping into stems from decade's-long orthodoxy that left workers behind, from free trade to military intervention. >> if the voters are ignored long enough, they're going to force change onto the party. >> reporter: which you think is exactly what's happening? >> which is happening now. >> reporter: to be sure, frustration with the republican establishment has been brewing for some time. showing itself with the tea party movement and propelling past gop protesters like ron paul's campaign. >> they're terrified of competition. now the establishment has competition that really looks strong and there's a lot of people behind trump. so, this is a big problem for them. >> reporter: conservative actists meeting in washington this week talked about abandoning the gop for another party if trump becomes republican nominee. team trump is already urging against that, arguing for that old republican big tent. >> i think as we go down the line, i think things will happen and there will be a healing process, but this has been a very rough one. >> reporter: a rare understatement from donald trump. dana bash, cnn, washington. >> so, be sure to tune into cnn on monday at 8:00 eastern time. all five remaining presidential candidates, democrats and republicans, will be sitting down with our own wolf blitzer and anderson cooper. five different considerations, one night, only here on cnn. still ahead this hour, a preview of u.s. president barack obama's historic trip to cuba. and how the island nation is preparing for his visit. live in the united states and around the globe this hour, from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, this is cnn. diabetes, steady is exciting. only glucerna has carbsteady, clinically proven to help minimize blood sugar spikes. so you stay steady ahead. take care of whatealthy makes you...you. aveeno® daily moisturizing body wash and lotion with active naturals® oat. used together, they provide 2x the nourishment for beautiful healthier looking skin. aveeno® naturally beautiful results® couand i want to remind youel that no one's the same without the game... like @squirrelgirl52 who writes, "no football on sundays has left me with a lot of free time. "so i've constructed a small sanctuary for local squirrels. it's a safe haven where they can meet and fall in love and..." ok, i'm going to stop reading right now. you might have some issues that go beyond football's help, but try watching the nfl draft. see if that helps. maybe watch with a friend... or doctor. out on the town or in for the night, at&t helps keep everyone connected. right now at at&t, buy the new samsung galaxy s7 and get one free. no matter how you hang out, share every minute of it. buy one water resistant samsung galaxy s7 and get one free. and right now, get up to $650 in credits per line to help you switch to at&t. and to help you accelerate,ast. we've created a new company. ♪ one totally focused on what's next for your business. a true partnership where people, technology and ideas push everyone forward. accelerating innovation. accelerating transformation. accelerating next. hewlett packard enterprise. welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. you're watching "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell. the headlines we're following this hour. plane crash in southern russia. all 260 people on that flight, flydubai are dead. the video appears to show the moment of that crash. there were also high winds associated with this boeing trying to land. russia state media say one of the two flight recorders have been found. paris terror attacks salah abdeslam is out of the hospital. he was taken there with a gunshot wound following his capture on friday and now remains in custody. four other people were also detained in friday's raid in suburban brussels. abdeslam had been on the run since november. protesters turned out in force for donald trump's rally in salt lake city, utah. crowds outside tried to breach the entrance before the doors were abruptly closed by secret service. the event comes just a week after the threat of flashes forced the republican front-runner to cancel a rally in the city of chicago. a supreme court judge in brazil filed an injection blocking former president da silva from becoming the current president's chief of staff. now back to breaking new we're following. this deadly plane crash in southern russia. investigators tell state media they're looking into crew error, technical error, bad weather and other factors. some are asking, why didn't the plane divert to a different airport? i talked to director at airlineratings.com. here's what he had to say. >> the flight just ahead of them diverted only 30 minutes flying time and successfully landed, but had two more hours of fuel on board. it seems why they didn't divert because the winds suggesting up to 90 kilometers an hour. they are very, very strong to attempt to land in. as well as you're in the aircraft, the pilots also dip their wing in the direction of the wind itself. earlier reports tell us, in fact, the first part of the plane that impacted the runway was the wing which then precipitated the breakup of the aircraft. it appears as though they were battling these very strong crosswinds and this appears to be the major factor in this terrible sdaster. >> as our derek van dam even alluded to the possibility that pilot error may have been to blame as well. what are your thoughts? obviously, takeoff and landing, the two most credited cal points for any flight. >> well, given the information we have now, which is very early, and we do have to get the cockpit voice recorders to really understand what was going on, the absence of that, given the wind conditions and the gusting conditions and the fact other aircraft had diverted, then pilot error would have to be a major contributing cause of this crash. the wind is obviously the factor but then the decision-making process. this weather is too bad for us to land. we have to divert and not press on. and tragically, press on is the term used in aviation, is the cause of many, many of these tragedies where pilots feel they can land the aircraft, even though conditions are not conducive for a safe landing. >> jeffrey thomas, the conversation i had with him earlier. flydubai has only been operational since 2009. our richard quest, the host of "quest means business," flew with the airline as part of a round the world journey he's been on this week flying only low-cost airlines. earlier he told us about flydubai. >> reporter: flydubai is a relatively new airline but its pedigree is extremely strong. it is owned and set up by the same people, the dubai government, basically, that also own emirates airlines. so even the ceo, the managerial staff have come from emirates airlines. the flydubai relied, in many ways, on emirates. it's brand-new but it comes with a wealth of experience at the managerial level. history in havana. cuba is getting ready for a very important visit from the u.s. president barack obama this weekend. the trip comes after a breakthrough in relations after havana and washington, including the easing of travel restrictions. we get more from patrick in havana. >> reporter: it's been a long wait, but cuba is getting ready to welcome a u.s. president. after 50 years of isolation from america, cubans are elated relations with the u.s. have improved to the point where an american president is visiting for the first time in 88 years. alejandro ended his stud ygs to drive tourists in a 1958 chevrolet, earning more in an hour than he would have pulled down as an engineer in a month. he hopes to soon drive more americans. i'm only 21 years old, he said. i never thought a u.s. president would visit cuba. i hope the relations improve between the u.s. and cuba that the economic situation gets better. that's what cuba really needs. while the u.s. economic embargo, only congress can lift, obama has dulled some of the sanction's sharpest teeth. already the opening with the u.s. has changed some people's lives. they sing happy birth day to her grandfather who is turning 83 and lives in florida. she's grateful for new areas with public wi-fi that the government has recently opened. internet in cuba is some of the most restricted in the world. president obama has vowed to push for more access. i'm hoping for a little more flexibility, she says, maybe to visit our family. it's been 16 years since we've been able to see them. now at least thanks to this we can see them on the tablets or our cell phones. the separation has been too long. some cubans are looking to mark the historic occasion by engaging in a little capitalism. craftsmaker is selling obama souvenirs. i think it's a gesture, something historic, she says. his visit is historic so people will take this keepsake with them, obama in cuba. obama's visit is just one step in building trust between two countries that for decades were on opposite sides of the cold war. many here say they have waited their whole lives for this moment. many cubans told us about the new beginning of america, it was time. patrick opman, cnn, havana. >> cnn has spent decades covering news events in cuba. here's a look back at some of the biggest moments. ♪ >> let's face it, i mean, cuba is a beautiful country. beautiful beaches, sunset. and people, the people make cuba a gorgeous country. >> during my trips there it was decided we wanted a bureau, so i was made the point person for the cnn bureau in havana. it took about seven years to do. one of the more interesting moments was during the cuba crisis and janet reno was the attorney general here in the u.s. she kept saying, the crisis is over, the crisis is over. i'm on the beach in cuba and dozens of cubans are continuing to pour into the sea. we would report the crisis is not over and our own people wouldn't believe us. had you to take the camera and show them, here they come, with their rafts, jumping into the ocean. it made us realize the importance of being there so people could see the whole picture of what was going on between the u.s. and cuba. >> been covering the miami/cuban story all this time. i saw everything from the cuban exile community and it was my first time going into cuba to see what it was like, what they had left, what they fled from. it was like the clock stopped in 1959. the cold war had been over for years, but yet everybody was still living like the cold war was going on. >> one day we went with ted turner, which was a while ago when he was going to interview fidel castro, and we got incredible access to the cuban leader. we rode around havana all day one day in jeeps. the jeeps kept breaking down and we had to jump out of one jump and jump into another. after while, we all just said, boy, if they can't even drive their leader around, maybe this isn't the place we should be scared of. >> i always remember fidel's speeches. hours and hours long, hours of his speech. one of them fidel facing to the united states, just 90 miles away, saying to president bush, those who are about to die, we salute you. >> the biggest story that happened shortly after i got there. i was producer for the cnn havana bureau. the correspondent was out of town. july 31, 2006. we got news there was going to be a big announcement on state tv. well, we turn the tv on and fidel's castro personal secretary showed up and read this proclamation that fidel castro was going into emergency surgery and handing power over. this was a huge bombshell. nobody had expected it. he had been in power for nearly 50 years. >> changes were happening rapidly. and i think it's going to explode as we go. >> with the changes that have happened since the opening of relations, the people always want to talk to you. they want to know, when are things going to change? when are things going to get better for me? >> at the end, i guess the name is rewarding. it was a rewarding experience to be involved in that, to have a little part of doing something that opened the doors a little bit. and maybe they're opening now a little bit more. >> got a deep bench of reporters and photo journalists. it's so nice to hear their insights about such an important story. the race for the white house, the current u.s. president has apparently made up his mind about who should succeed him. but he's not telling. that story next. this just into cnn. a large blast was heard in central istanbul. we go to arwa damon who joins us on the phone with more. what have you learned. >> reporter: well, george, i was not too far from where the blast did take place. fairly loud happening on what is called istaiklol street, one of istanb istanbul's main thoroughfare. filled with people, shops and restaurants. this is in the heart of the city. now, the exact cause of the blast at this stage is still being investigated. turkish meet yeah is reporting the attacker plus one civilian were killed and at least another seven people are believed to have been wounded. now, literally within seconds there were ambulances on the scene. the police cordoned it off very swiftly. they cordoned off 100 meters of this particular road as well as side streets. there are concerns following these kind of attacks there could be secondary explosions. particularly on this weekend, there have been multiple terror alerts. the offshoot of the pkk, the kurdistan workers party that claimed responsibility for last sunday's ankara bombing had pledged they would be carrying out more attacks. in fact, the germany embassy consulate and germany schools had been closed due to this security warning. this most certainly is a nation that is on high alert at this stage. and it seems those security warnings were well merited after what we've seen transpire an hour, hour and a half ago. again, this blast happening in the heart of istanbul in a very central area that's very popular, both among tourists and among turks. george? >> arwa damon live on the phone following the blast heard in istanb istanbul. we'll stay in touch. we have yet to learn more. back to the u.s. presidential race. hillary clinton and bernie sanders are hoping for a victory in the next primaries and caucuses on tuesday. 131 delegates are at stake in the states of idaho, utah and arizona. both of the democratic candidates have repeatedly attacked trump. as brianna keilar reports, the u.s. president is wrapping up his implied criticism of this republican front-runner. >> reporter: president obama weighing in on the 2016 race. telling the npr he believes the republican-led senate refusing to hold hearing on his supreme court nominee will motivate democratic voters. >> in part because of the circus that has been the presidential campaign season so far. >> reporter: obama once dismisses ive of donald trump in january. >> you know, talk to me if he wins. >> reporter: in february. >> i continue to believe mr. trump will not be president. and the reason is because i have a lot of faith in the american people. it's not hosting a talk show or a reality show. >> reporter: now with trump the clear front-runner in the republican field, the president is sounding a warning on the campaign trail. >> the longer we allow the political rhetoric of late to continue and the longer that we accept it, we create a permission structure that allows the animosity in one corner of our politics to infect our broader society. >> reporter: obama has met with both hillary clinton and bernie sanders this primary season, speaking especially highly of his former secretary of state. but the white house is pushing back on a "new york times" report that obama told democratic donors to rally behind clinton. >> the president did not indicate a preference in the race. >> reporter: but obama has made a pick. press secretary josh earnest says he's keeping it to himself. as hillary clinton fund raises today, bernie sanders is campaigning out west ahead of tuesday's contest in idaho, utah and arizona. >> what this campaign is about is urging the american people to think outside of the box. >> reporter: sanders is trailing clinton considerably in the delegate count. his patience wearing thin thursday as he abruptly cut off an interview with a phoenix television station. >> brianna keilar reporting there. also important to point out that bernie sanders says that he ended that interview because the allotted time for that reporter had run out. again, thanks to brianna keilar for that report. a reminder to tune into cnn on monday. 8:00 eastern time. all five remaining presidential candidates, democrats and republicans, will be sitting down with our own wolf blitzer and anderson cooper. five different conversations, one important night. only here on cnn. coming up here on "cnn newsroom," meet ted cruz's double. they may not have much in common but, hey, they sure look alike. and it's causing quite a stir online. 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[ intense music throughout ] [ fans cheering ] introducing the x1 sports app. get live stats, averages, and standings. right on your tv. change the way you experience tv, with xfinity x1. good morning. so grateful to have your company. i'm christi paul this morning. >> i'm victor blackwell. the passenger plane that has crashed in southern russia, all 62 people on board are dead. the flight crashed after repeated attempts to land in the city of rostov-on-don. >> take a look at the surveillance video. that's the flight. russian state news says this shows the exact moment of that crash. cnn cannot independently confirm the authenticity of that, but we want to bring in cnn international correspondent matthew chance. math