today's mass shooting at a religious university in california. at least seven people died and three others were wounded after a gunman opened fire at a classroom at oikos university. it is a religious vocational and technical school in oakland, california. police say they picked up a suspect several miles from the scene. dan simon is on the story for us there. dan, we know this is a breaking story. what's the latest that you know? >> reporter: hi, jessica. let me set the scene for you here. we are near the oakland airport. this is an industrial area. there is a car dealership next to me and behind me about 150 yards or so is oikos university. we know that at 10:30 a.m. they started firing as you said and seven people dead, three more people wounded, and police at this time do not have a motive. according to one person inside the building at the time, the shots seemed to be coming from either a classroom or near the office area. as you said, one suspect has been arrested. that person was picked up in a parking lot near a shopping mall in alameda, county, california, a short distance away from here. at this time the investigation is on going. obviously a horrible, horrible scene in oakland, california. jessica. >> all right. check back in with you, dan, as developments warrant. thank you for the report. we're continuing on this story because at the scene of the shooting witnesses have described moments of sheer panic. the oakland tribune reports that a woman fled the school saying that a gunman in the classroom stood up and shot one student in the chest and opened fire on the rest of the room. san francisco chronicle reporter henry lee was at the university when he spoke with cnn on the phone. >> it is very chaotic as you can imagine. initially police were saying the victims and witnesses were seen screaming and coming out of the building and there is a heavy police presence and the swat team is clearing the building and the initial emergency situation is long past and certainly the police are there at the building for a long time as well as here in alameda. >> the shooting suspect was taken into custody about five miles from the university. tom foreman is here to give us the lay of the land. hi, tom. set the scene for us if you would. >> jessica, let many he show you generally where this is. this is the northern california area of san francisco over here, oakland over here, san jose down here. fly into oikos university. i will give you an idea what this is about. this is a school that basically is a christian school. it caters to the korean community. there is teaching of nursing, theology, some teaching of music, homeopathic remedies, that sort of thing. it is not a very big place. the general area here is offices. there are other schools, high school nearby, there is a jail not terribly far away and a superior court office, and there are also places around here involved in environmental affairs and some that are involved in teaching avionics and air naut i cans and generally a warehouse area and not very big and not a whole lot known about this. we do know that it is not far if you want a sense, not far at all from right here, the oakland coliseum where the raiders play and the athletics play and if we go further out we can show you the hospital they were taken to. four miles away. heavy traffic as you can know the people that were wounded in all of this. all we know is it is a little removed from the residential area and a warehouse type area with a lot of other places around. if this were a random target, there were plenty of other place that is could have likely been the target. we just don't know at this point. >> we'll go to somebody who might know more about this, tom, thanks so much for this. joining me now is oakland city council president larry reed. mr. reed, thank you so much for being with us. first of all, i am sorry for the tragedy that's happened there. you have been a city employee for 30 years. you're near the crime scene right now. basically have you ever seen anything like this? >> no. i haven't. when i was chief of staff for one of the former mayors, we lost seven individuals on one day, and it was individual homicide that is took place but not to the extent where seven individuals lost their lives at one time in one location. >> what do you know if anything about how this happened? what happened inside that school if you can tell us? >> well, the only thing that i know i was on bart on my way to city hall when i got a call from the police chief indicating that this incident had taken place. then when i got here, briefed by the police chief, and that indicated to me the loss of life and those individuals who had been taken to one of our local hospitals for treatment, and that they were looking for the suspect. so i have been here ever since 11:00, and the chief will brief the city council at 5:00 and then also have a press conference at 6::00. >> what are witnesses saying? what have you heard from people there at the school? >> i think speem are expressing horror and loss of life. there are seven family members right now that are having to deal with this horrendous act that took place at the university. there are no words that one can say to help them to go through the ordeal that each of them are going to have to go through with the loss of life of their loved ones, so we'll be reaching out to the families to see how we as a city can assist them and moving forward with their life and it is just a real sad day here in the city of oakland. >> as a city official, council president, are you satisfied with the official police response to the incident? >> yes. i mean, we're fortunate to have a number of law enforcement agencies that help respond to this incident when it was understood that the suspect had left the scene, and they were out assists us and trying to locate the suspect and to bring him into custody and so, you know, the suspect is in custody, and our police department with other law enforcement agencies are out here doing the work that they need to do around the scene, this horrendous shooting that took place. >> mr. reed, any indication as to the gunman's motive? >> no. our police department right now is doing their work and trying to understand what was the motive to come in and take the life of seven individuals and then also to leave three individuals wounded. so certainly the information will come out during the legal process that he now finds himself in. >> as far as you know, was he a former student there? was he a current student there? >> my understanding that he was a former student at the university. other than that, like everyone else we will wait until the police chief brief us, the council and myself at 5:00 to understand more. we will respond in a much more intelligent manner to the questions being asked by you and other reporters throughout northern california. >> all right. 5:00 pacific time, two hours from now. thank you, mr. reed. >> correct. >> i am grateful for your time and incredibly sorry for the loss in your community. i appreciate that you have taken this time out to speak with us. now turning to politics and a breaking scandal for the obama administration. a top government official resigned today after revel liegss that nearly a million taxpayer dollars were spent on a training conference that included airfares to las vegas and according to the washington post a mind reader, a clown, and a comedian. let's go to white house correspondent brianna koehler. you have been tluming through the government outlining the extravagant expenditures. we don't often hear stories like this these days. what have you uncovered. >> what we know, judgest ka, we're talking about marsha johnson, the head of the general services administration which is basically in part the landlord to the federal government because the federal government owns thousands of buildings across the u.s. this was a training conference and it took place outside of las vegas at the m resort. 300 people attended. there were a number of sort of i guess you could say like preparation trips, sort of a dry run as well as a number of trips to plan this event and that included trips to this resort. those planning costs alone, $136,000. add that to the cost of the actual conference, and it is over $800,000. it is not just the overall price tag of this conference that is so eye popping according to this report from the independent inspector general for the gsa. it is also what the money was spent on. $75,000 to hire a company to do a team building, an actual team building exercise, pleural, and it included one that was a bicycle building project, $6,000 spent on commemorative coins, $6,000 on canteens, key chains, t-shirts, what we call swag, the give away that is would commemorate the conference and also the gsa also spent money on two-story suites that normally go for 1,200 or, pardon me, $2,200 per night, not the type of accommodate you expect these government agencies to be using for a conference, jessica. >> wow. do you think we can get assigned to a team building exercise that involves bicycle building? this is so surprising. the bam administration has been pledging to cut waste and avoid excessive spenting and it really flies in the face of that. how is the white house responding to this? >> well, i think in one word, quickly, jessica. some of this obviously is damage control in an election year where the economy is to bad and as this report came out, the white house, the president's chief of staff, jack lou, putting out a statement saying the president found out before he went on that trip to korea, so over a week ago, and that he was, quote, outraged and he instructed those responsible to be held accountable. the head of the gsa resign and had there were two other top officials closely related to this who were fired. >> no mercy on this one. thanks so much for the report. up next, a war hero tries his hand at politics and discovers the middle ground is not the safest place to be. later, some familiar faces return to morning television and they're not where you might expect. thanks for babysitting the kids, brittany. so how much do we owe you? that'll be $973.42. ya know, your rates and fees aren't exactly competitive. who do you think i am, quicken loans? [ spokesman ] when you refinance your mortgage with quicken loans, you'll find that our rates and fees are extremely competitive. because the last thing you want is to spend too much on your mortgage. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. ♪ the chevy cruze eco also offers 42 mpg on the highway. actually, it's cruze e-co, not ec-o. just like e-ither. or ei-ther. or e-conomical. [ chuckling ] or ec-onomical. pa-tato, po-tato, huh? actually, it's to-mato, ta-mato. oh, that's right. [ laughs ] [ car door shuts ] [ male announcer ] visit your local chevy dealer today. now very well qualified lessees can get a 2012 chevy cruze ls for around $159 per month. e.p.a. estimated 36 miles per gallon highway. do about medicare and social security... security. that's what matters to me... me? i've been paying in all these years... years washington's been talking at us, but they never really listen... listen...it's not just some line item on a budget; it's what i'll have to live on... i live on branson street, and i have something to say... [ male announcer ] aarp is bringing the conversation on medicare and social security out from behind closed doors in washington. because you've earned a say. mcallen, texas. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere, is always headed somewhere. to give it a sense of direction, at&t created a mobile asset solution to protect and track everything. so every piece of equipment knows where it is, how it's doing or where it goes next. ♪ this is the bell on the cat. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ trouble with a car insurance claim. [ dennis ] switch to allstate. their claim service is so good, now it's guaranteed. [ foreman ] so i can trust 'em. unlike randy. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. he was celebrated by the local and national media as a rising star of the republic can party. nathan fletcher is an iraq war veteran and now running for the san diego mayor. there is a catch. he doesn't want to be a republican anymore. the iraq war veteran is running as an independent. nathan fletcher joins me now. hi, nathan. thanks for being with me. let me begin by saying have you gotten national attention lately because you have a story to tell. i want to know why republicans across the country should care about the san diego mayoral race. >> i think everyone should care about the race. i ran for office to solve problems, to try to get things done to make a difference and i think our partisan environment in this world evolved to one where folks would rather preserve a problem to campaign on it rather than solve it. i think in a lot of ways it is a reflection of both parties. i am running and sending a message to say we'll have a mayor who will be willing to really reach out and work with anyone if your idea is good and we can fix a problem and solve something, let's work together and get it done. >> you quit the republican party to become an independent because essentially your argument is there is no room for moderates in the party. what's your response to those that say this is sour grapes because you can't win as a republican in that race? >> it is silly. i could have won as a republican. i don't believe i can govern as one. i think any time you see we have been attacked by the head of the democratic party and the republican party and i think any time both of those say you're wrong, you have to think about maybe you're right. in today's environment it is really evolved into one where i think there is a need and yearning among so many to say can we have a leader that will focus on the substance or the idea and not on whose it is. in today's climate, jessica, particularly in california, if you disagree with someone, you're supposed to treat them like the enemy. i fought in a war and i have seen the enemy. we don't have enemies here. we just have people we disagree with. i want to take the same frustration people feel at the extreme and channel it towards building a better city. >> i am curious what this means for your future. this is what l.a. times george skeleton wrote about you. a legislator abdomen abandoning his party is not unprecedent. i can't remember anyone jumping overboard with such potential to captain the ship. are you squanders your potential as a future republican leader? >> well, i think what i am saying is i care more about the future of my city. i care more about where we go in san diego than i do, my own political future, and my only focus and goal is to be a really good mayor, and we have had a rough decade out here to rebuild our city, our infrastructure, and our economy, and help out our schools and really do right by the people of san diego. i am not worried about what comes after that. i am worried about doing the right thing here and i think now is the time that really calls out for someone to say you're going to have a candidate on the far right. you're going to have one on the far left, and they're content to play partisan games. you're also going to have a choice for someone that says i will take good ideas regardless of party and always have a focus on moving the city forward. >> maybe this is the start of a viable third party alternative. thanks so much for joining us, running for mayor of san diego. glad to have you. >> thank you. >> next the airline whose pilot in flight had a meltdown and made national headlines. he went to court today. we'll tell you what happened. later, who has been hitting it big in the lottery brings a lot of headaches with it. see life in the best light. [music] transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. ♪ [ acou[ sighs ]ar: slow ] [ announcer ] all work and no play... will make brady miss his favorite part of the day. ♪ [ upbeat ] [ barking ] [ whines ] that's why there's beneful playful life, made with energy-packed wholesome grains... and real beef and egg. to help you put more play in your day. beneful. play. it's good for you. to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now, that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. welcome back. here is kate baldwin with the latest news you need to know right now. >> hello, everyone. good evening. some headlines for you. the jetblue pilot arrested after an inflight meltdown last week will be held in a county jail in texas without bond. clayton osbon was transferred from a hospital where he had been undergoing treatment since last tuesday's incident. his bond will be determined thursday. the pilot, a 12 year jetblue veteran has been charged with interfering with a flight crew. the supreme court says that jail officials may strip search people before putting them behind bars even if it is for minor offenses like not paying a traffic fine. a ruling on i acase out of new jersey, the court's conservative majority cited security needs like needing to protect other inmate from dangerous contraband from being smuggled inside. it is no april fools joke. ashton cusp certificate set to play steve jobs in a new biopick. it won't be too much of a stretch. the independent film will chronicle the apple founder's life from hippy to tech i and i am sure there will be a lot of eyes on it. >> that willing an interesting movie. >> interesting. >> and how they make it just a move zi they're very good at that. harry potter, that was helpful, four or five films. >> a lot. >> thanks, kate. coming up, an early morning showdown between sarah palin and katie couric. we'll have the details next. plus, we don't know who has the three winning lottery tickets but he know there is already a fight over the share of the mega millions. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it. just to be able to wake up in the morning on your own. that's a big accomplishment to me. i don't know how much money i need. but i know that whatever i have that's what i'm going to live within. ♪ ♪ in this half hour of john king usa, a multi-million dollar headache, a dispute over who has the rights to one of the winning tickets from the mega millions lottery. tune into morning tv and you'll see familiar faces in very unfamiliar places. here is a headline you don't hear too chb, ghraib's prince harry saves the day. first this hour's breaking news. a suspect is in police custody after a mass shooting left at least seven people dead and two others wounded. it happened at oikos university which is a religious vocational and technical school in oakland. witnesses there described th