what is the palin factor? how much does somebody like governor santorum, governor pawlenty, how much are they overshadowed and are they overshadowed by palin the noncandidate? >> it's how much oxygen can she pull out of a room. you have to remember that the presidential race starts in places like iowa, new hampshire, south carolina where people don't want to feel like it's barnum and bailey's promotions coming to town. they can kick the tires and feel genuine. i agree with susan. if she is doing to this to look back with pause and feel that this was just a little too planned and a little bit too sterile in some sense. >> it's a great point john makes. because while we were here today, the county republican official came by and said, i have no idea. they haven't called and told me. you might hear families chanting around me saying, run, sarah run. do the rules apply to her? can these people power her candidacy? she doesn't have to tell the new hampshire chairman when she's coming or the iowa chairman when she's

. >>> on the road again, the sarah palin show rides into washington and beyond. just what is she really up to? >>> also, war and remembrance, on this memorial day weekend, remembering americans who are serving tonight, and those who have sacrificed so much for serving tonight, and those who have sacrificed so much for their country. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening, everyone. amid one of the most destructive tornado seasons in decades, president obama traveled to joplin, missouri, today to see the devastation for himself, and to honor the lives of those killed there, one week ago tonight. it was an all too familiar journey for the president, who just one month ago made a similar visit to tornado-ravaged tuscaloosa, alabama. in joplin today where at least 139 died and 40 people remain unaccounted for, survivors poured their hearts out to the president. he, in turn, reminded them that what happened to their community is a national tragedy. nbc's ron allen is in joplin with more on the president's visit. ron, good evening. >> reporter:

chris: let's go to palin. you love palin. some strange way you are fascinated by her, andrew. >> as i said many times she started running the day after 2008 election ended and there is no reason to believe she isn't running. chris: she took a smart break about that. >> her position is if no one else will represent this grass root movement of cutting government down to size and standing up to are america abroad i will have to be the candidate. chris: the angry candidate? >> the principal candidate against what she will describe as the -- chris: are you getting her into this race? are you escorting her into this race? >> no, because i'm too terrified for the country to do that. but i think washington has misread her, underestimated her. chris: can palin and bachman run both on the right? >> sure but he don't know if they can win but palin doesn't know anything about policy but she has skills. she knows how to be a stand-up politician. >> in the end she is so relentlessly negative that the american people don't like that. look a

but on the brand management, i mean, let's just be real, sarah palin is all about sarah palin. and she's brilliant at that. she's about pushing her brand. and the fact that we're talking about her, the fact that you're waiting for her in gettysburg, the fact that hundreds of people are waiting for her in gettiesburg, she knows that, and she is using this to the fullest. but i also think that when mike huckabee decided not to run and mitch daniels decided not to run she probably had and is having an a-ha moment because she also knows that she probably better than anybody else can speak to the very critically important social conservatives in the gop who are going to be essential in whoever gets nominated for the gop. and she's saying this could be my moment. now, whether she takes that to the next step, she's going to keep us guessing until that actually happens or not. >> now, most republicans have thought for months, shushanne that no, she's not going to run. if she wants to be active, she wants to be influence, she wants her voice to be heard and she wants to tease us to keep

on to palin and bachmann. bachmann will announce her plans later this week, but already some are saying, bachmann shouldn't bottom because she's a carbon copy of sarah palin. here's what bachmann said about that on "jk usa." >> i have great respect for senator palin, i consider her a friend. so if she gets in, she gets in. that won't impact whether or not i get in or not. >> leslie, you have to admit, palin has certainly come up with a way to garner attention, you know, with her bus tour. bachmann sees diminished now. is she toast? >> i don't think so. you can have more than one female candidate. sarah palin has transcended politics into celebrity. she has to deal with highly polarizing numbers, the fact, to your point, she does not appeal to independents. she has her own challenges. michele bachmann can take advantage of that. the point is, there are more candidates that are aggressively appealing to -- these outsider candidates who are appealing to this concern about the direction of the country, and it's go

but she's just not comparing herself to palin. bachmann said the person she should be compared to is barack obama and she said she thought she compared favorably. >> smith: jan crawford in washington this evening, thank you very much. the drug violence in mexico has touched nearly every part of that country, even the schools. on friday, a teacher in monterrey got her kindergarten students on the floor and recorded what happened when five people were gunned down at a taxi stand right outside the school. she kept the children calm with a song even as gunshots rang out. ( gunshots ) ( speaking spanish ) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> smith: that teacher was honored today with a certificate praising her outstanding civic courage. and there was a barrage of bullets earlier today in miami's south beach. police traded fire with a man in a car who had raced down a crowded block after an apparent drive-by shooting. what you are seeing was caught on video from a nearby high- rise. the man was killed, three officers and four bystanders were wounded. com

i mean, palin world is a closed society. even people, smart republicans don't know what she's going to do. to that point, you know, when she makes appearances, she doesn't necessarily coordinate well. there's a feeling -- one republican i spoke to this week said, look, she's lost some support among rank in file republicans. yet, look at the polling. again, a lot of this is about name recognition, too. this latest one this week has rudy giuliani on top at 68%, romney and palin at 13%. but she's got to look at this and say on name recognition alone, in an unsettled field, there's room. >> i don't know if she's necessarily looking for room. alex said her biggest fear is having barack obama re-elected. i think her biggest fear is having sarah palin's name recognition go down. i think she can make her own space. she gets on the bus and we're all talking about her and paying attention to her, and that elevates the sarah palin brand, and i think that's what this is about more than trying to position herself to be the one who has to

i think this is vintage palin. that is why you have folks john john mccain, her former running mate. we all remember there were some tense moments between her staff and john mccain's staff during the 2008 presidential campaign. but he's maintained pretty good relations with the former alaska governor. he was on one of the sunday talk shows yesterday saying he thinks she could run and win and beat president obama in a potential 2012 field. folks like mitch mcconnell said yesterday on one of the other sunday talk shows that the obama white house can celebrate and do touchdown dances all they want at this point at the prospect of sarah palin getting into this race, but remember 1980 the carter folks were very optimistic, very happy to see ronald reagan running against them and they paid the price come november of that year. she is not to be underestimated at this point. she can certainly make a lot of noise in this campaign and she seems to be doing that right now, joe. >> touchdown dances. that's a pretty good way of

load of political baggage. 60% of americans have an unfavorable view of palin. >> governor palin has significant challenges if she's going to be the nominee for president. she's also taking all of the oxygen out and not building good rapport with republican candidates. she's going to have a lot of work to do. >> reporter: yet the politician turned reality tv star, two of her potential rivals, michele bachmann and tim pawlenty only got a fraction of the coverage. that's the palin factor, capable of attracting a big crowd in the hot gettysburg sun. >> she's a celebrity and we think she's going to run for president we do know for talking to multiple sources that she's headed to new hampshire late they are week and that off to iowa perhaps as early as next month. but when we contacted the chairman of the iowa republican party, candy, a spokesman for that chairman told us that they haven't gotten any word that she's heading to iowa next month so we're not the only ones in the dark, candy. >> there's a lot being talked about and written about. >> is this miss teek or confusion? >> reporter

and palin is filming a documentary about herself this week in iowa. maybe she is not running but she sure is trying to gain a lot of attention as presidential candidates do. >> alan: back home, hundreds of marines and sailors met today for the annual uss san francisco ceremony. ♪ >> alan: this event honors the 100 sailors sailors and seven na rebounds killed at the battle of guadalcanal during world war ii. the uss san francisco was built at the -- navy yard and took part in the battle. the first offensive against japan. a state senator attended the service. >>> up next, the government is throwing out the food pyramid. and carnival san francisco style. the parade, the danielsing, the food, next. >>> and almost june and we still can't get a break from the cool weather. meteorologist leigh glaser says change is on the way. >> mike: can you imagine being 100 yards from winning the indy 500 as a rookie driver, and one second later you're eating concrete. we'll hear from him coming never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 mile

. >>> and sarah palin thundering into d.c. today, but is she ready to roll into the presidential race? the best political team on television is weighing in. i'm drew griffin. the news starts now. in the headlines tonight president obama went to joplin, missouri, today. it was his first chance to see the unimaginable damage caused by last sunday's ef-5 tornado. he spoke at a memorial service for the 142 known victims. a live look at the president's visit just ahead. >>> and sarah palin drew attention riding on the back of a motorcycle in rolling thunder. despite all the symbolism of the moment, the former alaska governor insists she is just riding, not running, at least not yet. >> i'm an american. i have no title, i have no office, and to be an american citizen with the freedom to come out here and assemble and thank our veterans, i can't tell you how honored i am. >>> lockheed martin says the information network system has been attacked but no customer information was compromised. this is one of the largest defense contractor

. >>> palin plans. speculation heats up as the former alaska governor takes another step towards a presidential run. >>> and her town. nine years later, elizabeth smart finally gets the chance to nine years later, elizabeth smart finally gets the chance to confront her tormenter. captioning funded by cbs >>> and good morning, everyone, on this thursday. i'm terrell brown, in for betty nguyen. another night of severe weather, and more tornadoes in the country's midsection. overnight there were tornado warnings and watches in a dozen states from texas to mississippi. the ohio river valley. at least 81 tornadoes reported yesterday. no reports of death. but dozens were injured in missouri and indiana. it's been four days since much of joplin, missouri, was wiped out by one monster twister. at least 125 people were killed and more than 900 injured. randall pinkston is in joplin with the latest. randall, good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. that search and rescue effort is inevitably transitioning i

a palin candidacy be on the race? >> well, i think she does command a great deal of attention. you know, the media have a love/hate relationship with sarah palin. they hate her but they love to cover her so she'll have a pretty big impact in terms of other candidates responding to her policy proposals and her activities but like everyone else here i have no idea whether or not she's going to run or not. >> any moment now she's going to tweet, and we will learn whether or not she will start off the bus tour at the lincoln memorial or the washington monument. sarah palin is a phenomenon. she doesn't need to run by the rules established by the republicans. she can run simply on her own timetable when she feels like and she doesn't have to follow conventional wisdom. i think she's running. she sees a big opportunity and you know what -- >> should be hoping she's running. >> look, i'm hoping michele bachmann -- >> who is the dreamboat republican candidate for the democrats? >> we don't have one. >> who would you rather run

sarah palin remains a woman of mystery. not only is she keeping supporters in the dark about a run for president, she also won't share the schedule of her one-nation bus tour. joel brown is in washington with more, joel, good morning to you. >> terrell, good morning. whether she's running for president or not is anyone's guess. what we've learned so far from sarah palin's return to the national political scene is that this time she's going to do it her way. >> how are you? >> reporter: sarah palin strikes up conversations with everyone. >> she's good looking. >> thank you so much. >> the former vice presidential candidate won't confirm or deny what her fans really want to know -- if she's running for president. >> i don't know, i honestly don't know. we're considering much. there's a lot to consider before you throw yourself out there. >> reporter: if she does run, palin promises an unconventional, untraditional approach. she's already taking one with her east coast bus tour of historical sites that doesn't have an advanced

palin was asked directly is she running for president. the answer, don't know. david kerley, abc news, washington. >>> and on this memorial day, a special remembrance by u.s. troops in afghanistan. more than 1,400 american service members have died in afghanistan in the past ten years. about 100 personnel from the army corps of engineers held a candlelight vigil sunday night. they had a day off sunday, one of five days off they can expect this year. >> wow. and hundreds of volunteers helped honor the dead at a veterans cemetery in massachusetts. every one of the 50,000 graves now has a flag. the father of a war veteran killed in afghanistan made it happen. amalia bereda of wcvb has his story. >> i just want to hug him one more time. >> reporter: instead, paul monte can only caress the gravestone of his son, medal of honor recipient jared monte, who died in afghanistan in 2006. what makes the visit different, that monte and the 56,000 other graves at the massachusetts memorial cemetery, each as an american flag in memory of memorial day. paul monte made that poss

sarah palin drops hints. a low-profile special election catapults medicare to the front burner. >> thank you all so much. gwen: meanwhile, the obamas take europe. with a little guinness, a little glamour, and a lot of the nitty-gritty of international give and take. >> it would have been easy at the outset of the crackdown in libya to say that none of this was our business. gwen: including some fence mending. >> but israel will not negotiate with a palestinian government backed by the palestinian version of al qaeda. that we will not do. >> it is very difficult for israelis to sit across the table and negotiate with a party that is denying your right to exist. gwen: and the supreme court presses not one but two hot buttons, on crime and immigration. covering the week, dan balz of "the washington post." major garrett of "national journal." helene cooper of "the new york times." and joan biskupic of "usa today." >> award-winning reporting and analysis, covering history as it happens. from our nation's capital,

. >> sarah palin going on tour. our political insiders give us a scoop on the gop for the white house and how palin make as difference whether she is in or out of the race. >>> 7:30 a.m., sunday may 29th. i am ann makovec phil matier has the morning off. >> i am jim bernard in to take a look at the rest of your weekend pattern after a soggy evening hour. >> you were surprised. >> there was a puddle sitting on top of the bay last night left a quarter inch of drizzle shower activity across the region. not enough to green up the hills we are looking at brown or the beginning of the brown conversion out there, barbecuing this weekend, a big kick off to your summer festivities here, fire danger is not a big issue none the less see, the seasons are changing once again we will use caution in and around the dry grasses and local hills as we look for clear and breezy conditions to develop today into tomorrow. >> thanks jim first topping our news a violent weekend in san jose as police investigate the 22nd murder of the year

palin is in the 12% range. i think we know that nationally people have made up their minds about sarah palin. she is seen as a divisive figure. are on the badles side of 50%, but republicans seem to like her. when people are presented with a few options, when sarah palin passed a debate with mitt romney and others to come out an attacker, it will be interesting to see what happens. no one has wanted to take swings at sarah palin for the last couple of years. after that starts to happen, who knows what will happen? host:ow much money is sarah palin raising with his bus tour? guest: i do not know the engine to that question. her organization sarahpac is doing quite well. it is not at the level of nes in words. sarah palin is pretty good at fund-raising. mitt romney is also pretty good. i do not know what his bus tour will take in for her but it is generating interest. people show up and will see that she is going to be there, they willhow up and wait. it is a label like a book tour. she goes around and people sho

palin is in the 12% range. i think we know that nationally people have made up their minds about sarah palin. she is seen as a divisive figure. are on the badles side of 50%, but republicans seem to like her. when people are presented with a few options, when sarah palin passed a debate with mitt romney and others to come out an attacker, it will be interesting to see what happens. no one has wanted to take swings at sarah palin for the last couple of years. after that starts to happen, who knows what will happen? host: how much money is sarah palin raising with his bus tour? guest: i do not know the engine to that question. her organization sarahpac is doing quite well. it is not at the level of nest in words. sarah palin is pretty good at fund-raising. mitt romney is also pretty good. i do not know what his bus tour will take in for her but it is generating interest. people show up and will see that she is going to be there, they will show up and wait. it is a label like a book tour. she goes around and peopl

now palin visited historic ft. mchenry in baltimore on monday, and repeatedly she insisted she's not running for anything. a palin associate quoted by "the los angeles times" speculates the bus tour is a dry run to see if she and her family are up to the rigors of a republican presidential bid. >> i don't know. i honestly don't know. it's still, you know, a matter of looking at the field and considering much. there truly is a lot to consider before you throw yourself out there in the name of service to the public buzz it's so all-consuming. >>> economists thought that home prices hit bottom in 2009. the kay schiller survey says they slid another 4% in the first quarter. so what does it mean? it means that prices in 20 major markets have now fallen below what was considered the bottom two years ago. i'm going to break down those numbers in about 20 minutes. >>> afghanistan's leader calls it his last warning to nato and the united states, who says, do not attack afghan homes, even if militants may be inside. presiden

hear that coming from sarah palin. >> she's awesome. she needs to be here more often. >> reporter: palin has not announced her candidacy for president but she's sending signals. >> i do have the fire in my belly. >> reporter: today she launches her multistate campaign style bus tour starting in washington going up the east coast and then reportedly to the key primary state of new hampshire. >> we know that our best days are yet to come. >> reporter: in a recent cbs news "new york times" poll, 51% of likely republican voters viewed her favorably but among all likely voters, the number drops to 26%. still her former running mate thinks she has a chance. >> can she beat barack obama? >> of course she can, she can. now whether she will or not, whether she'll even run or not, i don't know. >> reporter: a guessing game either way with the whole country along for the ride. witt johnson, cbs news, washington. >> mitchell: and for perspective on sarah palin's appearance today and the overall republican race for president we are joined in washing

>> well, sarah palin can't be the new donald trump because donald trump was the new sarah palin. this new version of sarah palin, she'll be a lot more informed, but she's sure to get -- to be ready for questions like what do you read. but i'm interested in seeing the difference between her and michele bachmann who's going to announce. i want to see them argue about how different they are. that should be good. >> question number two, dick cheney says he worships the ground congressman paul ryan walks on. join the club. should paul ryan and his medicare plan run? robert? >> look, there are a lot of democrats who are worshipping the ground paul ryan walks on because his plan to end medicare as we know it really defines the difference between the two parties. and of course dick cheney, who as vice president destroyed our surplus and doubled our debt speaks to the hypocrisy of the right wing today. >> medicare is already in the hole trillions of dollars. paul ryan's plan was just something to reform that. no, i think it's too soon for him to run. first of all, he's in the house of rep

former alaska governor sarah palin insists she doesn't know if she's running. but she's in the middle of an east coast bus tour that looks an awful lot like it. joel brown is in washington with more. joel, good morning to you. >> terrell, good morning to you. while some of the other gop presidential candidates were making the rounds on the sunday news shows, sarah palin was in a black leather jacket on the back of a harley. and stealing the spotlight. former alaska governor sarah palin made a roaring start to an east coast tour, that's fueling speculation she's preparing to run for the republican presidential nomination. palin and her family hopped on motorcycles to take part in an annual memorial day weekend event called rolling thunder to honor veterans. >> have a safe ride. >> it is a debt of gratitude we owe our veterans. >> reporter: the event is not political. so the estimated 250,000 participants had mixed reactions about her presence. >> this right here is about unity, and i don't hear that coming from sarah palin. >> i'd love to vote for her if she'd r

i think in this case, palin has such a very small circle of advisers. this is like a campaign manager sending these e-mails. i think you do have to weigh the individual who is sending them. and i think every single instance is a judgment call by editors or the news broadcasters. and in this case because of her prominence within the palin campaign and because of how close she is to the former governor, i would have published them. >> you would have published them. >> it's a bit like wikileaks to some degree. meaning you need to go through the same analysis you would in writing about classified documents that are leaked. these are things intended to be private and exchanged them, but once the press gets them, should you report on them? i think you've got to weigh the cost versus the benefit to the public. >> but then you've had a lot of journalists say in the same website, the daily caller, which published this e-mail group called journalists, you had a lot of journalists saying this is really unfair. we thought we were off the record. like talking to a f

what are people saying about sarah palin coming to rolling thunder? >> reporter: joe, i can tell you, you may hear the revving of engines behind me, hundreds of motorists behind me, motorcyclists coming out here, all excited for this event and former gop vice presidential candidate sarah palin joining their event this morning as well. we haven't seen her bus arrive here yet, also this is just a starting point for the day's events for rolling thunder ride to freedom, their annual event to commemorate and remember all of the nation's veterans as well as prisoners of war and those missing in action. from here later today going to the national mall where they'll have a bigger event and hearing from robert gates and admiral mike mullen. the big draw and spec collision around sarah palin, will she and won't she be running. the potential presidential candidate will be kicking off her one nation bus tour. it will be interesting to see her perception and the message. the stek clags swirls around whether she'll enter the race and the flirtation continues today.

but a lot of those votes would go to palin if she gets in. and that would really set his campaign back. >> another hopeful let's talk about here, minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann who's, i think, maybe made some more serious indications that she'll join the race than palin has. do bachmann and palin compete for the same voters? >> they do. i mean, they both will be competing for that same bloc of voters that tim pawlenty is hoping to get. i mean pawlenty and palin and bachmann, they're all going to -- and newt gingrich, rick santorum, herman cain, it's not just bachmann and palin, all these guys are going for the social conservatives and the tea party supporters. we have seen a lot of people say, kind of positioning it where is bachmann going to get in if palin doesn't? will palin get in? almost pitting those two against each other. i think we have to think a little more broadly because there are a lot of people going for those votes. not just the two women going head-to-head. >> jan crawford in washington this morning. jan, good to se

if she gets to iowa, i think we can say that. >> sarah palin or no sarah palin, on monday, june 13th cnn will host the republican presidential debate. >>> we are going to be talking to ellen reeves, an author that wrote, "can i wear my nose ring to the interview." 35 minutes past the hour. that's a coffee and two pills. the afternoon tour begins with more pain and more pills. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees. back to more pills. the day is done but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. just 2 pills can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lara who chose 2 aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can now come from any faucet anywhere. introducing the brita bottle with the filter inside. we could've gone a more traditional route... ... but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. ♪ ♪ >> i am pleased to report that the class of 2011 is walking into something col

the only person who really knows is sarah palin. this lady marches very much to her own drummer. >> the downside, a new tell-all book from a former alaska aide. >> she couldn't handle criticism. the smallest criticism would send her into a tailspin, wasting entire days of state business. >>> today's gallop poll shows her two points behind mitt romney in republicans. she's a polarizing figure, adored by republicans. solidly rejected by democrats and most independents. if she does run, it could spark michele bachmann. the minnesota congresswoman is under heavy pressure not to run to avoid stealing the limelight from more experienced candidates like former governor mitt romney and tim pawlenty. asked today about a possible palin challenge -- >> i can't control what other people are going to do or not do. i can only control my efforts. and i know who i am and why i'm running. >> one of palin's employers said the bus tour this weekend won't change her status with them, not unless she announces she's running. so far, that's the one thing

what was going on in sarah palin's life then? >> you know, her style of leadership was absolutely chaotic. you've got to understand that because i vested so much, when she got tapped for vp, i was absolutely overjoyed and on one sense absolutely terrified. what if this person actually did become vice president or president? she is not an organizer, i will say politely. >> i want to ask about todd because there's been so many questions about the role that he played, her husband, the father, giving the family slack. what role did he play? take me behind the curtain. >> you know, todd pushed the palin brand a lot. he would tip us off to her mood and what ideas we should spring for the day. he would send e-mails. i found myself -- the book talks about how often todd would push me to do one thing, sarah would be denying that i was doing it. certainly something that i got embroiled in in 2008 was full of those moments. >> you talk a lot about how todd is saying don't tell sarah and sarah is saying, don't tell todd. >> that's right. >>

be on the watch, the palin watch. john berman reporting tonight. >>> and now we turn to that 16-year manhunt for one of history's most deadly villains. one of the most wanted war criminals on earth. finally, ratko mladic was arrested. he is the bosnian serb general accused of designing the murders of thousands of men and boys, and a judge once described that genocide as a scene from hell. abc's christiane amanpour is one of the few reporters ever to interview him and she brings us her report tonight. >> reporter: behind that smile, that round face, those blue eyes, was the mastermind of modern slaughter. ratko mladic. for years, he had evaded arrest. while home videos showed him at parties, dining at restaurants, a conspiracy protecting him. until today. a frail-looking figure now, arrested at dawn in a relative's home. mladic went down without a fight. >> on behalf of the republic of serbia, i announce that today we arrested ratko mladic. >> reporter: the prisoner today, a far cry from the general i met in bosnia so

. >>> sarah palin, day two of her one-nation bus tour. we will tell you where she is, what she is saying and what she is keeping secret. for the second time this month, a banking figure is accused of sexually assaulting a hotel made. new york police say the 74-year-old egyptian attacked the woman when she delivered items to his room. >>> moammar gadhafi is ready for a cease-fire, parentally, according to the south african president trying to broker a truce. gadhafi is not promising to step down, which is the main demand of the rebels. >>> sarah palin's one-nation bus tour is in gettysburg, finally. there are times when she sounds like a would-be presidential candidate. she still isn't ready to call her tour anything but a campaign for america's constitution. the tour started in washington wag. then, it continued on to pennsylvania. there was some confusion about where exactly her bus was headed at times. she refuses to tell the so-called mainstream media exactly where she is going. her co-worker, greta van susteren was invited on the bus.

. >>> as palin's plan. sarah palin's possible move to arizona, and a friendly documentary, both firing up speculation of a presidential run. just what is in that film? and when might she finally reveal her plans for 2012? "early" this thursday morning, may 26th, 2011. >>> and good morning on this thursday, i'm erica hill. good to have you with us. nice to have you back. >> thank you, good to be back. good morning, i'm chris wragge. >> breaking news this morning, happening just before we went to air. before the killing of osama bin laden he was one of the most wanted men in the world. this morning, cbs news sources tell us ratko mladic, an accused war criminal from the bosnian civil war nearly two decades ago has been arrested in serbia. we're going to bring you the very latest on that in just a few minutes. >> let's begin with yet another day of very powerful tornadoes sweeping across parts of the midwest. here's the very latest at this hour. tornadoes were reported in several states, causing dozens of mino

is a potential problem for sarah palin. i got off the phone with tony perkins, a very powerful organization said one of the problems for sarah palin is that michele bachmann, the minnesota congresswoman, she is starting to take up a lot of that oxygen that sarah palin once owned. michele bachmann is a very conservative, she's very good in social conservative issues, and that could be potentially a problem for sarah palin, should she run for the republican nomination. >> mark preston, interesting stuff. look forward to your analysis piece on this. next update from the best political team on television is an hour away. >>> we want to start this hour with the high-profile murder trial of casey anthony out of florida. new details are riveting, and there were tense and heated moments as the defense questioned a key witness, casey anthony's father. the 25-year-old florida mom accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter caylee nearly three years ago. straight to what's happening in court now. legal analysts sunny hostin of "in sess

sarah palin is a threat to michele bachmann. bachmannes go, the candidacy dies. the advantage right now is to mitt romney. met ronnie is the front runner. every day that goes by when you do not talk about the front runner or criticizing him is a good day for any front runner. >> the question is htsman. mitch daniels was going to be great, except he does not want to do it and i guess -- except his wife did not want to do and he is gone. hudson has -- huntsman has charisma, which pawlenty and blacks. he is a moderate, liked by people like me, which is a problem. >> absolutely a problem. >> that is what will cost him, that he is moderate? >> "moderate." that is like democrats saying that if you support the ryan plan, we will kill you because you are moderate. there are parties of the right -- republicans are the party of the fight, democrats of the left. romney has a bigger issue, romney care. his front runner-ship will hinge on how he handles those attacks and a debate. if he shows he can answer it, he will win the nomination but if he cannot, it will be extremely

palin is reemerging with the national tour. tim pawlenty is it the least acceptable to the greatest number. that is -- least unacceptable to the greatest number. that is what he has going for him now. he has fewer flaws and other presumed front-runners -- than the other presumed front- runners. you have to list jon huntsman and mitt romney in reverse order. >> mix santorum -- rick santorum pledged his campaign were his grandfather once worked. santorum, 2% among rank-and-file republicans, pawlenty, a 6%, palin 15, ron paul, 10%. what do those numbers tell you, evan? >> absolutely nothing. at this stage they are just about name recognition, completely meaningless numbers . >> that put a damper on your point. >> that is all right. palin is in a feature film, "the undefeated," premiering in iowa. what a coincidence. she is beginning a bus tour, going to ennew hampshire. nice way to see the country, by bus. >> she is a star in the republican party. whether she is going to run is another question. the republican party is rich in can

would you run against sarah palin? could you envision doing that? >> i love sarah palin. i love her. she is a wonderful individual. >> reporter: but if palin runs, does that make it any less likely that you would run? >> my decision would be based upon what i believe is the right thing to do. >> our man on politics, jon karl with us here tonight. and jon, when do we expect to hear for sure from bachmann either way? >> reporter: we're going to hear in a couple of weeks from now. she says she will make her announcement in waterloo, iowa, the town she was born. >> and while we have you, what do you make of news on governor perry of texas and rudy giuliani today? >> reporter: this is fascinating. these are two names we haven't seen in this race. rick perry, the current governor of texas, has said no in the past. now, he is saying he's going to consider a run, and rudy giuliani, david, is going to new hampshire next week. i spoke to a long-time friend of rudy just a short while ago who tells me that the former mayor is definitely considering a run. >> perhaps they sense an ope

sarah palin launching her bus tour at a biker rally. the former alaska governor in black, head to toe, but is she running for president? she talks exclusively to cnn on this "american morning." >>> good morning. this memorial day. >> good morning. >> kiran and ali are off today. we hope you will be doing some barbecuing later on. >> at least. >> waking up having a little coffee. >> that's right. >> on this holiday morning. >> and we've got a lot of news. we begin with the weather. first a new wave of spring storms is pounding the midwest. in fact, some of the worst damage is in battle creek, michigan. a storm packing 80-mile-an-hour winds snapped trees, brought down a lot of power lines. in fact, across the state some 100,000 homes and businesses lost power. >> a violent storm hit the chicago area. ferocious winds uprooting trees and sending them on the tops of houses and cars. >> the trees just doubled. it was the strongest wind i've seen in a long time. >> that's the important part. nobody got hurt. houses can be rebuilt, people takes

sarah palin kicks off her bus tour in washington. it is called the one nation tour and this event leaves one big question on the tip of many people's tongues. is she running? cnn deputy political director paul steinhauser joins us from washington. what does this bus tour tell us about her intentions and it pretty much seems she had the bus all painted up and ready to go about the time she made this announceme announcement, didn't she? >> this was in the works for a while, joe. team palin kept the wraps on this one until the official announcement yesterday. it has all of us, joe, like you and me who cover campaign politics buzzing and questioning what is going on here. this tour will start right here in washington, d.c. it will hit a lot of those historic civil war battlefields and going to the liberty bell in philadelphia and also go in new hampshire, joe. we know new hampshire the first road in the primary. a lot of signals she may be thinking about seriously writing. that propalin movie that kicks off the race for the white house a

palin even here continues to have problems. she announced she was going to participate in the rolling thunder veterans events here in washington. never told her organizers who seemed somewhat miffed and said she would not be allowed to speak because they're devoutly a nonpolitical organization. take a look at the numbers from recent polls. the "wall street journal" poll last month, 25% -- this is all voters -- viewed palin favorably, while 53% had unfavorable opinion of her. that's a problem. >> well, i think up side and down side of sarah palin and what people need to understand is that she carries her cards very close to her vest. she and her husband todd call the shots. even close advisors don't always know what they are up to. that enables her to be super spontaneous and do what she is doing this week, which i think is taking charge of her image again. jumping back in. it enables her to stir the sizzle, if you will. it enables her to shape the terms of the debate as she wants -- as she wants to take it. i don't see any move

, a movie about sarah palin. the plan is to debut this movie in iowa next month. getting back to the fact that she is a very unconventional candidate, this would be the launch to show it in iowa. >> tell us what the movie is about. that is priceless. >> it is about her, her life. not a whole lot is known about the movie. it is going to examine one of her big beefs, the way the media has covered her. she has a big problem with some of the interviews that were done during the 2008 campaign when she was the vice presidential candidate for john mccain. it is supposed to delve into that a little bit. we have made contacts to that filmmaker. not a whole lot is known. just so you know, there is a new gallop poll out showing that palin doesn't do too badly. she is at 15% in this national gallop poll among republicans who they would like to see run for president. she is still poised and positioned if she wants to make a go, to enter the waters and do so. not out of the realm of possibilities at all. >> jim acosta reportin

palin could steal voters in iowa. her main kaine, ceo of godfather's pizza, popular among tea party activists. palin could hurt him with those voters as pel. tim pawlenty could be hurt in iowa, he's expecting or hopes to do well in iowa. palin could steal voters from him. and rick santorum, former senator from pennsylvania, popular with social conservatives but so is sarah palin. if she runs she overshadows him and maybe hurts him. >> thanks so much, paul steinhauser. a lot of time to talk about this one. >> oh, yeah, we sure do. >> we'll be back in touch. >> the famous blue angels will be taking off some time after their commanders stepped down. commander david cos says he didn't live up to the precision flying team safety and performance standards during this air show in lynchburg, virginia, last weekend. the angels have canceled their next couple of performances while a new commander takes over. >>> are you still making plans for the holiday weekend? we will get a check of the weather coming up right after this. it

sarah palin on a harley today. but is this just another photo op? another donald trump on the stump? >>> boy or girl? the parents aren't saying tonight. they want the child to decide. the gender experiment causing so much outrage. >>> father and son. the soldier accused of revealing so many military secrets, some say betraying america. tonight, his father speaks out with surprising words. it's an abc news exclusive. >>> and, a dog's life. the puppy, the proud parent, and the pictures. just 40 seconds, and he's all grown up. >>> and good evening on this sunday night. a moment of silence in joplin, missouri, this evening, marking the moment one week ago when the deadliest twister since the 1950s touched down in that small city. and when we landed there to cover it just a week ago, these are the images i took with my blackberry. the snapped trees, the homes destroyed as far as you can see. there, the truck flipped over. the trees with the bark peeled right off of them. and the homes. this one, one of the few with any walls still standing. tonight, one

palin blaming the press. >> here's the thing that's astonishing. newt gingrich having to take political advice from sarah palin is maybe the most bizarre thing of the week. >> it's got to hurt a little bit. >> her idea of a gotcha question is, what newspapers do you read, governor. >> i don't want to sort of bash her or anything, but i don't understand the sort of constant reference to gotcha questions when you actually hear the david gregory question, it's a completely rational question. it's not a trick question. >> what should have -- i mean, what somebody ought to do tomorrow is ask -- now she'll do it, but ask mrs. palin if she watched any part of "meet the press" or ever watched any part of "meet the press" to see what the question was. my guess is she didn't. >> sometimes we get off in the silly season in campaign. you remember barack obama when he was running, used an old phrase, you can't put lipstick on a pig. and everybody said, he was talking about sarah palin. this is not a silly gaffe. this is a health care system for tens of millions