let me go to brian todd, who is at a caucus site in las vegas, nevada. brian, they're still counting there. >> reporter: still counting. they're just verifying some numbers here. they may be going over it to make sure. this is the only one outstanding. 20 of the 21 precincts are in here at desert oasis high school. donald trump with 25 votes, cruise 2 -- 11, rubio 4. without getting specific numbers in all these precincts, jake, donald trump is carrying the evening, dominating all the precinc precincts. 20 of the 21 in so far, he has carried. >> at desert oasis high school, looks good for donald trump. we're not going to have a final projection for one more minute and five seconds. this is a big contest. this either could slow the momentum for the front-runner or keep it going even stronger. >> absolutely. and at this point we're getting to the point where it really is going to be all about delegate math, which is going to start to happen on march 1st, super tuesday. but now it really is about momentum. the question is whether the early polls who showed

brian todd, appreciate it. today the gop candidates are making final pitches in any way they can to south carolina voters. the state could determine who battles on for the nomination or who might give up and go home. this morning, a confident jeb bush visited a polling station in greenville with his mom, former first lady barbara bush, and made a bold prediction about the front runner. >> trump can't win. plain and simple. this isn't about appealing to people's deep anxiety which is legitimate, he can't be president. a ton of people would be very uncomfortable with his divisive language and with his inexperience in so many ways, the way he speaks, it is clear he hasn't thought it through. we are living in dangerous times. i think we need someone who can be president from day one. >> athena jones is with me. hearing from jeb like that, you wonder is this a warning shot that he thinks perhaps he is in good position or is it another signal he's sending? >> this has been part of the argument he has been making for

i tip my hat to you, brian todd, thank you very much. from brian, to my colleague joe johns, where i know you are talking last hour, a little bit of a post-lunch lull. tell me, what's the turnout like where you are? >> well, we're looking at about 1,400 people so far since early this morning. that is a very fast pace. at mcdonough elementary school. with me now is the clerk. we wanted to get to it from horse's mouth. breakfast was fast, lunch was fast, lulls in the middle. tell me about turnout. >> turnout we think maybe 50% of the registered voters. we're probably on pace close to 70% and this evening it will really get busy. >> how much registered voter hs th voters in this ward? >> about 3,700. >> so technically half, right? >> it also doesn't count the absentee ballots. >> so you're looking for a big turnout because the big turnout occurs, what, at the end of the day? >> usually after work, yes. >> what do voters need to know about 7:00, about getting in and being in line? >> as long as somebody's in the door, they're good. i would j

brian todd, tell es whaus going on over there in hudson. is it possible they may extend the deadline? >> reporter: wolf, the moderator did tell us it is possible they'll extend it. they do want to close this at 8:00. we're going to move along the line here and show you the -- just the crush of people. this really started in earnest this latest influx during about the rush hour time, about 4:00 eastern time. they really started to pile in here. but it's been a steady flow all day. the moderator said he would like to close the doors at 8:00, but he may extend it a little bit. they really just want to get everybody in who wants to vote. that's what they really want. that's what they're going to try to accomplish. they have the volunteers here working in overdrive to manage this crush of people. but it's been very orderly, very high-spirited. let's show you over here. it's been like this all day since we got here several hours ago, wolf. lines of cars. they want to get all these people in, too. so the moderator said if you're in a line of cars,

let's go to brian todd. brian, what are you seeing? >> reporter: wolf, a very exciting scene here. this is a fiscally conservative district, but four years ago they had 222 people show up to vote. it looks like this is easily going to top that. check out this line here. these are first-time voters and people changing party affiliations. we're going to show you this because the line just in the last minute or so has really started to get longer, out this door. come on out here. look at this. they're braving the cold weather, the possible snow later, to line up outside this door. it's gotten longer and longer in the last minute and a half. we want to show you this line over here. this is the critical line. people changing party affiliations and people voting for the first time. some of them told me that they're doing this to vote for donald trump. but some of them also told me they're doing this to vote against donald trump. we're going to see how this plays out when the ballot is counted. we're going to bring that to you live when it is counted. you're seeing this in realtime. it's

>>> plus, brian todd live on the street with the cnn ballot cam. lots of people waiting in line to vote. some of them still undecided, believe it or not. that's ahead. you're down with crestor. alright! now there's a way you can get crestor for $3. adding crestor, along with diet, lowers bad cholesterol. crestor is not for people with liver disease, or women who are nursing,pregnant, or may become pregnant. tell your doctor all medicines you take. call your doctor if you have muscle pain or weakness; feel unusually tired; have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of serious side effects. ask for the crestor $3 card. ask your doctor about crestor. >>> welcome back to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we're live this afternoon in manchester, new hampshire, where voting is under way. hillary clinton, who is facing a near certain loss to bernie sanders if you believe the polls is already setting her sights on the next contest, the nevada caucuses. her husband, former president bill clinton, has be

(brian todd/reporting) "worth it, to try to find out what that terrorist was doing? (tom fuentes/cnn law enforcement analyst) "well certainly! if you want to know. you can't - the old saying of connect the dots, you can't connect the dots if you can't collect em. and that's the problem here." apple doesn't hold the key to unlock farook's i-phone. the only way to do that is with his passcode-- which isn't stored on apple's servers. the f-b-i could've tried to guess his passcode, but there are 10-thousand possible four-digit and if agents guessed wrong 10 times, all the data- all the content- could be permanently erased from farook's phone.. potential evidence, lost. so tonight- the f-b-i wants apple to design software-- that would allow investigators to guess a passcode as many times as they need to, to break in. apple is angry with the judge's order- and is trying to prevent the f-b-i from accessing phones like farook's-- but also phones like yours. in a letter, apple c- e-o tim cook says, quote, (graphic) "the government is asking apple to hack our own users and und

brian todd for us there in mt. pleasant, south carolina, as polls are now open across the state here for the gop primary. brian, thanks, we will check in with you throughout the day. >>> as voters head to the polls in two states, not just here in south carolina but also in nevada, the decision could help shape this race. as the caucus start there in nevada, i should say. who gains the momentum, who loses it. take a look at the last minute pitches from both sides. >> donald trump trying to turn a lead in south carolina polls into a win and he tells supporters he expects he can run the table if he can start with a win here. and this morning he has a message for black voters across the state. >> i will do more for the african-american people in one year than barack obama has done in his seven years, soon to be eight years and then, by the way, he's out and thank goodness. >> south carolina may be the site of jeb bush's last stand as he's not pulling any punches. >> donald trump has never shown any interest in anybody

i believe we will go to brian todd what's going on where you are? >> this is an extraordinary scene. making sure they matched. what they had earlier, the journalists were around the table. crowds of people. they are intent and focused on concentrating and look at the people here hanging around. they have long since voted. a lot of people are hanging around and they want to see this and this looks like a very close vote. marco rubio with a slight lead over ted cruz. donald trump in third at the moment. but it's extraordinary. donald trump in a distant third in the precinct. he was expected to do business because it was fiscal conservatives and not too many evangelicals. ted cruz and marco rubio. rubio with a slight lead. what we are told is to them, not all that surprising. marco rubio spent a lot of time in this district and joked he was running for mayor. that looks like it might pay off. these are unofficial and not indicative of how it will go. very tight between marco rubio. jake. >> we have about half the vote in where marco rubio was taking a

our correspondents, brian todd at the polling center in hudson. joe johns watching the voting in manchester. and our manu raju keeping an eye on all the candidates. brian, where you are now, are we seeing a good turnout anecdotally? what are you seeing? >> reporter: wolf, a very good turnout. this is the precinct in hudson, outside the city. nashua. this is as thin a crowd as we've seen all day. it has been packed since the polls opened at 7:00 a.m. with lines out the door. we saw a line of cars to get into the parking lot that stretched six blocks down the street. very excited shorts at the hudson precinct -- voters at the hudson precinct. they check in and tell them which affiliation they want to do and if they're undeclared, they tell them which way they want to vote that way. they say they're independent, undeclared. they ask which way they want to vote, they give them a pink ballot if they want to go republican. a blue ballot if they're a democratic voter. they go into the booths over there. we've timed it. it takes the average voter here rou

our brian todd is standing by at a polling place in the town of hudson, new hampshire. brian, what are you seeing in terms of people actually showing up at the polls? >> reporter: wolf, a tremendous amount of energy here in hudson. the story as you mentioned is turnout. check this out, this line goes out the door and we're just getting into the rush shower crush of voters. we have three hours left until the polls close in this precinct. if we can't get back in, we can't show you how the process works. we'll do that for you right now. this is what's cool about covering these balloting stations here. we'll show you how the process works on live tv in realtime. here's how it deposgoes. people will line up here, they check in at these desks over here. they are asked whether they're democrat or republican. then they're handed a ballot and they go vote. it takes the average voter at about 35 seconds to cast their ballot. now, if a voter says that they are undeclared, then they are asked -- excuse me sha, guys, t you very much -- then they are asked which way they want to vote

here's how it played out on the air when brian todd was live at one of the precincts. have a look. >> people standing next to the walls on my left. people are just lining this place. they are incredibly enthusiastic about coming here. we talked to a lot of people changing party affiliations and voting for the first time. some of them told us they're doing that to vote for donald trump, and a lot of us told us they're doing it to vote against him. that's what's going to make the ballot count here so very exciting when they start this. >> pretty fascinating dynamic in washington. republican strategist alex cost lawn wroe joins us to talk about that. a democratic strategist. she's coming to us live from iowa. scottie, first to you. were you watching that last night? did you see brian todd talking about all those people lining up at the party affiliation switch table and they each had a reason either so that they could thwart donald trump or support donald trump? while you're at it, how does that look for new hampshire? >> well, think with how powerful the statement that i

brian todd, thank you. on to joe johns now. let's check in with joe johns who is live in manchester. listen, the story is these independent voters, it's a game-time decision once they entered polling places. >> yes, you know, here at mcdonnell elementary school, brooke, this is where we are, they've had so far they tell us about 1,200 people come in and vote. that since they started early this morning. total, they have about 4,000 registered for this ward. i hesitate to say they've had one-fourth of the people who are registered actually come in. and that's because of new voters. if you look at this table, we've had a steady stream of people coming in registering on the same day and voting. it's a process that doesn't take very long. as you can see, they have clip boards. they stand there. they fill out an application. they turn it in. then they move on to go and vote. so the question is how many people they're going to end up with and who are they voting for. really, no way to tell that scientifically because they're not going

brian todd reports. it took nine-minutes and 46- seconds to get into orbit... on the way up, it dropped debris in four locations in the seas off the korean peninsula and japan... but now, the military and political fallout is resonating around the world from north korea's rocket-launch. u-s and south korean forces are on high alert. u-s officials telling c-n-n -- additional sanctions and possible military responses are on the table... and they will begin talking to setting up so-called 'thaad' defense batteries-- capable of shooting down high-altitude missiles. coming on the heels of what north korea claimed was a hydrogen-bomb test.. the threat level from kim jong un's regime-- has rarely been higher. this shows that north korea has mastered a very complex technology, which are 3-stage launchers. so at this point i think north korea has made a qualitative leap, and soon they're going to make a quantitative leap-- because they can actually start to put these things in production the north koreans are crowing over the launch... with a celebratory display of fire

brian todd explains ... a devastating terror attack in san bernardino... and a key question, still un-answered. did shooter syed farook communicate with terrorists overseas? the f-b-i's been frustrated- that it hasn't been able to find out. "we still have one of those killer's phones that we have not been able to open. it's been over two months now. we're still working on it." tonight- the f-b-i could be closer to unlocking farook's i-phone. a federal judge has ordered apple to help the bureau break into his phone. try to find out what that terrorist was doing? "well certainly! if you want to know. you can't - the old saying of connect dots if you can't collect em. and that's the problem here." apple doesn't hold the key to unlock farook's i-phone. the only way to do that is with his passcode-- which isn't stored on apple's servers. the f-b-i could've tried to guess his passcode, but there are 10-thousand possible four-digit pin-numbers... and if agents guessed wrong 10 times, all the data- all the content- could be permanently erased from farook's phone..

here's c-n-n's brian todd. a brazen nuclear test.. and this: a display of long- range ballistic-missile technology, in the guise of a satellite launch. two blatantly-aggressive moves by kim jong un within the span of a month have the u-s and its allies reeling. and the u-s senate, late today, passing sanctions against the north korean regime... a regime that, america's top intelligence chiefs say, poses the world's greatest nuclear threat. (james clapper, director of national intelligence) "pyongyang continues to produce fissile material and develop a nuclear-armed missile that's capable of posing a direct threat to the united states." u-s officials say the north koreans haven't flight-tested those missiles yet-- so it's not clear if they'd work. but they say the recent tests-- and the fact that north korea's expanded its production of weapons-grade nuclear fuel-- signal that kim jong un's nuclear ambitions are (patrick cronin, center for a new american security) "it means that north korea can go that makes it a very very big threat t

brian todd, cnn, washington. >>> this is "cnn newsroom." still ahead, the next big contest in the u.s. presidential race is just days away. and there is tension on the campaign trail between these two democratic contenders. stay with us. eshly bound presentation fill you with optimism? do you love your wireless keyboard more than certain family members? is your success due to a filing system only you understand? does printing from your tablet to your wireless printer give you a jolt of confidence? if so, you may be gearcentric. someone who knows that the right office gear helps you do great things. and there's one place that has it all. office depot officemax. gear up for great. i'm here to get the lady of the house back on her feet. and give her the strength and energy to stay healthy. who's with me?! yay! the complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. ensure. take life in! i am a lot of things. i am his guardian. i am his voice. so i asked about adding once-daily namenda xr t

cnn brian todd is in las vegas for us. he's joining me now. tell bus this, brian. because i do understand that there's growing pressure among state officials to just make sure they get this right, that this goes smoothly. >> reporter: that's right. tonight a lot of pressure on state gop officials. there are a lot of problems in the vote count and reporting in 2012. they are under considerable pressure to get that right tonight. this is one of the places they will be doing it. this is desert oasis high school. home of the diamondbacks. these are the poll volunteers getting ready. they anticipate a spike in turnout with 37,000 pre-registered voters more than the entire turnout in 2012. voters check in here. show their photo i.d.. they can if they want listen to some presentations from candidates representatives and others. that will be going on over there. some voting can be going on here or over there. they have the freedom to move around and cast their vote any time they want, any time between 8:00 eastern time and about midnight eastern time tonight. site will be

brian todd, cnn, washington. >> you're watching "cnn newsroom." still ahead, beyonce and the british band cold play come under fire for their controversial new video. we'll tell you why critics in india are offended. ♪ choose, choose. but at bedtime... ...why settle for this? enter sleep number and the ultimate sleep number event, going on now. sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. you like the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store, right now save 50% on the ultimate limited edition bed. know better sleep with sleep number. >>> all right. so the excitement is building. super bowl 50 is just days away. look, it's not just about the game. whether you're rooting for the denver broncos or the carolina panthers, you know that the halftime show will definitely be entertaining. british band coldplay is headlining. >> we know that beyonce will be there. but there is a lot of speculation about surprise performers who might also make an appearan

cnn's brian todd has been looking into all of this for us. what are you hearing about the latest shake-up by kim jong-un. >> a lot of goings on. this is the front page of "rodong sinmun." it's announced this man, general reem young su got a big promotion and is one of the most powerful people in the country. the problem is he's working for a vicious young dictator who has already taken out several top generals before him. north korea's grueling elites are as nervous as ever. kim jong-un pays a, quote, surprise visit to his air force. looks confident in a fedora as he inspects the combat readiness of his fighter pilots. the man next to him has been promoted to one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. he's the new chief of the north korea's general staff. during kim jong-un's bloody high-stakes military shake-up, three of the past four top generals are believed to have been executed or disappeared. >> it starts to look like ancient rome or other authoritarian regimes where getting these top jobs is almost a death sentence. >> reporter: one

brian todd is learning new details. >> it is very rare when you can actually see a critical moment of a terrorist plot unfolding before your eyes. tonight, we've got this extraordinary closed circuit video and it captures this moment right here when two alleged plotters actually hand that bomb off to the actual bomber. we've been working our sources. tonight, we've got new information on the three suspects and an apparent effort to silence two of them. crucial new evidence in a horrifying terror attack. closed circuit tv footage from the airport. on the right side of the screen, two airport employees who are now suspected. one of them's holding what appears to be a laptop computer. seconds later, one of the men hands the computer to a third man. >> it's chilling, frankly, to see this. because this is -- if you and i were in this lounge right now, you'd see them handing off that laptop, you wouldn't think twice of it. >> the man it was handed to borbor borleh. >> the moment the somali clearly suspect he was a willing participant, that he planned to be a suicide bomber, that he position

brian todd is live in mt. pleasant, south carolina. brian, i hear there are a lot of last-minute decisions being made by voters in the state. >> reporter: michael, that is really the story this morning. last-minute decisions. we talked to a lot of voters as they leave the polls. when did you make up your mind? weeks ago? months ago? some made up their mind last night or this morning. incredibly, one woman told us it came down to two people for her and what she wanted to do, she did this purposefully, she went into a digital stand, purposely pressed the kasich and rubio buttons saimultaneously to see which one pops up. gives you a sense of the energy here and last-minute decisions how people are torn between candidates and making up their mind at the last minute. here at the mt. pleasant national guard armory, people come and check in and go to digital polling stations and an energetic morning and lines were out the door when it hopened. we'll take you out the door. in south carolina what is interesting is you don't register by party. y

. >> brian todd, thank you for that report. very disturbing. al shabaab says the attack targeted western intelligence officials and turkish nato forces before the airplane -- aborting that airplane bound for gentleman beauty. >>> six are suing the university of tennessee, saying they protected the football and basketball teams instead of investigating rape accusations. we talk to one of the women that filed suit. ♪ every day women around the world spend millions of hours just collecting the water they need for their families. each limited edition stella artois chalice helps provide five years of clean water for someone in the developing world. i thione second it's there.day. then, woosh, it's gone. i swear i saw it swallow seven people. seven. i just wish one of those people could have been mrs. johnson. [dog bark] trust me, we're dealing with a higher intelligence here. ♪ the all-new audi q7 is here. ♪ it takes all kinds of jobs. and the best place to find the job that's right for you ♪ is on the world's number-one job site. indeed. ho

let's check in with brian todd the desert oasis high school in las vegas. are there a lot of first-time caucus goers there tonight? >> reporter: jake, first-time caucus goers were out in force tonight. just in the first 30 minutes after the doors opened, i counted 119 first-time caucus goers between 5 and 5:30 p.m. local time outside the door. the overwhelming majority of them supported donald trump. but that's why they're coming to the caucuses. a lot of people are coming here to stee if their minds can be changed. this is what's really cool about covering caucuses. you're seeing these people caulk us here if real time. some intense debate going on at these tables here. look over here, our photojournalist ken boylen and i are going to take a sampling. little kids here.ringing their - i'm going to sneak over here. a lot of people in this room, jake, have the option to come here, cast their ballots and leave between 5 p.m. and about 9 being 9:30 p.m. pacific time, you can come in here, cast your ballot and you can stay and caucus or you can leave. at least 5

brian todd is here in the situation room with details on this latest terror threat. what have you learned, brian? >> we've learned that intelligence officials in the u.s. and europe are increasingly worried about isis plotting more paris-style attacks. the cia director says he expects isis to put operatives, resources in place inside the u.s. to attempt an assault like the one we saw in paris. tonight isis' ambitions to attack the united states are as robust as ever, while its enemies are laboring to figure out a strategy on the battlefield. barrel bombing in syria, as the major powers struggle to put a delicate cease-fire together. while the carnage continues, isis fights on, undeterred. and a fresh warning from america's top spy. cia director john brennan telling cbs' "60 minutes" isis will try to attack inside the u.s. >> i'm expecting them to try to put in place the operatives, the material and whatever else that they need to do or to incite people to carry out these attacks. so i believe their attempts are inevitable. i don't think their successes necessarily ar

cnn's brian todd has the story. >> reporter: crucial new evidence in a horrifying terror attack. closed-circuit tv footage from the mogadishu airport. on the right side of the screen, two airport employees who are now suspects. one of them's holding what appears to be a laptop computer. just seconds later, one of the men hands the computer to a third man. the computer, a source says, was packed with explosives. >> it's chilling, frankly, to see this because this is, you know, if you and i were in this lounge right now, you'd see these two people, and you'd see them handing off that laptop. you wouldn't think twice of it. >> reporter: the man the laptop bomb was handed to, and what he did with it according to somali sources was try to blow up this somali passenger yet. >> well, at the moment the somalis clearly suspect that he was a willing participant, that he planned to be a suicide bomber, that he positioned himself on the aircraft at a place where he could create the maximum amount of damage. >> reporter: the bomb ripped a hole in the fuselage. he was killed when he was blown

brian todd is live at a caucus site in las vegas. 37,000 have pre-registered which is more than people who caucused in 2012. so it shows people are engaged, people are excited. what can we expect? >> reporter: we can expect the spike in turn out. as you mention ad lot of energy and excitement building here in nevada. campaign workers for marco rubio gathering here at desert oasis high school. where is one of the busier precinct sites. our photojournalist and i will take you inside to the prep regulates. these are the poll workers who have been recruited to basically check people in, make sure the vote is counted. we were told to make sure the vote count goes smoothly. they will have three of these poll workers check each ballot. they want to make sure the reporting goes smoothly because in 2012 they had a lot of problems. there were some poll workers who gathered up the physical ballots and drove them over to the central headquarters. there were others who emailed them in on excel spread heats where the numbers didn't line up properly in the columns. it took them three days to get the

our correspondents, brian todd at the polling center in hudson. joe johns watching the voting in manchester. and our manu raju keeping an eye on all the candidates. brian, where you are now, are we seeing a good turnout anecdotally? what are you seeing? >> reporter: wolf, a very good turnout. this is the precinct in hudson, outside the city. nashua. this is as thin a crowd as w

brian todd, thank you so much. >>> more on our world lead. a desperate search is under way in iraq after highly dangerous radioactive material was stolen. let's bring in jim sciutto. jim, as if this news weren't bad enough, this highly dangerous material was stolen at least three months ago? >> that's right, from a facility in southern iraq. it was basically an industrial tool, something used in oil and gas facilities to test the pipes there but it does have radioactive material inside. it's categorized by the iaea as such that an investigation has been launched, a criminal investigation. they have not found elevated levels of radiation in and around that site. to this point at least iraqi authorities have no information that it ended up in the hands of a group such as isis. >> worst such scenario, could this be used for a dirty bomb? >> not easily. it is a radioactive material, category 2 as categorized by the iaea, one being the top but only has a half-life of 74 days. if you remember your high school physics, that means basically it loses

brian todd has the latest. >> reporter: the sudden death of a senior associate justice of the supreme court, what some see as the bizarre handling of it afterward are leaving lingering questions. after justice antonin scalia was found dead in this room at a texas ranch on saturday, it reportedly took hours to find someone to pronounce him dead. finally, when local texas judge cinderella guevara said justice scalia died of natural causes, she did it by telephone without seeing the body and without ordering an autopsy. that's allowed under texas law. judge guevara told the "washington post" she made her determination only after talking to investigators on the scene who said they saw nothing suspicious and tonight a u.s. law enforcement source tells cnn there were no signs of foul play. still, some are critical given scalia's high profile. >> well, i don't think a very good job was done with the death investigation. >> reporter: former washington, d.c., homicide commander william richie believes justice scalia did die of natural causes but he says judge guevara or a medical examiner shou

mike duhane, a senior strategy to chris christie's campaign and brian todd with bobby jindal's super pac. i'll start with the man on remote first, mr. todd, brad, let me ask you this. i understand every individual decision that campaigns made seven and eight months ago in dealing with trump. in hindsight, how bad does it look? >> i think it's probably the greatest miscalculation in politics of this decade. governor jindal did attack trump. came to washington, d.c., called a press conference at the national press club and other candidates did not follow his lead. i think it was very obvious early on that trump could not be allowed to grow. i think the fact that jeb bush allowed himself to be trump's foil without becoming trump's opponent is literally one of the biggest blunders in politics of this decade. >> but with governor jindal, he went after trump after he was struggling to catch fire. it seems that that was the pattern. candidates only went after trump, after it looked like it was the last move they had. >> you know, i don't think i agree with that. it happened as trump was gai

and as c - n - n's brian todd tells us... they're warning kim jong un's not about to stop now. 3 --reporter pkg-as follows--a brazen nuclear test..and this: a display of long-range ballistic-missile technology, in the guise of a satellite launch.two blatantly- aggressive moves by kim jong un within the span of a month that tonight have the u-s and its allies reeling.and the u-s senate, late today, passing sanctions against the north korean regime...a regime that, america's top intelligence chiefs say, poses the world's greatest nuclear threat.(james clapper, director of national intelligence) "pyongyang continues to produce fissile material and develop a submarine-launched ballistic missile. it is also committed to developing a long-range nuclear-armed missile that's capable of posing a direct threat to the united states." u-s officials say the north koreans haven't flight-tested not clear if they'd work.but they say the recent tests-- and the fact that north korea's expanded its production of weapons-grade nuclear fuel-- sig

brian todd is here in "the situation room." brian, what are you learning? >> new information from cnn's sources. officials, analysts here and in somalia giving strong indications this is probably a bomb. the way the metal is contorted right there at the blast point, the location of the damage on the plane, all point to the likelihood that this aircraft was a terrorist target. terrifying moments after an explosion rips a hole through the fuselage of this passenger jet. a flight attendant shouts for people to move to either end of the plane. passengers are confused, shell shocked, but their pilot, with herculean resolve, steers the jet safely back to the somali capital, mogadishu. the explosion on an airbus operated by daallo happened shortly after takeoff on tuesday. they tell cnn tonight one passenger was blown out of the hole at about 12,000 feet. two others were injured. >> objectively based on the evidence we see here, what do you think happened? >> well, this has all the hallmarks of an explosive device. you have the skin of the aircraft tearing outward

let's go to cnn's brian todd. what are you learning? >> tonight learning new details about how this young man, a 21-year-old university of virginia student, is very likely being used as a pawn by kim jong-un's regime. he walks stiffly into the room, head bowed, flanked by his north korean guards. then 21-year-old american otto fredrick warmbier appears to break down. >> i entirely beg you, people and government of the dpr korea for your forgiveness. please. i've made the worst mistake of my life. >> he reads a statement saying he committed a crime in the eyes of north korea taking down a pro-regime political banner from the staff area of a hotel. >> please act to save me. please. think of my family. >> reporter: cnn cannot verify if he was forced to read from a script but kim jong-un's regime has made others do the same. >> i think he's under great duress. he knows what's transpired in the past with other americans who have been held for significant periods of time. he has no one to seek council to. >> reporter: he was on an organized t

brian todd is learning more. >> reporter: u.s. officials are sounding an ominous warning about north korea. moments ago the u.s. senate passing a measure for tougher sanctions. u.s. intelligence officials saying north korea's recent nuclear test and launch of a satellite using ballistic missile technology simply cannot be sugar coated. those acts reflect a direct threat to the security of the united states and its allies, and they warn that kim jong-un is not about to stop now. a brazen nuclear test and this, a display of long-range ballistic missile technology in the guise of a satellite launch. two blatantly aggressive moves within the span of a month that tonight have the u.s. and its allies reeling. and the u.s. senate late today passing sanctions against the north korean regime. a regime that america's top intelligence chiefs say poses the world's greatest nuclear threat. >> he continues to produce fissile material and develop a submarine launch missile. it's also committed to developing a long-range nuclear armed missile cap

brian todd is tracking it. >> reporter: we're getting indications that a launch is imminent. we've got these new satellite images showing vehicles, some of them for personnel at the launch site. and kim jong-un could give the go order as early as sunday in the u.s. new indications that kim jong-un is about to launch a long-range rocket into space. a u.s. official tells cnn north korea may already be fueling a rocket at its site. >> whenever they get real close is when it will get moved to the launch pad. >> reporter: newly released satellite images from the group 38 north show vehicles, including buses for personnel at the launch site. the images show another ominous sign about the launch tower. >> they've made it ten meterses higher since the last time. >> what does that mean. >> it could mean it's a bigger rocket. >> reporter: a bigger rocket with a bigger range capable of reaching the u.s. they already indicated they'll launch a satellite into space. experts say it's a cover. >> they can claim it's a civil ian rocket. >> reporter: it has the u.s., south korean and japanese

brian todd has details. >> tonight u.s. officials telling us they are watching this situation very closely because of all the trouble coming from north korea recently. rising tensions at the border. a major missile test. a nuclear test. and now the mysterious death of a top general very close to kim jong-un. a u.s. defense official telling us this appears to be one of the most senior officials executed by kim. one analyst says this could be a signal of a real instability at the top of the regime. north korea's reckless young dictator turns against one of his closest advisers, the chief of the north korean army's general staff. said to be executed at the orders of kim jong-un. that's according to a south korean official with knowledge of north korean affairs. if this is confirmed, a u.s. official tells cnn it's another example of kim's extreme brutality. the south korean official cited three reasons why the general may have been executed. >> factionalism, misuse of power and corruption. what does that mean? >> in this case,

cnn's brian todd has been trying to put it all together for us now for several days. you have new information, brian, what are you learning? >> wolf, tonight we have new very disturbing information about this explosion. chilling new evidence that a second major terrorist group may have developed creative, very dangerous methods of evading airport security. a source close to the investigation tells cnn the blast that ripped this hole in the fuselage of a plane full of passengers was caused by a bomb concealed in a laptop. and it appears the only passenger killed may have been the bomber, blown out of the hole by the explosion. the source tells cnn investigators believe the attack was orchestrated by al shabab, al qaeda's brutal affiliate in somalia. tonight somali officials identify the bomber as lborleh. either way, analysts say, if al shabab was behind the attack, it shows a frightening advancement in its capabilities. >> what we've seen from al shabab in the last few years siz the group increasingly getting into the international terrorism business. they have been d

brian todd, thank you very much for that report. remember, you can always follow us on twitter, please tweet me at wolf twitter. tweet the show. join us again tomorrow in "the situation room." i'm wolf blitzer. thank you very much for watching. erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. >>> president obama going after [ bleep donald trump. >>> the nasty war of words with ted cruz hit a whole new level. the president's challenge to congress tonight. let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm erin burnett. the breaking news, the president versus donald trump. president obama in the strongest language yet, that the presidency is not a reality tv show. >> i continue to believe mr. trump will not be president.

brian todd has been tracking the latest developments for us. what are you learning? >> we have an update from a senior u.s. defense official who tells us that satellite is, quote, tumbling in orbit. it's in such an unstable orbit according to this u.s. official that it is incapable of functioning in any meaningful way. still the concern tonight, wolf, is that the north koreans got this satellite into space in the first place using missile technology that could enable them to eventually launch a nuclear warhead toward the united states. the u.s. and its allies are warning they are going to respond strongly to this, but they also know they're dealing with an unpredictable violent dictator who is likely brimming with confidence tonight. it took 9 minutes and 46 seconds to get into orbit. on the way up, it dropped debris in four locations in the seas off the korean peninsula and japan. tonight the military and political fallout is resonating around the world from north korea's rocket launch. u.s. and south korean forces are on high alert. u.s. officials telling cnn addit

brian todd is here. what are we talking about? >> there's growing pressure on the obama administration to formally accuse isis of genocide. we're told inside the white house and state department there's been intense debate over making that call given what it might compel the administration to do if isis is given that label. groups of christians in orange jump suits lined up on beaches in libya beheaded at the hands of isis. it's happened at least twice. isis has crucified people in the center of raqqah, syria. in iraq, the group has killed thousands of yazidis, an eths nick and religious minority. this 15-year-old described what happened to his family in sinjar province. trt isis killed my dad, my uncles. they kidnapped 25 relatives, including women. >> reporter: isis has enslaved yazidi women and girls. bragging about it in videos. >> where is my yazidi girl? >> reporter: they are pushing the white house to formally accuse isis of genocide. religious freedom advocates say it's past time. >> you've got killings by a number of barb

brian todd has been looking into this development for us. what are you learning? >> there are still some very important clues the fbi is looking for about the two shooters. where is their hard drive? what were they doing in a stretch of 18 minutes after the shootings that the fbi still can't account for? and what is on shoot or syed farook's iphone. it prompted federal agents to make another run at farook's brother. >> federal agents combed through this home in corona, california, associated with the brother of san bernardino shooter farook. agents seen searching the trunk of two vehicles. one according to kabc is registered to farook's mother. the house has been searched several times since the december terror attack. >> we've had numerous swarms of fbi agents and homeland security and police. >> reporter: tonight the fbi won't say what investigators were hoping to find but experts say to get another search warrant, investigators would have to show a judge they have good reason to return. >> this would be new evidence that they have just recently learned about. >

. >> that was brian todd reporting for us. i want to go back to new hampshire right now. donald trump is at that news conference, introduced by scott brown, the former senator from massachusetts, but now lives in new hampshire. he was elected as a senator from new hampshire. he's endorsing donald trump right now. let's listen in. >> the fact that they don't talk, they don't work together. very rarely does anything get done. the one person who has the independence, and can be the change agent to actually get washington working again, it was very clear to me that that was donald trump. in addition, when you're looking at somebody who's actually had the opportunity to create jobs, who actually has had a real job in the private sector, who's actually signed the front of a check, and not just the back of a check, somebody who can actually bring people together, put the men in the room and negotiate some type of arrangement or settlement or conclusion to a very important matter affecting our country, whether it be dealing with our national security, our economic security, cyber

brian todd joins us from there. the republican caucus is a little simpler than the democratic ones. explain. >> simpler, anderson. we'll show you how it's working. first we'll tell you that we're at the 13th gop precinct about 15 miles north of des moines. the weather is good now but snow coming later, much later. we don't think that's going to affect the vote. as we walk in we'll tell you how it's going to work. the voters will line up here, they'll come inside. the registered voters who are already registered will check in at this table. unregistered voters voting for the first time will be at this table. this is a table we'll be watching closely because, of course, donald trump has implored his followers to get out for the first time, many of them, and vote. he wants a lot of first-time voters. he's pounded that on social media. we're going to be watching this table very closely. once they check in here at the baptist church, we go into the sanctuary where the vote is going to be held. you heard tom foreman explaining the democratic caucus. it is much different. first they will s

brian webb for cbs news. todd: nicole's body has been taken to a medical examiner's office for an autopsy. right now, in lexington, kentucky, investigators are interviewing witnesses to this massive fire. it destroyed a beef cattle auction business. a lexington fire department spokesman says it's too early to determine the cause of the fire. several nearby businesses were also destroyed. but, nobody was injured. in california rain and snow , snarling traffic and closing roads. this video taken in nevada county, near the sierras, where flooding began early this morning. traffic was blocked for close to officials say ice got caught seven hours. under the bridge. they're hoping to clear the road overnight. time now to check back in with jason. everybody wants to know, when is it going to snow in how much? we are not going to see much. late into the evening, a chance of a few flakes but i don't take we will see anything accumulate. monday night into tuesday is what will start to see some of those aggressive accum

brian webb for cbs news. todd: right now in salt lake city police investigate an , officer-involved shooting that injured one man and triggered hours of unrest downtown. authorities say two salt lake city officers were called to break up a fight and found a man hitting someone with a broomstick. they say the man tried to attack one of the officers and one or both of the officers shot the no word on that man's condition. new numbers tonight show colorado's tourists aren't just buying weed now that it's legal, they're ending up in emergency rooms at higher rates than residents. physicians found the rate of emergency-room visits related to marijuana doubled among out of state residents during 2014. there was only a slight change among colorado residents. doctors say there needs to be more education about pot aimed at visitors. in alaska, boards began accepting applications for marijuana business licenses this week. it's the next step in setting up the state's legal pot industry. alaska joins colorado, oregon, an

a former officer. 54-year-old brian mcalexander faces six felony indictments for possession of child pornography. chief foreman says trust is on the line ... which is why he let the public know about the investigation when it began last year. todd foreman/bedfor d police department 13:17:44 we wanted to be transparent with people in the town so they knew what was going on ... southern virginia internet crimes against children task force investigated this case. lt. mike harmony with southern virginia icac says he can't release a lot of details ... but says mcalexander was the target of an investigation centered around file sharing programs. lt. mike harmony/southe rn virginia icac - 0:48 - 0:58 13:35:54 it's sad i can tell you that much. anytime that someone who is in the eye of the public and has the faith of the public betrays that it's sad. mcalexander served in the bedford police department for more than 25 years and was promoted months before he resigned over the investigation. while mcalexander has not been found guilty ...foreman says he's focused on moving forward and rebuildi

. >> reporter: good morning, todd, 16 year old brian gene will not love the detention center any time son. he is facg kidnap canning, child neglect to grand theft. the judge ordered him remainn the the detention center. probable counts. secure detention 211 days. jean was arrested by the fort lauderdale police department. right after that arrest taken to the emergency room at broward medical center in handcuffs for a medical evaluation. and he was taken straight to jail. police say he was responsible for a carjacking monday afternoon. and in the back seat of that car was a sleeping ten month old baby and search was launched. hours after he was found safe eight miles away along mcnab and back out live fort lauderdale police are able to confirm they found him and his finge prints were found inside of the car and police confirming that bit of information to us. reporting live in fort lauderdale, local ten news. >> neki: live pictures now out of mexico city where the pope is doing a procession. people are lining the streets to catch a glimpse. he's on a five day trip across mexico to deal

todd: good morning. the big question -- will we see brian joyce here at this date e statehouse? there' s no sign of him. fbi agents methodically comb through his logs, collecting bags of evidence, including electronics. the fbi and irs continue to investigate. last month, he agreed to pay nearly $5,000 for using campaign money to throw a graduation party for his son. the state ethics commission is investigating thousands of owner of the store says he he received over the course of the decade. > > the issues raised here were troubling to begin with. the voters ultimately get to make the call on whether someone is allowed to serve or not. todd: the district includes parts of 10 different communities. his attorney says they have been cooperating with the investigation, and that joyce believes he has done nothing wrong. emily: thank you. commitment 2016. a new national poll shows hillary clinton barely ahead of bernie sanders, but that is not the case here in massachusetts. sanders leads 49% to 42% among likely democratic voters, according to a public policy polling survey. the mass