the historic headline from the white house this week, the president of the united states endorses same-sex marriage. but the story behind the headlines may be just as dramatic and it culminated with vice president joe biden apologizing to president obama for forcing his hand on this hot button issue, a sore subject among some white house insiders. our chief whereas correspondent jessica yellen has been working the story for us. tell our viewers what you are hearing right now. >> i understand the vice president apologized to the president for putting him in a tough position on this situation and the president gave an understanding reply saying he knows that the vice president was speaking from the heart. the vice president's office also issued a statement saying it was the president who has been the leader on this issue since day one and the vice president never intended to distract from that. president obama says he was planning to say this sometime before the democratic convention. >> for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> but vice president biden forced up the timing with his unscripted remarks on "meet the press" or as the president put it -- >> he probably got out a little bit over his skis but out of generosity of spirit. would i have preferred to have done this in my own way, in my own terms without i think there being a lot of notice to everybody? sure. but all's well that ends well. >> some of the president's aides are not as for giving. some say they're frustrated, annoyed the vice president got out ahead of the president's policy and possible plans for a roll-out. this is hardly the first time biden's gone off script. remember this? >> this is a big [ bleep ] deal. >> and when the administration was trying to advise the public about the swine flu. >> when one person sneezes, it goes everywhere. >> some say the vice president had previously counselled the president against speaking out in favor of same-sex marriage because of potential political risks but officials say the president has a close personal relationship with biden which will trump his advisers' frustration. they add sharing the president with biden comes with risks and rewards, as the president has acknowledged. >> he's warms, cuddly, enthusiastic. you just have to keep him on a tight leash. every once in a while he goes off in the wrong direction and gets himself in trouble. but enough about joe biden. >> and they appeared together this morning at a white house event. if you need further prove the vice president is not in the dog house so to speak, biden is going to ohio on a campaign swing. that's a critical state for the president. >> they do have a very close relationship. they work closely, even though occasionally joe biden seems to get ahead of the president. >> he's and he's great person to reach out to middle class voters, blue collar voters, catholic voters, et cetera. >> meanwhile, mitt romney found himself bombarded with questions about same-sex marriage in the wake of the president's announcement. jim acosta is here in the situation room as well. what is the republican candidate saying specifically? >> after a week dominated by the president's reversal on same-sex marriage, mitt romney is studiously staying away from the issue. it could be because the ish you is not a potent political winner for republicans as it once was. mitt romney seemed reluctant to pounce on the issue. >> this is a very tender and sensitive topic, as are many social issues. >> in an interview with a denver tv station, romney got testy with a reporter who pressed him on same-sex marriage, among other issues. >> aren't there issues of significance you'd like to talk, about the economy, the growth of jobs. >> that may be because it's not 2004 anymore. many pundits say john kerrey lost the presidency in the state of ohio. ohio put its amendment on the ballot after the massachusetts supreme court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, ironically when romney was governor. but attitudes have changed. back then 55% of americans said same-sex marriage should not be legal the public is more split today. while president obama's comments may cost him support among independents. >> he is going to lose i think a few reagan democrats in ohio, michigan, north carolina. working class white males. >> consider how quickly john ba ba ba boehner focused the issue back to the question. 14 seconds. >> both campaigns appear ready to move on. the obama campaign has put out a rash of new ads that focus on the economy. meanwhile the romney campaign is talking up mrs. romney, who got an op-ed out in the "usa today." it was on the virtues of motherhood, just in time for mother's day. >> important stuff. she's going to be a huge asset over the next six months for the republican candidate. all this bullying stuff he supposedly did 50 years ago while he was in high school, how is mitt romney handling this? >> right now they're not saying a whole lot about it. he's done some interviews where he says he doesn't recall this incident. i talked to one of the former classmates identified in the "washington post" article, had a long conversation with fill ib maxwell. he tells me he is still haunted by this incident. he wishes he had stopped the interdent from happening. heap said he did not do that. when he describes to me can only be scribed as a bullying incident. he called it an assault and said the fact that mitt romney does not recall this means he's not owning up to something. he said he's disappointed from that. the romney campaign put out statements from other former classmates who say mitt romney was not that kind of person. high might have clound around but he was not that kind of person. >> democratic strategist and cnn contributor james carville doesn't like what he's seeing right now in this overall campaign. i spoke about the state of the race with him and he sending a very blunt warning to his own democratic party and to the white house. james carville is joining us now from our new york bureau. james, a powerful piece you wrote on cnn.com. wtfu, translated -- wake the you know what up. there is an earthquake. what are you spoking, what are you thinking or just what in the hell are you thinking? >> what are you thinking? what's going on here? >> i go around the country and talk to democratic supporters and office holders and there's this sense we're going to win the next election. you look at what's happening to incumbents around the world and my question to these people, what are you thinking? i hope we will. i think we have a very good chance to win the next election but we're going to have to run a picture perfect campaign, do everything right, get the opposition on the defensive, raise a bucket load of money. i don't see democrats out there as nervous as they should be about this. >> you include the dnc leadership, the white house, who is asleep right now? >> it wasn't really directed at the white house. i think that we got to prepare for one of the hardest campaigns we're ever going to be involved in here and it just across the board to the whole party. we got to buckle up here. what incumbents are standing offish here. we have to go here early and often. some of our so-called guys have to be raising money, we need a better coordinated attack out there. there's a lot of things we need to be doing here and gearing up here, i don't get the sense people feel it time to get out now and it is. >> why is it that karl rove's pro-republican super pac is raising tens of millions of dollars and the pro democratic super pac is having a tough time raising any at all. >> mr. rofs pollution commission is supporting things. they have an enormous financial stake in this. it's not just the democratic super pac. it's all across the board. there's this sense of sort of comfort we're going to have a good year in 2012. we may and i hope we do. i'm not going to suggest that can't happen. but right now, i don't see we're tied into polls. i look at romney and i don't think he's the worst ever and i think people assume romney can't get any better and i think that's a dangerous assumption to me. >> you wrote an article back in september last year. what should the white house do now? one word came to mind -- panic. you also suggested they should start firing somebody. did they heed your advice? >> they did seem to fight harder, they indicted somebody in the financial services thing. if it's me, i'm a different personality. i'd be on fire right now, i'd be screaming at people, i'd be trying to motivate. i wouldn't be as comfortable. and i think that they got to send a signal that they've gotten back the jobs that bush lost but that's where we are. people are not satisfied in the sense that there's a lot more to do. i would probably try to convey that. but, you know, it's -- that's the way that they are sort of doing it and they've been pretty successful so far. sure hope they're successful in november. but i think that people's lives are really sort of hurting out here. i'm ready to get started here. >> mincing no words, james carvel, thank you very much. >> escalating violence in syria. and a secret agent with strong western ties. how a plot to bring down a u.s. bound airplane was stopped. >> and keeping lines open. you can only see the dispute here in "the situation room." sorry. sore knee. blast of cold feels nice. why don't you use bengay zero degrees? 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[ male announcer ] new bengay zero degrees. freeze and move on. i think we should see other people. in fact, i'm already seeing your best friend, justin. ♪ i would've appreciated a proactive update on the status of our relationship. who do you think i am, tim? quicken loans? at quicken loans, we provide you with proactive updates on the status of your home loan. and our innovative online tools ensure that you're always in the loop. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. a week of deadly violence in syria, including a massive car bomb in damascus. it looks like we're heading into a new chapter in syria right now. the level of violence. >> it most certainly is, wolf. it's not just the level of the violence. it's the nature of the violence. we have essentially begun to move from seeing the type of violence that would involve syrian security forces opening fire on demonstrators or regime forces fighting against those in the oppositions, to an increase in al qaeda-style bombings that really began back in december. since then, especially over the last few weeks, there have been a significant number of explosions in damascus and its second largest city that do bear the hall marks of al qaeda. there's only been one organization that's claimed responsibility for them, that is very much home grown but is calling for jihad against the syrian regime and you have that horrifying attack that took place in damascus on thursday where had you more than a ton of explosives detonated by two sue i -- suicide bombers that resulted in the deadliest attack so far. >> it looks like more of that is on the way. does it look like the united nations observer mission inside syria is accomplishing anything? >> i mean, look, wolf, if it comes to asking whether or not they're accomplishing anything in terms of actually be able to force both sides to adhere to a cease-fire, the answer is obviously no. but their mission is supposed to be monitoring the cease-fire and trying to enforce it. in that sense they have failed to that degree because if anything, we're not seeing compliance by either side, especially not the government side. we continue to hear reports of unarmed demonstrators being shot out of syrian tanks, heavy armor still inside cities and towns. the issue now is if kofi annan's six-point peace plan is declared dead in the water, what is the alternative? and that is what is incredibly, incredibly chilling at this point because there is no plan b. >> what a situation. all right. we'll stay in close touch. thank you very much. we have new information coming into the situation room about the mole who penetrated the most dangerous branch of al qaeda and snatched a sophisticated bomb. plus, will cuba give any ground on releasing an american prisoner who tells me he feels like a hostage? stand by for my rare interview with a top cuban official. recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. got the mirrors all adjusted? you can see everything ok? just stay off the freeways, all right? i don't want you going out on those yet. mmm-hmm. and just leave your phone in your purse. i don't want you texting, all right? daddy...ok! ok, here you go. be careful. thanks dad. call me -- but not while you're driving. ♪ [ dad ] we knew this day was coming. that's why we bought a subaru. ♪ and then treats day after day... well, shoot, that's like checking on your burgers after they're burnt! 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[ female announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astra zeneca may be able to help. the cuban government is urging u.s. officials to sit down and talk about the fate of a jailed american alan gross, who tells me he feels as though he's being held hostage. stand by for my exclusive, very rare interview with a top cuban ministry official who spoke with me from havana. an international neg yogs is seemingly playing out on cnn. it started out when alan gross called into the cnn situation room. >> i'm in the military hospital, a secured facility. >> during my 25-minute interview with gross, we touched on several topics, including his health. >> i've lost about 100 pounds. i exercise as much as i can. my hip is starting to give me a little bit of a problem. >> the maryland contractor, who is now serving a 15-year prison sentence says he was in cuba to link the island's tiny jewish community to the internet as part of the u.s. funded aid program. the cuban government disagreed, charging gross with smuggling illegal equipment and being a threat to security and the independence to the state. >> it was laughable. if i weren't in this situation, i would be laughing about it because i'm about as much of a threat to the security in the state as the chair is that i'm sitting on right now. >> gross is pleading with the castro regime to let him fly to the united states and see his cancer stricken 90-year-old mother. the government hasn't officially responded to his request. instead -- >> they offered to send a plane to miami to licome here. my mother does not live in miami. she lives in texas. >> a letter was sent saying gross is in good physical conditions. he receives specialized medical care, balanced meals, regular agents. mr. gross violated cuban laws. he is not an activist who came to cuba to assist the cuban people. he is a professional paid for by the u.s. government. secretary of state hillary clinton fired back in an interview with cnn. >> mr. gross was not a spy. mr. gross was not an intelligence agent. mr. gross worked for a development group that was helping cubans, principally in their small jewish community in cuba, to have access to the internet. and mr. gross, in our view, is being held without justification and has been detained already far too long. >> the letter i received from the cuban diplomat here in washington clearly suggested to me the castro government is interested in a prisoner swap, exchanging alan gross for members of the so-called cuban five. they're serving lengthy prison sentences in the united states after being convicted on spy charges. i've been reach being out to both cuban and u.s. officials to try to clarify their positions and to keep the lines of communication open. >> and we're joined now from the head of the north american affairs for the cuban foreign ministry. are you prepared to tell us what you want in exchange for the release of alan gross? >> wolf, thank you for having me in your program. we have conveyed to the u.s. government our willingness to have a dialogue to try to solve all our problems and to normalize relations between our two countries. in this specific case, we have made clear to the u.s. government, as you said, that we are ready to have the negotiation in order to find a solution, a humanitarian solution to mr. gross's case on reciprocal basis. we are not advancing any specific formula. it has to be discussed with the u.s. government because the u.s. government has direct responsibility on the situation for the situation of mr. alan gross. but, again, we have been waiting for a response on the side of the u.s. government on this specific matter. >> so there are no active discussions or negotiations under way right now between the cuban government and the u.s. government to try to free alan gross? >> we have conveyed to the u.s. side that we are ready to sit down to talk and to have a negotiation on this matter. and as i mentioned already to you, we have been waiting for a response. we are ready to do that. >> is there -- from your perspective, is there a linkage between the release of alan gross and a release of what's called the cuban five? >> again, we are not advancing a specific solution, a specific formula. it has to be discussed among us. but definitely cuba has legitimate concerns, humanitarian concerns, related to the situation of the cuban five. >> what do you say in response to what the secretary of state hillary clinton told cnn? >> you know, mr. gross was not working in cuba as a volunteer. he was detained in cuba because of conducting a well financed program by the u.s. government and provoking changes in cuba against cuba's constitutional order. so when detained he was a professional implementing this by some u.s. agency. >> what evidence do you have he was doing this? >> he was convicting for violating cuba's law. it is not just a crime in cuba, it is also a crime in the united states and in many other countries and this is the reason why he was convicted because of going against our constitutional order. >> mr. gross told me when he brought all the equipment in, the people at the airport, the authorities saw the equipment and they say you have to pay duty on it, 100%. he didn't want to pay 100%. so they just said pay $100 and could you bring the equipment in. but they inspected all of those cell phones and all of the satellite phones, whatever he was bringing in, and allowed him to bring it into the country. as a result he says he doesn't understand why he was arrested. >> it has been written in some media report, mr. gross misled u.s.-cuban authorities about the kind of equipment he was introducing into the country without the proper authorities and he also misled members of the cuban jewish community about the purpose of his trip to cuba and what he was doing in cuba. >> alan gross says his 90-year-old mother is dying from cancer in texas right now, she can't travel, she can't get on an airplane. he would like to spend two weeks and he promises he would come back to cuba if you let him say good-bye in effect to his mother. what's wrong with that? >> in the case of mr. alan gross, he started to serve his prison term three years ago and the conditions under he is now do not allow him to go outside of cuba. >> even for humanitarian reasons, to visit his 90-year-old mother who has cancer and is dying? are you open at all to letting him say good-bye to her? >> in the case of mr. gross, we have guaranteed for him -- he's in good shape. heap receives a specialized medical treatment, balanced meals. heap receives visits, regular consular visits and we have facilitated for the families and friends all the visits they have requested so far. >> i also asked vidal about other concerns i've heard from sources. and look who's reading the weather forecast. look at this. >> the rain of course will be heaviest over the borders and around edinburgh where it could lead to difficult conditions on the roads. skin, by strengthening its moisture barrier, for improved texture and elasticity in 2 weeks. reveal healthy, supple skin. aveeno skin strengthening. i was 18 years old before i had my first fresh bun. the invention that i came up with is the hot dog ez bun steamer. steam is the key to a great hot dog. i knew it was going to be a success. the invention was so simple that i knew i needed to protect it. my name is chris schutte and i got my patent, trademark and llc on legalzoom. 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>> this is our position. i mean, for many years the cuban government has been conveying to the u.s. side our willingness to have a comprehensive political dialogue with the united states to solve all our historical problems and to move on in order to have productive, beneficial relationship for the benefit of both peoples. this is our position. we have iterated that to the u.s. government and we continue to have the possibility to see that future for our two countries. >> is there any dialogue under way right now between your government and the obama administration? >> we have had talks in the last two, three years. as soon as the new president, president obama, took office, some level of official dialogue that suffered a lot during the previous administration was reestablished and we have had our biannual migration talks and we have talked. we have conveyed in those meetings the position i just described to you about cuba's willingness to for the best of our two countries to find a civilized ending with the united states. >> are you hopeful, are you optimistic that the relationship will improve over the next few months? >> we are always hopeful. we have been waiting for that moment for more than 50 years, but we are still strong believers that this future is possible for the good and the benefit of the u.s., of cuba, of our both mutual national interests and for our people. >> based on my conversations with very high u.s. officials, ms. vidal, i can tell you that if you were to make a gesture and release alan gross, he's served already two and a half years, that would go a long way in setting the stage for an improved u.s.-cuban relationship. >> in that regard, i have to be honest with you, wolf, and tell you that we see this statement as a new pretext by the u.s. side in order not to move on on our bilateral relationship. we have seen all over our history that any time one pretext disappears, there is another one ready at hand in order to try to justify, not to normalize relations with cuba. >> it sounds like a relatively easy situation for you, test the united states, send alan gross home and see what happens. if there's no improvement, what have you lost? >> as i mentioned you at the beginning of our interview, this is something that cuba cannot do unilaterally because there is a responsibility by the united states government for the situation of mr. alan gross. so this is a topic, this is a matter, an issue that has to be discussed directly between cuba and the united states in order to look for a solution. >> and you're saying the u.s. is not ready to discuss alan gross's situation with cuba? is that what you're saying? >> we have been waiting for a response and a reaction to the united states government to what we have conveyed about our willingness to sit down to have a conversation and to initiate a negotiation on that matter. >> we will continue this conversation. thank you so much for joining us and we will continue to talk. we'll stay in close touch. >> it is my pleasure, wolf. thank you. >> so here's part of the state department's reaction to my interview. i'll put it up on the screen. we respect the suggestion that this is a matter for negotiation. alan gross is unjustifiably imprisoned and his case is to the related to the cuban five. vidal's statements only seem to reinforce alan gross' view that he is a hostage of the cuban regime. >> it's the book captivating millions of women across the country, "if i hafifty shades o" and look who is doing the weather forecast, prince charles. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? 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>> intimate nights. >> you only live once. >> the charged up couple are not alone. >> instead of sleeping, we're just having a good time. >> carrying their "fifty shades of grey", 500 fans lined up monday night in long island, new york, to meet british author e.l. james. >> stunned by the reaction to this love story. >> so am i. i'd pay very good money to watch. why does it seem so many women are turned on by the book? >> everybody's read this book? >> yes. >> i sat down with members of divamoms.com. >> it is a modern day fairytale. >> it's about a controversial relationship involving s&m between a college student and a handsome young billionaire. >> i think you're toying with me, ms. steele. >> it's a disney romance for adults. >> aren't you married already? >> we all have our own prince charmings, but sometimes we have extra fantasies that they don't always satisfy anymore. [ laughter ] >> disney never made a romance involving bondage or young women signing contracts with princes who use something called a flogger on them. >> what part gets whipped, anything and all? >> this is an awakening in a lot of ways for women, not just about what they may fantasize about. i think women are surprised that when they read something their bodies can have this kind of reaction. >> it's been called mommy porn. when was the last time you saw "saturday night live" do a skit about a book? >> happy mother's day! >> get out! >> fifty shades of grey? >> women are turning to sex and song. >>. ♪ set you fifty shades free ♪ >> whoa, wait a minute, whoa. where can i buy this book at? >> this is the first time i have ever had sex in my home. >> do you need a book to get turned on? >> no. >> what do you need? >> anything. >> don't look at me. >> we don't have a big bed, but we sure get around it. >> richard roth. >> thank you. >> cnn, new york. >> prince charles takes a break from his day job, look at this, to do the weather. >> in the west, rain will be lighter. maybe a few drier areas. there will be snow for the higher ground of the highlands. the potential for a few flurries as the afternoon goes on. [ jennifer garner ] why can't strong sunscreen feel great? actually it can. neutrogena® ultra sheer provides unbeatable uva uvb protection and while other sunscreens can feel greasy ultra sheer® is clean and dry. it's the best for your skin. ultra sheer®. neutrogena®. if prince charles ever decides to quit his day job, he could have a future in the weather business. he tried his hand as a weather man and he gave the forecast with a royal touch. >> reporter: it was anything but low pressure when the anchor tossed to the weather man by saying, your highness? >> well, it's an unsettled picture as we head toward the end of the week. >> the weather got the royal treatment. >> cold, wet, and windy across most of scotland. >> as prince charles delivered the lunch forecast during a tour of bbc scotland. instead of someone holding the umbrella for the royals, the prince was holding the button to control the weather map. >> you just press it. >> the princely meteorologist read smoothly off a teleprompt we are the occasional ad lib. >> a ha. >> as he read, he realized places that were once frequented by the royals. >> the potential for a few flurries -- >> who the hell wrote this script? >> at least the prince knows a high from a low. >> is h hot or humid? it's both. >> the prince didn't knock over any cold fronts. >> what does that mean? what did that mean? >> as paul lind did back in the late '70s. >> 79 fahrenheit. 41% chance of twisters. >> nor did prince charles adjust his bosom as snooki did. >> some light snow. >> at a new york city station. at least a prince knew not to wear green. >> it's the one color we can't wear. >> green screen technology. >> go like this. >> when ellen barged into a chicago newscast, she was sort of a miming meteorologist. >> look at this area of low pressure that's behind ellen. she's cloaking it very well. >> triumph the weather dog resorted to his usual insults. >> little clouds are coming into the sky. oh, poor hawaii. we have a cloud or two. screw you, hawaii. >> and these two "playboy" bunnies tried to pin a tail on the regular weatherman. >> you've already helped me more than you know. >> but how do you expect english speaking tom hanks to do the weather at spanish speak univision?