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. she said, despite how things look, her one nation tour is not political. >> it is not about me. it is not a publicity-seeking tour. it is about highlighting the great things about america and the media can figure out where we are going if they do their investigative work or they are going to keep kind of, as you put it, going crazy trying to figure out what we are doing here. >> our jim acosta is in gettysburg, jim said, did you do your investigative homework? have you figured it out? where is the bus? >> reporter: we have been doing a little bit of digging. she has given us the slip again. her bus is park at the hotel. we understand from talking to our cnn political reporter that she gave all of us the slip getting into a different vehicle that is in her entourage earlier this morning and she is now where on the battlefield site here at get it is berg. she has done it to us again. this is the pattern, a game of cat and mouse. catch me if you can, if you will. some of this is by design. obviously, she wants to generate a certain amount of buzz. what better way to generate buzz about your noncampaign than to sort of give the media the slip here and there. she did stop yesterday evening to talk to reporters in a sort of brief question and answer session. we threw a lot of different questions at her. obviously, we asked her again wlorntd she is running for president. that's been done over and over again. to give you the nature of a fly by the seat of the pants we are operating on right now, i grabbed my flip cam and asked her my own question about what she would do to help the ailing economy? >> the big ideas or for big tax cuts for the job creators feel to keep more of what they are earning and producing and reinvesting in the businesses instead of government taking it and doling out the dollars according to a politicians priorities. that doesn't work. that leads you towards socialism and look at the other countries that have based their economy on that socialism. it doesn't work. >> reporter: sounds like somebody who wants to run. >> i want a strong economy, that's for doggone sure. >> reporter: we understand she is headed to philadelphia later today. all of those details are, of course, being kept very close to the vest. reporters are only finding out about this at the last minute. we understand that yesterday, reporters were literally chasing her up interstate 95 as she was traveling to baltimore and then along state highways out here to gettysburg yesterday. that is how unconventional and imprompty a impromtu all of this is. it is a literally a game of catch me if you can. >> i wonder what would happen if we stopped chasing the bus. tim pawlenty, a republican who is running for president, recently told msnbc, we need to quit worrying about polls and bus tours and get on to the issue of how we are going to fix the country. sounds like he is a little annoyed by this. what are other republican candidates saying? >> they are all doing interviews, mitt romney and michele bachmann did interviews with various networks. this he are all being asked the palin question and deflecting it in the usual politician way. i am focused on doing what i am doing now. mitt romney is announcing he is running for president on thursday. sarah palin, because of who she is and because of what she brings to the field, this unpredictable, unconventional, nontraditional campaign, it is going to suck the oxygen out of this field, out of this campaign for the next several days or so. the trick for sarah palin is to come up with a second act. she can only do this for so long. eventually, she will have to answer questions about what she might do if she is going to run for president. what her platform might be if she puts together a presidential campaign. i would look for that in the next day or so. that's why i started asking those questions. we have to get away from the cat and mouse and towards real substance. i think that's probably the next chapter in this unfolding drama, kyra. >> thank god for your flip cam, jim acosta. we appreciate it. >> reporter: i will do what i can. >> we will get back to you next hour. now, to the man who currently sits in the white house, that would be president barack obama. he is feeling a bit more love at least when it comes to all things international. the latest cnn research opinion poll shows president obama's approval rating stands at 54%, six points higher than in early april. how much of this bounce kols out of the raid that killed osama bin laden? >> that's a big part of it. frankly, we know exactly where the president is. he is in the white house right now. he would like to hear the good news from the phone numbers. the bin laden raid clearly had something to do with it. the president's numbers, in terms of handling terrorism, for example, have shot up. he has an approval rating of 65% on terrorism. only 34% disapproving. taxes, a good republican issue. 46% approve the way he is handling taxes. 53% disapprove. the big lift he is getting here as well is that his numbers, approval rating among republicans, has shot up 12 points in recent weeks. that is probably due in large part to, again, terrorism traditionally has been a bit more favorable for republicans. the president takes out osama bin laden. suddenly, republicans, democrats, independents, see him with a bit more stature as commander and chief. >> there were some weak points in this poll too. tell us about those. >> well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the jobs picture is still complicated for a lot of americans. economy, gas prices and look at the president's number on those. in terms of the handling of the economy, he has approval of 41%, disapproval of 58%. gas prices, approval, 25%, disapproval, 73%. i'm surprised 25%, that it is that high. how can you find 25% of the country thinking that gas prices are anywhere acceptable right now? people are very frustrated. those are certainly challenges for this president once the republicans pick their nominee. those are areas where he is going to be vulnerable. a disturbing story coming out of egypt and those demonstrations this spring. listen to this. a senior egyptian general is admitting that some of the 17 women arrested at this march 19th demonstration were checked to determine if they were virgins. zain verjee joins us live from london. to many of us here in the united states, this sounds awful. >> it is awful. to many people in the arab world, it is horrifying as well. these 17 women were subjected to some pretty brutal things here. what some of them say is this, after they were detained, they were beaten, given electric shocks, strip searched, threatened with prostitution charges and then they were forced to have these virginity tests, just listen to what one woman had to say, carol. >> they made us sign statements declaring wornt we were virgins. during the test, no one was standing, september for a woman and a male doctor. six soldiers were standing hyped us and watching the back side of the bed. i think they were there to be witnesses. >> listen to the army's logic here, carol. they said they did these virginity tests to make sure these 17 women were virgins, because then that way, the army says they couldn't be accused of sexual assault. that's the reason they say they did it. anyway, it turned out that none of these women were virgins. so then the army said, you are all prostitutes and wanted to put them in jail and then they freed them and one view that came out was that was because some of them held university degrees. they couldn't possibly be prostitutes. it was an awful situation for these women. the army doing something horrifying. >> it is a new egypt, under new leadership. will anything happen? >> it is really unclear right now because the army is running the show and the country, they are the powerhouse. it is likely or possible that these women could seek some kind of legal action. in egypt, the army is operating pretty much as a military dictator ship. that's what people are afraid of. they are going to hang on for a much longer time and not quickly get to the elections promised. a lot of criticism by the military by many egyptians that are so unhappy. >> zain verjee, live in london, thank you. more nato attacks on forces loyal to libyan leader, moammar gadhafi. they come a day after south african president presented him with a cease-fire plan. he says he may be ready for a cease-fire. in rome, eight high-ranking army officers held a news conference to talk about their defection along with more than 100 soldiers. the officers include five generals. in new york, a foreign banking figure is accused of assaulting a hotel maid. no, it is not the story you have heard about all month. this is a different case all tog. deb feyerick will have details f for you. look what turned up in california, jellyfish stings turned out to be a real holiday danger for beach-goers. more on that story just ahead. s. a t adththod it's dif - alcium c yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. 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[ sigh ] too bad you're not buying car insurance. like that's easy. oh, it is. progressive direct showed me their rates and the rates of their competitors. i saved hundreds when switching. we could use hundreds. yeah. wake up and smell the savings. out there with a better way. now, that's progressive. i wish i didn't have to talk about this. there are new housing numbers. the price of an existing home continues to sink, perhaps to an all-time low. chief business correspondent, ali velshi, joins us now. oh, this hurts. >> it does hurt, because housing is so much of some people's assets. we need housing prices to solidify. it is a study of 20 major metropolitan areas. a fairly thundershower rorough . housing prices, existing homes, the price dropped 4.2% in the first quars tter. it confirmed some people's view of a possible double-tip idip i housing. a year ago, we had that first-time home buyer's credit. we continue to have foreclosures until we are done with these large numbers of foreclosures, it is going to keep downward pressure on houses. a lot of houses out there. for some people, what this means is that housing has become more affordable. between sub 5% mortgage rates and continuing decreases in housing prices, there are some people that couldn't have afforded a house fire years ago, for people that are stuck in their homes, having trouble making payments, unemployed and trying to sell a house, this is not good news. this is the s&p wconfirming tha housing prices are down. a further drop bringing them to lows that we haven't seen. >> even if you get a bargain on a house, if the housing market hasn't bottomed out, should you even buy now. >> yes, yes, absolutely. while you will see home prices increase over time, our problem with houses is that there is too much inventory out there. that is going to disappear. what also will disappear is the 30-year mortgage rates that are under 5%. if you see interest rates go up 1% to 2% to 6% or 7% which is more likely than seeing house prices drop, if you take a mortgage over 15 or 30 years, it makes it a better deal to buy a house now. if you are buying with cash, that's a different story all tog. if you are taking a long mortgage, it is still a good buyer's market. it is bad news if you are a seller trying to unload a house. >> i hear you on that score. ali velshi, many thanks live in new york. in brevard county, florida, memorial day turned into a war against jellyfish. they say more than 800 people were stung from cocoa beach to cape canaveral. the man that built himself as the toughest sheriff says he may run for u.s. senate. he has raised $5 million without trying. he says he might run for senator, jon kyl's seat in 2012. he is retiring. >> it is something that i am looking at. it comes up all the time. i am not going to make my decision yet. i will make it pretty soon. i don't have to be a u.s. senator to get a little press in washington, d.c. no, he really doesn't. the royal newlyweds will spend three days in los angeles as part of their first north american tour. will and kate, the duke and dutchess of cambridge will spend eight days touring canada before ending their visit in l.a. july 8th, 9th and 10th. a palace spokesman calls it a working visit. they will be raising money for charity. police arrested a rich and prominent businessman accused of sexually abusing a hotel maid. it is the second such case of a foreign banking figure accused of preying on a powerless hotel worker. deb feyerick is in new york with the details of the latest assault. deb? >> reporter: this one appears to have happened at the pierre hotel, a very posh hotel die ago beganly across from the plaza. according to police, the woman was called to room 1027 at about 6:00 sunday evening. she was asked to deliver a box of tissues. once inside the gentlemen's room, apparently, he locked the door. that's when she says she was sexually abused. now, according to police, the guest is mahmoud abdel-salam omar, a 74-year-old businessman that served as the head of the bank of alexandria for more than 15 years. he was not considered a political canned diet, unlike dom neighboring strauss-kahn. the housekeeper waited more than 17 hours to report to the alleged assault. they charged him with sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment, force i believe touching and harassment. the pierre hotel is cooperating. we do not know who mr. omar is being represented by. we have calls to find out. we hope to bring you more details later on. mitt romney leads most of the gop presidential polls. why is everybody talking about sarah palin instead of mitt romney. why are republicans going out of their way to persuade a lesser-known man to says he is not going to run to get into the race? we will dig deeper next. in life, you're either the gas™... or the brake™. help ! gas™ or brake ? take it from me-- with hertz, you'll always find your way. hertz-- at the airport, in your neighborhood or at hertz.com. but afraid you can't afford it? well, look how much insurance many people can get through selectquote for less than a dollar a day. selectquote found, rich, 37, a $500,000 policy for under $18 a month. even though dave, 43, takes meds to control his blood pressure, selectquote got him a $500,000 policy for under $28 a month. ellen, 47, got a $250,000 policy for under $20 a month. all it takes is a phone call. your personal selectquote agent will answer all your questions ... and impartially shop the highly rated term life companies selectquote represents for your best rates. give your family the security it needs at a price you can afford. call this number or go to selectquote dot com. selectquote. we shop. you save. we have already talked a lot about what sarah palin is up to but she hasn't announced she is running for president. mitt romney is making it official in new hampshire. take a look at how he is doing. he is the preferred choice for 17%, the name recognition, the money. why are others even this close to him. david fromm, a former speech wrat ter for president george w. bush. welcome. >> thank you. >> why isn't the gop establishment saying mitt is our guy? >> they are saying he is our guy. he is raising money on a huge scale. he has been in first or second place in the polls since 2009. when he is second, he has been behind mike huckabee. he is not in the race anymore. he is now very consistently in first place. less he has a problem with the establishment and more with the press. he thinks we don't want this to be 1996 all over again with bob doyle and boring first place all the way through. we want a little more drama. >> in previous races, the front-runner had a higher percentage than what mitt romney does now, isn't that true? >> that's true. like all candidates, mitt romney comes with a lot of negatives. he is a very unusual kind of negative. he is the candidate implemented in massachusetts, the health care reform that the republican party has been advocating since the 1990s backed during ut fight over hillary clinton's health care plan. they pushed it in 1993. romney did it in the middle 2000s. republicans say, we don't like that plan anymore. we blame you for having executed our plan in your state. >> so, is that part of the reason why some iowa republicans and i am talking about iowa republicans with money, they are flying to new jersey today to try to persuade chris christie, the governor there to run, they need an alpha politician. >> is there some sense that there is fear that romney cannot beat president obama? >> well, i don't know that that's what people are responding to. i think it is more this. the republican mood over the past few years has been very intense, angry, sometimes apocalyptic. i speak as a republican here but i don't understand this mood. living through the end of the american experiment, the end of the constitution. what a lot of people want is somebody who has that talk radio style. that angry mood, that confrontational approach. chris christie is your guy. he is very confrontational. romney has problems as a vote gett getter it. he has trouble connecting with americans that are less educated and affluent. you don't make it better by taking somebody with the same problem and a confrontational angry style that voters did not respond to, especially not women voters. >> you can read david fromm's full column online. the address, cnn.com/politics. congressman anthony wiener is talking about a naughty picture supposedly sent -- it was sent from his twitter account. >> this is a prank, not a terribly creative one and it is a distraction. >> weiner says he was hacked. it happens. cnn has his explanation next. we will also find out what the woman who received the picture is saying. controversy runs the soccer world. the head of fifa insists there is no crisis. we will take a closer look at the corruption allegations. that's next. ♪ [ male announcer ] when you come to new york from a place like detroit, no one expects you to influence the world of fashion. but when you grew up surrounded by rock 'n' roll and heavy industry, you just might make a name for yourself. ♪ that's what a blue-collar attitude can do in a white-collar world. with aveeno nourish plus moisturize. active naturals wheat formulas target and help repair damage in just 3 washes. for softer, stronger... ... hair with life. [ female announcer ] nourish plus. only from aveeno. you want to keep your loved ones safe and secure. give them the gift of financial security from new york life. we've been protecting families for over 166 years. new york life. the company you keep. >> new york congresswoman, anthony wiener says he was hacked and that's how a 21-year-old woman got a lewd picture from his twitter account. >> reporter: it came from congressman an