he was treated for in 2010. he'll be joined by an iraq veteran who suffered a similar injury. and what is george clooney doing in handcuffs? we'll tell you. this morning, the soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians in a house to house rampage is back in the u.s. the suspect is identified as 38-year-old army staff sergeant robert bales. he's now in custody at ft. leavenworth by himself. this was his first tour of duty in afghanistan, but he had done three tours of iraq. neighbors say they only knew bales as a family man who was the life of a party. >> i was blown away. i was devastated, heart broken, completely shocked. i would describe him -- he was super fun to hang around with, kind of the life of the party kind of guy. super loving, friendly to everybody he met. great with his kids. i just -- i don't -- i don't see how this has happened. i never saw any signs of marital problems. they always seemed pretty happy. >> cnn's sara steiner has been following this story since it broke last sunday. she joins me live now from kabul, afghanistan. we know president karzai has been highly of what's happened here. why is he so skeptical? >> one of the big reasons why is because the soldier has been sent out of the country. the u.s. has said there were some afghan officials who were aware that he was sent out of the cup. but he was sent out before afghan investigators got to talk to him, got to interrogate him. let me let you hear what president karzai said about the investigation and how the u.s. is handling it. >> the team, it does receive the cooperation from the united states. therefore, these are all questions that we'll be raising and raising very loudly. it is by all means the end of the road here. >> now, the questions he's talking about there are questions being raised by the victim's family members and by the village elders of the district in kandahar province. basically, the villagers are saying that they believe that there was more than one person involved in this and they simply cannot understand how old one soldier was able to do this massacre on his own. they also talked about some of the details of what happens when they spoke to mr. karzai saying in one case he killed 11 members in one household and ended up taking some of the people and putting them into the room and after shooting them, setting them on fire. randi. >> what a karzai's plans today? is he actively doing anything to try to get this soldier back there? >> he is speaking to the villagers. he said yesterday that he had invited them back, that they would have a talk more traditional style than an official style, which is the same way they would do in a village when something happens. so he is going to be speaking more with them, for sure. he also talked about the fact that he was probably going to put someone to head this investigation. they have already started their investigation. they've sent a team out to the kandahar district where this happened. and what they've seen so far doesn't seem to be satisfactory. according to them, they were saying they were shown this surveillance video by the united states officials that purportedly shows the soldier as he's trying to come back to the base and turn himself in. in seeing that video, the investigators say we're not convinced. so there's a lot of skepticism about this, the way that this investigation is being handled at this point. >> sara, thank you. coming up in just a few minutes, i'm going to talk to the doctor who specializes and is being treated for a brain injury. syria's health minister says at least 27 people were killed and 97 others were wounded. the blasts targeted the air force intelligence headquarters. syria's tv is blaming terrorists. the attacks come as president assad's regime enters its second year. rick santorum and mitt romney will both tour the midwest today. santorum is visiting missouri and illinois. missouri republicans are holding caucuses today, but no winner will be chosen like we've seen in other contests. it basically begins the long process of selecting delegates. next up, puerto rico which will hold its primaries. romney has a slight edge according to recent polls. president obama kicked off a jam packed day of fund-raising in his hometown of chicago before heading to an event in atlanta hosted by tyler perry. the blitz raised nearly $5 million. mr. obama took a swipe at his proposal's proposal. >> our story has never been about what we can do alone. it's what we do together. we don't win the race for new jobs and middle class security and new businesses with the same old, you're on your own. i'm telling you, it does not work. it did not work in the decade before the great depression. it did not work in the decade before i took office, it won't work now. march madness is in full swing and cinderella is smiling this morning as three teams pulled off improbable upsets. lehigh and norfolk state made school history. lehigh won against duke and norfolk state against missouri. only four 15 seeds have won in history but never on the same day. ohio university beat fourth seed michigan yesterday, as well. joe carter will have more on this and all the highlights and the analysis right now. reynolds, there were some amazing upsets and finishes. how is your bracket looking? >> you know, i didn't do a bracket this year and i'm really glad i didn't because i would have been zonked out already. >> like me, right? >> no. you've been holding in there through the tournament. the duke game, i'm very happy for the ohio bobcat fans. we have several of those great folks that work here, so i know they're happy this morning. if you're happy and at least hoping for sunshine and warm temperatures on the eastern seaboard, sunny and nice and warm for you. out to the west, cooler temperatures and a chance for snow out in the rockies. we'll have more on that coming up. and we're digging deeper on today's top stories. the american soldier accused of gunning down 16 afghan civilians is suffering from a brain injury according to our sources. next, cnn saturday morning. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. call now for our free guide and tips on planning for your retirement this tax season. i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there. i want to fix up old houses. 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[ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so greek. 2001 terrorist attacks and he lived at lewis mccord's joint base near tacoma, washington. new details are emerging about robert bales' combat history. the army staff sergeant was diagnosed with tbi, or traumatic brain injury after a rollover incident. >> it's a tragedy all the way around, there's no question about that. i think it's of interest that we have a soldier who has an exemplary record, a decorated soldier who was injured in iraq to his brain and to his body and then the price that was sent back. i think that's an issue. i think it's a concern. >> more than 233,000 military personnel have been diagnosed with tbi since 2009 according to the department of. joining us now, chad battles who served in iraq and, doctor, let me start with you on this one. can you remind our viewers what tbi is and how you have specifically treated it. >> it's a mechanical injury to the brain that causes wounding. and hyper baric oxygen is a treatment for wounds. and so base odd what we have found, treating decompression sickness or the bends of the brain many years ago, we began to apply this to some louisiana boxers and then people with other chronic brain injuries. and starting in 2008, we began to treat veterans with residual effects of their traumatic brain injuries. >> chad, if you would, tell me briefly what caused your traumatic brain injury and has this treatment helped you? >> yeah. my injury was caused in baghdad by performing on a quick reaction force. i was a machine gunner and just the everyday -- the effects of the concussions and from every type of explosive you can imagine. and since i've been doing this therapy, i've noticed subsiding in headaches, an overall increase in how my body feels and the quality of life. >> that's wonderful to hear. doctor, what has your success rate been with this treatment? >> more than 90% of the veterans that we have treated have experienced substantial improvement. >> and this is all about getting more oxygen flowing through the body, right? that's what helps the brain? >> it is. but it's more the intermentsy of it. by exposing someone to this high pulse of oxygen for one hour, it acts like a signal to dna of cells in damaged areas in the body. and in particular, in the brain. wherever there is wounding. and the responsive gene repairs growth and growth hormones. in effect, we end up repairing the damage to the brain. >> and we've read a study that looked at a group of nearly 23,000 tbi victims and it found almost 9% committed acts of violence after diagnosis. does that sound consistent with your findings? >> well, yes. although most of the veterans i've treated have not committed acts of violence after that. in fact, i believe none of them have. but violence is a well known sequelae. and one of the things that can exacerbate this or amplify the brain injury is exposure to altitude, particularly afghanistan. the elevations there, the traumatic brain injuries in our soldiers, we have felt, may be a factor in potentially amplifying their brain injuries. >> and certainly we want to be clear. we don't know what happened here. but is it a change in the brain that makes someone more violent or is it about a brain injury causing someone to not be able to control their impulses or know right from wrong? >> i believe it's more the second. i think the general feeling is that due to the areas of the brain that are injured, there is a release or decrease of inhibition. so people don't have the control that they normally have. >> and, chad, i know you're doing better with this. but have you noticed any type of side effects from it? >> for approximately a week around my 30th treatment, i noticed an increase in agitation and just an overall feeling of frustration and just not feeling well. and that subsided. but one of the main problems that i've noticed in having this pretreatment/post treatment is that with the tbi and including the ptsd, sometimes while i'm having an event or if i would be triggered, it's like driving a car with no brakes. you see the wall ahead of you. you want to stop. you push the brakes, but they're not working. so you know what's happening, but it's like you're just stuck in the reaction because your body is reacting and you're not able to say, whoa, let's stop this. >> we do appreciate what you've done for your country and for the rest of us. chad, dr. hart, thank you very much. >> thank you. stop what you're doing right now and take a look at this. it is a dramatic perspective inside the ef. 4 tornado that hit this school in indiana. appear amazing look at what the cameras reveal in just 70 seconds. two pills. after a morning of walk-ups, it's back to more pain, back to more pills. the evening showings bring more pain and more pills. sealing the deal... when, hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. it can relieve pain all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lois... who chose two aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. [ female announcer ] try aleve d for strong all day sinus and headache relief. a revealing look this morning at the ef-4 tornado. cameras were rolling in the henryville school. minutes after the students got back inside the school, this is what happened. the tornado hit. about 80 staff, teachers and students were inside the school at the time. incredibly, nobody was injured. let's check back in with republic olds. isn't that incredible? you look at that. wow. >> it's a true testament about tornados how they can strike to quickly. they can form anywhere on the planet. it's just the opposite of, say, a hurricane, where a hurricane is very devastating. a lot of times we can see hurricanes form. but a tornado is very different. there is a chance we could see more severe weather today popping up across the mid mississippi valley and maybe into the ohio valley before all is said and done. we have muggy air coming in from the gulf of mexico. that's going to flood its way into parts of the mid mississippi valley. that combined with daytime heating will make for an unstable air mass. strong thunderstorms, perhaps even some tornados. out towards the west, very breezy, very windy conditions with the low humidity with a real threat of fires. even into texas and the central plains. but it's going to be a snowy issue for you in parts of the central rockies where it seems the ski season has been going on forever. slow start, but they're certainly finishing up strong. for heavy rain in central and southern california, perhaps even a chance before the flooding is all said and done. in terms of your travel, it will be rough out toward the west. we have the watches out at the four corners and the central rockies and the wasatch range. as we take a look at the delays, you would see the worst delays in places out to the west. we were talking earlier about the heat, how it could have an unstabling effect on parts of the midwest. memphis, 82 degrees, 80 in chicago and st. patrick's day, 78 in denver, 63 in san francisco, new york and boston mainly in the 50s and 60s. that's a wrap on your forecast. randy, back to you. >> we call that a wrap. thank you, reynolds. apple lovers now have their hands on a new ipad. mario armstrong has one. oh, you are making me jealous there. right after the break, he's going to tell us if it lives up to the hype. it looks like it does. you're watching cnn saturday morning because news doesn't take the weekend off. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. the new ipad had apple fans lining up and waiting for hours. take a look here. this is the line at apple's flagship store in new york city. amanda has built a reputation on waiting in line for her ipad. she told her spot last year for $900. this year, $2,5 hup. i wonder if she got it. this is the scene in lopped. you better bet techkies in japan were lining up, too. and down under in sydney, australia, the line stretched around the city block. more than 200 people waited for hours at australia's largest apple stores. it's like new year's eve there, counting it down. so what is the verdict on the new ipad? mario armstrong has been giving us some information and giving his new ipad a workout. >> i have. are your fingers tired of it? what do you think of it? >> i'm worn out. look, my first impression owes this thing, randi, is that it lives up to the hype on the retina display. the display delivers. you can see it in photos, you can see it when you're playing games, you can see it in the movies that you watch. very, very, very haurful display. so i really, really like that. one of the other things that struck a cord with me is the ability to edit movies right on the kwies. now or the first time you can shoot movies in 1080 dp. so full hd. i have a story board i can easily put together. so any parent wants to do a quick birthday movie can easily put together a storyboard and create their own beautiful display. it has made it easier to mix things on this device. i'm not convinced that people need to run out and spend $600 on it, though. i think most people can probably hold off unless you really know what you're expecting to use it for. >> i thought that whole retina display was just a marketing term. but it sounds like you're impressed about it. what are other users saying about their experience? >> ipad users love it, for the motor part. i have found some people that said, look, i have an ipad the first generation. i will now bump up to the three. it is a big difference in terms of the size. it is thinner on the two and the three. i think it's a great jump from the ipad from the first one to the three. i'm not so convinced that you need to move from the 2 to the 3. if you have money, save it. but you have to know what you're going to use it for. i think if you're going to edit photos and the display means something to you, you want the new ipad. if you're just browsing the web and reading e-mail, you don't need that. >> good advice, mario. thank you. >> thank you, randi. appreciate it. i just want to make sure that people spend wisely. that's all i want to get the point across. if you don't have a computer at home, buy a computer before you buy a tablet, please. >> very good advice. thank you. >> thank you. >> mario always has the skool scoop on the latest technology. we're learning more about the soldier accused until the slooting rampage in afghanistan. the reaction from one of his neighbors, straight ahead. y soos tired, overworked eyes. and comforts them for up to ten hours. visine® tired eye relief. try now and save $3. lemon burst, blackberry harvest, pina colada... i can't imagine where she is... orange creme... 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[ female announcer ] yoplait original. 25 flavors for you to love. at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke. it is half past the hour. welcome back. i'm randi kaye. thanks for starting your day with us. checking top stories, this just into cnn. we just learned john denenya has died in germany. his death confirmed by a police spokesman. demjanjuk was sentenced to prison last year for accessory to murder. he was extradited from ohio two years ago. the soldier accused of going on a shooting spree in afghanistan has been now identified as robert bales. he was on his fourth deployment when the shootings occurred. we'll have much more on this developing story and a live report, straight ahead. more violence is being reported in syria today. da m damascus is the location of the most recent explosions. it's blaming terrorists and saying the attacks targeted air force intelligence offices. now to the latest on the soldiers being held with 16 soldiers in afghanistan. this morning, some of the people who knew staff sergeant robert bales are speaking out. athena jones is watching the developments in washington for us. athena, we're learning much more about bales from his friends and neighbors. what are they saying? >> we know robert baels is a 38-year-old father with two young children. he lived in lake tap washington, just outside of tacoma. he had done three tours in iraq and was on his fourth tour in afghanistan. his lawyer and his neighbors described sergeant bales as a family man, as a loving husband. we'll hear more of what one of his neighbors had to say. >> i was completely blown