0 but is that party over as a result of a rift within the gop? and coming up at the top of the hour, the facebook mom who posted this, "what's your excuse" picture. she's live to talk about it coming up in the next hour of the cnn newsroom. what's my excuse? two convicted killers on the run after an embarrassing blunder sets them free. >> the inmates were released based on those court orders that we received. >> now, a nationwide manhunt is on to get them back in prison. a 14-year-old teen with autism vanishes in new york. now, the desperate search to bring him home. >> a lot of people feel my pain. a lot of mothers, a lot of families. it can happen to them. >> can his mother's voice help police track him down? plus, the cover photo some say has a little too much cover. >> hopefully, it's not a message that full-figured women are not meant to be seen. >> melissa mccarthy calls it awesome, so is the backlash baseless. >> she's the hot mom of three who set off a firestorm on the internet. >> anything that's inspiration, motivation, and i look up to her. >> what this fit former bikini model did that has so many other mothers fired up. good morning, and welcome to the weekend. i'm anna ka bare a. >> and i'm victor blackwell. you're in the cnn newsroom. a lot is happening this morning. we'll start with the search for two convicted killers on the run in florida. >> prison officials say these two inmates sentenced to life, charles walker, joseph jenkins, gained their freedom by gaining the system. they used fake release papers that included a forged signature from a judge. the men played the dupe so well, they even registered as a jail as felons after they got out. >> cnn's nick valencia is live at the franklin county correction institute where the men were supposed to be locked up. nick, how long have they been free now? >> reporter: good morning, one man has been free since late last month, the other at least a week and a half. the orange county sheriff's department said they have legitimate reason to believe those two men are still in the state of florida. >> there have been tips being received in terms of legitimate spottings. >> reporter: two convicted killers on the loose, days after they use the forged documents to get an early release from prison. but how did they dupe the system? that's a question no one seems to be able to answer, and a mistake no one wants to own. >> so i'm not here to opponent fingers at anyone. there will be plenty of that to go around eventually, i'm sure. >> reporter: in between the fingers of evangelina is documentation from the florida department of corrections. it said his release was beyond their control. >> we are in shock. we're frightened. and we feel let down that the system did let us down for -- as far as letting the murderer go free. i understand the state attorney -- the state attorney and the judge had nothing to do with it. but somebody -- i don't know was it an inside job besides -- because i don't think charles did this. whoever did it, helped them. i do believe that. they had to have help. >> and this is somewhat ingenious. >> reporter: it was the fake signature of the judge that ordered the release. the high-profile judge said he's not entirely surprised. >> people, particularly people with criminal minds, come up with ingenious ways to beat the system. they have nothing but time on their hands to think of things. >> reporter: the department of corrections, which allowed the release, said it was only following procedures and was, quote, not at fault. we don't have the statute or authority to question the court's decision, a spokeswoman said. this will be a lesson learned for all involved. the florida department of corrections has since made changes to the process of early releases. they tell cnn they were requi requiring verifications from the sentencing judge. lost in all of this are the victims' families. we heard from one yesterday who said he's terrified that his father's killer is on the loose. they want less finger-pointing and more answers. ana, victor? >> all right, nick, i'm sure people want to make sure these guys are back behind bars. >> reporter: absolutely. now, imagine living through this nightmare for more than two weeks, a mother and father have been searching for their lost teenage sons since october 5th. he has autism and cannot communicate verbally. all we know is the 14-year-old was last seen running out of his school in new york. >> ever since then, hundreds of police officers and volunteers working around the clock have been hunting through tunnels and subway stations and sewer systems even for any signs of him. on thursday, avonte's mother said she believes her son is alive, and that someone is holding him. >> he's a special boy. he's a loving boy, he's a caring child. whoever has him out there, please be kind to him and let him go. let him come home to his family. >> and the family is holding a news conference at this hour. we are told avonte's mother, brother, father are all there. no new details in the search. we do know it is extensive, continuing through the weekend. a source tells cnn that police, for the first time, have now brought in the assistance of cadaver dogs. congress took the country to the very edge of the fiscal cliff before finally agreeing on a plan to reopen the government and to avoid default. >> but the drama isn't over yet. we could face another budget crisis in a matter of months. >> chris lawrence joins us from the world war ii veterans memorial, and, chris, what's the mood like in washington? >> reporter: oh, washington is a hole, victor. just as bitter and pessimistic as ever. the mood here at the world war 2 memorial, much better today. this was the site of so many protests and showdowns during the shutdown, and here you can see hundreds of veterans and tourists kwoming back to the mall to see the world war ii memorial. the big question this morning is how much longer can it last? the federal government is back open for business, but for how long? >> this is just for 90 days. after the 90 days, then what? >> reporter: all the last deal did was set new deadlines early next year to come to a real agreement. do you think there's any chance that the folks in that building will do a better job of compromising this time? >> they have to. >> reporter: steve ellis predicts there won't be any grand bargain. >> i'd be happy to see a compromise. >> not the huge deal that rewrites the tax code or finds a way to fund social security for the long term. >> they clearly can't deal with the big issues, so we need to deal with them in steps. >> reporter: like closing small tax loopholes and reducing farm subsidies and farm insurance. worried veterans are working to have their funds fixed. >> we need a permanent fix, not the temporary band-aids of deals. >> reporter: americans are skeptical. >> they're going to play the same games. i don't think that anything is going to change. >> both republicans and democrats just -- they cannot get along. and honestly, i have no faith in them. >> reporter: in january, both sides may have more incentive to deal. that's when an across-the-board spending cuts kick in, especially at the pentagon. >> the combination of sequester and this shutdown has hurt our national defense. [ clock ticking ] >> reporter: and the clock is once again ticking. >> let's negotiate. what are we waiting for? let's get this done. >> reporter: it sounds like good advice for both sides. the republican-led house of representatives did pass a budget that calls for about $4 trillion in spending cuts. the democratic-led senate passed a similar budget, but theirs calls for about $1 trillion in new taxes. by mid-december, both of the sides will have to find a way to reconcile those ideas to come up with one budget that the president can sign. victor, ana? >> good to see the bitterness has subvieded at one place, the world war ii veterans memorial. thank you so much, chris. >> yeah. her every move is analyzed, scrutinized, evaluated for clues about 2016. we're talking about hillary clinton stepping back into politics today, and that's feeding more talk of another presidential bid. how much protein