after a standoff lasting nearly 24 hours, reuters is reporting french police have begun an assault on the apartment where a self-described al qaeda militant accused of killing seven people is holed up. just moments ago three loud blasts were heard at the site of the stand-off. the suspect apparently confessing to the killings of three french paratroopers, a jewish rabbi and three jewish children over the past ten days. dan rivers is live. dan, i guess you could hear the shots. what's the very latest you're able to figure out is happening? >> reporter: yeah, i mean we heard these three loud explosions about 20 minutes ago. there were definite kind of flashes in the sky giving us the impression it was flash bangs that they were throwing in. but there's been nothing since then, so we're slightly kind of perplexed as to what is actually going on now. reuters are reporting that the deputy mayor of toulouse has said the operation to go in has begun but there's very little in activity here on the ground but there is a huge perimeter around this apartment block where he is holed up. it's possible there's something going on on the other side we can't see at the moment. this is the view we can see down here. we believe at the end of this road toward the left as you look at the screen is where this apartment block is and that's where we heard these explosions coming from. but nothing in the way of increased police activity on the ground and it's been getting on for 20 hours, 21 hours since this began. one would assume that they would want to get this over with tonight. one would guess they would want to go in when he is the most exhausted and the least alert and try to finish this off. they have made it very clear that they want to take him alive and bring him to justice, and he is completely surrounded by hundreds of armed specialists, french police officers. i don't think there's any chance of him getting out. it's just a question of whether he vendosurrenders or there is shootout. there's already within one gun battle with the police, injuring two officers. now they're hoping they can take him out alive. >> dan, i'm curious, whether your sense of they want him dead or alive or what your sense is. we do have some amateur video that has just come in. this is video that is supposedly of the alleged suspect who, as you can see here, obviously this is before now, but this is a video of the man that is suspected, mohammed mehra, of killing the seven people. we're seeing him drag racing a car it looks like with friends, doing some car racing in a dirt area. you can see him obviously, a young man as we now know of algerian origin. dan, what's your sense of this dead or alive question and how hard french police want to take him alive? >> reporter: they absolutely want to take him alive. i think that is essential. the last thing they want to do is to enable his followers or those that subscribe to his brand of extremism to say that he has been martyred in the process of this sort of terrorist spree. i think they're desperate to put him on trial to find out what motivated him, who he was working with, if there are others out there. there's a whole treasure trove of intelligence that they could get from him that i'm sure they are desperate to get. the last thing they want to do is to have him be killed, and that's why they have waited for so long until it appears now that they look like they're going to try to go in and take him out alive. >> all right. dan rivers, thank you very much. dan rivers reporting from toulouse. i want everyone to know dan will come back as we get more. it's a rapidly developing situation. it's possible there could be resolution. as you heard dan say, three shots heard about 20 minutes ago, so it's unclear exactly what the situation is. i do want to let you know that mohammed mehra, the suspect, made a phone call today from that apartment where he's been holed up. he called one person. that person's name is ebb ebba colondo. she's going to be our guest later on this hour to talk about what he said to her, what his tone was, whether he was sorry, whether he admitted to this. she will be our guest coming up in just a few moments and dan will be back if we get more information on the situation, right now the stand-off at the apartment complex. our other top story is stopping awe threat to the homeland. given what happened in france, this is of rising importance to the united states. today five counterterrorism experts from the fbi, the nypd, the dea and the treasury department testified before the house homeland security committee today. france's horrific attack on soldiers and jewish children is a big part of the reason for the focus here, but also there was the recent targeting of israeli diplomats in india, georgia and thailand. all that is top of mind. preventing a terror attack like a lone attack is a priority for officials as well. they testified about surveillance on new york city since 2003 and gave a couple more examples about a particular threat. one in september, 2008, during the u.n. general assembly. members of the iranian delegation were seen photographing grand central railroad tracks. he also cited september, 2010, again during the u.n. general assembly, four employees of the iran broadcasting company interviewed after photographing and videotaping the water line and structure area of the wall street heliport landing pad. this could have been completely innocent. but the obama administration has been vigilant, charging two men, a naturalized u.s. citizen holding iranian and u.s. passports and a member of iran's revolutionary guard with planning to assassinate the saudi ambassador to the u.s. in a busy restaurant last fall. officials say the plot was blocked by officials and it was the first time in more than 30 years that a foreign power has been accused of plotting a political assassination in the united states capital. the incidents raise important questions and so does this chilling warning from mitchell silver, the nypd's director of intelligence analysis. >> as the pressure on iran continues to mount, or if war breaks out, iran may choose to strike the united states for the reasons already mentioned, new york city may present the ideal target. >> matthew levitt also testified at the hearing today, a former deputy assistant secretary at the treasury department and former fbi counterterrorism analyst. i spoke to him just a few moments ago and i asked him about the likelihood after tax in the u.s. >> it could be. there certainly already is a shadow war going on between iran and the west, israel, the united states. some of the attacks abroad we understand were targeting u.s. interests as well in one of the thailand attacks. in the event that there's a strike in iran and possibly even if just iran believes that that's imminent, there could be attacks in the homeland. it's not agiven but it's definitely possible. >> i want to ask you about those. you just mentioned the word shadow war. in your testimony you said clearly america and its allies are already involved in a shadow war with iran. it is no longer clear that iran seize carrying out an attack in the united states as crossing some sort of red line. how so? >> well, not only has there been tit for tat attacks, whether it's viruses targeting iran's centrifuges, but now we had the plot at the end of last year where iranian agents tried to target the saudi ambassador here in washington at lunchtime at a prominent restaurant where we know from the intercepts that they were aware that this would kill innocents, including u.s. senators who frequent that restaurant, and that didn't bother them at all. so it appears some iranian leaders now see an attack in the u.s. in the homeland as no longer crossing a red line and that's obviously of concern to law enforcement here. >> certainly we're talking about president obama's administration has filed charges in that case against the naturalized american citizen, iranian born, who they say with the iranian government's support and backing was coordinating that attack. is that case in particular relevant to iran's thinking right now? >> i think it demonstrates where iranian leaders are in terms of their willingness to carry out these types of attacks. by our indicting one of the individuals or even treasuries designating several more for their roles, i don't think that pushes iran to want to do this anymore. it clearly is interested in carrying out these attacks. the question is whether iran itself or hezbollah might carry out an attack in the homeland especially in the event of an attack on iran's nuclear program. >> i want to talk about hezbollah, obviously a big topic today in the hearing. today the dea -- a dea official talking about 70 used car dealerships that they think may be involved with hezbollah and financing of terrorists. how big of a threat is hezbollah in the united states? >> well, hezbollah has a significant presence here, both in terms of people who are sympathetic and supporters and even trained operatives, some who have military experience, training in iran. so they have people here who could carry out attacks if they wanted to but primarily they see the u.s. as a cash cow where they raise money. there are other ways to carry out attacks. sometimes they send in operatives from abroad that could leverage their relationships with criminal elements which are extensive here in north america, so there's lots of ways this could play out. >> how many cells, how many hezbollah operatives? you referred to george tenet back in 2002, the former cia director, saying hezbollah was a direct threat to the u.s. homeland, so has it grown? is it bigger? and if so, how much? >> several congressmen asked me that question this morning. we don't know the exact number, but we know it's enough. we know there are enough people here that have military training and many more who are supporters and could be called upon or in some cases could be forced by extortion to do things they don't want to do. a lot of people here have families back in lebanon. if hezbollah approached them and said do this or else your family could suffer, that could leverage a whole other layer of hezbollah support. >> matt, thank you for your time. phil mudd joins us now and thomas sanderson. let me start with you, phil. is this threat any greater than it was when george tenet talked about it ten years ago or is it just now everyone is talking about iran and hezbollah, so it's just more rhetoric than anything else? >> first i think you have to differentiate between iran and hezbollah, two very different organizations. not the same partnership we might have seen in the early '80s when hezbollah was bombing embassies and killing marines. we focus on hezbollah as a terrorist organization. they own lebanese politics now in a way they didn't 30 years ago. in that sense, hezbollah is a different adversary than they were when george tenet spoke. the second and final thing is irans different as well. what we've seen in the past year is that attempt on the saudi ambassador in washington and also attempts across the world in places like thailand, so they're showing capability is one thing. the real difference is they're showing the intent to go after people in ways they weren't five, ten years ago. >> thomas, would you agree with that, that they are showing the intent? and if so, what would be the potential risks or types of attacks that they might try in the united states? >> well, i agree with phil. certainly the intent is there and the capability is up for the iranians. i agree they view hezbollah in a way differently than they have in the past so that forces the iranians to increase their capabilities and their ability to reach into the united states or to hit u.s. interests in other parts of the world. so i think it is something we need to pay closer attention to, but to make a distinction between these two groups. >> i'm curious, though. of course iran denies all of this and it does seem -- there's so much rhetoric out there right now that, you know, is it possible, phil, that they're really not involved with any of these things? that people are saying they're involved with, whether in georgia or india or thailand or the saudi ambassador? >> i'm a skeptical analyst, but i wouldn't buy that in a heartbeat. first of all, iran has a history of assassination operations going back to the '80s. they were assassinating people in europe. this was pretty brazen. in european countries that they were trying to build partnerships with. now we have operations against the iranians, for example, against their nuclear facilities. you have assassinations of iranian scientists in tehran and then the same techniques sort of magnetized bombs used to try to kill israeli diplomats in places like india and you want to tell me that's not iran? i don't buy it. >> all right, gentlemen, thank you very much. we appreciate your perspective tonight. drawing conclusions about the blunder by mitt romney's adviser. will he be able to shake it off? our own miguel marquez interviews a city counselor that murdered his wife. an amazing story of war and redemption. and the latest developments in the trayvom martin killing. was the death inevitable under florida law? fore! no matter what small business you are in, managing expenses seems to... get in the way. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere. save time and get back to what you love. the latest innovation. only for ink customers. learn more at chase.com/ink oh dear... oh dear! ohh dear... i'm not sure exactly what happened here last night. i was out helping people save money on their car insurance. 2 more! you're doing it! aren't they doing great?! hiiiiiii!! come sweat with me! keep going richard. keep sweating!! geico. fifteen minutes could save you sweat! sweat! fifteen percent or more on car insurance. i'm michael bazinet, president of creative digital imaging of bangor, maine. we have customers all over the united states. we rely on the postal service for everything that we do. the eastern maine processing facility is vital to our operation and our success. if we lose this processing facility we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. we would have to consider layoffs as a result of that. closure of this plant will affect all of us. ♪ mcallen, texas. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere, is always headed somewhere. to give it a sense of direction, at&t created a mobile asset solution to protect and track everything. so every piece of equipment knows where it is, how it's doing or where it goes next. ♪ this is the bell on the cat. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ all right, a day after winning the illinois primary, mitt romney picked up a big endorsement from florida governor jeb bush but he's also facing some impairment for a remark his top adviser made here on cnn. eric fehrnstrom was looking forward to the fall but he used an unfortunate choice of words to describe the campaign strategy. >> well, i think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. everything changes. it's almost like an etch-a-sketch. you can kind of shake it up and we start all over again. >> well, his opponents, of course, seized on that moment saying it proves mitt romney has no core convictions. you think this and then shake it and you go over here and you get the point. john avalon is here. we have pictures today of newt gingrich carrying around an etch-a-sketch, rick santorum in a car looking at an etch-a-sketch. so they were quick to seize upon this. why is this getting so much pickup? >> this gets a lot of pickup because it goes to the heart of political communications. this resonates because it deepens an existing deepening narrative about mitt romney. that's the line his competitors have been trying to make over and over again. it was compounded by the sib of vivid language and a visual metaphor. immediately etch-a-sketch, that gives something to literally hold on to. and that gaffe stemmed on what was objectively a good day for the romney campaign. big win in illinois, big endorsement from jeb bush. >> right. though i wonder how much of it is us, our world. we love talking about it. i don't know. there's something else you've been really looking at which is fund-raising and john has been covering this second by second but also passionate about it. romney had a big month but you talked about how he spent everything he earned. what does that mean? that says more than the etch-a-sketch. >> in politics, you follow the money. if you look at the money raised last month, mitt romney is spending more money than he's taking in. romney, the management consultant, would not be too happy with romney the presidential campaign. but he's spending more than all of his opponents. it has served his campaign very, very well. so he's spending what he takes in but in a very strong position. >> what about santorum and gingrich's latest numbers? >> newt has a real problem. right now his debt exceeds cash on hand. santorum, on the other hand, is raising more than he's taking in -- than he's spending. that's a good sign. exempt you see how far he's lagging mitt romney. one of the fund-raising measures, he's selling those snazzy sweater vefrts. $100 a pop. we did a little sweater vest math for folks at home. right now he trails mitt romney $4.7 million. he's going to have to sell 47,000 sweater vests to close that gap. that's a real problem. >> that's more than someone wants to store in his wyoming retreat. thanks so much to john avalon. now a story that shocked the town of pacific, washington. many in this small community have known 64-year-old gary hulsey for decades. he's a father, a grandfather, a member of the city council. what most people don't know is that he is also a convicted murderer. when this story first broke a few weeks ago, local media pounced. >> i killed without a second thought. >> a stunning revelation rocking a small town. >> i was shocked to hear about it. >> his dark past uncovered only after being elected twice. >> so we decided to dig a little deeper, and our miguel marquez sat down with gary and quickly discovered there is a lot more to this man than his personal story. >> reporter: gary hulsey, a vietnam vet, has been to hell and back. >> you had about as intense an experience a young man, a teenager, can have. >> true. >> you had to kill a man with your bare hands? >> at one point, yes. >> reporter: hulsey was 17 years old when he joined the marines. a kid. three tours and more than three years later he came home battered, bruised but determined to leave the past behind. he finished college, started his own contracting business, but vietnam wasn't done with him. >> how much did you drink? >> i'd go through a fifth of whiskey a day. >> and why did you drink so much? >> so i could pass out at night without having to have nightmares. >> reporter: eight years after hulsey returned from vietnam, just three weeks after getting married, he was drinking heavily on the night of october 24th, 1978. he did the unthinkable. >> i passed out around, the last i remember, about 10:00. when i woke up, she was in bed next to me and the knife i kept under my pillow. the knife never jams. i kept a combat knife under my pillow and it was stuck in her chest so i called the authorities. >> what did you tell them? >> i think i killed her, i don't know. >> his experience is extreme but familiar. more than a million veterans have returned from iraq and afghanistan, nearly 20% of returning service members may suffer posttraumatic stress disorder, ptsd. as much as 25% depression. one study indicated 2