though, new terror concerns as we approach the first anniversary of the daring raid that led to the death of osama bin laden. there is no credible information suggesting al qaeda or its allies are planning attacks tied to the anniversary. but the concerns are real enough that president obama reviewed the threat picture just this morning with this top national security advisers. our pentagon correspondent chris lawrence is here with the details. what is the biggest threat intel officials are most worried about. >> they are very concerned right now about a renewed effort to target western aviation. in fact, the fbi, homeland security, and the u.s. military's northern command sent this memo out to law enforcement agencies across the country. basically alerting them to the possibility of this threat. specifically, they think the biggest threat is coming from al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. that is the most active al qaeda group. it's also the group that has tried to attack to u.s.-bound jet liners in the last few years. >> and, chris, is this a running concern? or is it hyped up, exaggerated? do they believe more of a concern because of the coming anniversary, may 1st, of bin laden's death? >> what they have seen is an increase in talk on some of these extremist websites. in fact, one specifically made a threat targeting the pentagon on may 2nd. and later seemed to target the secretary of defense leon panetta, as well. but they think that right now there is not a specific tie to bin laden's death. what do they mean by that? well, when you take a look at home grown extremists, those who are already right here in the united states, they think that, yes, it would be a symbolic victory to attain some sort of attack on this anniversary. but they think if they have a plot in the works, they're not going to accelerate their timetable to meet this deadline. >> our pentagon correspondent chris lawrence, thanks so much. and this related development. a federal judge has ruled the pictures of osama bin laden's corpse should not be released saying, "a picture may be worth a thousand words, but this will have to sacrifice." a critical barometer of the state of the economy will be unveiled tomorrow morning when the government makes its fist estimate of economic growth for the first quarter. the consensus is a growth rate of about 2% in the first three months of 2012 which is fairly anemic. three consecutive weeks of high filings of unemployment benefits suggest a soft jobs market and perhaps a spring slowdown in the broader economy. the washington bureau chief of the "new york times" crunching the numbers. last week, 380,000 people initial claims. two weeks ago, 389,000, a high number, 388,000 before that, economists say 350,000 or below make them feel more optimistic. the question is, is this a blip or a sign of a dip? >> we don't know yet. what was so troubling about today's number, a lot of people thought the prior two weeks was a blip, the timing of easter, the way these were calculated. and we didn't see them fall today. and when you put that on top of the last jobs report, which was disappointing, there's reason to worry some combination of europe and the oil market and the usual aftereffects of the financial crisis are once again holding back the recovery. >> and obviously americans who either want to upgrade their jobs or find a job are concerned about this. the president has to be concerned both from a policy and political standpoint. you mentioned jobs. as you see the unemployment filings we'll get in a couple of weeks. we'll get the next unemployment report. in january, the economy created 275,000 jobs, pretty good numbers, they're not great. and then in march, you had that, whoa, 120,000. if april follows in the ballpark of march, what does that tell you about the bigger economy? >> so if these job less numbers make you worry that april is going to follow march. we don't know for sure. it doesn't pick up hiring at all. it's just layoffs. but if april follows that, it does suggest we're not really taking off. we're just sort of moving along here, getting better at a very slow rate. and given how deep the hole was, how big the recession is, that's worry? for the job market, as well. and it's worrisome for the incumbents, the president. >> and you're a lot more susceptible to external factors like more europe, or some other unpredictable thing like an iranian foreign crisis? >> that's right. one of the problems is relatively little things can upset confidence. something in europe, which feels far away, can upset confidence because people are so scarred by the crisis. and so every time the growth rate comes down a little bit, it not only makes things not improving at a better rate, but reduces the margin for error going forward. >> appreciate your coming, help us understand this. >> thanks. >> we'll watch the gdp report first thing tomorrow morning. the debate over the house republican budget. how would jesus vote? that budget's architect, paul ryan of wisconsin visited the georgetown university today to rebut catholic critics who say ryan's proposed cuts in medicare and other social safety net programs run counter to the church's teachings. >> i suppose that there are some catholics who for a long time thought they had a monopoly of sorts. not exactly on heaven, but on the social teaching of our church. of course there can be differences among faithful catholics on this. the work i do as a catholic holding office conforms to the social doctrine as best i can make of it. >> congressional correspondent kate bolduan. how was the speech received? >> paul ryan's speech was met with protests both inside and out at georgetown university. they were not huge or disruptive protests, but his recent comments that his catholic faith has guided him in planning the 2013 republican budget caused an uproar among some catholic groups. like the u.s. conference of catholic bishops, as well as georgetown faculty. they're criticizing him for linking catholic social teaching to a budget that these critics say go against catholic teaching. they condemn some of the provisions of the plan aimed at reducing the deficit. for future seniors as well as cuts in food aid and other programs for the poor while at the same time cutting taxes for the wealthy. they're arguing that paul rooya is unfairly targeting the poor in this budget and that does not follow catholic teaching. he defends the budget today saying it does embody the catholic teaching taking power away from bureaucrats and give it back more to local communities. talking to some of the catholic critics did not seem more persuaded as they left the speech today. as you know, though, john, this has become an important political document, as well. >> very, very important political document in this campaign. ahead, 194 days to election day. thanks, see you bit later. 90 faculty members sent ryan a letter objecting to his approach saying we'd be remiss in our duty to you and our students if we did not challenge your misuse of catholic teaching to defend a budget plan that decimates plans to families, rally weakens for the elderly and sick and gives more tax breaks to the wealthiest few. thomas reese among to whoez signed the letter. thank you for joining us on this night. after listening to congressman ryan explain his side of this and to say sure, this diversity, do you have a better understanding? or are you still in disagreement? >> well, i think we were happy to have congressman ryan come to georgetown university because it stimulated a discussion of how our faith, how our values should influence what we do in the public sphere. now, if he presented his budget in one of my classes or in a class on catholic social teaching, we'd have to flunk him. because it doesn't represent what catholic social teaching is all p about. as the bishops have made clear. you cannot balance the budget on the backs of the poor. let's look at other programs that can be cut. and, you know, and let's look at the possibility of raising taxes. >> you say the possibility of raising taxes, that's all part of the debate. one of the rebuttals would be, okay, but if we don't do anything, then we pass a huge debt on to your students and to their children and that is counter to the church's teachings. does he have a point there? >> absolutely. the debt is a really serious issue that needs to be confronted. too bad it wasn't confronted, you know, over the last ten years when we were in economic prosperity. instead, we continued to run deficits, we went into two wars, we cut taxes, and we extended medicare entitlements with medicare d without paying for it. you know, in the good times, we're supposed to run surpluses and put money aside for the bad times that we're in right now. we didn't do that. >> if you look at public opinion polling right now, the catholic vote's usually a big swing vote. president obama carrying it nationally right now early on, 51% to 45%. if you do a breakdown, though, among religious catholics, governor romney has a slight advantage. among catholics, it's the president who has an advantage. this constituency is always important. how active do you think the church is going to be? are you going to be in this debate going forward? or do you get reluctant to be in the middle of it when we're making that kind of a choice? >> well, i think that as catholics, as clergymen, we don't want to endorse candidates. we don't want to get involved in endorsing political parties, but what we do want to get involved in is talking about the issues. because they're moral issues. the budget is a moral document because it has an impact on people, especially poor people. we want to talk about the issues, but stay away from endorsing candidates. >> appreciate your coming in tonight. thank you, sir. we'll continue our closer look at the defining issues of the 2012 campaign. next, the democrats claim mitt romney has an outdated back to the future world view. also ahead, john edwards' lawyers try to destroy the credibility of a star witness testifying against the former senator presidential hopeful. sarah... will you marry me? 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. standard keyless access, and standard leather-trimmed seats, then your choice is obvious. the lexus es. it's complete luxury in a class full of compromises. see your lexus dealer. like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. vice president biden delivered an address today praising president obama's handling of foreign policy and suggesting mitt romney is stuck in the past. and sometimes, i don't know it's a slip of the tongue or a mindset, but he even refers to russians as soviets. governor romney is mired in a cold war mind set. >> a conference call to take issue with the vice president's speech, but a top romney adviser, well, listen. >> we're seeing the soviets pushing into the arctic with no response from us. >> the soviet union, if you haven't read your history books dissolved in 1991. did the president and romney really have different approaches to iran and syria? in chicago, the foreign policy adviser to the romney campaign dan senor, and the former undersecretary of defense. let's start, dan, to you first. the secretary general of the united nations just moments ago said he is appalled that he's raising concerns that syria is just ignoring its commitment under the cease-fire. in a romney presidency, if romney were president today, would he go outside the united nations? would he act unilaterally? >> well, first of all, he wouldn't outsource our decision making on syria to russia and china. really russia that has paralyzed the process at the u.n. security council. and the only thing they've been able to support is some dumbed down version of what the secretary general is speaking to. but more importantly what governor romney has spoken to was organizing and working with allies in the country to identify opposition leaders we can work with and members of the opposition movement who we can fund and train and get arms to. russia is funding and arming the syrian army that is responsible for a blood letting in syria, the likes of what we have not seen anywhere in the world in years. you can go back to the -- >> is dan right, michelle? has this president outsourced our foreign policy? letting russia and china make the world and in part of that the united states in effect useless when it comes to syria? >> absolutely not. when you look at everything from how we've handled iraq, afghanistan, iran, al qaeda, and counterterrorism, and libya now syria, the arab spring more broadly, the u.s. is in a leadership role. this president understands the unique role that the u.s. has to play. >> but what now? if the united states is in a leadership role but supports the mission which has done nothing. forgive me, has done nothing except give assad cover. what now? when you have the secretary general saying it's failed? >> well, i think what you have to do first is allow the diplomatic effort to try to work. if that does fail, then you're in a position to put together a coalition to increase pressure even further beyond what's already been done and take necessary action. so this has to be done in the right way if the u.s. were to go off recklessly and unilaterally and militarily, that would totally change the dynamics of the situation in a way that would be harmful to our entrance. >> let's listen to the two candidates, the president of the united states and governor romney talking about keeping iran from getting a nuclear weapon. >> and i will take no options off the table to achieve that goal. but a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible. and far better. >> as president, i'll be ready to engage in diplomacy. but i will be just as ready to engage our military might. israel will know that america stands at its side in all conditions and in all consequence. >> dan, i know governor romney says in his view president obama was slow to increase the sanctions on iran. where we are today, let's focus on where we are today, escalating sanctions against iran, the conversations with the israeli government. would governor romney be doing anything different if he were president today? >> it's not just governor romney who says the obama administration has been slowing the sanctions. leading democrats in the house and senate have made that point too. as it relates to the message we'd be sending to iran right now we'd be doing right now, romney administration is one, while the sanctions should be taking hold and we should be hopeful that there's some peaceful diplomatic solution to this, john, none of these tracks have a shot if the iranians do not believe the threat of military force is credible. to be clear, we are not suggesting that the military option should be used. no one is saying we should be unilaterally engaging in military action. however, the president and his senior surrogates and members of administration for the last year or two have made crystal clear that the military option is effectively off the table. yes, he uses the language it's on the table. but every time there's a discussion about possible military action, secretary panetta in particular over the past year has talked about a terrible mistake it would be for the united states or israel to take military action. it doesn't mean we shouldn't be taking military action, but we want to leave them with the view it's a credible threat. how else are we going to focus their minds on a non-military solution. >> dan says the president, this administration has not convinced the iranians it's serious. is he right? >> look, the president has been very clear at the apac conference and numerous other times the option is on the table, but it's not time for that option to be exercised yet. and we have to pursue sanctions. we are at the most crippling sanctions that we've ever seen against any country. and particularly iran. we're pursuing that, we need to let that run its course before you rush to military action given the very severe consequences and downsides of doing that. on israel, if i may -- this administration has been a staunch ally of israel. in fact, one of -- in one of my good-bye meetings with the administrator of defense in israel. he said i want to thank you, there's no u.s. administration that has ever done more for the security of the state of israel than this one. let's be clear on that point. >> 194 days, i believe, to continue this conversation and debate. thank you so much for coming in tonight. we will continue the conversation in the days and weeks ahead. still ahead, more on the finger pointing the atrocity on the cease-fire in cizisyria. the rise of what will soon be new york city's tallest building. see life in the best light. [music] transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. the utterly shocking sensation of being on a business trip where everything goes right. backed up by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. feel the advantage. feel the hamptonality. here's kate bolduan with the latest news you need to know now. hello. >> hello, everyone. let's get you caught up on headlines. osama bin laden's three widows and children are on their way to saudi arabia. an attorney for two of the women says pakistan expelled 14 members of bin laden's family thursday night nearly a year after u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s killed bin laden. and the international court today found former liberian president guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes. a civil war which left 50,000 people dead or missing. taylor is the first former head of state to be convicted of war crimes since the nuremberg trial in 1946. he will be sentenced next month. and higher gas prices helped exxon mobil earn about $9.5 billion in the first three months of the year, that's actually 11% less than the oil joint earned in the first quarter of last year. the company says its exploration costs are up and oil production is down. check this out. check out this time lapse video of the construction of the new one world trade center tower from 2004 through 2012. that's some serious time lapse. earthcam.com released the video to celebrate one world trade to becoming the tallest building in new york city. at the current rate of construction that officially happens next monday. now if construction could always go that fast, i could get my home renovated a lot quicker. >> and i'd get my new studio before september. i was up on the 71st floor of that last time i was up at the world trade center area. where the memorial was being built. that's a view. you want an office with a view, that's where to be. >> can't wait to see it. john edwards' lawyer accused his one-time aid about exaggerating. rupert murdoch admits his british papers covered up phone hacking. and for what it's worth, he says he's sorry. man: 1939 -- my parents ran across an ad for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said