of the secret service prostitution scandal goes public with lurid new details. sh he says the scandal has ruined her life too. we begin with today's much anticipated update on the economic recovery. the numbers say the recovery is still alive but barely. the unemployment rate ticked down to 8.1%. mostly because thousands of people left the labor force. employers added 115,000 new jobs in april. tens of thousands fewer than most experts predicted. any way you or the presidential candidates look at it, the numbers could be better. >> there are still a lot of folks out of work, which means that we have to do more. if we are going to recover all the jobs lost during the recession and if we are going to build a secure economy that strengthens the middle class, we are going to have to do more. >> anything over 8%, near 8%, anything over 4% is not cause for celebration. this is a sad time in america when people who want work can't find jobs. >> all right. our chief business correspondent, ali velshi and chief political analyst,loria borger are here. i want to start with you, ali. the labor department says 342000 left the labor force. what does it mean? >> this is the labor department's estimation of how this works. first of all, i have been saying for years, we have is to pay less attention to the unemployment percentage and pay more attention to jobs created. 342,000 left the labor force, baby boomers that are leaving the labor force. younger people, a lot are staying in school because they know jobs are not available to them, the slowing pace of women entering the workforce. since the '60s, every year, we have seen an increasing proportion of women getting in the workforce. women are now more than 50% of the workforce in the united states. here is an interesting one. this comes from the labor department. i have not researched this as fully as i would like to. they say more hispanic women have entered the population but they are taking care of three generations in their own homes and are not entering the workforce, the formal workforce as a result. that's the labor department's explanation of this. the republicans explanation of this is that people are getting ec they can't find it. as a result, they are leaving the workforce. they are not counted in the proportion. that's why the unemployment number has been reduced, candy. >> so we know that -- how many joerddedisstk it gains during the entire term of president obama is he in the black or red when it comes to jobs? >> it is very interesting you asked that. if you go back to january of 2009 when president obama took office, from about 4 million jobs have been lost and about 4 million have been regained as of this morning. that leaves 572,000 to be regained if you want to look at what was lost under president obama. in order to get to a zero point, with he need to create 95,000 jobs per month. this may be a little math that doesn't make sense to most people. if president obama is facing the accusation that under his presidcy, the has be a net loss ojobs, which is something republican candidates have levied against him, he will be by election day have the ability to say, no, under my presidency, all jobs lost have been created. he is 30,000 private jobs away from saying more have been created than lost. politically, while this was not a great jobs report for the president. it enls him closer to being able to defeat one republican accusation about more jobs being president. >> i want to bring in our gloria borger. i remember so well when the first president, george bush, was defeated in a large part on the economy, which we found out later was actually beginning to improve at the time he was defeated. so the problem here is it is all how the public perceives the economy is. >> it is. what you want is a public that feels optimistic, that feels hopeful, that feels that things are headed in the right direction. the obama administration doesn't have that right now. they have a majority of people who believe that things are headed in the wrong direction. they don't feel optimistic about the future of the country. and, pulse also shows that when you ask the question about who is better able to get us out of the economic ditch we have been in, president obama and mitt romney are at about parity. clearly, if you are part of the romney campaign, you are taking a look at these numbers and saying, this could be helpful. you have to be pretty nuanced about that, candy, because you can't seem to be rooting against an economic recovery. >> exactly. it also occurs to me that really what happens is we ought to take really close looks at the economy in some of these battleground states. >> we should. particularly the president is really doing the official, formal kickoff of his campaign in the state of ohio this weekend, candy. the unemployment rate in ohio, you see it there, 7.5%. that's, of course, lower than the national average. columbus unemployment, 6.8%. cleveland, 7.1. so you see that he is starting out in a state where he actually has a very good story to tell and, of course, as you point out, it happens to be one of the most important battleground states which both campaigns are going to really like to win. >> they would, indeed. gloria borger, ali velshi, let's do this again next month. thanks so much. >> to the slowly emerging outlines of the deal that could get chen guangcheng and his family to safety. the chinese government says cheng can study outside the country once he files the paperwork. new york university confirmed it is inviting him to be a visiting scholar. in beijing, secretary of state announced even more good news over a bad sound system. >> i am pleased that today our ambassador has spoken with him again. our embassy staff and our doctor had a chance to meet with him. over the course of the day, progress has been made to help him have the future that he wants. we will be staying in touch with him. >> secretary clinton leaves china tomorrow. >> cnn foreign affairs correspondent, jill dougherty, is traveling with her and joins us from beijing along with our stan grant. where are we now in the process? how quickly could chen actually leave the country with his family? >> she also expressed a note of caution. there is still a way to go here. the chinese have opened the door and said, yes, like other chinese, cheng can apply for a passport and seek a student visa for a trip to study in the united states. 300,000 or more students in china do that each year. there is a process there that is in place. they can follow. let's recall, candy, there was already another deal in place when cheng walked out of the embassy a couple of days ago. he thought he was safe and free then. he thought the u.s. and china had worked it out. within a matter of hours, he quickly went back on that. he has been lobbying ever since to try to get out of the country and find a means to circumvent this process. he is close. right now, we have to remember he is in a beijing hospital, still getting treatment and still surrounded by a heavy contingent of chinese security. >> stan, explain to me why the u.s. embassy staff was allowed to visit chen in the hospital? it seems to me yesterday they were not allowed in there to see him. today, they were allowed to get in. at least our time today. his wife also sfoek wipoke with embassy staff outside the hospital shall which wasn't allowed before. what happened to an abrupt turnaround. >> i would characterize it as baby steps while the doctor was able to get in and independently check him and see the health treatment that he is getting and see if he is getting the right treatment. the ambassador has not been able to. he has been able to reach him by phone and they have had a lengthy discussion. you recall that his wife met with officials. she had to come out of the hospital. it is interesting as well, candy, when you look at what's going on around the hospital itself. there is a very, very strong presence of security. they have been very vigorous in approaching this no-go zone. they have been dragged away overnight here in beijing. dozens of journalists have been called in. they issued a very stern warning by officials here. if you overstep the mark and go to the embassy, you could have your visas terminated. one of the ways i have been characterizing this, the outcomme be better than the actual process ilts self. remember the united states had this man in their care. they had him under their protection. they turned him back to the chinese, who see him as an enemy of the state. for china's part, its human rights is still so bad. they are continuing to lock people up. chen doesn't feel safe here. a lot of problems to be resolved. >> jill, yesterday, chen called into a congressional hearing here in washington and is he, i really want to meet with secretary clinton. i want to thank her face to face. how important was her involvement and her being in china at this point been to chen's fate? >> you know, candy, if you look at it from the outside, she was very quiet. in fact, it was -- there were no comment for quite a long time. behind the scenes, she was doing a lot. a lot of the strategic work, what do you have to do? she had to sign off on certain major decisions in this process. very fast-moving. there was one thing she did do very directly. that was in those meetings, top-level meetings at the big submit that they have been having about the economic insecurity. she talked to the president, hu jintao and win jiabao. that is more significant. win jiabao, the person who is more likely to want to support something like this. the person who is, i guess you would have to use the word loosely, the reformist wing of the reader shleadership. you make sure she made some type of direct int verngss and talked with them about this. >> jill, quickly, as you could, secretary clinton takes off, leaves china. chin is still there. the government says, put in the paperwork. forgive me for being a skeptic. what are the chances that that paperwork and a way to get into the u.s. get into the system and his leaving the country is put on indefinite hold? >> that's what we have been talking about all day and certainly everybody else is. will china uphold its side of the bargain? the u.s. officials have said that up to this point in that previous agreement that china did uphold its side of the deal and that indications are now as you can ceta in the media, in china, they are now openly reporting on this. they are depicting it as mr. chen is going to be aplowed to apply for a visa just as others can. they depicted it in a negative way. he goes to the united states. he is a trader. we are back here, the good guys that allowed him to go. they are preparing their people obviously for this step. one would have to surprise that it is likely to happen, although nothing ever i go guaranteed. >> i know. stan, you know that very well. stan grant, jill dougherty, thank you both very much. a u.s. citizen imprisoned in cuba since 2009 phoned wolf blitzer today. wolf is here next with details of his conversation with alan groves. later, what happened during this morning's closed-door meeting between mitt romney and rick santorum? >> he takes that endorsement very seriously and felt he had to have a one-on-one conversation with mitt romney about some of the critical issues he cares about. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there. plarnal american alan rose says he is no spy but he is being held for smuggling communication equipment into the country. rose isn't allowed to use the phone very often but earlier today, he called cnn's wolf blitzer from behind bars. here is some of the exclusive conversation. >> charged me with being a threat to the security and independence of the state, which it was laughable. if i weren't in this situation, i would be laughing about it, because i've got as much of a threat to the security in the state as my -- as the chair is that i am sitting on right now. >> wolf blitzer joins me now. so if he is not there for that, why does he think they picked him up and threw him in prison? >> he believes, and his lawyers believe, that the cubans were looking for some sort of pawn, because there are five cubans that the u.s. has convicted and are serving time in jail. one has been released. four others still in jail. he suspects that they are trying to get some sort of swap, release these five cubans in american prison for him and everyone can go on. the u.s. is not about to release these four others. one has been released but the four others, the u.s. is not about to release. >> does he see any kind of sign that that kind of a deal might be in the offing? >> i don't think he sees that. i don't think his lawyers. i have spoken to his lawyers, see any such deal. he is trying to get released at least on humanitarian grounds. he has a 90-year-old mother who is very sick in texas. he would like to see her. she can't travel. before she passes away. the u.s. did let one of these cubans get out of jail and go back to cuba to see an ailing relative and come back to the united states. he says. he told me in this interview, he would come back to cuba if they let him go to texas and see his mom. he would come back. >> that was one of the most emotional parts of your conversation with him when he spoke about his mother. i want our listeners to hear that. >> i have a 90-year-old mother who has inoperable lung cancer. she is not getting any younger. she is not getting any healthier. my lawyer and i have written on more than one occasion to the government of cuba requesting permission for me to visit her. i would return to cuba. you can quote me on that. >> the other thing that struck me out of this interview was that at one point, he called raul castro courageous. did you get the sense that you have to be nice to the folks that are holding you? >> he was praising him for some recent steps on the economy, on the cuban economy, some liberalization of some policies. he has been there for almost 2 1/2 years. what he is saying, obviously, i think he is trying to say things that would help him, maybe get released. you can't blame him. >> no, we certainly get that. we also get why they are trying to stir up some publicity here so we know he is down there. i was pleased the cubans allowed him to make this phone call. it wassen aencouragement. >> wolf blitzer, thanks so much. fascinating conversation. some u.s. troops heading to afghanistan got an unusual warning this afternoon. it was delivered in person bisect of defense, lee on pan n net ta. >> the woman whose night with the secret service agent ended badly for everyone. great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? 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[ laughing ] ♪ [ engine turns over ] [ male announcer ] the all-new subaru impreza®. experience love that lasts. ♪ welcome back. here is mary snow with the latest news you need to know right now. hey, mary. >> hey, there, candy. despite reports of violence across syria, a spokesman for u.n. and arab league special envoy says the latest peace plan is on track. members of the syrian opposition report at least 37 deaths today, including three people who appear to have died from injuries inflicted by torture. >> one person was killed, nearly 300 wounded in protests in downtown cairo. protesters threw rocks at security forces that retaliated with water cannons. demonstrators are upset with egypt military leadership for delaying the transition to military rule. check out this stranded truck driver in flint, michigan. heavy rain bombarded the highway as brandon jennikins was drivin to a produce market. he climbed to the top of the cab patiently waiting for rescuers as they navigated the murky waters. not sure if the potatoes had the same flight. co-founder, adam yauch from the beasty boys has died after a struggle with cancer. ♪ known to his fans as mca, had a tumor on his sal i vaer gland. he was 47 years old. >> wow, 47. that is very young to die. thanks so much, mary. we will see you later in the hour. coming up, the most detailed account so far of this morning's closed-door meeting between mitt romney and rick santorum. a live update as a week of dramatic testimony wraps up in the trial of john edwards. coffee doesn't have vitamins... unless you want it to. splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart ways to sweeten. same great taste. splenda® essentials™. see lioutdoors, or in.ight. same great taste. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. maybe, even a little better. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. visit your local jcp optical today to learn more about authentic transitions brand lenses that fit your life and start seeing what you've been missing. this half hour, a 101-year-old heiress who donated $100,000 to john edwards says she hates the way the cash was spent hiding the pregnant mistress. mitt romney and rick santorum finally sat down together. i would like to be a fly on the wall while they talk. what does santorum want? get ready to be moon struck or more like supermoon struck. when you will be able to gaze at the biggest, brightest moon of the year. a columbian proos ststitute the center of the secret service sex scandal is finally telling her story, lots of alcohol, lots of flirting leading up to a now emfamiliar must fight over the bill. here is drew griffin with cnn's special investigation unit. >> danielle suarez casually recalled her infamous night with secret service agents in cartagena, columbia. she said it began somewhat innocently. her girlfriends at a bar. with unwas attracted to the agents. she said, we had no idea at the time, they were, quote, unquote, obama's agent. >> translator: my friends nor i, we didn't know they were agents, obama's agents. we left and we went to this place to buy condoms. then, we went to the hotel. >> who went? >> translator: well, my friend. she is not really a friend. she is an acquaintance, the agent who was with me and the other one, the four of us. then, my friend went with him, because she liked him. now, i don't understand. because she liked him. it wasn't the same thing i was doing. >> suarez says what she was doing was making money as an escort. she says she and the agent she was paired up with had an agreement. she would receive an $800 gift if she spent the night at the hotel carib with him. she went in at 1:30 in the morning, spent five hours inside the hotel room. she would not give details of what happened inside. she will say how it ended. >> i told him to wake up and give me my gift that i asked him for. he says, no, just go -- i'm not going to pay you. then, he just put out 50,000 pay s pesos for the taxi. i was in shock when he said that. 50,000 pesos is about $30. she was in shock and demanding payment. she said, for the next three hours, she tried to get that payment. she went into columbian police that came into the hotel and tried to negotiate some settlement. was able to