"starting point" begins right now. welcome back, everybody. new details in the shocking suicide of football star junior se seau. the "l.a. times" is reporting his family has decided to donate his brain in order to determine if he had chronic traumatic ense encephalopathy. the report says the former linebacker's death was a suicide. doctors are unsure whether seau's hard hits on the field let to cte, that dementia like brain disease caused by tough brain injuries that many football players face, someone who is an expert on that is dr. sanjay gupta, studying the topic for years. this morning we hear that seau's ex-wife and friends, even though he was not well-known as someone who had a number of concussions they are saying we had concussions. >> and also saying something we heard a lot talking to nfl players, he probably wasn't vocal about him, even tried to hide them under this culture of look i'm going to play hurt and not only that but if i tell people about the fact i'm hurt they may keep me out of the game. >> his ex-wife used the word he's a warrior. it's not ballet, go back in the game. >> i got a ding to my brain, minimizes the injury. i hurt my acl, people pray for you in the stands. brain injury, you'll be back in the next play, no big deal. >> the family will donate the brain. what does that mean will happen to his brain? >> i've seen this in laboratory called the sports legacy institute. what we're talking about is still relatively new skinz but they'll examine the brain and i've seen what they're looking for specifically the plaques and tangles. you've heard those words associated with alzheimer's disease. that's the same sort of thing they're looking for, they stain the brain, they look specifically for the changes in certain areas of the brain, parts of the brain responsible for memory, depression, and anger, and those are the symptoms. >> so you cannot tell if someone has cte until they're dead, you're able to examine the brain. >> you can't say for sure, but the symptoms which are classic triad, memory loss, depression, anger. now they're vague and a lot of people can have those things and not have cte but those are in conjunction with being a football player and conjunction with taking hits to the head, you put it together. >> when we heard from the medical examiner's office that it was a suicide, many people assumed that, they thought that but everybody wanted to hear is it cte. how long before we know now that the family cleared the way to examine the brain? >> it's pretty fast. dr. mckee, the pathologist at the institute, i spent time with her, she probably a few days before they'd be able to know, they may want to verify so we may not hear for some time after that but it doesn't take that long to make a diagnosis. >> there was a soccer player, soccer analyst for espn and taylor twellman, he said he had been talking to seau about headaches after his own concussion that he got playing soccer and he said seau said to him he had headaches as well. >> it's one of the earlier signs of not just concussions but what people refer to as the sub concussive hits. gets up, doesn't seem to have anything of it but they accumulate over time. it's not just one and another one. they build up and the same thing in soccer players as well, heading the ball, as part of our documentary, 20 gs of force every time you head the ball and they do this over and over again especially in practice. >> if you're a parent who has an 8-year-old who is think being playing soccer off' got to start rethinking this. seau is probably one of the more famous well-known players to potentially have cte. >> it's interesting, and you and i are solutions oriented people. i thought about the same issue. when it comes to football and soccer, if you dissect a season and say where are the vast majority of the hits to the head coming you find they come during practice, drills, over and over again, ramming your head into some immobile object so you see coaches and parents as well how many times does my kid have to do that? maybe we can do helmetless practices, learn how to tackle with shoulders and body pads, use the two-point stance as opposed to three-point, where you use your head as a battering ram to body tackle instead. you see changes in football leading to fewer football blows to the head. >> we talk a lot of it with football players and soccer players but if you were to examine your average person's brain because people get hit all the time or fall off of things. >> it's a great question. i don't think we know the answer. dr. mckee, this doctor who is at the forefront of all of this says it appears to be from multiple blows to the head, not necessarily concussive blows but multiple blows to the head, boxers, soccer players, football players, volleyball players, no sport is immune. >> a tranl difor his family and friends. it seemed as such a surprise to everybody. >> we'll get the answer when we get the results back. a "starting point" exclusive, junior seau's last television interview conducted at a charity golf tournament 36 hours before he took his life, we'll talk to the man who conducted the interview as well as one of seau's friends, dave bieber, right here on "starting point." christine has a look at some of the other stories making news today. >> good morning to you. brown bear, two spotted leopards and pair of monkeys will be returned to their ohio farm today. they were released into the public by their owner, terry thompson last fall right before he committed suicide. authorities do not have access to tranquillizer guns. most of the animals were shot and killed by law enforcement to protect the public. the animals are being returned to thompson's wife. no word on what she plans to do with them. a hang gliding instructor accused of eating evidence after a student plunged to her death. she slipped out and fell hundreds of feet into the woods. investigators say the instructor swallowed a memory card from a video camera on board and the x-rays confirm that. >> there have been a series of x-rays taken. we have confirm so we are in the wait progress cess here. we have confirmed that the memory card is still inside. >> investigators aren't sure whether the card will have video they can retrieve at this point. minding your business a lot of investors waiting out the all-important april jobs report. economists surveyeded by cnn money expect to see 160,000 jobs added last month, an improvement from march but the pace slow compared to jobs gains we witnessed in december, january and february and the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.2%. stock futures trading slightly higher ahead of the opening bell this morning, holding pattern waiting for the jobs report. mark zuckerberg is trying to sell facebook to big investors in its online road show. last night the company set a target range for its stock price, $28 to $35 a share, but when it begins trading publicly later this month that could value the company up to $98 billion. facebook has the option to tweak its stock price as it gets closer to going public. there's time to get a straw bonnet and prepare the mint jewel ens, the kentucky derby coming up tomorrow. they kicked things off with the 56th annual peg success parade. cyndi lauper served as grand marshal. the actual horse race at the kentucky derby is an afterthought. what they want to focus on is all the parties so we thought it would be nice to learn how to make the three famous drinks from the triple crown. we woke up our bar denner mixologist at the "w" hotel in atlanta, known for putting a modern twist on classic drinks and james conley will show us how to make the mint jewel en, the breakness's black-eyed susan and belmont breeze of the belmont. we're looking forward to your tips. carry on, will you do that and we'll continue telling you what's happening for the rest of the morning on "starting point." also dramatic surveillance video in a racially charged shooting an ailing elderly black whom and a white police officer. his son will join us in this cnn exclusive. plus new video of little isabel celis the 6-year-old girl who vanished from her bedroom in arizona. police are following leads to mexico. an effort to annoy. listen. you might be asking yourself why all the blaring and the bleeping and the screeching? we'll tell you. check out our live log at cnn.com/startingpoint or chat with us on twitte twitter @startingptcnn. this is christine's playlist, the dave matthews band "stay." back in a moment. not in this economy. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in. so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family's goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy, the one in my house. now they're managing my investments for me. and with fidelity, getting back on track was easier than i thought. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪ welcome back, everybody. this morning, a possible break in the high stakes diplomatic standoff in china. china saying today that blind activist chen guangchang could apply to study abroad. listen to secretary of state clinton clinton's remarks in the last hour as she prepares to leave china after two days of high level talks. >> we and you do not always see the same situation in the same way, but we are working to make sure that none of that misperception or difference of opinion is allowed to interfere with the complex and comprehensive relationship. >> we're also learning that u.s. officials just spoke by phone with mr. chen, they also met with his wife in person. now these developments could help get secretary of state hillary clinton out of a tough spot. mr. chen made a direct appeal to secretary clinton to take him back to the united states with her. mr. chen is still being held in a beijing hospital after his daring escape from house arrest under the cover of night. you'll remember he slipped past chinese guards back on april 22nd. he was then drifg ven to the u. embassy in beijing where he sought refuge until this past wednesday where he left for medical treatment at the hospital where he was reunited with his wife and two children. yesterday chen made it clear he regretted leaving the embassy saying he was concerned for both his and his family's safety. and he said he wanted to leave china with secretary clinton. at a state department press briefing yesterday, spokesman mark toner was asked by our state department producer about america's plan of action. >> we're not sure, in fact, what his intentions are, what his goals are, now that he's had a change of heart. >> i think there's no doubt what he wants, he wants to be on a plane back with secretary clinton. >> i'm not going to pre-judge conversations and not going to speculate from this podium in washington on any possible outcome. >> chen is making a direct appeal to members of congress. he spoke by speakerphone to lawmakers during a congressional hearing. >> translator: i want to meet with the secretary clinton. i hope i can get more help from her. i also want to thank her face to face. the thing i'm most concerned right now is the safety of my mother, my brothers, and i really want to know what's going on with them. >> jerome cohen is a friend of mr. chen's, advised him during the negotiations with china earlier in the week. he is also the co-director of nyu's school of law's u.s.-asia law institute. nice to see you, sir. thanks for your time. what do you make of this new turn of events and offer to apply for a study abroad for mr. chen? >> i think the way is now open to resolving this crisis. i think the chinese government has found a solution, and they say chen is entitled to the rights of all chinese citizens to apply to go abroad to study. his case will be processed in the usual way. this is a very quiet, low-key chinese solution to the problem, and i think now we can go ahead and resolve the problem in this whole unhappy 48-hour period of incrimination and criticism and self-criticism can be put behind us. now is the time for progress to be made, and i hope we'll see mr. chen and his family in the united states in the near future for study and rest. that's what he wants. >> it seemed like the dramatic turnaround happened at this hospital in beijing, where he went from wanting to leave the embassy of his own free will it seems to suddenly sounding very regretful about departing. what exactly happened? >> well what happened is the environment changed. you're dealing with a person who's enormously able, very sensitive. he's been isolated from society for seven years. he's a blind man to begin with. he needs all the comfort he can get, in re-entering society, and here he's thrust into this maelstrom, and i talked to him monday for about an hour, talked to him tuesday for about an hour and saw even within that time span understandably faced with very stark alternatives, he was showing some uncertainty, and his wife, who encouraged him to take this remarkable arrangement that has been worked out, she told him, of course there are uncertainties but we should go ahead, we should continue the struggle one step at a time. she's a remarkable person, too. i've known these people for almost a decade and we'll be proud to host them here in america, i'm sure, and they behaved in a totally understandable way. when he got to the hospital, all of a sudden all of the wonderful support he got from his american friends left him. they went home. they were exhausted. they'd been being around the clock for days in negotiations trying to take advantage of the chinese desire to end the matter before the strategic economic dialogue began. they went home, the doctors went home, and he was left with his doubts and lots of chinese police, all around, some of them apparently the people who tortured him and his wife from their hometown, and then the chinese allowed him to communicate with his human rights friends in the community, and based on their terrible, harsh experiences of recent years while he was locked up, they told him, "don't take this deal. it's too unsafe." that fanned chen's original fears. last monday he said "i feel very unsafe if i go out there, it will be very unsafe." i said "then don't take the deal. you're not up to it. but then by the next day he was feel better." >> you're sounding much more hopeful the offer to allow him to study abroad. gentlemen home cohen, thank you, we appreciate it. still ahead on "starting point," it could be the end, yankee fans, with their heads in their hands after their legendary closer was carted off the field and the word is he may not come back. and could it be any more annoying? listen. that's a concert hall but that's not music you're listening to. also our panel heading in to talk about that and much more. erick erickson, editor-in-chief of redstate.com, deshawn snow, former cast mate of "the real housewives of atlanta" and former mayor shirley franklin. welcome, everybody. nice to see you. this is off of kelly clarkson's "stronger" shirley franklin's playlist. hi, i just switched jobs, and i want to roll over my old 401(k) into a fidelity ira. man: okay, no problem. it's easy to get started; i can help you with the paperwork. um...this green line just appeared on my floor. yeah, that's fidelity helping you reach your financial goals. could you hold on a second? it's your money. roll over your old 401(k) into a fidelity ira and take control of your personal economy. this is going to be helpful. call or come in today. fidelity investments. turn here. [ man announcing ] what we created here. what we achieved here. what we learned here. and what we pioneered here. all goes here. the one. the accord. smarter thinking from honda. made with only milk... cream... a touch of sugar... and pure natural flavors. coffee-mate natural bliss. from nestle. add your flavor naturally. coffee-mate natural bliss. from nestle. kiwi. soy milk. impulse buy. gift horse. king crab. rhubarb pie. lettuce shower. made by bees. toucan sam. that's not cheese. grass fed. curry. gingersnaps. soup can tower. 5% cash back. right now, get 5% cash back at grocery stores. it pays to discover. you're listening and looking at the secretary of state hillary clinton, who is speaking right now, talking about chen guangchang, the chinese activist able to escape from house arrest. listen to what she's able to say. >> -- in world affairs, and our countries and our peoples gain far more from cooperation than from competition, so we are committed to pursuing a positive, cooperative, comprehensive relationship, and i want to underscore the importance of events like this annual strategic and economic dialogue, we use it to maximize mutual understanding and areas of cooperation, while also speaking frankly to one another about those areas about which we have disagreements. given all that we are doing together bilaterally, regionally and globally, we need this kind of open, regular mechanism for strengthening our partnership, and managing those areas where there are tensions and differences. i said something earlier today that i would repeat for you, because together, the united states with china, are trying to do something that is historically unprecedented, to write a new answer to the age-old question of what happens when an established power and a rising power meet, and for the united states, we see this as an opportunity, not a threat. we look at the future with great optimism, and we believe that neither of us can afford to keep looking at the world through old lenses, whether it's the legacy of imperialism, the cold war, or balance of power politics. zero sum thinking will lead to negative sum results. and so instead, what we are trying to do is to build a resilient relationship that allows both of our nations to thrive without unhealthy competition, rivalry or conflict, while meeting our national regional and global responsibilities. >> just to add two examples -- >> you're listening to the secretary of state hillary clinton as she talks about the old lenses and the new lens are needed now to view the relationship between china and the united states. they're wrapping up the two-day conference for the strategic and economic dialogue, all of this framed over the last several days when the chinese activist, chen guangchang decided to escape from house arrest, putting into a bit of a mini crisis that was trying to be resolved at the same time these talks were under way. we're hearing from the chinese he will be allowed to apply for study abroad and that is being viewed by his supporters, mr. chen's supporters here in the united states as good news of possible face saving measure, a possible win/win, bringing to an end what had been potentially a conflict that looked like there was no points of solution as mr. chen getting medical care in beijing repeatedly said he wanted to get on clinton clinton's plane and tried to leave china for the united states after leaving the american embassy. we are going to continue to obviously cover the story about what's happening with mr. chen today. u.s. officials have not been able to get in to see him physically in his hospital room. however, they have spoken to him by phone. we have to take a short break. still ahead on "starting point" we'll talk to you about an officer who has been cleared in a controversial shooting, we've got the videotape, also shots taken at a space center, but who's behind the bullets? it's just one day 'til the derby so we thought we'd drink in honor of that, so early and yet so not.