and all eyes now on the phrase "one nation" in the gop race to the white house. just ahead, new signs those words could be sarah palin is running for president. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." but first, a heartbreaking development in joplin, missouri. all week we've been bringing you wrenching stories of those missing in the tornado's wake, while at the same time holding out hope they might still be found alive. one of them, 16-year-old lance who was in his car when the twister hit has become a symbol of the desperation felt by so many families. i spoke to his mother, michelle, on tuesday right here in "the situation room". >> oh, my gosh, he is amazing. he is a straight a student. always has been. everything comes so naturally. he has amazing friends. he rides bmx. he is involved in the bridge ministries here in joplin. very active once again, respectful. cares about his family so much. >> sadly, we've just learned that lantz hare has now been found dead. our own brian todd is in joplin. brian? >> reporter: wolf, we spoke to michelle hare a short time ago. she seems to be doing remarkably well given the news she just got. she is caught up in the controversy over the names of the missing and the people they're trying to locate who have gone missing from this tornado. as an effort to scream line that process, officials today put out this list of 232 people who have definitely been reported missing by their loved ones. but in some cases, this list has led to more questions than answers. for those searching for missing loved ones, accounts of heartbreak and frustration. it started with people like michelle hare, who couldn't find her 16-year-old son lantz for days after the tornado. >> proper information is not being given to the public. >> reporter: complaints like that led officials to try to streamline the process. the missouri department of public safety is now in charge of locating those unaccounted for. >> and we will provide today a list of 232 individuals that we have actual reports that individuals have come in and said that they were missing and unaccounted for. >> reporter: no sooner did we get that list than we noticed a problem in the case of lantz hare. this is the car lantz was driving. his mother tells me it was on the other side of the train tracks, was picked up and thrown over here where it landed. he was reported by his mother as missing and was on this list of 232 people. however, there is a problem. it appears that his name is on the list twice. he goes by the name calye hare. humphrey is calye. on the next page, caley lantz. same age. we didn't get an immediate answer to why his name appears twice. since we got this list we were told by his mother she has had a positive identification of lantz and he is deceased. other families are complaining they're not allowed to go to a secret mortgage set up where the federal government has a team of forensic specialists trying to identify bodies. >> why not let people into the morgue to look at bodies under your supervision? >> the team has several mechanisms to positively identify individuals. that is the most important thing. in a catastrophic event, we want to make sure that we don't make mistakes. so fingerprints, dna, medical records so that the family members can get some solace. a federal official told me a short time ago that another key reason why they're not letting people go into that morgue is often in these situations, an accurate visual id is not possible. he says sometimes family members do make an incorrect identification, and that leads to more problems. wolf? >> and our deepest condolences to michelle hare and the entire family. what a horrible, horrible, terrible loss. brian, we'll check back with you. thank you. amidst all that is missing or destroyed in joplin, it's hard to imagine anything still in place. but as jeanne meserve reports, there have been some rather surprising finds. >> reporter: with a pickax and their bare hands, the ferguson family extricates a file cabinet from the rubble of what was their insurance company office. >> oh, wow! whoa. >> reporter: inside unscathe ready all their clients' records. but something even more remarkable came out of this wreckage, another insurance agent who had been in the office working on a children's book. >> i was just typing away and photocopying when the sirens went off. it just got stronger and stronger and stronger. it seemed like it went on forever. and finally, the wall that i was leaning against began to collapse. >> reporter: bonnie survived, protected by a desk chair. when rescuers freed her and she surveyed the landscape, she had trouble recognizing the neighborhood where she had worked for 20 years. >> i knew where i was, but it didn't look like anything i had ever seen before. >> reporter: in her pocket now something she put in her pocket just as the tornado hit. >> all was not lost indeed. i saved everything to my flash drive. my whole book. it was almost finished. the deadline was monday. so i can upload it, and just shoot it right off to my publisher as soon as i get time. >> reporter: bonnie's daughter tells her she must have been saved for a reason. bonnie may have found it. she and her husband have reopened their insurance business in a temporary office so they can help their neighbors rebuild their lives. there is so much to rebuild. jeanne meserve, cnn, joplin, missouri. >> and we'll take you back to joplin in a few minutes. but there is other stories we're following. in joplin, by the way, we're going to speak with a frustrated widower. military husband was killed inside the home depot during an act of heroism. he is fighting for closure. we're going to go back there shortly. stand by for that. in new york, meanwhile, there are other dramatic new developments in the case of the former imf chief charged with attempted sexual assault against a hotel maid. lawyers for dominique strauss-kahn have just delivered a letter to the judge slamming the new york police department for, quote, feeding the media frenzy, and arguing his right to a fair trial is being compromised. all of this just one day after strauss-kahn's house arrest was moved to a right city luxury town house. cnn's debra feyerick is in new york. what do you have, deb? >> reporter: it was a very public war of letters today. the defense started with the first shot. prosecutors fired back. but it started with defense lawyers basically taking aim at the nypd, blaming a high-ranking official and unnamed police sources for either leaking or publicly releasing information, which lawyers believe could prejudice a jury against their client. now they say police were feeding the media frenzy, and they site descriptions that appeared in the press of alleged sexual assault of a housekeeper inside the sofitel hotel that includes statements she is said to have made. it also includes scientific forensic tests that allegedly place strauss-kahn's dna on the housekeeper's clothing. that's allegedly. they have asked for early access to all the reports and tests. the defense lawyers say they too could have fed the media frenzy by releasing information that both undermines the credibility of the housekeeper but also the prosecution's case. now a senior prosecutor replied saying the district attorney shares the concern about leaks, and if defense lawyers in fact do have important information, they should bring it forward, sooner than later. what you're looking at right there, well, dominique strauss-kahn's spent his day in a 6800-square-foot town house in trendy tribeca. it rents usually for $60,000 a month. the sun-filled home boasts a huge living room with skylight, a rooftop deck with a grill, a gym, a spa, a state-of-the-art home theater, and a wet bar in the master bedroom. plus, there are lots of great restaurants in the area, most of which deliver. now strauss-kahn was rejected by one luxury building. he was kicked out of another. so this is really one of the few places that would take him. but if you add in the cost of security, strauss-kahn is now paying a quarter million a month to live. and that's not including food or the cost of his lawyers. you see him there. he was surrounded by the kind of police and security normally reserved for a presidential candidate. ironic since he was france's leading contender before all this happen. wolf? >> deb feyerick, thank you. deb feyerick is in new york. an american journalist comes under attack in libya. just ahead, the harrowing 44 days he spent jailed and being interrogated by gadhafi forces. plus, one of the world's most notorious fugitives captured after more than 15 years in hiding. the former cnn journalist christiane amanpour covered him for years for us. she is standing by to join us live for an interview. and is there a way to control tornadoes, or keep them from even happening? some meteorologists say it's possible. we'll have the theories and the consequences, and a lot more, coming up right here on "the situation." naomi pryce: i am. i'm in the name your own price division. i find empty hotel rooms and help people save - >> - up to 60% off. i am familiar. your name? > naomi pryce. >> what other "negotiating" skills do you have? > i'm a fifth-degree black belt. >> as am i. > i'm fluent in 37 languages. >> (indistinct clicking) > and i'm a master of disguise >> as am i. > as am i. >> as am i. > as am i. >> well played naomi pryce. you could get arrested for that you know. it's not what you think. look. there was a time when a company like that would envy us. little outfit. it's almost quaint. all these years we had something they could never have. something only the biggest operations could ever afford. it was our strategic advantage. now they have it. what exactly is "it" that they have? 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[ male announcer ] it's the most fun you can legally have. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers on the c-class. jack cafferty is here. jack? >> several members of the house of representatives are accusing president obama of violating the war powers act by continuing to allow u.s. participation in allied attacks on libya. congressman dan burton, republican from indiana, accused the president of playing king. democratic congressman brad sherman of california said the whole ordeal is shredding the u.s. constitution. this past friday was the 60th day since the president told congress that this country was joining allied forces in attacks against moammar gadhafi in libya. told congress as opposed to asking for their approval. the 60-day mark is significant because under the war powers resolution, congressional authorization is required in significant military activity by that date, or the operation has to be stopped. well, neither has happened. instead, as the deadline approached, the president sent a letter to congressional leaders asking for a resolution of support. the president didn't mention the war powers act, or ask explicitly for authorization in his letter. he just asked for support. he may get the resolution from the senate. john kerry and john mccain have introduced a bipartisan resolution that expresses congress's support for u.s. military involvement in libya. but senate majority leader harry reid said a vote on that won't happen before the long memorial day weekend recess. and over in the house, a much different story. neither party has any plans to bring a resolution of support to the floor there. the war powers act dates to 1973. it came out of the vietnam war. it was passed as an effort to restore the role of congress in deciding whether or not the u.s. military becomes involved in significant conflicts. president nixon at the time vetoed the act, and congress overrode him. and it's pretty much been ignored by presidents ever since. nobody pays much attention to it, it seems. anyway, here is the question. is president obama breaking the law with the united states' role in libya? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile. >> jack cafferty, thank you very much. thank you very much. now to one american's dramatic close call with death in libya. the journalist james foley has been released after being held by gadhafi forces for more than a month. our own lisa sylvester is in new york now. she had a chance to speak with mr. foley. i'm glad he is back home, lisa. >> yeah, we are all very glad. goebel posts correspond that james foley has been in afghanistan, in libya, in a lot of different hot spots. he believes it is important to be right on the front lines to be able to report back exactly what is happening. but on april 5th, that almost cost him his life. >> but for the grace of god, he wouldn't be here to tell his story. he was on the front lines in brega, libya with three other journalists when forces loyal to gadhafi began shooting at them. >> this was soldiers getting out of the trucks, walking towards you, and shooting directly at you. bullets stream overhead. >> reporter: foley's friend, south african photographer anton hammerill was hit and lay dying. >> he said help, help. i said anton, are you okay? he said no. and more bullets came in. and i called out to him again. and there was no response. it's unreal, you know. why -- why him and not me? i was maybe 20 meter away from him. and, you know, he had a family, three kids. beloved photographer for many years in johannesburg. and he wanted to do a two-week story on the battle of brega. >> reporter: foley, fellow american claire gillis, and spanish photographer manu bravo were taken by gadhafi troops and held in a cell, interrogated repeatedly as bombs fell around them in tripoli. >> especially towards the end, we started to hear the bombs coming closer and more frequently. >> reporter: he was allowed only one five-minute phone call back home, and he spoke to his mom. >> first thing i said when i called her, i'm sorry, mom, yes. but also i'm strong. i feel okay. i feel good. i'm praying as much as i can. and she said don't you feel us all praying for you? and i was -- i took that back to set with me. >> reporter: after 44 days, they were released and brought to this hotel, where other western journalists were staying. their ordeal finally over. looking back, foley now has a larger perspective on life. >> i have to understand that the grace that is -- that has happened. and, you know, there is a reason for me to be here there is a reason all these people reached out, and what can i give. what can i do here and now. >> and i asked foley if he wants to return to libya. he said he recognizes that he put his family through a lot of trauma. so for now he is going to be stateside. but he said it is really an amazing story covering what is happening in north africa. he hopes to go back. just not right away. wolf? >> i hope when he goes back, it will be a free and democratic and peaceful libya as opposed to what it is right now. so glad he is back home. so glad that you had a chance, lisa, to speak with him. you did some excellent work telling his story over the past few weeks. now he is back home safe and sound. thank you very much, lisa sylvester. what was it like for you to finally speak with him after having done so much work about his case and the case of his fellow journalists who were being held in captivity? >> it was amazing to see him right face-to-face in person, because, you know, the last time that i was reporting, we saw the pictures. well saw the still photos. but to actually see him in the flesh, to see that he was well and okay. and it is a tremendous story, too, of all of the love and the support that he and claire gillis, that they had from their family and friends, really putting the pressure on to bring them back home. so it was thrill. and he is an excellent journalist. i got to tell you, wolf. he really does put his life on the line because he feels it's important to tell people what is going on, to tell people not to sugarcoat it in any way, but to show them the pictures. and that means oftentimes putting himself in danger, wolf. >> it looks like he is a great young guy. thank you so much, lisa. thanks for the good work too. the supreme court passes judgment on a law that sparked fury and boycotts aimed at arizona. these marchers won't be happy with the outcome, and it may give them reason to worry about another law they hate. and three years ago sarah palin was relatively unknown governor of alaska. today she is a huge media celebrity and a conservative force of nature. is she ready to add another line to her resume? president of the united states? building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible. in an effort to give you the best network possible. host: could switching to geico 15% or more on car insurance? host: does the buck stop here? sfx: buck's blustery exhale. host: could switching to geico 15% or more on car insurance? host: does it take two to tango? ♪ ♪ well, you know i love it too ♪ ♪ you love money ♪ well, you know i love it too ♪ ♪ i work so hard at my job ♪ and then i bring it home to you ♪ ♪ i love money in my pocket monitoring some of the other top stories in "the situation room" right now, including a summit pour the global powers in france. what is the latest, lisa? >> hi there, wolf. president obama is huddling with world leaders today and tomorrow at the g8 meeting in france. at the summit, he told japan's minister that americans are heartbroken by the devastation caused by the tsunami. he also found time to sit down with russia's president and discuss economic and security issues. in a 5-3 decision, the supreme court has upheld an arizona immigration law that set off a wave of protest. the law punishes businesses who hire illegal immigrants. the white house argues the law steps on federal oversight of immigration. this could be just a warm-up. a more controversial law allowing police officers a greater role in arresting illegal immigrants is still in the lower courts. and the census bureau says the rate of population growth in the united states is slowing down. in the last decade, the country grew at a rate of 9.7%. that's way down from the baby boom of the 1950s when the rate was about twice that. officials also note that the global growth rate is about three percentage points higher than the u.s., but the u.s. is rate is still more than other developed nations. wolf? thank you. growing, growing outrage in missouri as families struggle to get answers about missing loved ones. just ahead we're going back to joplin for a live report. a notorious international fugitive captured after a decade on the run. the former cnn journalist christiane amanpour is here, and she is weighing in. the firemen are waging their war with very few weapons. there aren't enough trucks -- the u.n. has authorized. membership rewards points from american express. they're a social currency with endless possibilities. women have discovered the secret to a great day because they've discovered the power of aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the only one that nourishes with active naturals oats, it's clinically proven to seal in moisture for a full 24 hours. so skin looks and feels beautiful all day. for a better day everyday. discover the power... 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