Happy mothers day. So much to cover including michael sams emotional and historymaking moment at the nfl draft. But first, dramatic developments in nigeria, where we have learned u. S. Surveillance aircraft are on the way to held inspect the urgent search for hundreds of kidnapped schoolgirls. And there are new questions about whether warnings before the kidnapping were ignored. Abcs Hamish Macdonald has the very latest. Reporter this morning, the fwochlt is facing damning allegations that boko haram was coming four hours in advance. This is shocking. Embarrassing. A lack of political will. Reporter the claims are made in an Amnesty International investigation. The Defense Ministry says the report is unfortunate and untrue. We do know nigerias government took time before accepting international help. There are now two dozen u. S. Personnel on the ground, including the military in a support role only. The surveillance and reconnaissance assets heading to nigeria could help immensely. In the search. It may include aircraft, capable not only of visual surveillance but those that could pick up cell phone conversations in real time. The cia director indicated on our sister network, fusion, there is scope to do more. We have officers on the ground in many parts of the world. Were able to bring to bear the capabilities that we need. The people that we need. Reporter support is spreading globally. From the pope on twitter to the first lady. In these girls, barack and i see our own daughters. Reporter the question is whether all this support will make it easier or harder for the families to get their girls back safely. There is a perceived risk here that pressure from outside could force nigerias president to take a more hardline approach. That could endanger the girls. For this week, Hamish Macdonald. Our thanks to hamish. Now to new developments in ukraine. Voters in Eastern Ukraine deciding right now if they want to split off and become an independent state. A move that could push the country even closer to civil war. Alex marquardt and terry moran are tracking it for us. We start with alex. Good morning. Reporter good morning, martha. People have been streaming all day into polling stations like this one to cast their votes in this hastily arranged referendum. The ballot asks the ambiguous question about more independence. Every voter we have seen says yes. This vote will pass overwhelmingly. There are no official monitors. They dont have the latest Voter Registration rolls and no way to make sure voters dont vote more than once. And its hard to say in concrete terms what this vote will mean beyond deepening divisions in the country. Anger is on the rise. Following violent and deadly incidents in which prorussian protesters were killed. Todays referendum is happening despite calls from president putin to delay it. And for more from the russian side, we go to my colleague, terry moran, in moscow. Reporter thank you, alex. We have seen a dramatic change in tone. President putin is keeping them at arms length and calling for dialogue among all ukrainians. He said hes pulling back the troops on the border. But u. S. And nato officials are saying theyre not seeing it. Right now, spiten is riding sky high politically. The defiant victory lap in crimea on friday. Last night, he hit the ice in an exhibition hockey game and scored six goals. Hes kept everyone guessing, including the russian people. Applying pressure, backing off as needed. One thing is certain. Hes determined to maintain maximum russian influence in ukraine and block it from joining the west. And hell use thoses referendum as he sees fit to achieve that goal. Thanks, terry. Now to a football first. An nfl team drafted an openly gay player. Michael sam had to wait until the seventh round last night. Check out his emotional reaction when he finally got the historymaking phone call from the coach of the st. Louis rams. A lot of tears and a kiss for his boyfriend. Usa todays Christine Brennan joins me now. Historymaking indeed. What does this mean for the nfl culture and the fans . Well, you just mentioned the culture. The nfl is by far the most Popular League in the country, martha. If he had not been drafted, can you imagine the questions, whats wrong . Why, nfl . Why, in 2014 . And there was a while we thought he wouldnt be drafted. It went forever. Only seven players drafted after him. There were questions about his skill based on the combine and the way he worked out. But it was just, i think, the right moment. The nfl needed this. I think the country needed this. A lot of social media comment last night. One from the dolphins second year defensive back don jones who tweeted out, omg right after the video of the kiss aired. When somebody asked if he was referring to the embrace, he responded horrible. Theyve since taken the tweet down. The dolphins were the ones with the bullying story. That continues. The nfl has been the last bastion of male supremacy. And yes, there were gay players, who were, of course, not out, even in the 60s and 70s. I think its about time. Going forward. If he doesnt do well. All eyes will be on michael sam. And now the question becomes, does he make the team . Jason collins is playing in the playoffs in the nba. The first openly gay man in the nba. Now the question will be, can michael sam make the rams . I think hell be able to do it. Hes a very, very good player. The codefensive player of the year in the southeastern conference. And a new generation of fans coming up. 40 of the fans in the nfl are female. And all these young young, young, young. The 80yearold fan wont be around 20 years from now but the 20yearold will. They have a very different view of this. Thank you, christine. Now to the scandal at in the nations v. A. Hospitals. Outrage growing this weekend over the way men and women who serve our country are treated when they return home. Now both families and congress are demanding answers from the Obama Administration official in charge. Abcs jim avila has the latest. Reporter it started here, the phoenix v. A. , where 40 veterans died while waiting for a doctors appointment. An inside whistleblower doctor telling congress delays of up to 21 months were hidden from washington bosses so his immediate spear yors could earn bonuses. Patients were dying because of it. Thats the point where we said, we cant take this any more. Reporter like phoenix vet and purple heart winner ralph mccastro. He died after waiting months for a specialists visit to diagnose the lump on his neck after a routine checkup. He kept this journal documenting the calls he made for 15 months trying to schedule a v. A. Visit that never came. Still making calls to the phoenix v. A. Why the hell cant our federal government and the v. A. Do this for our fighting soldiers that have given their arms, their sight, their legs, and their life for this country . Reporter the v. A. Says its investigating the charges and is conducting a nationwide audit. And theres pressure for the v. A. Secretary, Eric Shinseki, to resign. Theres universal outrage. Our members are disappointed and betrayed. Theyve been at war for over a decade. Our members did their part. The v. A. Is not doing theirs. Reporter this week, shinisei is scheduled to testify before congress. Our thanks, jim. We went straight to chuck hagel in our exclusive interview yesterday. Its a scandal thats shaken military families across the country. Should it cost veteran Affairs SecretaryEric Shinseki his job . Already, the American Legion has called on the retired fourstar general and vietnam vet to step aside. Should general shinseki be accountable . There is no one who understands accountability more than general shinseki. Does he have your support you . I do support general shinseki. But theres no margin here. If this, in fact, or any variation of this occurred, all the way along the chain accountability is going to have to be upheld here. Because, we can never let this kind of outrage, if all of this is true, stand in this country. The average wait is five months. Is that taking care of our veterans . No, its not good enough. Obviously. It has to be better. Shouldnt we have predicted that there would be a backlog . We were in the middle of two wars. We had tens of thousands, millions deployed in this period. And no one predicted that, including general shinseki. I dont think it just started with his term at the v. A. This is something that should have been looked at years and years ago. So yes, we missed it. Reporter meanwhile, he has the other crisis to deal with. The urgent search to find the kidnapped schoolgirls in nigeria. The u. S. Already has support teams on the ground. Give us a reality check. How hard is it going to be to find these girls . It will be very difficult. Its a vast country. This is is not going to be an easy task. Were going to bring to bear every asset we can possibly use to help the nigerian government. I know one of the things people keep saying is why wouldnt u. S. Special operators go in and try to find the girls . Well, i think you look at everything. But theres no intention, at this point, to be putting american boots on the ground. Reporter hagel is also keeping a close eye on new developments in ukraine, where satellite images show Vladimir Putins troops are not going anywhere. Still massed along the ukrainian border. What are they doing . Why arent they leaving . Theyre not leaving as far as we can tell. You would have to ask president putin as to why he says theyre leaving when, in fact, theyre not. Should russia be considered an enemy . Its easy to categorize an enemy. Were not at war with russia. Do you define whether youre at war or not . Adversary . Adversary in ukraine, sure. But i think that is simplistic. To get into either enemy, friend, partner. So on. Russia continues to isolate itself for a shortterm gain. They, the russians, may feel that somehow theyre winning. But, the world is not about just short term. Reporter one of the longterm issues hagel has been focusing on, cybersecurity. And the growing threat from cyberattacks. Especially since the pentagon relies more on advanced technology, like drones. Do you feel confident that our drones, guided weapons, will not be hacked . Im not confident of anything in this business. You cant be. But the fact is, martha, its as dangerous a threat that were dealing with, the world deals with, especially the United States, as any one threat. Its quiet. Its insidious. Its deadly. People are not paying enough attention to this . I do fear thats true. We are. Ill tell you, we are. Reporter one year into his tenure, hes facing a new issue. While the end of dont ask, dont tell means gays and lesbians with now serve openly. Transgender Service Members can still be dismissed without question. Is that something that should be looked at again . The issue of transgender is a bit more complicated. It has a medical component to it. These issues require medical attention. Um, austere locations where we put our men and women in many cases dont always provide that kind of opportunity. I do think it continually should be reviewed. Im open to that. By the way. Im open to those assessments. Again, i go back to the bottom line. Every qualified american who wants to serve our country should have the opportunity, if they fit the qualifications and can do it. This is an area we have not defined enough. Later in the show, well ask the secretary about those who say americas lost its status as the worlds lone superpower. Up next, senator marco rubio talking 2016 and taking aim at Hillary Clinton. Plus, Monica Lewinsky back in the spotlight. And later, is Edward Snowden a spy . The former head of the nsa reveals his stunning suspicions. Back in just two minutes. [ daughter ] my dad always talks about the deal he and mom made with me when i was ten. He said, you get the grades to go to college and well help out with the school of your choice. Well, i got the grades and, with dads planning and a lot of hard work, im graduating today with a degree in marine biology. Im so thankful and excited about the future. [ male announcer ] for strategies on how to help your family achieve financial success, visit pacificlife. Com. Now our closer look at florida senator marco rubio. This week, the gop star making what could be his biggest move yet toward a run for the white house, including a key stop in new hampshire. Jon karl was there with him. What is going on, senator . Good to see you. Welcome to new hampshire. We caught up with marco rub ceo in manchester, new hampshire. His first foray to the first in the nation primary state since the president ial election. Likely to be the first of many. Rubio is doing everything he needs to do to prepare for a president ial run. Campaigning for republicans across the country. Hiring national staff. Raising lots of money. And writing a book on his vision for america. It seems obvious. Youre moving closer to running for president . I have openly said in the past it is something ill consider at the end of this year. Ill look at a number of factors. Personal factors. But also, whether i could best promote this message and actually put in place these ideas that i want to see put in place, whether i could best do that from the presidency or the senate. Reporter if he decides to run, there is no backup plan. The day he announces hes running, he would announce hes not seeking reelection to the senate. If i decide to run for president , i will not have an exit strategy to run for president. You want to be the president of the United States, you run with everything. You dont run with an eject button in the cockpit that allows you to go on an exit ramp if it doesnt work out. Reporter do you think youre ready to be president . I do. But i think thats true for multiple other people that want to run. Ill be 43 this month. I have served now in Public Office for the better part of 14 years. Most importantly, i think a president has to have a clear vision of where the country needs to go and clear ideas about how the get it there. I think were very blessed in our party to have a number of people that fit that criteria. Reporter but you think youre ready . You think youre qualified, have the experience, if you make that decision . I do. I think our party is blessed to have a number of people in that position. Whose vision is the one that our party wants to follow . Senator marco rubio reporter just over a year ago, an early frontrunner. Young, hispanic, a tea partier. Who could appeal to moderates. The republican savior, on the cover of time. But his star has faded some. In a poll he led last year, hes now tenth. Behind even donald trump. Whats happened to marco rubio . Its probably the time cover jinx. Just like the spots illustrated jinx. I dont know. Polls are everywhere. You decide to run for president , there will be a campaign. In that campaign, youll interact with voters. Explain where you stand. Those numbers can change. One way or the other. The miracle of america is still alive. Reporter he took a beating for conservatives over immigration, working with democrats like Chuck Schumer to pass a bill last year in the senate that beefed up Border Security but also provided a path to citizenship to many of the 12 million Illegal Immigrants now here in the u. S. You gave a big speech in the republican spring meeting. You didnt talk about immigration reform. Didnt come up in your speech. Have you given up . No, i didnt talk about libya. Ukraine. I didnt talk about other elements that are important. Theres a lot of issues going on in the country. Immigration is not at the forefront. I remain convinced we can do something serious about the imfwrags probli immigration problem in this country. And the party . Were not going to grant blanket amnesty to 12 million people. Were also not going to round up and deport 12 million people. Reporter lately, he spends more time talking about the attack on the u. S. Consulate in benghazi, libya. There have already been 13 congressional hearings on the attack. This week, House Republicans launched a new special committee to investigate further. You have had several investigations in the congress. The administration has its investigations. Do we need another Committee Investigating . No ones been held accountable. Who has been held accountable for what happened in benghazi . This administration doesnt worry as much about what to do as what to say. They decided to mislead the American Public and the families of the victims. As to exactly what happened. You have the Republican Party raising money off this investigation. Is that appropriate . I would prefer we focus not on the fundraising or in the political elements. I think it takes away from the reality of how serious this is. How big a problem is this for Hillary Clinton . Im sure shell brag about her time in the state department. Shell have to be held accountable for the failure. Whether its the failed reset with russia or the failure in benghazi that actually cost lives. What grade you to give her as a secretary of state . I dont think she has a passing grade. You think she has an f . If you look at the diplomacy pursued during her time in the state department, its failed everywhere. If shes going to run on her record of secretary of state, shes going to have to answer for its failure. Reporter this week, the white house issued a report on the dangers of Climate Change. Climate change is affecting americans, all across the country. Miami, tampa, most affected by Climate Change. So putting aside your disagreement with what to do about it, do you agree on the science on this . How big a threat is Climate Change . I dont agree with the notion that some are putting out there including scientists, that somehow, there are actions that we can take today that would have an impact. Our climate is always changing. Theyve chosen to take a handful of decades of research and say it is now evidence of a longer term trend that is directly and almost solely a