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Music's best performs concert for Boston – Brooke Baldwin has the story
Artists with ties to Boston performed at a benefit concert to help bombing victims. Brooke Baldwin speaks to some of the musicians and fans who came to show their support.
American woman killed in Syria; state TV claims she was fighting for rebels – Nick Paton Walsh reports
CNN is reporting that an American woman has been killed in Syria in the midst of its civil war. She has been identified as Nicole Lynn Mansfield. Syrian TV reports that Mansfield, 33, from Flint, Michigan, was killed by government forces while fighting for rebels in Syria.
CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh is tracking the latest developments live from Beirut.
Animal Planet scores ratings gold with fake "Mermaids" documentary – John Berman has more on the story
Animal Planet's "Mermaids: The New Evidence" had 3.6 million viewers, making it the highest rated program in the channel's 17-year history.
The show was so convincing, many viewers were left wondering if mermaids are real.
John Berman wonders: Really? He goes into the facts and the myth.
FBI questioning person in ricin probe – Ed Lavandera reports
Law enforcement officials are questioning a man in New Boston, Texas about threatening letters believed to contain ricin sent to President Obama, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a gun control group. Ed Lavandera has more on the investigation.
Lavandera reports that all three letters contained this threatening message: “You will have to kill me and my family before you get my guns. Anyone wants to come to my house will be shot in the face. The right to bear arms is my constitutional God-given right and I will exercise that right 'til the day I die. What's in this letter is nothing compared to what I’ve got planned for you."
“This latest round of threats has many wondering if ricin is becoming the weapon of choice for intimidation,” Lavandera says. Former New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton says, "Ricin is probably one of the worst ways to try and kill somebody. So I don't see it as a real threat in the sense of an actual capability to kill, but rather, to intimidate and attract publicity."
AZ mom is freed from Mexican prison – Rafael Romo has more on her release
A Mexican judge ordered the release of Arizona woman Yanira Maldonado from prison late Thursday. Maldonado was arrested last Wednesday as she and her husband, Gary, were on their way back to Arizona. She was accused of attempting to smuggle 12 pounds of marijuana that Mexican authorities alleged they had found under her bus seat.
Maldonado reunited with her husband with an emotional bearhug after her release and speaks live to the press. Rafeal Romo has more on the story on "Early Start" this morning.
‘Girl Rising’ documents extraordinary girls and the power of education – Eulalia from Peru tells her story
In the United States yellow school buses are a common sight but in some countries the lack of transportation can make it hard to get to school. The CNN film "Girl Rising" deals with the challenges some girls face with getting an education. In this piece of the film, a young girl named Eulalia from a small mountain village in Peru tells her story.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: 'Girl Rising': How to help? Give, share and rise up
Spelling bee champ to be crowned tonight – CNN's Athena Jones reports
After this afternoon's semi-finals, 12 kids will compete for title of spelling bee champion.
As CNN's Athena Jones reports this year's event is more challenging than ever because of a new twist.
Rescued Chinese infant goes home with maternal grandparents – CNN's David McKenzie reports
The newborn boy in china that was rescued from a sewer pipe has left the hospital after being nursed back to health. Police also say the child's mother will not be charged with a crime.
– CNN's David McKenzie reports
READ MORE: Chinese baby, rescued from toilet, is released to grandparents
Stunning email from AEG Live co-chairman about Dr. Conrad Murray
It's a stunning piece of evidence that could help determine the outcome of the Jackson family's lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live. An email from AEG Live's co-chairman says Michael Jackson's personal physician Conrad Murray needed to get Jackson in shape to perform onstage. CNN obtaining the deposition – exclusively.
READ MORE: AEG exec called Michael Jackson 'freak' before signing concert contract
New Mexico community waits for ground to cave in – CNN's Ed Lavandera reports
While Florida is usually the first place people think of when they hear sinkholes – the ground is unstable in other parts of the country as well.
– CNN's Ed Lavandera reports
