5 Things to Know for Your New Day – Wednesday, October 30

Kathleen Sebelius is on the hot seat, the NSA chief goes on the offensive and a former mistress shocks at a murder trial.

It's Wednesday, and here are the “5 Things to Know for Your New Day."
Every weekday morning around 6, we’ll hit the top five stories of the day, clue you in on a few other buzzy items, and let you know about some of the must-watch stories coming up on CNN’s morning show, “New Day.”

1. Kathleen Sebelius hearing

Her last stand?: Kathleen Sebelius is making a stand at Congress today - and some Republicans are hoping it's her last. They are demanding her firing and putting her on the hot seat to explain some recent epic fails. Her office was tasked with getting Obamacare up and running smoothly. #Fail. She’ll face a bevy of questions today. Here’s a sneak peek of what lies in store.  When did she find out about the problems with the Obamacare website? Why wasn’t more testing done? How much will the fixes cost? Her answers are critical. But one thing she may not have to say is sorry. Her lieutenant did that yesterday.

Brianna Keilar will update us throughout the show. John King will join us at 6. Christine Romans will update us at 7.Gloria Borger and Elizabeth Cohen join the conversation at 8.

2. Teen killed by officer

Questions remain: Friends and family wept by the casket of 13-year-old Andy Lopez yesterday. The teen’s death has brought questions and outrage. Last week, a sheriff's deputy mistakenly thought the teen was carrying an assault rifle. The deputy shot the teen dead near a California street only to learn that Lopez was carrying a toy gun. Police say they are investigating. Complicating the issue is the fact that the toy didn’t have a red cap on it that indicates it was fake. The deputy believed there was a threat, police say. But that explanation has not stopped protests. And it hasn’t soothed Lopez’s parents, who were overcome with grief at the funeral.

Dan Simon will give us the latest on this case at 7. Harry Houck a former New York police detective also joins us at 7.

3. MacNeill murder trial

Ex-mistress speaks: There’s been so much testimony about her. But she took center stage yesterday. Gypsy Willis, the woman prosecutors say Martin MacNeill killed his wife to be with. OK, let’s back up. MacNeill is in the trial of his life. The 57-year-old Utah doctor is accused of giving his wife a powerful cocktail of drugs to kill her in order to be with his mistress. MacNeill says he did not do it. It was unclear yesterday if Willis’ testimony helped him. She admitted that she had been MacNeill’s mistress. In fact, she said, they were an item some two years before MacNeill’s wife died. She also admitted that even though she had never been a nanny, she moved into MacNeill’s home to take care of his kids. That happened weeks after his wife died. The couple never married but Willis said she used MacNeill’s last name. Three of MacNeill’s daughters are expected to testify this week.

Ted Rowlands will get us up to date on the trial at 8.

4. NSA spying

Defending the agency: Sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. National Security Agency chief typified that adage at a congressional hearing yesterday. Despite criticism here and overseas about the NSA’s tactics, Army Gen. Keith Alexander defended his agency. The NSA has been under fire since it was revealed that the agency spied on some world leaders’ phones. A report that the agency may have collected telephone and e-mail records directly from Europeans added to the outrage. Not true, Alexander said. "To be perfectly clear, this is not information that we collected on European citizens.It represents information that we, and our NATO allies, have collected in defense of our countries and in support of military operations,” he said. He vehemently defended NSA tactics, saying it has saved lives "not only here but in Europe and around the world."

Jim Sciutto will be live throughout the show with the latest. Fareed Zakaria joins us at 8.

5. Dying man’s love letters

Last words: If you knew you were doomed. You had maybe days left and all you had was a pen and a pad, whom would you write to? A Kansas man, police say, was in that terrible predicament. Stuck in a wrecked van, 54-year-old David Welch spent his last hours penning love letters to his wife and sons. What's in the letters is private, authorities say. But the letters have been handed over to Welch’s family. The desperate family had been searching for him since he went missing in early September. Police believe Welch, a salesman, fell asleep while driving. The car was found on October 18 down in a ravine.

Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a few others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.

- Cat versus the windshield wipers: Guess who wins.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mfi7QxlbK8&feature=youtu.be]

- Scaring kids on Halloween: Tomorrow, you'll get to see such neighbors. You know the type who get a kick out of scaring kids on Halloween. But this is a video of somebody who may have taken it too far.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_V92z7iY8M]

- Scaring kids on Halloween Part II: OK, now. Eating kids? Yeah this is definitely taking it too far.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhSlXcWKy9Y]

- Mama’s singing: This one is confusing. Either this baby loves to hear her mother sing. Or this baby is soooo frustrated that she’s not old enough to tell her mother to stop singing.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIsCs9_-LP8]

There you go. All you need to know to get an early start to your morning.
Be sure to tune in to "New Day" from 6 to 9 a.m. ET. Join us at NewDayCNN.com and go and have a GREAT NEW DAY!