♪ good morning. it is 5:00 in the morning, which means it is a very early start. i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida zam lysambol. we are very glad you're joining us. we're bringing you the "news from a to z." whitney houston is back home in her state of new jersey. meanwhile, questions are still lingering about what it was that killed her in los angeles.

and you know, we are witnessing a massacre. cnn is now inside syria. our arwa damon is there. she is taking shelter in a safe house and she is saying the country is headed toward a full-blown war. that's what the folks that are living there are thinking is going to happen. and on the election front, some trouble on home surf for mitt romney. he's from michigan and seems to be losing it at this point. in the meantime, his super pac is funneling a ton of money into that state, but is it going to the right place? associatiso, parents out th would you feel if your child was forced to pay for something like not looking a teacher in the key? chicago charter schools are under fire this morning for fining children, many from low-income homes, for that and many other things as well. one minute after the top of the hour. exclusive details into cnn about whitney houston's funeral plans, how her family's coping with her death at this time, all at the same time that her body was

flown back from california to the east coast. she is back home now in newark, new jersey, this morning. pictures that you're looking at now are of the hearse, a gold-colored hearse, arriving at funeral home late last night, tented as they try to somehow maintain some kind of dignity and privacy for the body of the musical singing star. whitney houston's family friend tells cnn exclusively that the family is planning for a funeral on friday, hoping that they can hold it on friday, also saying that bobby brown is in new jersey right now as well. and at this point, it is expected that the funeral will be held at the prudential center. take a look at these pictures, a photograph of whitney houston appearing there last night on a giant video screen at production center. >> also new this morning in this death investigation, police now say houston was found submerged under water in a bathtub. she was found unconscious and unresponsive. they did try to revive her.

she was found by a member of her staff. her body was removed from the tub before security arrived. deb feyerick live in newark with the latest for us. deb, you spoke exclusively with a friend of the family last night at the funeral home. what did they tell you? >> reporter: i did. as a matter of fact, this is a friend of the family who was at the funeral home yesterday. we spoke this morning, and he tells me that yesterday, whitney houston's mom, cissy, a gospel singer, and also her cousin, dionne warwick, were at the funeral home to greet the casket of the beloved whitney houston. the mom, he describes her as being overwhelmed, but at the same time, very, very strong. her faith is getting her and everyone else in the family through this very difficult time. they describe it saying, you know, although whitney houston has passed from this side, they believe that her light is shining very brightly from the other side. the family, though, they are upset at what they perceive as

bashing of whitney houston, specifically all the talk about her drug use. and he says that they really want the legacy of whitney houston to be remembered as all the things she did for so many people, the children who she helped through her charities, also christmas in newark, bringing toys and gifts when she arrived at christmas in newark every year. he tells me that, in fact, the daughter, bobbi kristina, is in the care of her grandmother as well as her father, bobby brown, the singer, who is in new jersey now, and the funeral likely to take place on friday, though plans are still a little bit fluid, but right now the plans are for friday. >> deb feyerick live in newark, thank you very much. >> and whitney houston's longtime friend chaka khan is slamming clive davis for going on with the pre grammy awards party at the same hotel where houston was found dead hours earlier. houston was supposed to have performed at that party and

chaka khan tells cnn's piers morgan that houston should have had a supervisor. chaka khan herself is a recovering addict and says the music industry can become a very bad influence on stars. >> i was seeing these pictures of her apparently falling at clubs and whether it was a lot of wine, but certainly, the fact that she was drinking publicly in these clubs in hollywood seemed to me a potential recipe for disaster. >> it was. it absolutely was, and i stand by that. i stand on that. i stand on that whoever flew her out to perform at that party should have provided someone to be there to somehow look, just keep the riffraff out of the situation, just keep some of the dangerous people away. >> was she very vulnerable, do you think -- >> yes. >> -- even to the end to that kind of situation? >> absolutely, we're all -- i am. i'm very vulnerable as, you know -- i mean, i'm not -- i will never do cocaine again, i

know that, but we are sensitive, highly sensitive people, entertainers. >> chaka khan also says it was complete insanity that that party actually went on. whitney houston used to be her backup singer. >> i didn't know that. >> quite some time ago. >> isn't that something? so, it's 6:30 a.m. we're talking to the head of the nation's drug control policy, gill kerlikowske. he'll talk about how her death is a teachable moment. >> and that's the problem, is that the family doesn't want to focus on the drugs and bad parts of her life, but if it is a teachable moment, you have to. >> and she was spiraling. it was in all the reports, something we saw, so you have to deal. >> you do have to deal. we switch gears to syria, because that nation is either in or on the brink of an all-out war, a civil war, and there doesn't seem to be any letup to the slaughter there. take a look at the pictures. again, it's becoming a reminder

of the daily shelling those places are undergoing. this is homs. opposition saying 30 people killed on monday, bringing the number to 700 killed just last week. again, those are opposition numbers, very difficult to confirm. but cnn's arwa damon has been able to cross into syria. we are not able to disclose her location, obviously, for safety reasons, but she says the situation there is deteriorating. >> reporter: in the areas where the government crackdown is at its worst, people say that there are snipers positioned on every single street corner. you can hardly cross a main thoroughfare without coming across government snipers. then, of course, there are all of the tanks and the government checkpoints. it's an incredibly intense situation and also incredibly emotional. anger is running at an all-time high, as is frustration and desperation. >> just to underscore how remarkable it is that arwa damon was able to get into that country, because that area where

she is is virtually ringed by government forces. we're covering this story from all different angles, in the surrounding countries as well. our nick paton walsh is live in neighboring beirut, lebanon. nick, it's hard to tell the story daily . it seems the story is the same every day, but a glimmer of hope, they were able to get blankets and supplies into these neighborhoods. but we all know those vehicles have been targeted as well. how are they able to get in? and is it just, basically, a needle in a haystack of desperation? >> reporter: well, at this point, we are still unclear exactly whether these goods were able to get to the worst-hit areas. i think it's pretty clear that the focus of the syrian army shelling over the last ten days, the ten-day-long onslaught has not received that much humanitarian aid. i talked to an activist that's i've been talking to for a number of days and he describes

this as the worst shelling in five days, pretty significant given that 500 people have died since this began ten days ago. as we were talking, he described how it's impossible to be safe anywhere in that area. all they can try to do is stay indoors, but blasts kept interrupting his conversation, kept interrupting what he was saying, shaking the room, making him tell his friends to run away and stay away from the windows, in case the glass were to shatter and injure them, actually. >> nick, let me ask you just quickly about the arab league, because obviously, one of the decisions that group came to is they want to support a u.n.-connected peacekeeping force. is that getting any more traction? is it sort of just spiraling until we get bigger nations, particularly russia and china, on board? >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. i mean, there's a lot in its way. let's start with the people in homs. they think it's a waste of time. they're not seeing their lives change on the ground at all. then, let's go to the russians. well, the russians want to see a cease fire first before

peacekeepers go in. that's a big ask. besides that, they don't want any outside interference. so it's hard to see how these peacekeepers could be combatible with the russian position. then on top of that, there's the syrian government who say they consider this all flagrant interference in their sovereign affairs, so they're against it, too. so how much talking we see in the days to come, it seems pretty likely to say there are a lot of damaging road blocks in the way of this peacekeeping initiative. >> let me ask you about syria's u.n. ambassador. apparently, he is calling this an aggressive and illegitimate criticism of his country, and he's saying that all of the critique of what's going on there is an effort to undermine the government. all right, that's the u.n., and we all know apart from china and russia, there's a lot of criticism coming from about every angle at the u.n. how is that being received? >> reporter: to be honest, we've heard this before from the syrian regime. they promise reform, they consider this to be a conspiracy, they occasionally get some kind of diplomatic

support from the russians in that idea, also referring about how people shouldn't interfere in other countries' sovereign affairs, but at the end of the day, i think the ongoing thing is the ongoing onslaught in homicide undeniable by anybody. casualties are rising. the u.n. human rights coordinator talking yesterday about how this is potentially a war krirges given to the credible evidence they've seen day in, day out. so, the syrian protests of conspiracy seem increasingly hollow, almost at times ridiculous. ashleigh? >> nick paton walsh in beirut, thank you foe that are. 11 minutes after the hour. we start the day alerting you to news happening later and stories developing now but they will be the big story tonight. well, getting to know the next president of china. xi jingping is expected to meet with president obama today in washington, d.c., set to take over as president of china in march of 2013. in just a few hours, we'll

get another snapshot of the gop race because a new cnn poll is set to be released 4:00 eastern time, and this one interesting because there are a couple of other polls out that suggest rick santorum is catching up to mitt romney. and who will be the top dog? i'm not talking politics, literally dogs. the top 2,000 dogs representing 185 breeds, all vying to be named best in show at westminster kennel club dog show in new york city. that is tonight. love that show. >> and you know what? there's not one mutt in that crowd, let me tell you. they're adorable all, but not a mutt among them. so, we like to "mind your business" around this time of the morning, not because we're nosy, but because we think you need the updates. u.s. stock markets closed higher yesterday, the dow, nasdaq, s&p 500. that's the best indicator for your stocks in your 401(k). all of them arrows up. why the optimism? that greece is going to avoid default after a greek austerity plan was pushed too far,

especially people going crazy over that plan. >> but bad news after the closing bell pushed stock futures lower this morning. one of the top credit rating agencies, moody's, is downgrading six european countries. let's bring in christine romans, she's in atlanta talking about this. christine, do these downgrades really matter? >> they tell us what we already know, that it's going to be a complicated and long road to fix europe's problems. it's so funny, listening to you talk about the markets, i feel like the paula abdul song from the '80s with three steps forward and two steps back. >> that's a good one. >> that's exactly what it is, you know? then we get optimism about greece, then we're concerned about some of the other countries. i want to show you quickly the countries that moody's downgraded, among them italy, spain and portugal. they have an awful lot of debt and they have to figure out how to grow their economies and also cut their spending. also, moody's did something else that was getting a lot of attention. france and the uk, their ratings stayed the same, but they put them on what's called outlook

negative, meaning they could cut those ratings. those are a couple of very important countries, too. so, does it matter? it doesn't change anything today, but it tells us what we really already knew, that there's an awful lot of work to do. and so, that's why you have futures down a little bit this morning, ladies. >> so, i'm hearing this little nugget about at&t customers who may be finding their service somewhat slowed if they're big into downloading, you know, huge files and videos and that kind of thing. what's going on? >> you know, it's interesting, they told us this could happen. this is for people on the unlimited plans. if you become that top 5% of heavy users of your cell phone, i mean, if you're using it a lot for video, gps services, you're playing a lot of games, you might be in that top 5%. and so, at&t is slowing you down. they're putting some speed bumps out there. so, what might have taken a couple seconds to download is now taking a couple of minutes. and maybe you've noticed this, you're getting text messages about it too, saying you're getting close. it's tough to tell whether it will happen to you. verizon does it as well, but it

depends how congested the cell tower is and where you live. but basically, we are gobbling up so much data, using our phones in so many new ways that they're having to manage the traffic, basically, and that's irritating some people with these $30 plans, no question. and i'm sure the companies are trying to steer you into maybe a tiered plan or something. but really interesting how we are just, our use of the data is growing and these companies are trying to have to figure out how to manage the traffic. >> that's kind of a younger demo, right, 18 to 35, that uses that kind of data on their cell phone? >> i don't know, but some people are using the data, like gps, for example, for their job, gps. my ipad, i couldn't believe it, it kind of tells me where to go. it's almost like, i don't know -- >> a newer generation. that's very telling, miss christine. >> i get my newspapers on my ipad. i'm not sure if that's one of the heavy uses. by the way, i hate being called a heavy user of anything, but i wonder if i fit into that demo. i'm going to assume i do.

>> the word they use is throttling. they're throttling, which is an interesting word as well, but have you been throttled by at&t? that's such an interesting question. >> all righty then. on that night, ms. christine romans, thank you very much! >> x-rated "minding your business" this morning, ms. romans. 15 minutes after the hour. there is ice moving across the south and midwest, and tracking it for us is mr. rob marciano. >> good morning, heavy users getting throttled. happy valentine's day! >> didn't want to repeat that, my friend. won't let that get by. >> very sweet. happy valentine's day to you. >> good morning. taking you to little rock, arkansas, snow yesterday coating the roadways and causing some accidents and issues there in the capital of the state, but nonetheless, for folks in arkansas, a pretty sight. we had anywhere from 2 to some cases 6 inches of snow up through missouri, st. louis, kansas city and north into iowa, and that system is now moving off to the east. a little sleet mixing in at times last night in atlanta, north georgia seeing a little bit of mixed precipitation at this hour, but generally speaking, the system is spreading out, weakening a

little bit and pulling in some warmer air as well. the rain-snow line is, give or take, the ohio river. so, cincinnati seeing some snow, lexington, louisville seeing it mix in with a little bit of rain, and the amount of accumulation we expect to see today before the next system comes in, just a few inches, and then again falling apart before it gets to some of the larger cities. dense fog this morning, san antonio, houston and austin right now reporting some fog with visibilities below a half a mile. so, you may see some delays at the airport. dallas and houston, as mentioned, new york and philly, atlanta, some clouds, and cleveland some snow and another system coming down into southern california. guys, enjoy. >> thank you. >> nothing special for valentine's day for us? >> didn't i say happy -- >> you did. >> i wanted you to sing. i'm asking too much. >> i wore a valentino tie, how's that? >> nicely done. understated elegance. >> i think just a happy valentine's day. >> i'm asking too much. 17 minutes after the hour. ahead on "early start," mitt

romney is losing to santorum in his home state. the polls are out. can his supporters buy michigan? now here's a story for you. justice? well, how about supreme court justice? one of ours was robbed with someone yielding a machete. i'm not kidding here. you'll find out exactly what went down and how one of our high court's finest got out of this one. you're watching "early start." ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] purina one beyond. food for your cat or dog.

the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. it's got tender white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. 8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle --

wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! gives you a 50 percent annual bonus. so you earn 50 percent more cash. if you're not satisfied with 50% more cash, send it back! i'll be right here, waiting for it. who wouldn't want more cash? [ insects chirping ] i'll take it. i'll make it rain up in here. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? sorry i'll clean this up. shouldn't have made it rain.

♪ 20 minutes now past 5:00 on the east coast. time to check top stories making news for you. whitney houston's body has arrived in her home state of new jersey this morning, her family talking about holding a memorial service on thursday with a funeral on friday, possibly at prudential center arena in newark. in syria, it is on the brink of total war there, civil war. the opposition saying 30 more people were reportedly killed on monday in homs as the u.n. works on a resolution to condemn the assad regime. back in this country, house republicans reversing their position and agreeing to extend the payroll tax cut without demanding spending cuts that would offset the costs of that

measure. the new jersey state senate passing a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage. the state assembly votes on that measure thursday. and yesterday, washington became the seventh state to legalize same-sex marriage, and this is kind of a bizarre story. the machete-wielding suspect who robbed supreme court justice stephen breyer last week in his caribbean vacation home is still on the loose this morning. breyer was not hurt. the suspect got away with about $1,000 in cash. machete-wielding. good gracious. >> i know. and the john f. kennedy library and museum releasing some of former first lady jackie kennedy's papers to the public, among them notes of her televised tour of the white house 50 years ago. everybody remembers that. still coming up ahead on "early start," we have new information about whitney houston's final days from one of her closest friends. she'll weigh in on just exactly where things stand with that investigation and the plans to

memorialize her. then also, here's a strange one. is myspace becoming the new facebook? a million new users in just this month. why is everybody taking a second look at this product? you're watching "early start." america has an impact on all ofn us. how can we save these young people's lives? as a police chief i have an opportunity to affect what happens in a major city. i learned early on if you want to make a difference you have to have the right education. university of phoenix opened the door. my name is james craig, i'm committed to making a difference and i am a phoenix. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7,

you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. i like yoplait. it is yoplait. but you said it was greek. mmhmm. so is it greek or is it yoplait? exactly. okay... [ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so greek. without the stuff that we make here, you wouldn't be able to walk in your house and flip on your lights. [ brad ] at ge we build turbines that power the world. they go into power plants which take some form of energy, harness it, and turn it into more efficient electricity. [ ron ] when i was a kid i wanted to work with my hands, that was my thing. i really enjoy building turbines. it's nice to know that what you're building is gonna do something for the world. when people think of ge, they typically don't think about beer. a lot of people may not realize that the power needed to keep their budweiser cold and even to make their beer

comes from turbines made right here. wait, so you guys make the beer? no, we make the power that makes the beer. so without you there'd be no bud? that's right. well, we like you. [ laughter ] ♪ ♪ it is 24 minutes past 5:00 on the east coast and we're getting an early read at your local news making national headlines. got all the morning papers here and we want to take some stories from dallas and chicago. this is from "the dallas morning news," referring to air traffic controllers. that is a very busy airport, if you've ever gone through dfw? well, apparently, dallas-ft. worth now facing a shortage of air traffic controllers. the faa says somewhere around 65% of the more experienced controllers among them are eligible to retire, early, in fact. they're saying don't worry about it yet because it's unlikely they're going to all jump ship

at once and go for early retirement, but -- >> they've got new ones training? >> working on it. apparently, they're working on it, saying there are measures in place to assure there are plenty of well-trained controllers available to take over. but if you are looking for a new vocation, perhaps this would be the time. >> it takes a while to train to do that. >> at least a while, yeah. >> all right, "chicago tribune," my hometown. there's a network of charter schools charging students $5 for minor disciplinary infractions, things like untied shoelaces, dozing off in class, bringing chips to school. when the student receives more than 12 detentions, they have to pay $140 and attend behavioral classes, and that's what they're paying for, those classes. some parents and activists are outraged. they call the fines a tax on low-income families. they actually marched over to city hall yesterday in protest. but i have to say, there are some parents that actually think it's a good idea. so, we're going to chat a little bit more about this later and get other folks to weigh in on

whether it's a good idea or a bad idea. how would you feel about that? >> you know, i've got a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old, so i'm not on the that stage yet. >> if you were. this is a high school that is doing this. >> i think it's a thumbs up. i'm the tough love, you know, i'm in the tough love bracket. i just want to show you quickly, this "new york post" cover, "thugs mug judge," which is what we were talking about. >> yes. a machete-wielding -- >> stephen breyer being held at knifepoint and robbed. i wonder if it will change how he is on the supreme court. he's considered one of the more left-leaning judges, so it would be interesting. once you're a crime victim, a lot of things change. >> when i heard machete, i thought it's strategic, there's a certain section that would use that really as -- >> machete, it's remarkable. >> i thought he was in puerto rico, quite frankly. >> because that's where he grew up. >> yes, and we use machetes all the time. >> heavens! that is an odd thing to say. >> it is. i grew up on a farm and you do use a machete to get through the bush, so absolutely --

>> it makes sense. >> makes sense. no, we don't use it as a weapon. >> i didn't think that, but it sounded interesting. so, rolling on the river like rick santorum is on that wave right now, and it's taking him to michigan where mitt romney is starting to sweat. because michigan's his home state and already the polls show he's not doing so well there. can that sdmanchange? >> can he buy the donors in michigan? we'll talk to our panelists. you're watching "early start."

♪ good morning to you. welcome back to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm ashleigh banfield. nice to have you here with us

this morning at 29 minutes after the hour. time to check top stories. whitney houston's body arriving back home in her home state of new jersey, where she is set to be buried later this week. investigators now playing down the amount of prescription drugs that were reportedly found in the hotel room where whitney houston died. also in the news, rumblings of total, all-out civil war, as violence spreads in syria. the opposition saying 30 more civilians killed just yesterday, many of them children. on top of that, the number is closer to 700 for those who died last week. and the man in line to be china's next president is set to meet with our president, president obama, today. xi jinping is set to take over as president of china in march 2013. >> i hear he's a gregarious sort. >> and a really interesting past. he's been in jail? i mean, fascinating, fascinating stuff. and talk of a big breakthrough in washington. house republicans making a major concession in negotiations over extending the payroll tax cut for 160 million working

families. they now say they will not demand spending cuts to offset the cost of the tax cut. and the grammys getting its biggest rating since 1984. that is the year "thriller" won album of the year. the recording academy says more than 39 million viewers tuned in to see the show with so many curious about tributes to whitney houston, perhaps, who died just one day earlier. and of course on that story, we have exclusive new details about whitney houston's funeral plans and what her family is doing. a family friend is telling cnn that the funeral is likely to be held on friday of this week. her body was flown overnight from california to her hometown of newark, new jersey. her ex-husband, bobby brown, is apparently now in new jersey. all of this as beverly hills police reveal that houston was found under water and unconscious within 30 minutes of her death. our deb feyerick is live in newark with the very latest. she spoke exclusively with a

family friend. and deb, you got some new information about whitney houston's mom as well. >> reporter: absolutely. the friend, who was here at the funeral house last night, says that the mom, whitney houston's mom, cissy houston, is very strong. clearly, she's overwhelmed by everything that has happened, but her faith is getting her through. even though whitney houston not here, they believe she is still a light on the other side and that she's shining through. there have been a lot of reports about whitney houston and whether she was abusing drugs at the time of her death, and the friend says absolutely not. he says that, in fact, whitney houston had been clean for three years. there were prescription medications in her room. she was, apparently, being treated for a throat infection, and there were some medications for anxiety and to help her sleep. but as far as all that drug abuse that's been reported, that appears to have been over. she was back in a good place in her life. we're told that not only was her mom here, but her cousin, dionne

warwick, was also here. and really, the legacy that the houston family wants is for her to be remembered for all the wonderful things she did, for when she came to newark during christmastime, during easter, the family celebrations. the friend telling me that the real whitney houston was not necessarily the whitney houston that you saw out in public. the real whitney houston was the woman you saw in church on sundays just singing her heart out, part of a large, loving and welcoming community, and that's really the message that they're trying to send, ashleigh. >> obviously, family as well as friends trying to sort of harness that issue of her legacy. and to that end, actually, deb, last night our colleague, piers morgan, had kelly price and chaka khan on his program, two of her terrific friends, and they both spoke about the condition that whitney houston was in, and they had differing opinions about that. let's listen to it and i'll get your thoughts afterwards. >> as one of her close friends, how do you feel about what was

being allowed to happen to her? >> okay, i have strong feelings about that. i, too, was an addict. i know. if i were on a set of a movie, even now -- i've recovered for seven years -- we would have made -- if i was coming to a city like l.a., we would have made specific plans that i come in the night before or day of the performance, especially if you're still, if you've not gone into proper treatment and gotten really handled, gotten your situation handled. yeah, that was the first big mistake, for her to come in an entire week before her performance at the party. i'd have never done that. >> say there was nothing wrong with her. obviously, her past battles have been very public. did she seem in any way high to you or intoxicated? i think in the past i heard

you'd said she had been drinking champagne. >> yeah. everyone pretty much had had champagne at some point in the night. they were toasting the event, toasting the grammy nominations. that's what was going on. she was not high. i'm a girl that grew up in the projects in new york city. i know high when i see it. she was not high. we were literally just having a great time. we were having a celebratory time, and i stick to it because it's the truth. >> you know, deb, obviously, kelly pryce on "anderson cooper" last night. you can tell these friends are desperately trying to sort of get this genie back in the bottle, almost, to get everyone to try to remember just this miraculous voice and incredible presence, as opposed to the later years, which were distressing for a lot of her fans and anybody who followed her music. >> reporter: yeah, but you know, you speak to family members now, and really, what they're telling you was that she really had cleaned up her act. she felt comfortable with her

life, comfortable with her career. the hard drugs she had been doing were no longer an issue in her life, according to the friend i spoke with earlier today. he said really, you know, she had gotten her relationship with god back and she was just at a really good, good place. now, whether the prescription medications were simply enough in combination in a bath to allow her to doze off, that's one thing that the coroner's office, obviously, that's one of the things that they're looking into. but as far as any sort of existing abuse now, a friend says it just wasn't there. >> all right, deb feyerick live for us in newark, thank you. thank you for that. >> i guess the final word will come from the toxicology reports and then everybody will know. >> yeah. >> of course, the family would want to rally behind her. >> it does stand to reason, though, that there are already these reports that investigations are out there with regard to where some of these prescriptions may have been purchased, the pharmacy that sold michael jackson some of his lethal drugs as well. >> we'll talk about the drugs specifically -- how does this continue to happen in light of

michael jackson? >> the story's not over, that's for sure. >> no, no. 36 minutes after the hour. just ahead, the gop primary is just weeks away and mitt romney now in his home staep state. how his supporters are trying to spend their way to wayne. and hope for heart attacks victims. how your very own cells could help to save you. we'll explain what it means. you're watching "early start." [ horn honks ] hey, it's sandra -- from accounting. peter. i can see that you're busy... but you were gonna help us crunch the numbers for accounts receivable today. i mean i know that this is important. well, both are important. let's be clear. they are but this is important too. [ man ] the receivables. [ male announcer ] michelin knows it's better for xerox to help manage their finance processing. so they can focus on keeping the world moving. with xerox, you're ready for real business. it's got 10 speeds, my friend. ♪ is it fast?

it's got a lightning bolt on it, doesn't it? ♪ is it fast? i don't even know if it's street legal. ♪ is it safe? oh ya, it's a volkswagen. [ male announcer ] the security of a jetta, one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. ♪ got you in a stranglehold, baby ♪ mid grade named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback right now, get 5% cashback at gas stations. it pays to discover. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines

are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪ kinda. ah, welcome to hotels.com. i get it...guys weekend. yeah! if you're looking for a place to get together, you came to the right place. because here at hotels.com, we're only about hotels. yeah! yeah! noooo. yeah! finding you the perfect place is all we do. welcome to hotels.com

♪ so, it is beginning to look like the next two weeks could make or break mitt romney's bid for the republican nomination. the michigan primary's only two weeks away. romney's camp pretty concerned now. the super pac is digging deep, throwing an additional $500,000 into michigan for ads. here's why they're doing it. the latest american research group poll shows romney trailing santorum in michigan, 33% to 27%. romney grew up in michigan and

his father was governor there. so, what's going on? let's ask our panelists. live in washington, democratic strategist maria cardona, david drucker, political reporter for "roll call," and here in new york, gretchen hamill, executive director of "the public notice." david, i'll start with you. we're going to start with those polls there. romney apparently has a serious reason for concern here. michigan was considered a done deal for him among, you know, the things that we mentioned. he won it easily back in 2008. how likely is a santorum win? and does this become a game-changer? >> well, i think that as with everything in this race, every time we think we know what the playing field is, every time we think something's going to finally set this race on a permanent track, it hasn't, so i wouldn't make too much of the michigan polling today, except that you're right, it should be concerning for mitt romney. he's behind. and a rick santorum win in michigan could make him competitive on super tuesday.

so, yes, it's concerning, but there's two weeks, it could turn around. of course, mitt romney entered florida behind. he had, i think ten days or less to turn that around, and he did. and so, there's, as we've seen in this race, plenty of time for anything to happen. rick santorum was down for some time and now he's up. and so, it's a race. >> yeah. it's been a bit of a roller coaster ride. maria, i want to stay on michigan now. a pro-romney super pac is buying additional ad time in michigan, tripling its spending there. until now, the super pac was targeted at gingrich. we assume they're going to target santorum. there are only two weeks left for these ads to have any effect. do you think they will? >> well, unfortunately, what we've seen this cycle is the tremendous show of negative advertising. and what we've seen is that it works. david's right, this is what romney's strategy was going into florida after newt gingrich's win in south carolina, completely eviscerated gingrich in florida, and it worked for

him. absolutely, they're going to do that now because -- >> but maria, he had a lot more time for those ads in florida. they aired for a very long time. this is only two weeks. >> that's exactly right, so we'll see what kind of damage he can do. i think that it's very concerning. this is where i disagree with david. i think it's very concerning for mitt exactly because of that. he doesn't have as much time for the negative ads to work. plus, this michigan poll is not an outlier. you've seen actually polling nationally where santorum and romney are now basically tied and his numbers are tanking among independents. and so, that is of huge concern for mitt romney. if he loses his home state of michigan, i absolutely think it's a game-changer moving forward. >> all right, so gretchen, let's talk more about those numbers and the independents. if we take the independents out of the polls, rick santorum is actually ahead by 24 points. romney's been called the electable candidate, right? but the last poll had him tied

with president obama. he cannot connect with the conservative base. are you concerned that this is just a fundamental problem for the gop in general? >> well maybe a fundamental problem for the gop when it comes to connecting with conservatives for romney, but you know, there is a conservative base a part of the republican party, but at the end of the day, this election will be decided by the independents. romney has to swing to the right in order to get through this primary. that's typically what you see of candidates, they start their campaign off by singing to their base and then swinging back over into the middle, and that's what we're going to see romney do. now, how he's looking in michigan, he does have a conservative problem in michigan, and he's going to have to fix that in the course of the next two weeks, and two weeks is a lifetime in this primary. but what will really happen and what will really decide this race is super tuesday in march. >> all right, so, my last question for you. it is kind of off base, i contend, because the catholic church is involved in politics right now, that perhaps it's not. you have to follow the rules

here. it is a one-word answer today. so, we're going to focus on the news in entertainment, nicki minaj getting a lot of heat from the catholic league. i assume you've seen this picture. we have video to show you at the grammys red carpet. she wore a red robe that looked like a cardinal's robe, or perhaps little red riding hood, we're not sure. she was escorted by a man dressed as the pope and did a backwa backward performance there, focusing on exorcism. offensive, fine or stupid? maria? >> that's a good one. i'm going to say amusing. >> amusing, david? >> plain stupid is two words, but i'm going with that. >> gretchen? >> plain stupid. she didn't think it through. >> thank you very much. appreciate your time this morning. we'll see you again a little bit later. >> thank you. still ahead on "early start," some said it's a social media dinosaur, but is myspace making a comeback? and what does music have to do

with it? you're watching "early start." [ amy ] mr. greene? mr. greene? yeah? want my downy unstopables? laundry smells good for a long time. nmm mmn. really, you can have it! take it joe. ♪ downy unstopables [ sniffs ] see you around. hey kid, catch! wow! no thanks, mean joe. ♪ downy last time i'm doing this.

♪ made with only milk... cream... a touch of sugar... and pure natural flavors. ♪ who knew being natural could be so delicious? coffee-mate natural bliss. from nestle. add your flavor naturally. and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol?

honey nut cheerios. 8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle -- wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge!

♪ 48 minutes past the hour. it's time to check the stories that are making news this morning. whitney houston's family is talking about holding a memorial service on thursday with a funeral on friday, possibly at the prudential center in newark. it holds quite a bit of people there. and syrian forces resuming their shelling of homs in the last few hours as the u.n. works on a resolution to condemn the assad regime. scientists at cedars-sinai medical center in los angeles as well as scientists at johns hopkins university in baltimore say they have successfully used a patient's own heart cells to regrow new heart tissue and help undo the damage that was caused by a heart attack. >> wow. >> huge, huge jumps in technology there. also, the once dominant social networking site myspace is making a big comeback.

>> wow. >> the company says it added a million new users in the last month. a lot of people saying it could be because it is repositioning itself as a music site. justin timberlake and a group of investors bought that site back in march. >> i haven't used myspace since june of last year. >> i did, and i kind of, i don't know -- >> migrated to facebook? >> i migrated, but i also don't do a lot of social networking. i found it interesting that facebook walloped myspace and now here's justin timberlake and his group saying we're not going to beat them or join them, but do something different. they have 40 million songs that are free, so that's not a bad idea. >> that may be a huge draw. >> that alone. 50 minutes after the hour. ahead on "early start," schools fining students for what some call minor infractions. parents are now protesting. we're going to dig deep into this story for you. you're watching "early start." oh will you grab us some yoplait?

sure. what flavor? mm, one of each. lemon burst, hm, cherry orchard, blackberry harvest... my daughter's grabbing some yoplait. pina colada, orange creme. i can't imagine where she is... strawberry cheesecake. [ grocery store pa ] clean up in aisle eight. found her! [ female announcer ] yoplait original. 25 flavors for you to love. it is so good. will be giving away passafree copies 25 flavors for you to love. of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com.

♪ ♪ smoking in the boys room >> yeah. tommy lee and company with motley crew singing us in with "smoking in the boys room." >> that will get you kicked out of school, right? >> yeah. >> no questions asked. >> smoking in the boys room would. that was the newer version. the '70s anthem we all grew up with. here's the story. parents in chicago are getting angry over a charter school's plans to fine some of the students for minor disciplinary infractions. >> some might consider them minor. noble network charter schools is charging the children, high

school kids, $5 for a long list of infractions. here's some of them -- chewing gum, possessing soft drinks, not tucking in shirts and carrying a permanent marker. there is a long list, though. educators say the policy curbs bad behavior, but some activists say it's a predatory tax on low-income communities which the schools serve. and so, joining us now is one of those activists protesting this policy, judy brown dianis, co-director of the advancement project. good morning to you, judy. we just saw a list of some of those there. explain to us why you think it is unfair. >> well, it's unfair because what our children need are safe, high-quality schools that put them on a path to college and career, not schools that punish them, fine them and arrest them. and what is happening at noble street schools is that these parents are being faced with either trying to pay their utility bills or paying the school for fines for things like you didn't tie your shoelace? i mean, it's just outrageous

that schools would do this instead of nurturing our children. >> well, but at the high school level, don't you think that the children should be on better behavior, because it affects classrooms, right? they're disrupting classes with some of their bad behaviors. >> well, but we're not talking about that. what we're talking about are things like you're not sitting up straight in your seat, you are not articulating clearly, you didn't tie your shoelace, you brought potato chips to class. there are other ways to handle this kind of behavior, which is very minor behavior, instead of alienating children, fining their parents and putting them on a track to prison. >> but it has been successful, right, in changing the behavior at that particular school? and there are some parents who actually agree that this is a good idea. >> well, i mean, this is a school also that has -- let's put this in perspective. they have in the past year gotten almost $200,000 off of the backs of hard-working

families. what they should be doing is teaching proper behavior, not punishing and fining. we know from everything across the country that the more suspensions, the more detentions, it's not effective. what happens is the children drop out, they fail academically and that they are the people most likely to be in the criminal justice system. >> well, here, when you talk about that, dropping out, they have an 87.2% graduation rate. they actually call it the secret sauce to providing a high-quality urban education, is having some of these programs in place because the parents aren't addressing these things at home. >> well, the secret sauce comes with some bitter pills, because you can have a high graduation rate, but the point is, is that families that cannot pay these bills have to get pushed out of the schools. i mean, they get kicked out. this isn't a regular public school. this is a charter school who gets to choose who goes to their school. so, you can inflate your graduation rates by kicking kids out.

at the end of the day, there's got to be common sense discipline. we need schools, like in baltimore for example, they reduced suspensions. their suspensions have come down by 64% and their dropout rates have come to all-time lows. we need schools that are nurturing our children, that are safe, not kicking them out. >> judy, you mentioned $200,000 that they've collected in fees. do you know what they do with that money? >> well, we're told that they use that money to pay for teachers to sit in the detention time and for other kinds of supplies. but the bottom line is that we shouldn't be taxing hard-working families. what we should be doing is correcting behaviors, teaching kids a different way, making sure that they're on track academically and on a path to college or career. >> all right, judy browne-dianis, we appreciate your time this morning. >> thank you. and still ahead in the next hour, we've got some new information on the death of whitney houston.

her body has now been flown to her home state of new jersey. all of this as her family works out the plans for a funeral in front of thousands. you're watching "early start." ix cocomimingng s soooonn exextrtra a bubutttter titickcketets,s, s swon pepengnguiuin n jojouruy jujuninioror m minints momoviviefefononee evevilil p pririncncee bobollllywywoooodd 3-3-dd shsharark k atattatack nened d ththe e hehead 5%5% c casashbhbacackk ririghght t nonow,w, g getet 5 k onon m movovieies.s. itit p payays s toto d di. the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. it's got tender white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. o online dating services can get kind of expensive. so to save-money, i found a new way to get my profile out there. check me out. everybody says i've got a friendly disposition and they love my spinach dip. 5 foot ten. still doing a little exploring... on it. my sign is sagittarius, i'm into spanish cheese, my hairline is receding but i'm getting a weave.

(falsetto chorus) getting a weave. who wants some ronald tonight!? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. ♪ they hatin' ♪ patrolling and tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ [ mom ] hi, there. why do we always have to take your mom's car? [ male announcer ] the security of a tiguan, one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪

good morning to you, everyone. it is one minute past the hour. welcome to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. we are bringing you the news from a the to z. let's get started here. shall we? whitney houston's body is back home in new jersey. questions are still lingering about the drugs at the scene and whether that is what killed her. >> we have new video this morning.

shelling in syria which just seems relentless. we, on the other hand, have been able to get a crew into this area. obviously a very dangerous mission for us. but our cnn group is taking shelter in a safe house in the homs area. and reporting back to us that this country, if not already in full-scale civil war, is certainly headed that way. china's president in waiting is meeting with president obama today. the stakes are high, like the global economy. we're going to have a live report from the white house. and mitt romney getting a bit nervous about his home state. i'm telling ya. i said home state, michigan. he's worried about the numbers in michigan and his super pac is showing its concern by pumping the cash to the tune of almost a million dollars into that state. we'll let you know what's up. exclusive new details on the funeral plans for whitney houston. a family friend tells cnn exclusively her funeral will likely be held friday. houston's body is now back in newark, knowledge knowledge,

that is her hometown. friends and family including ex-husband bobby brown are stayed to be there as well. funeral is expected to be held at the prudential center which seats around 20,000 people. also, new details this morning about the investigation into her death. the police now say that houston was found submerged in the water of her bathtub. the coroner is confirming that prescription medications were found in her hotel room although telling our cnn's don lemon there weren't as many as most people are making it out to be. in fact, even saying i've got more prescription medication at my home. deb feyerick is live in new jersey with the latest. what's happening, deb, in terms of the plans to memorialize whitney houston here in new jersey? >> well, ashleigh and zoraida, it's doing to be big. they're doing it at the prudential center. it seats about 18,000 people. interestingly, while the new hope baptist church was a huge part of whitney houston's life,

it's where she learned how to sing, she was in the junior choir there, her mom was the choir director, very big part of her life, they will probably do a service but the expectation is that so many people will want to come, that they've had to open it up to a larger venue. that's why it will likely be at the prudential center. we did speak to a friend of the family earlier today, somebody who is very close to the family. and he says that while there's been a lot of talk about drug abuse, he says that there were no hard drugs. that whitney houston had been clean for about three years. there was no marijuana, no cocane. she was taking medications, however, for a throat infection. also, she suffered from anxiety and had trouble sleeping. those were the medications that were found in her room. and she went to take a bath. the friend believes if she did have some of those drugs perhaps the sedation was too much in combination with the hot water. we do know when the casket

arrived here late yesterday it was greeted by her mother cissy houston and dionne warwick. the mom clearly overwhelmed with everything that has happened over the last couple of days but remaining strong. friends saying her faith is really getting her through this. as for questions about whitney houston, had she been drinking. the friend said it wasn't uncommon that whitney would take a drink but again, she really felt she was in a very good place in her life. she had reconnected with god, the god that she knew as a teenager in her church. she had also in her career was on the mend. she was doing the movie. so there were a lot of good things. and she told a friend before she left two weeks ago, the last time he saw her, that she was happy, she was at a very good place. ashleigh? >> just one quick question. i know bobby brown, all of these pictures of him arriving in california. he jumped off of his concert tour to go to be with his daughter bobbi christina and now

he is where you are. do we know anything about whitney and bobby's daughter, where she might be? >> reporter: according to the friend the daughter is in the care of her grandmother cissy houston as well as in the care of her father. her father does have a home here in new jersey but it's not clear whether he is there or staying with the grandmother as well. clearly in the end, his place is with his daughter. what the friend told me, loob, bobby brown had faults, sure, but he was a good father and loving husband. while the relationship was complicated, they loved each other. >> deb feyerick live for us in newark, new jersey. thanks for that. six minutes past the hour. more heavy shelling and loud explosions in homs this morning. government forces killed 30 more civilians today. children among them. 700 were killed last week. also, arwa damon has been -- look at those pictures. it's hard to believe that arwa

damon was able to make her way into syria. tanks line the streets. civilians often being used as human shields on those tanks. because of the precarious situation with security there, we can't disclose what arwa damon's location is. the situation is very tense though according to arwa. everyone in syria expecting if it's not already there they're headed for full-scale civil war. >> the area where the government crackdown is at its worst, people say that there are snipers positioned on every single street, corner. you can hardly cross the main thor refair without coming across government snipers. of course, they have all the tanks at the government checkpoints. incredibly intense situation here. also incredibly emotional. anger is running at an all-time high, as is frustration and desperation. >> obviously with the failure of the u.n. to reach some kind of, you know, meaningful action

against assad regime, they're kind of going at it again. at least trying to craft some kind of resolution to condemn what's going on. but it's unclear if or when it might be ready or -- and here's the bigger part, if it's going to have any impact at all. >> you wonder what the transition is in order to say it is a full-scale war because those images are just unbelievable. >> it's hard to say because we can barely get people in there to do independent reporting. but so far this has been so focused on homs and whether that is just a crack down of the regime in one area and who they deem to be terrorists as they call it or whether it's going to be something that now involve a barrage of artillery who comes right back out. >> some reports in the neighboring communities, also, unrest. >> the issue with war is up until now this has been so peaceful. these people were marching through the steets and getting attacked. you can't call that a war. but when they start arming themselves and say, you know what, peaceful or not, we now have to protect our citizens, now against them.

now it's a warful situation. president obama, vice president biden will meet at the white house this morning with the next president of china. he arrived in the u.s. yesterday. the global economy and human rights are on the agenda. china's vice president and president in waiting might even take in a lakers game before heading home, we understand. our dan lothian live at the white house. we hear the chinese vice president is described as confident, westernized in his way but reports that there are protests perhaps waiting for his visit. >> that's right. tibetan activists with signs, saying free tibet, outside the white house. we expect we will see more of that not only here but as vice president makes his trip across the united states this week. this is the kind of thing that has been embarrassing to chinese

officials in the past and so no doubt u.s. officials are hoping it will be minimized somewhat. none the less, the freedom to protest here, unlike in their own country, so you can expect that happening as well. >> outside of that lakers game i just talked about, what's on the agenda? >> well, sk, the meet that you folks pointed out here with the vice president and the president in the oval office. also he'll be stopping in at the state department for a lunch there, meeting with pentagon officials, meeting with business officials as well who have concerns about trade issues. he'll be heading to iowa where the focus we're told will be more on agricultural issues and then out to the west coast where he will be visiting a school in california, but also there is that report that he could be taking in a lakers game as well. he's apparently a fan of the nba and so a big trip here in the united states. really a chance to sort of relationship build between potential -- the next potential leader of china. but also a chance for him to

flex his muscles and show and boost his political standing at home in china as well. >> dan lothian live at the white house for us. thank you. >> so interesting how his rein compares to hu jintao's rein and whether we will be able to make inroads in china as well. >> they say he's different but still a prickly relationship. we'll see. >> i love the fact that he spent time in jail. bizarre that a leader in china was once in jail. payroll tax cut. i know you've been waiting on it. it could mean the holiday for you continues but strings attached or new strings attached? christine romans will answer it. supreme court justices running with machete wielding man. >> almost like it's a hollywood script but it's not. rob marciano has the travel forecast for us this morning. >> happy valentine's day once again. east of the mississippi, it's

nasty. it's a stay in bed kind of day. from atlanta back to south georgia all of the way up towards the northeast. this is rain, a cold rain. temps in the 30s mixing in with sleet at times. snow around cincinnati, around the ohio river. new york. it's pretty much falling apart. a gray, gloomy day. temperatures will be warming up across i-95. accumulations, not a, t ton. travel delays there and traveling through the airports and low clouds in new york and philly and cleveland and san francisco, too. that's a quick check on weather. "early start" is coming right back. welcome to hotels.com. i get it...guys weekend. yeah! if you're looking for a place to get together, you came to the right place. because here at hotels.com, we're only about hotels. yeah! yeah! noooo. yeah! finding you the perfect place is all we do. welcome to hotels.com

sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get back to these invoices... which i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers.

with xerox, you're ready for real business. lead paint poisoning affects one million children today. if you're pregnant or have young children and your home was built before 1978, you could be at risk. learn how to protect your family. to find your home's danger zones, the health effects, or just to find help, log on to leadfreekids.org.

hour. it's time to check the stories that are making news this morning. whitney houston's body arrived home last night in newark, new jersey. the plans are not confirmed, but family members are reportedly discussing a memorial service on thursday with a funeral on friday. possibly at the 18,000-seat prudential center arena. activist organization is telling cnn that the syrian government forces have been shelling homs since 6:00 a.m. local time with at least six deaths reported so far. one activist describing this as the heaviest shelling in the last five days. says the u.n. works on a resolution to condemn the assad regime. new jersey senate has approved a measure that would legalize same-sex marriage in that state. the assembly there is going to vote on thursday, but the governor chris christie has already said if it gets to his desk his plans are to veto it. supreme court justice steven breyer usually dealing with

issues with regard to the law, now becoming a victim of crime. he was robbed last week in his caribbean vacation home by an intruder wielding a machete. the suspect did take about $1,000 in cash and is still somewhere out there on the loose. and the search for the literal top dog gets under way in new york tonight. 2,000 well-healed canines representing 189 dog breeds are competing to be called best in show at this year's westminster kennel club at madison square garden. it is a show to behold if you have never been and at lot of fun. >> i've never been. >> i've been. >> have you? >> i always get such a kick at the way the handlers run. i'm always watching them. i'm not watching the dog. have you ever seen the movie "best in show"? >> no. it gives you a whole new respect. still ahead, investigators now in china looking into alleged apple sweatshops.

also, something you don't hear every day, some progress in the nation's capital. >> yeah. >> wake up, i did say it, truly. you're not half asleep. the payroll tax holiday you've been enjoying might actually continue. there may not be the strings attached that have been bogging everything down in congress. hello, how can i deliver world-class service for you today ? we gave people right off the street a script and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? that department is currently closed. have i helped you with everything you needed ? if your bank doesn't give you knowledgeable customer service 24/7, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. oh there's tons. french presses, espresso tampers, filters. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it though. i mean shipping is a hassle. not with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships, anywhere in the country for a low flat rate.

that is easy. best news i've heard all day! i'm soooo amped! i mean not amped. excited. well, sort of amped. really kind of in between. have you ever thought about decaf? do you think that would help? yeah. priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $5.15, only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. [ kareem ] i was fascinated by balsa wood airplanes since i was a kid. [ mike ] i always wondered how did an airplane get in the air. at ge aviation, we build jet engines. we lift people up off the ground to 35 thousand feet. these engines are built by hand with very precise assembly techniques. [ mike ] it's gonna fly people around the world. safely and better than it's ever done before. it would be a real treat to hear this monster fire up. [ jaronda ] i think a lot of people, when they look at a jet engine, they see a big hunk of metal. but when i look at it, i see seth, mark, tom, and people like that who work on engines every day. [ tom ] i would love to see this thing fly. [ kareem ] it's a dream, honestly.

there it is. oh, wow. that's so cool! yeah, that was awesome! [ cheering ] [ tom ] i wanna see that again. ♪ at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke. i want to fix up old houses. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back.

[ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. 21 minutes past the hour. we are minding your business this morning. u.s. stock markets closing higher yesterday. the dow, nasdaq, s&p 500, that's the best indicator for stocks in your 401(k). all of them making gains. >> always good news. here's some more good news for your finances. republicans on capitol hill have decided not the fight certain areas. >> what? >> yeah. that extension on the payroll tax holiday. christine romans has been sorting through the red tape and fine details of it. the question is, not everybody necessarily will benefit from

that. president obama didn't want to let twealthiest americans continue with the tax holiday but for the rest of the everybody, they keep their money they've been getting up until now, christine? >> yes. this is house republicans signaling they're not going to find fight to find a way to pay for it. it would be raising taxes on 60 million working american it is you didn't extend it. the president wants to make it permanent, of course. that's what he said yesterday in his budget. house republicaning are signaling they're go to drop the fight. make it completely separate from some of the other things they're fighting about like extending jobless benefits. how much would it be? for one earning $50,000 a year, it would be keeping $40 in your paycheck. last year this because payroll tax holiday that was enacted. this year there have been these short extensions. congress is out, you guys. it's in recess. they've got to figure out whether they're going to fix this and do it quickly.

oh, my computer is beeping. >> your alert is there to tell you whether they've come to some resolution on that if you want to check it. okay. christine, i got this next story here i'm kind of excited about. today is valentine's day. new survey out that says if you own a home, you've got a better chance of pairing up. i think all my girlfriends would agree. right? >> i couldn't believe this. because, you know, so many people are thinking about renting now instead of buying because of the way the housing market is. on behalf of a real estate website surveyed 1,000 single people and found a third of women prefer to date a homeowner. only like 2% or 3% of women said they would prefer to date a renter. for men, it's about 18%. clearly more important for women than men. what was interesting in this survey, in light of honor of valentine's day, apparently hot tubs just don't do it for people anymore. that it don't -- no one cares if you have a hot tub. it's not up there on the priority list for what you want

in a -- >> it's going the way of the water bed, is that what you're saying? >> apparently. if you're thinking of investing in a hot tub to improve your date potential and the value of your home, according to this survey, it's probably not the best investment. the hot tub industry will get mad at me now. >> the home ownership, right, it shows that the person has a job, right, and is responsible, paying their mortgage. right? >> clearly. also asked about the people who are moving home after college because they can't get a job. apparently no one wants to date someone who is living with mom and dad. >> really? >> i'm going tweet this on cnnmoney.com. i'm going to retweet this. anybody who is looking for a date tonight wants to read this. >> anyone looking for a date with ron burgundy is looking for a hot tub. that's all i'm going to say on that one. still aheard on "early start," we're continuing to follow that huge story in california which has now progressed to the east coast, whitney houston, her body is returning back to her home state of new jersey. this is the hearse bringing her

body back to the funeral home. memorial service and funeral plans for whitney and the latest on what just might have caused her death. and team romney now reeling, is he losing his in home state? new polls are out. can a super pac help him buy michigan? >> yes. the answer is yes, if florida is any indication. hi, i'm a nutritionist, cookbook author and tv host and i'm on the road 100 days out of the year. usually when i'm on the road i don't cook. that's my time away from the kitchen. it's refreshing. i would not travel without my sneakers. i try to stay in a hotel that's in an area that i can do some walking. it's really fun toeks more different food around the country. one of the first things i do is tweet out to my tweets i'm in, you know, austin, where should i go for dinner and i wind up getting these great responses. this is my survival kit.

i always make a batch of my own energy bars. i think a lot of people feel frustrate and feel like they're not able to eat well on the road. let go of the idea of being perfect. i think people think perfect or bust, i can't have my normal oatmeal, i'm going to have a 1200 calorie cinnamon bun. think about making good choices and don't worry about being perfect. packing healthy living. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. lord of the carry-on. sovereign of the security line. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i deserve this.

[ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro. no, i wouldn't use that single miles credit card. hey, aren't you... shhh. i'm researching a role. today's special... the capital one venture card. you earn double miles on every purchase. impressive. chalk is a lost medium. if you're not earning double miles... you're settling for half. was that really necessary? [ male announcer ] get the venture card at capitalone.com and earn double miles on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? cover for me. i have an audition. what's in your wallet? [siri] i found 12 musical instrument stores.ar. how do i play london calling? whole lotta love? a b minor 9th? [siri] i found this for you. add migraine headache to my list of band names. tell julie and kate our band is playing at the garage tonight. [siri] here's your message to julie and kate.

call me rock god. [siri] from now on, i'll call you 'rock god'. ok? the hyundai genesis. in a new, faster-acting formula. zero-to-sixty in less time than a porsche panamera s.

the 429 horsepower genesis r-spec. from hyundai. very good morning to you, everyone. i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. it is 29 minutes past the hour. time to check the stories that are making news this morning. whitney houston's body has arrived home in new jersey where she will be buried later this week. investigators are now playing down the amount of prescription drugs that were reportedly found in the hotel room where she

died. and rumblings of total war as violence spread in syria. 30 more civilians were killed yesterday, including children, on top of close to 7 pun that were killed last week. the man in line to be china's next president will meet with president obama today. xi jinping is set to take over china in march of 2013. here's something you don't hear very often. there may be hope for a spring fog between the united states and north korea. state department says the u.s. envoy is going to hold talks with them over the nuclear program. this is supposed to happen next week in beijing and these are the first talks since the death of kim jong-il, the late leader of that country. apple says unprecedented inspections are now under way at manufacturing facilities in southern china where workers put to the iphones and ipads. they're investigating reports of sweatshop like conditions at the plants that have led to some

suicides among the workers there. and help wanted, the faa says they're in desperate need of air traffic controllers, especially at one of the busiest airports, dfw, apparently 65% of the controllers are eligible for retirement. so they need some people to fill those spots and fast. >> not a bad place to live, either. >> love dallas, texas. great place. we had exclusive new details about whitney houston's use of prescription drugs. a family friend tells cnn exclusively that houston was taking various medications for anxiety, sleep, and to treat an infection in her throat. a coroner has confirmed houston did have prescription pills in her hotel room. but says not many. only the amount that you would find in your own medicine cabinet. meantime, authorities are waiting on the toxicology results. that could take up to eight weeks, maybe longer than that. until then, it is unclear if houston's death was drug related. but she has been forthcoming at

her battles with addiction in the past. and joining us now is a head of the white house office of national drug control policy, gale. thank you for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. i want to stress again that we don't know the exact cause of whitney houston's death. we saw the reports there. it says that pills were found in her hotel room. i have to tell you you feel when perhaps she had an alcohol problem mixed with pills, it's kind of common sense that you don't do those two things together because it could cause death. you say that this still is a teachable moment. what do you mean by that? >> well, i think, that any time there is a terrible tragedy like this and the person whab public about dealing particularly with prescription drugs it helps us recognize in this country that the prescription drug problem is a significant problem. not only to the individuals effected and we have over 15,000 deaths. we have literally many more people that are taken to emergency departments.

and people don't often recognize the dangers of prescription drugs because they think they're safe. >> now, we have reports here that the numbers have actually tripled in the past decade. why do you think there's such a rapid increase? >> there are a couple of reasons. one is that there has been a real proliferation of these pill mills. and although the state of florida, which was kind of the epicenter of pill mills and doctor shopping and over prescribing has been literally shut down, we also know that people get these from family and friends. so we have to do a much better job of cleaning out our medicine cabinets in a safe way and in an environmentally conscious way, and we're working on that. >> we know that with michael jackson's death this was very serious problem. especially for controlled substances. and i understand if a doctor is going to prescribe something, a alcohol alcoholed substance, there's a dea number that has to be used. is that in order to track controlled substances to a particular patient?

and in a case like this, do you do that? >> well, the dea number is one that is given to that individual physician. and they have to have that license in order to be able to prescribe particularly these more powerful and addictive substances. what we have in all but two states now are something called prescription drug monitoring programs. these are electronic databases, and they allow boards of licensure, for instance, to look at doctors who may be over-prescribing. more importantly, as doctors tell me they're a patient safety tool because they can look and see if patients who are, in fact, doctor shop glg is it a requirement that doctors do that? because in the case of somebody like whitney houston, a celebrity, right, wouldn't you think a doctor would be looking to see what has been prescribed to her by another physician, perhaps, because she has admitted that she has a problem? >> yes. the state of california has one of the best pdmp monitoring

programs. what we need to do is encourage -- it's not mandatory use, but we need to encourage more physicians and more of their staff to use these. these are designed individually by the states. they include patient and doctor confidentiality issues. they really are a great patient safety tool when used. >> i want to deal with kids in particular because this is a growing problem also among adolescen adolescents, that they have access to their parents' drugs. after marijuana, prescription and over the counter drugs are the most abused in high school students. what can we do to protect the kids? >> the first thing we can do is recognize that most of the young people who do experiment with prescription drugs get them with a family or friend, not from a prescription. we know that whether it's a grandparent or a parent, that what is in that medicine cabinet can be addictive and quite dangerous. so we have to work very hard to clean out those medicine cabinets. and you know a lot of people

don't like to do that. but it should be a clue to the country that when realtors are telling people when they have an open house for sale, that they should lock up their medicine cabinet as jewelry, that tells you the problem of prescription drugs in this country. >> wow. i have to ask you one last question. if somebody is watching right now and we know that cissy houston had an intervention for her daughter, what advice would you give to somebody if they know their loved one is going down that same road? >> the first thing you need is solid information. oftentimes we suspect or are concerned but maybe they close their mind or maybe they close their ears because they just don't know. and on the health and human services website and also on our website, white house drug policy, we have information. and that's what parents and teachers faith-based teachers and leaders need if they suspect there is a problem because they need to be able to deal with it

without solid fact-based information, it makes it really hard for them. >> gil, white house drugs czar, thank you so much forgetting up early this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you. so if you're a candidate trying to seize the republican nomination you go state to state and try to win the delegates and you figure you've got a lock on your home state, right? >> no. >> not so much. mitt romney is reeling. apparently there are bad numbers coming from his home state of michigan. can money make all the difference? you'll find out. you're watching "early start." . tire rotation, suspension, we make suspension checks... what we have here is the multi-point inspection. every time a vehicle comes into a ford dealership you'll be presented with one of these. we check the belts, hoses... brakes. tires and the pressures... battery, all your fluids... exhaust system, transmission... we inspect your air filter... it gets done,it gets done quickly and it gets done correctly. the works. oil change, tire rotation and more: $29.95 or less after rebate - at your ford dealer. you're a doctor... you're a car doctor.

maybe a car doctor... for fastidious librarian emily skinner, each day was fueled by thorough preparation for events to come. well somewhere along the way, emily went right on living. but you see, with the help of her raymond james financial advisor, she had planned for every eventuality. ...which meant she continued to have the means to live on... ...even at the ripe old age of 187. life well planned.

see what a raymond james advisor can do for you.

♪ that is edward sharp and the magnetic zeros. i said you all are going to teach me a thing or two about music here. >> i've never heard of that song in he life. sounded a little like lou reid to me. i would have gotten that wrong. his father was governor and he was born and raised there. but michigan is not feeling like home for mitt romney. >> do you think he's got a lock on this one? there's been a stress probably flying through the romney camp and the super pac is digging one, the one that supports him, throwing in a half million bucks plus into michigan for ads there. here's why. the latest american research group poll shows this. romney is trailing santorum in michigan 33-27, if you do the math that's about six points. if you look teeny-weeny print there suggests the margin of error is just four points. >> yeah, he's losing official lie. live in washington to talk about this is democratic strategist maria cardona.

also, david trucker joins us live from role call, a political reporter with roll call and executive director of public notice. guys, i could not believe it when i saw those numbers. i was trying to figure out what it was. was it the momomentum from what happened in those last three states? it couldn't have been and what in cpac. let me ask you, gretchen, what is at play with that latest poll number? >> you have to look back at the last election and michigan. romney didn't win it because it was his home state. he won it because he was the conservative alternative to then john mccain. now he's not the conservative alternative. he's the mid of the road guy. >> conservative alternative, even though he used the severe alternative phrase i would have thought that would have harnessed all of those conservatives right back up for him. >> unfortunately not. >> why not? why not? just finish that thought. why didn't that severely

conservative phrase work? >> i think just because of the contrast that you're seeing play out in the primary right now. you have the contrast of newt gingrich and rick santorum which are more conservative than mitt romney. >> now we're hearing about the super pac that supports mitt romney just funneling the dough into michigan. i don't know whether this was preplanned or whether they're in panic mode or what's happening. but at last, i think at last count we were right around $890,000 in ads that were being purchased for michigan. here's the wield thing and i don't get this. david trucker, maybe you can weigh in on it. i hear all the negative ads are geared at newt gingrich. that doesn't seechl to be the problem here. why are the ads focusing on him? >> yeah, i don't know. it is a little odd. but it's not surprising that super pacs are playing a role in the states that we're now headed into. you've got michigan. it's going to be contested. they played a huge role in the states that came before santorum has a super pac, romney has

super pac. newt had a super pac that's no main funder. but adelson for now has stopped writing checks. i think both the romney and santorum campaigns are going to have the ads there. as we've seen with every primary contest so far, the winner coming out of election day has had a lot of momentum in the polls both in the states to come and nationally. the polling we're seeing now took place last week before cpac in maine. wlrpt whether or not that makes a difference. and we're going to have two elections on the 28th, both arizona and michigan. you could split the difference and head into super tuesday, march 6th, being the next big decider in the race. >> i always like when someone

invokes the old work decider. one of the things from the last administration. maria kor doen that, this is on the issue. calling for newt to drop out. here's the actual wording. at least part of it. when he left santorum in the polls he urged the pennsylvan n pennsylvanians to leave the race on his own arguments. proper course for him now is to endorse santorum and to exit. maria. you've been watching this as closely as the rest of us. how fair is it to say that when this has been the craziest rag in terms of the roller coaster we're all on. the staff was jumping ship. he was back on top. now down and out a little. is it fair to say jump ship because he's down and out again? >> what we've seen about newt gingrich is he's the as lazarus of politics. >> nicely put. >> thank you. unfortunately words do come back to bite you sometimes and it's tough medicine when folks use

your own words, your own conservative groups that you think that you're carrying the banner for them use your own words against you. but look, this is what mitt romney, i think, is looking to do. to make their shy remain in the race. as long as both of them do they split that conservative vote which mitt romney will never be able to get until he supposedly becomes a nominee. and it will continue to split that vote and give him the advantage. and i think in terms of michigan, in terms of what has happened to om rom anl romney, e makes comments like making sure he is against the auto bailout and being on the side of letting the auto industry go bankrupt in michigan, those kinds of comments do not resonate with the blue collar workers who are there. >> you know what? not before i fight you on that one because he kind of said everybody in the mortgage crisis should just bail. and in florida, the worst place in the planet right now for

mortgage crisis and people under water. he won. he won that state. >> that's right. but look at what's happening in michigan and this is something that santorum and newt gingrich can can use against them. >> thank you. thank you to all three of you. thank you. >> thank you. it is 46 minutes past the hour. time to check stories making news this morning. whitney houston's family is talking about holding a memorial service on thursday with a funeral on friday. possibly at the prudential center in newark. it holds almost 20,000 people. syrian forces resuming their shelling of homs in the last few hours as the u.n. works on a resolution to condemn the assad regime. house republicans reversing their position and agreeing to extend the payroll tax cut without demanding spending cuts to offset the cost. >> he thinks that might be a subject for soledad o'brien to tackle on her program as she comes up next. >> we have so much to do.

>> yeah. >> we have so much to do. of course, we're going to talk about the death of whitney houston. we're going to talk to gloria stephan. the two of them in the '80s were rivals for topping the charts. we'll chat with her this morning as she comes and joins us on the set. also talking about china's next leader. he's going to be meeting with president obama this morning. the president has been talking very tough on china lately. interested in seeing how that tough talk is going to translate there. talk to the author of a book called "the coming collapse of china." senator pat too many me is to join us. favorite story of the morning. did you hear about this cheerleading coach who called her cheerleaders a bunch of heafers? >> no. >>. the president's budget and the cheerleader heifer story. that right after this. [ horn honks ]

hey, it's sandra -- from accounting. peter. i can see that you're busy... but you were gonna help us crunch the numbers for accounts receivable today. i mean i know that this is important. well, both are important. let's be clear. they are but this is important too. [ man ] the receivables. [ male announcer ] michelin knows it's better for xerox to help manage their finance processing. so they can focus on keeping the world moving. with xerox, you're ready for real business. i like yoplait. it is yoplait. but you said it was greek. mmhmm. so is it greek or is it yoplait? exactly. okay... [ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so greek.

♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] not everything powerful has to guzzle fuel. the 2012 e-class bluetec from mercedes-benz. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. ♪

yes, that is david bowie's "fashion." not his best but a classic. >> very appropriate. >> very appropriate for this next one because new york original is making some big old headlines again at new york's fashion week. not just for her designs. >> no. alina cho sat down with donna korca karan. >> reporter: the reining queen of 7th avenue, she's been called america's coco chanel. she's not just a designer, she's a one-woman empire. >> you failed at draping? >> yeah. >> how is that possible? >> you've got to fail to move for regard were in the early days she trained under anne klein. in 1985 the now 63-year-old designer launched her own label, donna karan new york, a global empire that today includes dkny,

members wear, fragrance, home. and a second company, urban sevzen, a socially conscious line. more than $2 billion a year in retail sales. >> you know, i started as a dream. >> but did you ever think? >> no, because i started donna karan, i wanted to design seven easy pieces that were just for me and my friends, and that's the truth. and then all of a sudden everybody wanted them. >> reporter: seven easy pieces that women could easily mix and match. >> oh, my god, i'm working and i have to go out. and i have to pack. how do i pack? what do i need? you know, how do i make it simple? >> reporter: she has a legion of celebrity fans, including hillary clinton. she advised president clinton on the campaign trail and when he won, he wore a donna karan suit to his first inauguration. >> i have a crush on him. i mean, president clinton has been so supportive but he is my

inspiration. >> reporter: one of the big reasons karan decided designing just wasn't enough. >> with the world that we're living with today and you talk about dressing i could no longer just dress. it was dressing and addressing. the health care problem or educational problem, the cultural problems, the impoverished lands of people. >> reporter: like haiti. since the earthquake in 2010, karan is visited haiti numerous times and makes a point to go back at least once a month. karan supports asian artisans, helping them market their products by selling them in her urban zen stores. >> 100% of the profits all goes back to the haitian artisans. so not only are we buying product from haiti, but we're also foundationally giving all the money back to haiti. >> reporter: what are you getting in return? >> my heart. serving my heart and everybody else because they really do need

help and support. >> reporter: that part of what she does is so amazing. you know, just after karan showed her latest fall collection at fashion week, yesterday i asked her, now what are you going to do? she said, i'm going to haiti. and i said to her, don't you need to a break? don't you want to rest? she said, haiti is my break. but you know what's extraordinary about what she does in haiti is she has such a keen eye for design that she can go in there and talk to those asian art answer around say, you know what, that's a great product. it's not going to sell. >> wow. >> i think you would tweak it this way, she buys it, sells them in her urban stores and, as you heard, gives back 100% of the profits. >> shocking. oftentimes they'll give a percentage but 100% of the profits. >> it's extraordinary. >> incredible. >> you see how passionate she is about it. >> i've already seen two people wearing the urban zen clothes and i commented because they're so unique and now i feel like i should buy something of hers. >> i'll tell donna and she will be very happy. >> nice and different angle you

don't normally hear. thank you. do not misalina's special this weekend, fashion, backstage pass this saturday at 2:30 p.m. eastern on cnn. we'll be right back. we're america's natural gas and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us.

over a million people have discovered how easy it is to use legalzoom for important legal documents. at legalzoom we'll help you incorporate your business, file a patent, make a will and more. you can complete our online questions in minutes. then we'll prepare your legal documents and deliver them directly to you. so start your business, protect your family, launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side.

that is "early start." i ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. "starting point" winow. >> our starting point this morning is focused on whitney houston and some new details about her death. the body is back home in new jersey. it's been flown back. there are some plabs for a funeral. people who are remembering her amazing voice today but at the same time there are questions lingering about the drugs, the prescription drugs that were found at the scene of her death and whether or not those drugs, in fact, killed her. plus, rumblings of total war in syria. cnn gets inside the