that does it for this edition of "360." early start begins right now. breaking news this morning. two american tourists kidnapped by gunmen in egypt. we go live to cairo straight ahead. plus, happening right now. live pictures as a first commercial spacecraft prepares for its return to earth. >> and caught on video. an out of control truck slamming into a tavern. helpless customers up against the bar. you will have to see this video to believe what they went through. wow. unbelievable.

good morning everyone. welcome to early start. nice to have you with us. i'm ashleigh banfield. i'm zoraida sambolin. we're bringing you the news from a to z. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. let's get started. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> we begin with breaking news this morning. two american tourists kidnapped by gunmen in egypt. it happened in the town of dahab in the region of egypt. the report says that two americans were forced out of a car and taken away. the alleged kidnappers demanding the release of a man who was arrested a day before for drug possession. cnn's ben wedeman is live in cairo. i know these are late-breaking details. what can you tell us? >> reporter: the embassy is in close contact with the egyptian authorities. they say to resolve this situation. now, it's not unusual, the not the first time that tourists, including americans, have been kidnapped here. since the revolution at the

beginning of last year, state authority in that part of egypt has really sort of crumbled and there are parts of the sinai that simply are out of government control. that particular area going up the eastern coast of the peninsula in the direction of israel and the direction of jordan has actually been relatively quiet compared to other parts of the sinai. this is another indication that the egyptian state doesn't have a lot of control in this area that was until quite recently quite popular with tourists. >> ben, do we know the condition that they're? >> reporter: the u.s. embassy is not releasing any personal details about these people. we understand there are two americans in their early 30s. interestingly enough, on the website of he will ha ram, the biggest newspaper in egypt, they did publish the passport numbers

of these two individuals, which is something that the u.s. embassy is not really happy with. according to the accounts that have been made public here in egypt, they were not harmed. their car was stopped by armed men and they were taken away. now, in november, i believe, or early december, two other american tourists were kidnapped in this area. they were not harmed. they were treated very well. after intervention by the local authorities, they were released unharmed after just a few hours. now, we don't know anything about the particulars of the kidnappers, but this may simply be another case of local grievances being played out through foreign tourists. >> ben, wedeman, live in cairo for us. thank you. it is three minutes now past 5:00. the dragon is coming home to earth. the spacex dragon capsule release from the international space station about 5:35 eastern

time this morning. about half an hour from now. from there, it's going to reorbit, deorbit and at 10:15 this morning, expect it to splash down in the pacific ocean sometime before noon. a relative schedule but you know what, this is space. nasa will hold a briefing on the mission and get us up to date on it. so far it's been a success. making history as the first commercial rocket to dock with the international space station. space analyst, miles o'brien joins us live to talk about this. where to begin, miles. you're like a kid in a candy store when it comes to stories like this. very exciting stuff as they decide to come back to earth, they're bringing things back. take me through what's going to happen today. >> that's a key point. that little point that you just mentioned, that they're bringing things back, they're currently without the shuttle flying anymore. there's currently no vehicle in anyone's fleet bringing any

appreciable amount of cargo back to earth. they have about a pickup truck's worth of stuff on the dragon that will come back down, some experiments around equipment. they swab the international space station and put the samples inside the capsule to analyze it on the ground to make sure that some bacteria or things aren't growing there. dragon is at the end of the robot armor the international space station as you say. about 35 minutes past the hour, they will release dragon and begin a series of burns, as they call it, rocket firings, which will slow it down, move it away from the space station and a long nine-minute burn before it starts to drop into the atmosphere and becomes sort of a fire breathing dragon as it makes its way to the pacific, 500 miles off the coast of los angeles. this streaking meteor will come down, be recovered by a private ship operated by the space x corporation and the capsule will

be brought back to los angeles. it should be interesting to watch. >> i'm fascinated about this. not only by the things that they're bringing back. i did read somewhere that what they're bringing back this time isn't critical. if anything goes wrong, they're not going to lose any critical science experiment. but there is a timeline. when this thing hits the ocean, they got to get moving. they got to get it. they're timing this thing out. eventually, they want people in there and science experiments that are viable, right? >> absolutely. this is a demonstration flight. none of the cargo that went up or is coming down is considered critical or mission critical as it were. they sent up things like underwear. i guess they figured -- to me, that's pretty critical. leave that aside for a moment. the fact is, this has gone well and if none of this cargo had gone up or down, the show would have gone on. the next mission which comes up the latter part of this year,

assuming everything goes well today and nasa gets a green light for it, as we expect it will, the next mission will be a for real cargo with mission critical items. as time goes on, there will be more important stuff that will go up and down on dragon. that's the canada arm. i love saying that. the contribution to space. miles, good to see you. stick with us. we want you to do play-by-play for us as this plays out this morning. thanks. >> i'll be here. okay o. >> it is seven minutes past the hour. new this morning, the death toll in a seattle shooting rampage is now at five and police say the suspected gunman took his own life. four people were gunned down at a coffeehouse in the city's university district. another was killed in an alleged carjacking in downtown seattle. after a fire-hour manhunt, police say the suspect shot himself. they still have no motive in this case. this is the latest in a wave of gun violence in the city. seattle's mayor admits people are on edge.

>> we've had two tragic shootings thod that have shaken this city and it follows on the heels of multiple tragic episodes of gun violence that have occurred throughout the city. it's their highest priority to identify the strategies that we need to employ to try to bring an end to this wave of gun violence that the city is seeing. >> seattle had 20 homicides all of last year. they've had 19 already this year so far. the former rutgers university student convicted of spying on his gay roommate with a webcam begins serving his 30-day jail sentence this morning. the judge said he didn't see any reason to put 20-year-old dharun raf i in prison with hardened criminals longer than that. tyler clement committed suicide after that spying incident. troops, shelling syrian town of houla this morning. the scene of that massacre that killed more than 100 people, most of them children, and the scene that sparked international

outrage as well. now, the free syrian army is setting a friday deadline for the government, for the syrian government and its troops to get those troops out of residential areas and allow humanitarian aid to come in. the rebels are not saying what's going to happen if, as expected, the assad regime does not comply. >> not exactly happy hour at gordy's bar. check out this incredible surveillance video. a few of the regulars were having drinks at the local watering hole in little canada in minnesota yesterday when a 51-year-old woman lost control of her vehicle, took out a utility pole, then crashed -- look at that. right through the wall on to those people, pinning five customers against the bar. the manager got out of the way just in time. >> it happened like that. you didn't have time to react. >> i seen a pole flying through. i thought that's kind of strange. then all of a sudden i heard a

boom and a truck came right through the wall. >> six people, including the driver, were hurt and police say the driver may have had a medical condition that caused her to lose control. >> unbelievable. >> unreal. it looked like those folks would have been dead. >> it's lucky that they did survive. everybody did survive that. >> anyway, when we come back, we'll have a lot more on our breaking news story. two american tourists kidnapped in egypt by gunmen. much more on that developing story when we return. good morning! wow. want to start the day with something heart healthy and delicious? you're a talking bee... honey nut cheerios has whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol. and it tastes good? sure does! right...

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so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ this is cnn, breaking news. we have breaking news about two americans who have been kid mapped in the sinai desert, that portion of egypt to the north of the country that's right in between israel and egypt. you can see to the right of egypt, up into the red sea. that spot that's call dahab. that's where these two tourists

have been apparently abducted at gunpoint as they were leaving the area of dahab and on their way to a hotel. that's actually not a bad little tourist area. it's somewhat underdeveloped but it's apparently an area where a lot of the bedouins have complained that there aren't a lot of services for them from the egyptian government. back in february, we had a similar breaking news where two americans were abducted and actually were released shortly afterwards. we're not sure who is behind the abduction, but we are being told that the people who did this abduction are demanding the release of a suspect who was arrested in a drug possession case. we'll keep you posted on this one. again, at this point, two americans, both 31 years old, abducted at gunpoint in the sinai desert in the dahab area of egypt. we'll keep you posted. it is 14 minutes past the hour. let get you up to date with christine romans. >> thank you, zoraida sambolin. >> the space capsule will separate from the international

space station and begin its journey back to earth. it's been in orbit more than a week now. expected to complete this mission with a splashdown in the pacific just before noon eastern. police have a suspect in the discovery of a man's dismibd torso in montreal, canada. they're looking for luke rocco -- also known as eric clinton newman. he's a 29-year-old montreal resident who appeared in gay porn. they're asking for the public's help in tracking him down. investigators believe the torso may be linked to a human hand and foot that were mailed from montreal to ottawa. still not clear what caused the death of arena football league player johnny curtain. a teammate found the 26-year-old san jose saber cats dead in his hotel room monday night. police don't suspect foul play. the faa investigating a collision on the ground at chicago's o'hare. the rutter of an american eagle commuter plane that had just

landed in wednesday got clipped by the right wing of a cargo jet. a boeing 747 that was taxiing for departure. thankfully, no one was hurt. but that must have been quite a bump. >> the people on the big one, do you think they felt it? >> i doubt it actually. >> when you see them next to each other, hmm, i think i spilled my soda. >> thank you, christine. let's get a check now with reynolds wolf in the weather center. i think tomorrow is the start of hurricane season but we have stories of tornado before we get to that tomorrow. >> we do. we've got a little bit of everything. a heat wave developing in parts of the southwest. of course, we've got a chance of severe weather again today. but yesterday, let's go back in time and so you the rough stuff that happened in holly hill, south carolina just yesterday. you see the video there. so typical of what happens when we see the tornadoes pop up. a lot of tree draj and structural damage to a lot of homes. a tremendous mess. we might see that play out again today. as we go back to the weather computer, time is of the essence. we see scattered showers and

thunderstorms along parts of 44 on the show me state of missouri. in texas, they're having a rude awakening in dallas. the chance of severe weather today is going to pop up from the ohio valley southward to part of the gulf coast, including houston into waco. even memphis and nashville before all is said and done. perhaps even flash flooding, may be isolated tornadoes mixed in too. rain for parts of the upper midwest. we'll be seeing the hot conditions still persisting for you in the desert southwest. phoenix expected well over 100 degrees. 87 degre the high, 95 in el paso. out west we go. san francisco, 73 the high by pier 39. 67 in seattle, 69 in minneapolis. 79 in new york and 85 in washington, d.c. delays, delays, delays. we've got them. unfortunately in chicago, new york and miami. we expect major delays and st. louis, houston and san francisco, san francisco due to that fog which could be heavy. but the ind too, might cause

problems. keep you on the tarmac longer than you want. there you go. >> thank you very much. >> see you guys soon. >> thanks, reynolds. 17 minutes past the hour. time for early reads. we have shocking statistics here. the u.s. now has the second highest rate of child poverty in the entire developed world. a new report from unicef, this is in the international business times, showing 23% of children in the united states are living in poverty. that is second only to romania with a 25.5% rate. iceland has the lowest child rate of poverty at 4.7%. >> second to romania. not a stat you want. science has a confirmation this morning. this is a bit odd. elderly people actually do have a different scent and apparently they smell better than everybody else. so there. philadelphia enquirer has this for you. the researchers apparently sampling body odor from three different age groups.

young, middle aged and old. i'm not a describing ages to those classifications. 75 to 95 had apparently the mild he's and most pleasant smell. middle aged men, aged 45 to 55 apparently smelled the worst. so there's that. that's a look at our top stories, go to our blog. cnn.com/early start. >> i'm still pondering that one. as facebook stock plunges, so does mark zuckerberg's status among the wall street elite. we'll explain that coming up. [ female announcer ] did you know the average person smiles more than 50 times a day? so brighten your smile a healthy way with listerine® whitening plus restoring rinse. it's the only rinse that makes your teeth two shades whiter and two times stronger. ♪ listerine® whitening... power to your mouth. in here, great food demands a great presentation.

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we're minding your business this morning at 5:22 on the east coast. welcome back. another rough day for u.s. stocks. the dow, nasdaq, s&p 500 losing more than 1% again yesterday. >> with so much uncertainty in the markets because of europe's debt crisis, where are people investing their money in christine is here to tell us. >> in treasuries. they're worried about everything happening in the world and it now has never been cheaper for the u.s. government to borrow money. the yield on the benchmark ten-year treasury note is a record low. the ten-year over the last year, borrowing costs are rising around the rest of the world, but not here in the u.s. the concerns about europe's debt

crisis are causing it, making more difficult for european governments to borrow money. that means the u.s. can borrow money more cheaply. that's almost free money when you look -- people who cover markets can't believe what they've been seeing in treasuries. at the same time, stocks, commodities, like oil and gold are all down. what do the low interests rates in the u.s. mean. they mean mortgage rates will keep falling. when you borrow money, these rates are very low. it means you're going to borrow money cheapliment but for those who depend on interest on your savings, you're getting virtually nothing there. the good news, if you're borrowing money, it's cheap if you can qualify for it. borrowing money is cheap. if you're depending on holding on to your money in a bank account, you're getting nothing too. that's what the low interest rates mean. >> have we ever relied on interest from our savings accounts? >> a lot of seniors do and a lot of people, pension funds like to put their monday sboi safe parts

of their money into higher yielding assets. cd's, there are some seniors whose retirement was built on that. 20, 30 years ago, seniors were retiring with 12% on certificates of deposit. that doesn't happen anymore. people who depend on their savings are getting hurt here. also getting hurt, facebook ceo here. hurt is a relative word. he's no longer the richest man in the world. his stock has been dropping and he's fallen off of bloomberg's top 40 billionaires index. not one of the top in the world. he's still worth $14.7 billion, though. which is still a lot of billions. stock closed at $28.19 yesterday. we've been watching -- i've been watching the options trading. options for on this stock have started. you've got bearish bets on the stock continue to come out there. >> not to exercise that option if you don't want. >> we'll continue to watch that

one too. >> christine, thank you very much. i can't believe $14.7 billion doesn't qualify you for the forbes list. >> it's actually the bloomberg list. he's lost so much in the past week, there's probably a disease he could have eradicated with all of his charitable giving. you think about how much money evaporated. >> maybe it will come back. never know. >> he's still got a load of cash. >> sure does. it is 25 minutes past the hour. thirsty enough to order the big time gulp? not in the big apple if the mayor has his way. more on the ban and the outcry from the other side. we also have breaking news out of egypt. two american tourists kidnapped. we've received a statement from egypt from the embassy coming up after this quick break. son, aughtersy and then i have eleven grandkids. right when you see them, they're yours, it's like, ah, it's part of me. it's me again. now that i'm retiring they all have plans for me.

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we're following breaking news. two americans kidnapped at begun point in egypt. we'll have a live update from cairo just ahead. supersize smackdown. new york city moves to ban big sodas and sugary drinks in the name health. and no people? no problem. what one man is doing by traveling across the country without any human contact. are we i world of robots? >> gosh, i hope not. >> turns out we kind of are. there's an interesting side to this as well. welcome to "early start." nice to have you with us. i'm ashleigh banfield. i'm zoraida sambolin. 30 minute past the hour here. this is cnn breaking news. and we begin with breaking news this morning. more on the story of two american tourists being

kidnapped in northern egypt in the town of dahab. that's the sinai up on the right hand portion of your screen just at the top of the red sea there. two americans forced out of their car, taken away at begun point. the alleged kidnappers demanding the release of a man who was arrested the day before on a drug possession charge. ben wedeman is live in cairo. i know you've talked to the embassy officials. what are they saying approximate this? >> reporter: what they're saying is they're doing everything they can. they're in close contact with the egyptian authorities. they say to try to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. but we have to underscore that the sinai, since the fall of the mubarak regime has a massive deterioration. where the two americans were kidnapped on the eastern coast of the sinai peninsula was considered one of the safest parts of the sinai. but apparently, as you

mentioned, that local man was arrested by the authorities for drug possession. and of course, this is a part of egypt where there is a lot of smuggling of people, of drugs between egypt and israel to the east of there. and so this is really indicative of the gradual deterioration in the security situation in that part of egypt over the last year and a half since the revolution that overthrew hosni mubarak. quickly, i have been to dahab, it is a beautiful area and it's teeming with tourists. i know you're saying that thing. is it still very busy and what are people doing to be careful now in light of this recent development? >> reporter: well, tourism has sort of declined fairly dramatically since the overthrow of the mubarak regime. certainly here in cairo. you go to the pyramids or the

egyptian museum and see a fraction of the number of tourists who were here before. in sinai, at the southern tip of the peninsula and this road leading up to israel, was considered the safest area. there really haven't been any incident. most were the inner part of the peninsula or the northern part of the peninsula where there are fewer tourist attractions. but obviously, now when news spreads that two american tourists have been kidnapped, probably there's going to be an increase in cancellations and of course, this at a time when egypt desperately needs as many tourists as it can get. >> ben wedeman live for us in cairo. thank you for that. a big first in the fight against obesity. but comes with a lot of controversy. the mayor of new york city wants to ban the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at all city restaurants, movie theaters, even at the ballpark.

our lena cho is on that story. she's here with so much more. you're just the bearer of the news. >> not your fault. >> that's right. it's not my fault. we're talking about this right here. under the new rules, which could take effect as soon as march. these would be banned at some bodegas in the city, ball parks as you mentioned, movie theaters, restaurants. get used to it. it's probably going to happen. good morning. critics, of course, call mayor bloomberg nanny bloomberg. but remember the mayor has been really "out front" on this issue of health and fighting obesity here in new york city for quite some time. he championed the ban on smoking in restaurants, remember that? later i a ban on artificial transfats. now he wants to ban sodas larger than 16 ounces from being sold at new york city restaurants, delis, movie theaters, ball parks, even some bodegas and street side carts. here's why. >> gross.

>> that's right. tlu see the man drinking an entire glass of fat. >> oh, man. >> it says drinking one can of soda a day can make you ten pounds fatter a year. don't drink yourself fat. the ad suggests that you drink water, celtser water or low-fat milk. >> disgusting at this hour of the morning, too. very effective. >> it is incredibly effective. that was put out by the new york city health department. >> wow. >> just to remind everybody, this ban would affect any cup or bottle of sweetened drinks larger than 16 fluid ounces. would not, however, affect diet sodas, fruit juices, dairy-based drinks or alcoholic beverages. it would not extend to grocery or convenience store. if you're boiling it down and i read all of this, it appears that the ban affects mostly

places where you can actually order food. >> this is 20 ounces? >> this is standard nowadays. >> i thought 16 ounces must be really, really big. shows how much i know about this. this is diet, of course. you look at this, 240 calories per bottle. for some people, like our size, that's half a meal. >> what about a grande latte that has sugar in it, coffee, like a drink like that? no? >> it peers that's not affected by the ban. but you're absolutely right. a frappuccino could be 800 calories. i know owe we'll have to work on that. >> 800? >> could be in some cases. >> wow. >> by the way, 240 calories, not half a meal. it's a whole meal. depends on the day of the week. >> it does. obviously the mayor is taking action because it being a big problem in the country. how big? i know there are two schools of thought, whether or not he should be taking this particular action. >> i mean, there's no denying that obesity is a massive problem. we know this. more than a third of americans,

35.7% i believe, to be exact, are considered obese. what's interesting is you may think with all the walking people do in new york city that the rate here in the city would be lower much that's not the case. in new york, more than half of adults are considered obese or overweight. >> wow. >> the health commissioner blames sweetened drinks for half of the obesity rates in new york. what's more interesting is that the city has done research, the studies show that higher obesity rates are more common in neighborhoods where soda consumption is high. they've pinned it down. that's why they're saying they're taking action here. >> the cdc has the support. it's data that shows that calories from sugar sweetened beverages are a small and declining part of the american diet. two schools of thought. is it a done deal? >> it appears so. listen, it could take effect as soon as march -- it could take effect as soon as march. it needs to be approved by the

board of health here in the city. but you may not know this, the members are appointed by the mayor. that seems like a foregone conclusion. if all goes as planned, the ban could take effect as early as next march. get used to it. what is also interesting, you might remember that the mayor tried to levy a tax on sodas. tried to ban the use of food stamps for the purchase of sodas. both of those measures fell through and died. the mayor is really trying to see how far he can go without outside approval. this is one big -- >> he can still do this. >> this one is still okay. >> i kind of like the smaller cans these days, personally. >> drink more of them. i guess throughout the course of day. >> defies the purpose. >> thanks, lena. do you remember that pastor in north carolina o who said that gays and lesbians should be rounded up and put inside an electric fence until they died off? it has happened again with a different pastor in a whole other state. a kansas pastor who used a

sunday sermon to call on the government to kill all gay people. says he's just preaching scripture and has nothing to be ashamed of. i am not making this up. pastor curtis nap. he's the pastor of the new hope baptist church in seneca, kansas. his phone hasn't stopped ringing since his sermon went viral. surprise, surprise. listen to what part of what he preached is followed by his explanation. >> they should be put to death. that's why homosexuality wouldn't have grown in israel. it tends to limit conversions. it tends to limit people coming out of the closet. oh, so you're saying we should go out and kill them? no x i'm saying the government should. they won't. but they should. >> we punish pedophilia. we punish incest. we punish polygamy and various things. it's only homosexuality that is lifted out. if there's a man who lies with a

male as those who lie with a a woman, both of them committed a dee testable act. i don't think homosexuals have anything to worry about. they don't have anything to worry about from me. i don't believe i should lay a finger against them. my hope is for their salvation, not for their death. >> pedophilia is not by choice last i checked. in his sermon, pastor nap blamed the bush administration for its tolerance of gay people. he says that he claims that set the stage, in fact, for the obama administration to endorse same sex marriage. like i said, you can't make this stuff up. unbelievable. speechless, right? >> i thought it was going to be the same guy, the same pastor. very young. as well. >> really young. >> again, we got to outline here. when he says they punish incest and pedophilia, please. those things are often not by choice and are crimes. >> crazy. >> homosexuality is a lifestyle

choice by people. it is voluntary. it defies logic. it really does. >> 40 minutes past the hour here. happening right now. live pictures as the first commercial spacecraft prepares for its return to earth. we are all over this story for you. that's coming up next. [ male announcer ] considering all your mouth goes through, do you really think brushing is enough to keep it clean? while brushing misses germs in 75% of your mouth, listerine® cleans virtually your entire mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. listerine®... power to your mouth™. made with only milk... cream... a touch of sugar... and pure natural flavors. coffee-mate natural bliss. from nestle. add your flavor naturally.

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available with the patented safety alert seat. when there is danger you might not see, you're warned by a pulse in the seat. it's technology you won't find in a mercedes e-class. the all new cadillac xts has arrived. and it's bringing the future forward. welcome back. it's 44 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date. here's christine romans. good morning. two u.s. tourists kidnapped in egypt at begun point. the unidentified americans were forced out of their car by kidnappers in the sinai region key manneding the release of someone who was arrested for drug possession. they're rieg to resolve the situation. the space x dragon space capsule departing the international space station after more than a week in orbit.

dragon being released from the station's splashdown in the pacific will come later this morning. it will mark the end of the first commercial u.s. space mission. new york city police releasing this photo of pedro hernandez in custody. he's suspected in the death of etan patz, the 6-year-old boy who disappeared 33 years ago. police say the 51-year-old hernandez confessed to murdering paetz. he's charged with murder is now on suicide watch at a hospital. newly discovered audio recordings of charles manson's right hand man could help solve cold case murders. they're about to get their hand on eight hours of conversations between man son family killer watson and his attorney from 1969. they believe the recordings capture watson talking about about unknown murders. the man son family committed. man son is serving a life sentence for seven murders. a texas woman who lost her arms and legs to a flesh eating

infection after giving birth two years ago, she's set to make medical history. katie hayes is about to become the first amputee to receive a double arm transplant. hayes is a married mother of three and says this has given her a new outlook on life. >> before i was kind of dependent, laying there and not seeing really any kind of light at the end of the tunnel. now i got that light. i'm charging ahead. because it's within my reach. it's going to happen. brushing my own teeth, washing my own face. washing my own butt. things that everybody takes for granted. >> things everyone takes for granted. the hospital performing this complicated surgery. it's expected to last at least 15 hours and we wish her and her family the best of luck. >> toward the light. >> also, a notable hire at a historically black college in mississippi.

jay hobson was hired at alcorn state. the first-ever nonblack coach in the southwest athletic conference. purple and gold are the colors. >> i love that. >> just love that. >> thank you so much, christine. who knew we'd have a story like that. i'm still hung up on the texas woman without the arms and legs and i'm also hung up on it because the story started with her having a baby and then having a flesh-eating disease and bacteria. neck advertising fasciitis. >> a woman who had twins -- i don't think she's that serious, thank god. >> the young girl who went zip lining is. she's lost two of her limbs at this point, right. 47 minutes past 5:00 on the east coast. you probably heard about people fasting from technology. giving it up. taking a break. we're going to go to a guy who has done the opposite and fasting from humans and going on technology. can you imagine life just with the machines? he's going to explain himself in

a moment. >> no. before you leave the house, you can watch us any time. take us with you on your desktop or mobile phone. go to cnn.com/tv. [ woman ] for the london olympic games, our town had a "brilliant" idea. support team usa and show our olympic spirit right in our own backyard. so we combined our citi thankyou points to make it happen. tom chipped in 10,000 points. karen kicked in 20,000. and by pooling more thankyou points from folks all over town, we were able to watch team usa... [ cheering ] in true london fashion. [ male announcer ] now citi thankyou visa card holders

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hello. i'm johnny cab. where can i take you tonight? >> drive! drive! >> would you repeat the destination? >> anywhere. just go. >> i'm not familiar with that address. would you please repeat? >> johnny cab. we may be a few years away from robot cab drivers. with all the high tech gadgets available today, it seems like you can do just about anything without help from an actual person. in a new piece for the july issue of ought motive magazine, a reporter set out to prove just that, taking off on a cross country road trip to see if he

can go coast to coast without interacting with a single human being. he did decide to interact with me live on the set. welcome back. >> actual human being, not a robot. >> should we touch? >> it's proof. i'm here. >> did that change your life being humanless? >> it was recently. automobile magazine gives me this great car that's quite robotic in itself. it has all the electronic dooda doodads. it's can i get from the atlantic ocean to the pacific without interacting with a live human being. >> you had to eat. you had to get hotels. how did you do that? >> i had done a series for the radio show about how robots may be taking our job, even if you have a college education. as part of that, they said technology is becoming so pervasive and moving so quickly that it's everywhere. that's where i got the idea. there's a chain of hotels that has a robot receptionist. >> seriously? >> it has -- it's like a kiosk

at the airport. how did i eat? you just go into the local supermarket and do self-checkout and i stowed away a microwave oven in the back of this car. ez pass for the tolls. it goes on from there. you do self-pay at the gas pump and the question is this. you ever have those days where you've been staring at your smartphone most of the day and when you're not doing that, you're on the internet. it's like that now. you can get across this great country of ours 3200 miles, six days and i did not transact business with a single human being. >> but you couldn't avoid contact, right? like you had to have some kind of contact. i suppose if you tried hard, maybe. but you did come into contact with people. >> you couldn't quite keep all the humans at bay much it was wonderful. i was getting bored of the tv style dinner so i bought produce, an ear of corn. it didn't scan well at the self-checkout. so the maven at the self-checkout descends on me. couldn't avoid her.

very nice lady named pat. >> this image of you running from her like dracula in the light. you're ruining my project. >> it almost happened a couple days later. checking in with a robot at a hotel. nobody there. robot, me and my credit card. the night manager spotted my name in the computer and it turns out he's a fan from my radio. he just wants to meet me. what am i going to do, i'm sorry, i'm not speaking with my fans this week. i had a nice conversation with him. just about made it. certainly no money changed hands between me and a human being over the long six days. >> the big take way, i'm guessing, is this. sure it can be done. but is it likely to really be the way of the world? i mean, we're people. ee need each other. >> i know, we're hungry for it. i felt it after a number of days. this car had the coolest navigation screen. that's what i stared at across this great country of ours. a cartoon version of america. that's no way to live. by the time i got to san francisco, what i needed to could was sit down with a flesh

and blood buddy of mine and have a real beer with a human being. >> this nugget that i spotted in your research, you saw a robot comedian? >> yeah. >> as part of my reporting for marketplace, we're looking at the good side of robots. they're creating jobs for people. at carnegie melon university who is training a robot to do stand-up comedy. it has a purpose. it's to see if machines can start to read other human beings. read reactions. read facial ex pegs. >> hecklers. >> in my case. and laughter. >> do you want to do the opposite now? >> that's exactly right. you read my mind. the trick now would be, let's go from san francisco back to the beach in new jersey, do it in not such a great car. receive if thaem give me something crummy. meet as many human beings as

possible, avoid as much technology as possible. >> no blackberry, no internet, no in addition a. >> i'll go with you on that trip. >> it's a date. thanks for coming in. feel good? >> feels great. >> you can't replace an anchor, that's all i'm saying. >> david, thanks for coming in. >> i think they've tried, ashlei ashleigh. >> 55 minutes past the hour. we have breaking news this morning out of egypt. the kidnapping of two american tourists at gunpoint. we heard from the u.s. embassy a short time ago. we'll have a live update from cairo coming up. [ horn honks ]

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breaking news this morning.

two american tourists kidnapped by gunmen in egypt. we're going to take you live to cairo straight ahead. plus, happening right now, the first commercial spacecraft prepares for its return to earth. caught on video. an out of control truck slamming into a tavern and trapping those helpless customers up against the bar. there are pictures you have to see to believe. look at that. >> good gracious. >> remarkable. >> that is really incredible. >> lucky they're all more or less okay, no deaths. very frightening. >> i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. we're happy you're with us. we are bringing you the news a to z. it's 6:00 in the east. we begin with our breaking news this morning. the u.s. embassy in egypt says it's working hard right now to try to free two u.s. tourists who were kidnapped at gun point. it happened in the town of

dahab. that's where two armed men forced american tourists out of their car and took them away. the alleged kidnappers apparently demanding the release of someone who was arrested the day before on a drug charge. cnn's ben wedeman is live for us in cairo. the embassy is admitting this happened, ben. they say they're working hard. do they have any leads on this? >> actually, we had just gotten off the phone wan official at the egyptian interior ministry, who says that the locofficials m the governor. they're demanding a member of their tribe, who was arrested as a very -- what's described as a very large amount of marijuana be released in exchange for these two americans, who the u.s. embassy says tells us were kidnapped yesterday by armed men

on this road between dahab and to the north, road leading to the north which until now had been considered one of the safest areas. so, negotiations are under way between egyptian officials and the kidnappers. if we go by previous incidents of kidnapping of foreign tourists, they may be released soon. this is really just a local dispute. the american tourists are just a pawn being used between the egyptian government and the kidnappers in this case. ashleigh? >> is there any similarity between the story we broke on this program back in january of those two american women who were also kidnapped, if i remember correctly, at gunpoint as well in egypt? >> reporter: well, very much similar in the sense that it's a local dispute. we have to keep in mind that the peninsula is an area which, for years, was neglected by the regime. there's a lot of resentment, a

lot of friction between the inhabitants and the egyptian government. this is how they play out their disputes, kidnap tourists. the government very sensitive to the impact on the tourism industry by this sort of news, eager to resolve the situation as quickly as possible, as peacefully as possible. ashleigh? >> ben, do we have any proof of life at this point? do we know that these two 31-year-old americans are okay? are they at least confident that they're negotiate iing with the kidnapp kidnappers? >> reporter: we have to go on the word of the egyptian government, of the interior ministry, who does indicate they are well, have not been harmed. in fact, dead hostages are of no use whatsoever. so, we're hoping -- we don't know, but hoping that this will

lead to their release unharmed, as was the case of those american tourists in the sinai earlier this year. >> ben wedeman live for us in cairo. thank you. it is three minutes past the hour. the dragon is headed back to earth. a timeline of events for the space x dragon capsule. it released from the space station last hour, 5:35 am eastern and it will splash down in the pacific ocean some time before noon. then nasa will hold a briefing on the mission. so far, the mission has been a success, making history as the first commercial rocket to dock with the international space station. space analyst miles o'brien joins us now. in these parts, you are a rock star. everybody absolutely loves you. >> thank you. >> very excited to talk to you this morning. i know i went over the timeline. can you tell us what we should be seeing?

>> right now what we're seeing is that at least they made it look easy. breaking up can be easy to do. right now, as we speak, dragon and iss, international space station, after about six days of coupled operations, have parted company. and so now, actually, nasa and houston is sort of watching things unfold, like we are. and the emphasis moves to hawthorne, california, the headquarters for space x or space x technologies, this upstart firm with about a tenth of the number of employees that the shuttle program had that has successfully staged this first-ever test mission with such great success. it isn't over yet. they're on their way for that very crucial breaking or burn which will lead to a splashdown in the pacific ocean off the baja peninsula. with the shuttle fleet gone, this is the only vehicle,

zoraida, that can bring cargo back from the space station. the russian, japanese and european vehicles that service the space station are just trash incinerators on their way back, not designed to withstand reentry. the key milestones have gone off without a hitch so far. >> complication free. so, what complications would you anticipate, perhaps, as it makes the reentry? >> well, reentry is a -- we're talking about a vehicle moving much faster than a rifle bullet right now. it's kind of hard to comprehend that kind of speed. 25 times the speed of sound. it has to go from that to zero in very short order. what you see as it comes down is essentially a streaking meteor. it has material on the bottom of it, called a blade of material, which is actually designed to burn and burn away as it comes in, to protect the contents and, of course, the capsule itself. one of the key things we need to

watch for in the coming moments just before that important nine-minute deorbit burn, the trunk which is attached to the bottom of the capsule is designed to keep it operating well while it's in orbit. it has the solar rays attached, power, capability and so forth. it needs to jettison and part company with the capsule in order for it to come down safely. that will be important to watch. >> and then it gets carted away? >> yes. >> miles o'brien, thank you very much. space analyst and correspondent for pbs news hour. thank you. three new jersey teenagers charged with robbery and assault for aeldly bullying a 15-year-old high school student so relentlessly that he later committed suicide. lennon baldwin was assaulted at school back in march. it was caught on surveillance tape. that attacker was suspended but

baldwin was allegedly attacked again three days later and then committed suicide three weeks after that. former rutgers student ravi will begin serving a three-year sentence for spying on his gay roommate with a web cam. he then later committed suicide. the judge said he didn't see putting ravi in jail with hardened criminals for longer than that period of time. sparking international outrage. the free syrian army set a friday deadline for the syrian government to pull its troops out of residential areas and allow humanitarian aid in. the rebels haven't said what would happen if, as expected, the assad regime does not comply. they were just enjoying their drinks at this bar when a vehicle came crashing through. take a look at your screen.

incredible surveillance pictures. >> yikes. >> wow! that is gordy's bar in little canada, minnesota. a 51-year-old woman losing control of her vehicle, taking out a utility pole and crashing right through the wall of the building. that pinned five of the customers up against that bar as well. rescue crews were there. the manager of the bar got away just in time. >> it happened like that. you didn't have time to react. three feet down i see a pole flyifly ing through. i thought that was kind of strange. i heard a boom and the truck came right through the wall. >> unbelievable. six people, including the driver, were hurt when all of this happened. police say the driver of that truck may have actually had a medical condition that caused her to lose control and ram that building. >> tough to watch that. the white house on attack against mitt romney's record as

governor of massachusetts, david axelrod will hold a press conference this morning. he will be joined by state officials who served with romney. a new obama campaign ad with a preview of what we can expect. >> people want to know what i stand for they can look at my record as governor. >> mitt romney was not an effective leader in massachusetts. and the proof is in the pudding. >> i worked only under republican governors and i worked really well with all of the others. there was really not much working with mitt romney. >> the white house plans to make the case that romney's economic plans while governor resulted in slower job creation, more debt, bigger government and cuts to essential middle-class programs. coming up at 7:00 eastern, reaction from massachusetts golfer, duvall patrick, a democrat and an obama surrogate. graduation day is saturday and the class valedictorian,

stuck in mexico. spring break, this is not. why this high school senior is stuck across the border. and, guess what, she may not be able to come home for three years. the story in a moment. [ woman ] for the london olympic games, our town had a "brilliant" idea.

support team usa and show our olympic spirit right in our own backyard. so we combined our citi thankyou points to make it happen. tom chipped in 10,000 points. karen kicked in 20,000. and by pooling more thankyou points from folks all over town, we were able to watch team usa... [ cheering ] in true london fashion. [ male announcer ] now citi thankyou visa card holders can combine the thankyou points they've earned and get even greater rewards. ♪ your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. i've been crisscrossing the gulf i can tell you, down here,. people measure commitment by what's getting done.

i'm mike utsler, and it's my job to make sure we keep making progress in the gulf. the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. another fourteen billion dollars has been spent on response and cleanup. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to the gulf of mexico research initiative... to support ten years of independent scientific research on the environment. results will continue to be shared with the public. and we're making sure people know that the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues, but that doesn't mean our job is done. bp's still here, and we're still committed to seeing this through. [ female announcer ] new aveeno skin strengthening body cream helps transform dry, thinning skin,

by strengthening its moisture barrier, for improved texture and elasticity in 2 weeks. reveal healthy, supple skin. aveeno skin strengthening. with gold bond intensive healing cream. it targets the underlying causes of itch and irritation. gold bond. intensive healing for lasting relief. >> welcome back. it is now 14 minutes past the hour on the east coast. happening in the town of dahab, kidnappers are demanding that a member of their tribe be released from jail in exchange for these two americans. the man was arrested this week with a large amount of marijuana. the embassy says it's working hard for the safe return of those two kidnapped americans.

space x's dragon capsule put the international space station in its rear view mirror, releasing from the station. the first step in its journey home. it's expected to splash down in the pacific later this morning. and a woman who tried to commit suicide while she was pregnant is now facing life in prison because her unborn child died in that attempt. a woman living in indiana says she drank rat poison after her boyfriend dumped her because she was depressed. she gave birth, but her child did not survive. indiana prosecutors have charged her with murder. a pentecostal preacher, known for handling dangerous snakes has died after being bitten in the leg by a ratellesnake. he died early monday morning. he told the washington post last year that he believed the bible instructed christians to handle

serpents to it test their faith in god. tarmac at chicago o'hare's airport got clipped by the right wing of a cargo jet, boeing 747. it was taxing for departure and no one was hurt. indiana high school senior finds out this morning if she'll be stuck in mexico for the next three years. elizabeth olevas is class valedictorian, is supposed to deliver a graduation speech saturday. she has lived in indiana since she was 4 years old. she was born in mexico and never became a u.s. citizen. she got there one day late to get the visa or green card. now she's banned from returning to the u.s. unless she's granted a waiver this morning at the u.s. consulate in juarez. we'll talk to elizabeth olivas

on "starting point." >> hope she is granted that waiver. thank you, christine. 16 minutes past the hour. pair of florida newlyweds are lucky to be alive this morning after a metal pole impaled the windshield of their suv. sandy and carl francis were driving in hollywood when the six-foot long metal rod came crashing through their windshield. look at that. it missed both of them by about a foot. >> when i got out of the car and looked at it, i cried. i cried. >> did you see it coming? >> i saw it for a split second. >> i braced myself. i braced myself and i just hoped for the best. >> did you think you lost him? >> yeah, i did. >> goodness. authorities still aren't sure where that pole came from. they think the metal was already on the highway and it went flying when another car drove over it. i'm going to call today's show

lucky to be alive. >> i'm going to call today's show buy a lottery ticket. holy moly. 17 minutes now past 6:00. here today, gone tomorrow. facebook's stock plunging. its founder, mark zuckerberg, finds his status plunging, too, no longer among wall street's elite. what ranking he just lost. >> for an expanded look of all our top stories, head to our blog, cnn.com/earlystart.

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minding your business this morning, 20 after 6:00. another rough day for u.s.

stocks, dow, nasdaq, s&p 500, all down again yesterday mostly because of the uncertainty over europe's debt crisis that continues to push the markets down. >> one stock that's down, continues to go down, facebook stock. christine romans is here to talk about this. >> that means mark zuckerberg, the ceo of facebook is no longer one of the world's richest people. he's enjoying his honeymoon in italy. he's probably not checking his bank statement or paper value every day. that means zuckerberg has fallen off bloomberg's top 40 billionaires list. not one of the biggest billionaires in the world anymore, but still worth about $14.7 billion. the stock closed at $28.19. there might be a little tick up this morning. we'll have to watch and see. >> that was so fast. how you can fall from that grace so quick. >> it's all paper money. this is why ipos are risky.

this is the market now trying to value what this company is worth. 900 billion users. everyone knows it has changed the world. figuring out how it will change business and make money. >> that paper money can come back. >> it can come back. that's right. another story i'm following for you today, health care costs expected to rise 7.5% next year from price waterhouse coopers. it's more than inflation and more than any raise you're going to expect. you're going to pay twice, folks, as a consumer, paying more co-pays and more deductibles. you're going to pay as a taxpayer, since this will drive up medicaid and medicare spending. another survey found that this year's workers out-of-pocket costs rose to $3,470 for a family of four. it's milliman inc. more than half of employers plan to raise the cost that you pay for your health benefits. they're going to raise the cost

that you pay. so the one thing you need to know today about your money, take advantage of your corporate wellness programs. these same employers are doing more of that to try to keep you healthier so they don't have to pay so much money. passing on more of your health care costs to you. you are going to pay higher deductibles, higher co-pays, more for your health care than you're going to get in a raise, period. >> that is good advice. >> and do sanjay gupta's fitness challenges. >> that's true. sanjay has talked about this a lot as well. companies are going to pull back. one good thing they're doing, reinstating their 401(k) match. during the recession, many stopped naching on your 401(k). now they are matching again. take advantage of -- the corporate wellness programs, do it. 401(k), do it. >> and reality. reality. 24 minutes past the hour, we continue to follow in egypt two american tourists kidnapped.

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we are following breaking news out of egypt. two american tourists taken at gunpoint. egyptian officials say they're in contact with the kidnappers. the end of the big gulp? no kidding. new york moves to ban big sugary sodas and drinks all in the name of health. and he is one lucky waiter. he got the tip of a lifetime, folks. $5,000. we'll talk to him about that moment and what he plans to do with the extra dough. >> isn't that a nice little -- >> it is very nice. >> -- surprise.

>> imagine that. good morning. welcome back. i'm zoraida sambolin. >> good to have you with us. one day before friday. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> we are following that breaking news for you. u.s. embassy in egypt working right now to try to free two u.s. tourists kidnapped at gun point in the town of dahab in sight night regithe sinai regio. they are demanding that a man who was arrested on drug charges be released in exchange for the americans. >> reporter: armed gunmen have kidnapped two american tourists. according to egyptian interior ministry officials, local officials as well as representatives of egyptian intelligence are in direct contact with the kidnappers. the kidnappers are saying that they want the release of one of their tribe members, who was arrested with a large amount of

marijuana to be released in exchange for those two american tourists. they say they are in constant and direct contact with egyptian officials to resolve this situation as quickly as possible. the sinai peninsula has been an area where law and order, security and stability have largely deteriorated since the overthrow of hosni mubarak in february 2011. it's an area where there's little love lost between the egyptian state and the local inhabitants. often times that dispute is played out at the expense of foreign tourists. i'm ben wedeman, reporting from cairo. >> could this be the end of the big gulp? the mayor of new york city wanted to ban large sugary drinks at all restaurants and

not just there, at the ballpark. you brought examples so people know how big is big. >> it depends on how big the big gulp is. is it bigger than 16 ounces like this is? this diet doesn't count but, yes, this would be banned under the new city rule. this would not. it needs approval by the board of health first, but seems to be a foregone conclusion. it appear it is will take effect. they are quick to call the mayor nanny bloomberg. he has been out in front of this issue for health, owe fighting obesity, championed the ban on smoking and on fats. now he wants to ban odias larger than 16 ounces at all new york city restaurants, delis, movie theaters, ballparks and even some street side carts. here is a good argument for it.

watch. ♪ >> doesn't that music just wake you up? man drinking a tall glass of fat. if you're reading along there, you see that it says drinking one can of soda a day can make you ten pounds fatter a year. don't drink yourself fat. drink water, seltzer, low-fat milk. that's what the ad says according to the new york city health department. it would affect any cup or bottle of sweetened drinks larger than 16 ounces. it would not affect diet sodas, fruit juices, dairy-based drinks or alcoholic beverages and it would not extend to grocery or convenience stores. if you are boiling it down, it appears that the ban mostly effects places where you can actually order food, the restaurant, the deli, even the ballpark. >> and the ad that they released makes it pretty obvious as to why. they're really worried about obesity.

>> that's right. >> how bad is the problem to lead to this kind of measure? >> very bad. and the national average more than a third of americans are considered obese, 35.7%, to be exact. in new york, more than half of adults are considered obese or overweight. what's even more interesting is that higher obesity rates are more common in neighborhoods where soda consumption is high. obviously, the beverage association is quick to criticize this measure saying there they go again, the new york city health department's unhealthy obsession with attacking soft drinks is again pushing them over the top. the city is not going to address the obesity issue by attacking soda because soda is not driving the obesity rates. the city will counter that and say it is a big part of the problem. if you look at a soda like this, 240 calories. it's 20 ounces. for someone like you, ashleigh, some days you say this is a full meal. lean cuisine. for some people, it's half a

meal. think of an average meal being 500 calories a day for an average woman. it's a real problem. >> i wonder how tha they'll police selling the smaller cups. if you want a diet drink and you get your cup and do your own at the fountain. >> that's right. >> people will get around what they want to get around. >> they'll buy two of the small ones. >> alina, thank you. >> you bet. 35 minutes past the hour here. remember the pastor in north carolina who said gays and lesbians should be rounded up and put inside an electrified fence until they die? it's happened again with a different pastor in a different state. calling on the government to kill all gay people says he is just preaching scripture and has nothing to be ashamed of. pastor knapp of new hope baptist church in kansas says his phone has not stopped ringing since

his sermon went viral. listen to what he preached followed by his explanation. >> that's what happened in israel. that's why homosexuality wouldn't have grown in israel. it tends to limit conversions. it tends to limit people coming out of the closet. oh, so you're saying we should go out and start killing them? no. i'm saying the government should. they won't, but they should. >> we punish pedophilia, we punish incest, polygamy. it's only homosexuality that is lifted out. if a man lies with another man as with a woman, they should both be put to death. i don't think the government is going to do that. they don't have anything to worry about from me. i don't believe i should lay a finger against them. my hope is for their salvation not for their death. >> in his sermon, pastor knapp blamed the bush administration

for its tolerance of gays. he claims that set the stage for the obama administration to endorse same-sex marriage. pay attention you waiters and waitresses out there. apparently good service is really worth providing. coming up, we'll talk to somebody who is living proof of this. how a regular old customer ended up leaving a $5,000 tip. >> i can't wait to meet him. homicide of young people in america has an impact on all of 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. 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 am committed to making a difference, and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now.

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now that's a picture to behold. beautiful statue of liberty as the sun rises over new york city. just 52 cool degrees.

we're warming up to 70. it's just that day you want to be here, like every other day in new york. nice to have you with us, everyone. 39 minutes now past 6:00. time to get a check of the weather with reynolds wolf. >> you're steal willing my thunder. no question about it, new york city will be beautiful today. the ohio valley and into the deep south won't be. damaging winds, large hail, maybe isolated tornadoes. the reason we're going to see it is pretty simple. this frontal boundary will be pushing across the southern half of the continent. the same time all the moisture is coming into the gulf. daytime heating will give you strong storms. in terms of the temperatures, big heat. el paso will rise into the 90s. it will feel past the century mark in some places. 67 degrees in seattle. as we make our way back into the

great lakes, chicago at 54 degrees, 64 in kansas city and 92 in atlanta. that's a wrap on your forecast. let's get back to you. >> did you just say 54 in chicago? >> yeah, 54 in chicago. should be a great day out by wrigley field today. >> cool. >> literally cool. >> thanks, reynolds. >> here is christine romans with the headlines. >> two american tourists kidnapped at gun point in egypt. it happened in the town of dahab. kidnappers are demand iing that member of their tribe be released from jail in exchange for these americans. that man was arrested this week with a large amount of marijuana. u.s. embassy says it is working hard for the safe return of the two kidnapped americans. the commercial dragon spacecraft beginning its journey back to earth after releasing from the international space station. in a few hours, it will deorbit. after that, a splashdown in the pacific just before noon eastern time. newly discovered audio recordings of charles manson's

right-hand man could help police solve cold case murders. los angeles police are about to get their hands on eight hours of conversations between manson family killer charles tex watson and his attorney from 1969. a judge ruled to give them the tapes originally off limits because of attorney/client prifl. police believe the recordings capture watson talking about unknown murders the manson family committed. manson is serving a life sentence for seven murders. cutting class could soon get a lot tougher at two schools in san antonio, texas. the school zrik has approved a new form of school i.d. with a tracking device. james middle school and jay high school. >> an opportunity to track our students in the building. they may have been in the nurses' office, advice principal's office but marked absent because they weren't sitting in a classroom. it will help us to have a more accurate count of our attendance.

>> they seem to be the primary motivation for the new system. they're losing $175 a day because of absent or tardy children. i think teenagers are so crafty, they'll find some way to -- >> absolutely. no way they'll hand it to somebody else. >> implanted, really? putting chips under their skin? >> no, the i.d. that comes next year or the year after. >> soledad is over here on the side saying that's a great idea. >> i like that idea. that way you know where they are. stay in bed. let them do what they -- >> i always thought we should have a tracking device. >> if they're in an i.d., they'll just hand off the i.d. >> the shot of the military guy patroling the hallways as well, the guy in camo walking up and down the hallway. >> that's scary. >> anyway, soledad is here talking about "starting point." lots coming up. >> absolutely. this girl in high school at indiana is a senior, right now

is stuck in mexico on a technicality. she's supposed to graduate as salutorian on saturday, 3.69 gpa. because of a snafu with her visa paperwork, she could be forced to stay in mexico the next three years. her name is elizabeth olivas and she will join us live. president barack obama is now zeroing in on a new target, the republican's record as governor of the state of massachusetts. this morning we'll talk to the current governor of massachusetts, duvall patrick, and take a closer look at the romney record. then a mocumentary onmermaids gone wild. exploring the myth that a group of ancestors evolved to become sea creatures. >> mocumentary. >> they don't look like ariel. >> what happened to the pretty

mermaids? >> certainly that's not what they look like. a party? [ music plays, record skips ] hi, i'm new ensure clear. clear, huh? my nutritional standards are high. i'm not juice or fancy water, i'm different. i've got nine grams of protein. twist my lid. that's three times more than me! twenty-one vitamins and minerals and zero fat! hmmm. you'll bring a lot to the party. [ all ] yay! [ female announcer ] new ensure clear. nine grams protein. zero fat. twenty-one vitamins and minerals. in blueberry/pomegranate and peach. refreshing nutrition in charge! so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life, but with advair, i'm breathing better so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day.

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welcome back. 48 minutes past the hour. it is the tip that waiters/waitresses dream of. an envelope loaded with 50 $100 bills. that is five grand. according to all reports, it couldn't have happened to a better guy. there he is, greg rubar, working at domico's restaurant outside of houston for 15 years. his car recently destroyed in a storm. some customers heard about it and decided to do something

incredibly nice. greg joins us from houston. thank you for being with us this morning, greg. can you walk us through what happened? >> yes. like you said, i drove my car into some floodwater. i didn't have transportation. it was hard for me to get back and forth to work. i had some customers that i wait on regularly, they knew i was having a hard time, struggling. they came in one day. it was saturday. and they gave me an envelope and told me to go buy a car. and i didn't look in the envelope until after they left. i looked in and saw how much money it was. it was crazy. nobody's ever given me anything like that before. >> was there any inclination -- did you talk to them often? did you consider them friends of yours? >> yes. well, they were just customers, but they were regular customers and i talk to them all the time. i mean, i talk to everybody, but they come probably two times a week, you know. and i just always talk to them. they're just really nice people. >> now, the restaurant owner says that you tried to give the money back.

did you personally contact them and try to do that? >> no. i was hesitant about taking it, but he insisted i take it. he said you go get yourself a car. and he said i won't tip you for a while. you just get yourself a car. i'm going to get a car. >> what kind of car are you going to get? >> i don't know. i haven't had a chance to look yet. >> you know -- >> i've been -- >> go ahead. >> go ahead. i have a friend who is also a regular customer at the restaurant, he deals with cars. he's going to find me a car. i trust him and he's going to find me a car. >> a lot of people there are saying this couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. i'm going to read some things posted on the facebook page there. greg is the best. i believe he has been there longer than anyone else. good for him. he deserves it. greg is awesome. he is a great server and a good cook as well. glad to hear this story. how do you feel about all of that? >> i don't know. i'm just overwhelmed. i don't know.

i just -- i don't know. >> greg, i hear also that you would like to pay them back. >> i would. i would consider that a better gift if they would let me pay them back. i mean, it was more of a gift than a tip. >> well, it is. you know what i want to focus on a little bit here? you said you drove your car through some waters? >> yes. >> you do know that they say never to do that in a storm. i suspect you'll never do that again either. >> no. the problem is that i couldn't see. i just wanted to get off freetway. i was hydroplannin inhydroplani. when i got off the freeway, it was all i could do. it killed my car. >> a lot of folks excited for you. clearly, they believe that you absolutely deserve this good luck. and good luck with that new car. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> the biggest tip i ever got in six years of waitressing was 20 bucks. >> that's pretty good. >> i thought that was awesome until mr. rubar came along.

>> $5,000, $100 bills. >> sweet. any doctor will tell you that exercise is a good thing. now we are getting research that says, uh, maybe not. >> what? >> yeah. why working out may not be good for everyone. there is a hitch and a catch. do not turn off your tv just yet. if you're leaving the house right now, can you watch us any time and grab that story as well. that's going to be a good one on your desktop, mobile phone. [ male announcer ] this is the at&t network. a living, breathing intelligence helping business, do more business. in here, opportunities are created and protected. gonna need more wool! demand is instantly recognized and securely acted on across the company. around the world. turning a new trend, into a global phenomenon. it's the at&t network -- securing a world of new opportunities. ♪

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it is 55 minutes past the hour. some shocking statistics.

the u.s. now has the second highest rate of child poverty in the entire developed world. a new report from unicef and international business ties showing 23% of children in the united states are living in poverty. can you believe that? that is second only to romania with a 25.5% rate. iceland has the lowest rate in child poverty at 4.7%. >> not a badge of honor. not at all. could exercise actually be bad for you? conventional wisdom would say no. guess what, a report in "the new york times" says exercise could actually increase heart risks in some healthy people. 10% of the study's participants who engage in rigorous exercise actually ended up getting worse on at least one measure linked to heart disease, blood pressure and insulin and cholesterol levels. researchers don't really know why. they do point out -- this is very important -- that most of the participants saw improvements with exercise. >> boy, do i want to know more about that. everything you post on the

internet lives on forever. you know this. the latest reminder comes from the new website politwoops. deleted tweets from the politicians. senator john mccain mocking russian president vladimir putin. dear vlad, surprise, surprise, you won. the people of russia are crying too. >> and from pete sessions, quote, texas named one of the friendless places to start a small business. >> bad typo. >> and kevin mccarthy deleted this retweet. tips for driving in d.c. walk towards your car, set it on fire. set yourself on fire. arrive at spiritual destination. >> oh, congressman, don't think you want to have that out there. look, it's out there. >> that's a problem. >> not only does stuff live on forever in twitter verse but on

video, too. illinois lawmaker losing it on the statehouse floor. this video is going viral. when you see it, you'll know why. republican state representative flipping out after democrats pushed a last-minute bill. let's listen. >> the american way. these damn bills all the damn time coming out here at the last second and i have to try to figure out how to vote for my people? you ought to be ashamed of yourself. i'm sick of it every year! we give power to one person. enough! i feel like somebody trying to be released from egypt. let my people go! >> i have to be honest, the tirade went on for a solid minute and a half. it became entertaining to watch the people -- exactly. the one guy leaning on his elbow as if he's just tired of it all.

at one point he tried to drop the mike, but it was attached to the podium. didn't pull that one off. >> something else. starting point less than a minute away. we wrap up, as always, with best advice. here is christine romans. >> from suzanne somers, quoting someone we've never had quoted on this show before. listen. >> the greatest piece of advice i ever got was from my therapist who said you have to demand that people treat you the way you want to be treated and that was a revelation for me and turned my life around. >> people quote their parents, teacher or grandparent. first time someone quoted a therapist for us. >> good stuff comes in the best advice. >> good advice. and you didn't have to pay for t free therapy right there. >> total freebie. thanks, christine. >> that wraps it up for us, "early start" from a