kardashian nuptials. >> don't forget, every night this week we're counting down the top five ridiculist so far. thanks for watching. i'll see you a little bit later this morning on starting point. "early start" begins right now. debbie smacking into florida this morning, parts of the sunshine state flooding out as that storm makes landfall. >> plus fighting an inferno. tens of thousands are evacuated as colorado's wildfire gross more ferocious by the minute. >> and a giant set of olympic rings about to be lowered from tower bridge to mark 30 days before the games begin. >> let the countdown begin. >> there's nothing like the

summer games, right? so much fun. good morning, everyone. welcome to early, early "early start." >> up first, debby doing more damage and dumping more rain than some full-blown hurricanes. the deadly storm now downgradeds to a tropical depression where is slashes across florida where a state of emergency is still in place. that storm is second to bring rains to florida for another day. george, i was reading this morning the folks here were really scared because the water came in so quickly. how are the conditions there now? >> well, you know, zoraida, good morning. we know the storm cloud have all passed here but again, these residents are dealing with a very difficult situation right now. just take a look.

you see this home submerged for the most part in water. that's what you find in many of these low lying areas. it's hit or miss that more water that is covering these homes. in some places drivers are having to deal with six inches to a foot of water on the road. you see police officers in place to make sure drivers are prepared for that. but just yesterday we took a tour into a neighborhood that, imagine this, was covered in 15 feet of water, a street that basically turned into a river. we spent time with residents for the first time took a look. >> should be down here. i don't recognize anything now. that's our house there. >> we just can't bleach we're looking at this. a massive amount of water. >> we were almost finished with the house, almost finished

remodelling everything in there. >> and tease what you find in these different areas. some areas hit harder than others. and even today many residents in the state of florida still dealing with these problems. in baker county we saw rescues happening the other day as a result of this flooding approximately in pasco county, people had to evacuate because of these fast rising rivers. even though we may even see the sun today, it's still a dangerous situation. >> it's nice it see the rescues but tough to see the devastation. debby is moving across the state. what can residents expect in those areas? >> we do know they will deal with the flooding situations we've seen in the past few days. we know that the government declared a state of emergency. fema officials are on the ground surveying the damage and helping

people who were affected by this situation but again the situation far from over even though the storm is passing through the state. >> george howell, thank you very much. >> for some people the floodwaters aren't that bad actually. we have an ireport? safety harbor, florida. this as people tried to make the best of this. this is the better side of the storm, tubing done your street. obviously a lighter side of a situation that's been pretty tough for a lot of people. and here's a stunning photo of the rein maker from space, folks. debby blanketing florida. this is a nasa image copied when debby was still a tropical storm. >> i love seeing those images but they same time hate seeing the images because it shows the

severity of this. as we watch this hulk of a storm, we had no idea we were going to be seeing more than two feet of rain. some are get morgue than the record expectations. >> the slow moving storms, those are the ones that dump the most amount of rain. we saw it in texas with allison and tropical storm lee across pennsylvania last year. that's the kiss of death, a slow moving tropical storm that stays near its moisture source and that's what we saw with debby. finally, though, it's beginning to make its way off the coastline of the eastern peninsula of florida. the northern part of florida for the most part drive. tampa also got hit very hard with this in the way of heavy rein, wind, waves and severe weather. here's the track of debby. may strengthier as it gets to

the open atlantic. it's not going to be a threat to the -- it's the fourth named storm of the season. a here are some of the reinfall estimates. over 20 inches of rainfall in a short period of time. those rivers are going to be slow to recede. this is an area that was an extreme drought last year. >> we were talking about that a while ago. >> parts of florida were burning up. >> the deference from last year were here. >> it would be nice if they would get a little even keel when it comes to that because neither of those weather patterns is helpful. >> stand by. we'll have continuing coverage live throughout the program here on "early start."

with the radar you can see just where this storm is going. >> this is why we want rob to stand by. a wildfire not roaring unchecked through colorado's most popular tourist spots right before the holiday weekend. 65 mile-per-hour winds blew it past the containment loon. 3,000 people are now on the run. the hyde park fire burning since june 9th has destroyed 257 homes. rob, how are these fires doing now. >> not well as can you see from those pictures. the west one of fort collins, it looked like we were going to get some containment, then they fell

back over the weekend. this is the second big fire they've had and westerly winds are pushing it more closely. with this area here, fire threats will remain high over parts of the west. there's a chance of seeing thunderstorms as the monsoons kick in. the other thing with in is that we have seen record breaking high temperatures across denver in the front range for four days in a row now, today will probably be the fifth. very, very low snow pack has fields already dried out, which is a concern for them. >> you mentioned another concern and that's the firefighters as well. >> some politics.

veteran laumts on the ropes fighting for their political lives. political survivors, both winning tough primaries. six-time senator orrin hatch won his battle in utah. a >> and new york congressman charlie rangel, a member of the house for 42 years, won his democratic race. he is running for a 22nd term in congress. >> writer and filmmaker nora ephron has died after a battle with fyodor lukyanluk leukemia. you might remember one of her classic scenes in "when harry met sally," when meg ryan is,

how do you put this, faking it? >> yes, yes, yes! oh, oh, oh, oh god. >> billy crystal putting in a statement saying this, "i am very sad to learn of mora as passing. she was a brilliant writer and humorist. being her harry to meg's sally will always have a special place in my heart. i was very lucky to get to say her words." nora ephron was just 71 years old. >> kwen elizabeth will shake the hand -- we'll have a live report on the history making handshake in our next hour.

>> an unexpected fireworks show literally stopping traffic in chester, west virginia. this after police say an illegal fireworks stand caught fire in the parking lot of a bar. police say it was an extension cord that was strung up to run some lights out to at that illegal stand and that might have been the problem. that might have sparked this train reaction. the fiction shot through the window and the owner is expected to be charged. tricky but dangerous. >> in the meantime a free show, right? >> and a live look at the olympic rings being lowered from the tower bridge in london to commemorate the 30-day countdown until the summer olympics. we'll take you live to london later this hour as the city ramps up for the july 27th kickoff to the olympics. >> here's one of those head scratchers and a story that's

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we've got brand new details on the trayvon martin case this morning. they revealed that george zimmerman passed a lie detector test the day after he shot and killed that young man. the video shows him asking if he feared for his life. >> were you in fear for your life when you shot the guy? >> yes. >> a new report is also

revealing zimmerman had two opportunities to diffuse the situation. >> 15 minutes after the hour. christine romans with the top stories. >> debby continues in florida, many people coming back to total devastation this morning. >> two campers were caught in the cross fire on their way to lunch. a cam counselor was also wounded as he rushed the other children to safety. all are expected to recover. a california couple in the process of adopting four children from ghana have been given the all clear to leave the country this morning after they were thrown in jail accused of

child trafficking. the couple, their two biological children and siblings were stopped at the airport. the government said it received a phone call from an anonymous tipster. they are allowed to leave once the children's passports are approved. >> and a cross dressing driver was convicted for looting, resisting arrest and a prior dui. >> what trending now, apparently not facebook. the social networking site has seen a 4.8% drop over a six-month period. >> finally, sean "diddy" combs and snoop dog together in the stands? maybe.

we'll have to wait until 2015 to see if they take the field together. snoop dogg's son is a sophomore. >> apparently they're not singing sensations. going to college. >> it happens. my mom's in real estate. >> a guy who warned a tsa employee at the orlando airport that he was carrying his father's, a in that jar. john gross says no matter what the agent opened the jar after it went through the x-ray inspection and spilled some of the remains on the floor and then reports the agent started laughing. the tsa has a different story, saying its initial review conflicts with the reported story and that policy forbids agents from opening human remains. >> a former teacher in kentucky will have too register as a sex

offender after admitting to a relationship with her 16-year-old student. she's facing a sentence of up to five years in prison. state law makes it a felony for teachers to have sex with students under the age of 18. >> come rain or shine or fire, a mailman going beyond beyond and rescuing two children from a burning home in houston. he was actually filling in on someone else's route, a co-worker, and he saw smoke billowing from the roof. he knocked on the door and two kid came to the door. the kid didn't know the house on fire. the damage was pretty extensive. the house was destroyed by those flames.

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u.s. stock futures down this morning, concerns about europe creeping in one against. >> markets did close higher across the board yesterday. dow gaining a quarter of a percent, nasdaq and up. there's a recent poll that's out that shows student loans are impacting the lives of about half of americans who have student loans. >> student loans are the topic du jour. you need a ledge education to get a good job and people have to take loans. the student loan story of the morning is we're getting very close to this deadline on sunday, a deadline where new federally subsidized student loans, the rates will dobl to 6.8%. this would affect 7.4 million students. if you currently have federally

subsidized student loans, it would not affect you. it's 7 million new loans. your interest rates would stay at 3.4%. the senate, democrats and gop has agreed they don't want to student loan interest rate to rise. they have a deal now. the question is will the house gop be on board. the fight is how to pay for it. it costs $6 billion, where you rg go to pay for it to give money to college students. where is the money going to come from? is it going to come from preventive care? seniors? >> more tax increases? >> nothing that anybody likes. how student loan debt affects borrowers, it's clear. 48% say it's harder to pay their bills, harder to buy a home. they delay marriage and family because of student loans. here's the flip side of that.

if you don't have the college degree, it's even harder to buy a home, right? there are benefits and costs of getting that degree. you have to be very careful about how you weigh them. another thing about congress and its action or inaction here that's really important. the fiscal cliff. you've heard me talk about this. it's this coming wave of tax increases and huge spending cuts that as it stands right now is going to hit if congress doesn't do anything. i want to tell you how that's going to affect jobs. it looks as though that will be a million job cuts over two years. i told you the congressional budget office already said there would be a recession early next year in the fiscal cliff hit. those are going to be good paying jobs cut from contractors, government, military contractors. they're all bracing, all bracing for this fiscal cliff because the easiest thing to cut quickly, if we have to cut half out of defense spending would be to really quickly just close

down a bunch of got contracts with these big contractors. there's a lot of uncertainty. >> you mentioned this is going to spiral down. >> this keeps me up at night because -- >> i thought europe did. >> europe and the fiscal cliff. >> at the end of the day it's all connected. >> thank you, christine. >> catching tax cheats is easy when they turn themselves in. details from the irs coming up. >> and if you're leaving the house right now, take us with us. log on to cnn.com/tv. to being a different kind of communications company by continuing to help you do more and focus on the things that matter to you.

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incumbents rule the day and the night it turns out as charlie rangel and senator orrin hatch survive tough primary challenges. >> this is a milestone forthe georgia woman trying to recover from flesh eating bacteria. >> and some live pictures for you. take a look at that. tower bridge in london as they lower the giant set of the olympic rings this hour, and it's marking 30 days, the countdown son to opening ceremony 2012. >> and they say they are ready for it. >> i bet they are. they've had enough time to prepare for it. good morning. i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin.

>> more than 25 inches of rain has come down along the coast. the deluge is not offer. some people are starting to go back, some by boats, to homes that are a total loss. >> the water was up this high on the doors. everything inside the garage was floating. everything -- there was a walkway in the center and everything was stacked up on the sides. the water came up high enough that is started to collapse in on itself. >> you have to wonder if people have flood insurance. another four to eight inches could hit northern florida as debby heads slowly towards the atlantic. >> we have new video just in to cnn. thomes entirely up in flares in colorado springs. one official saying it look likes a military invasion. the fire in colorado springs has spread to 6,200 acres, it is only 5% contained. 65 mile-per-hour winds blew it

right past one containment line. 32,000 people are now on the run. >> despite ethics violation and scandal and illness, et cetera, long time new york democratic congressman charlie rangel is a winner. he won the primary last night, the democratic primary and he is now going to try to earn, are you ready, his 22nd term in congress. you do the math. that's 44 years he'd like to be serving in that role. he survived four challengers to get on the ticket and one of those challengers was on our program yesterday. those challengers definitely sensing the congressman's vulnerability. not one of them, though, able to capitalize on it. joining us is our senior political editor. may i just add in these wonderful summer months you have come in to do this little interview on your vacation. is that true? >> i'm a team player. >> you are awesome! i love these stories because it was such a nail biter for these two men and they are so famous.

i asked one of those challengers yesterday if he figured he was going to lose for the sympathy vote, people that walk in and vote for the guy, they kind of feel bad. >> this is the first time facing voters since he got censured by the house for ethics violations, for failing to pay taxes on rental units and other things and the district has changed a lot because of redistricting. four challengers, he overcame it. charlie rangel most likely going back to congress for a 22nd term. orrin hatch out in utah, not as close a contest. he won by a 2-to-1 margin over his opponent. he faced a tea party challenge from the former state senator. he had been accused of not being conservative enough. he showed his stripes to prove

he was conservative enough for utah and will not suffer the fate senator lugar did. >> i felt like at one point orrin hatch was really on the ropes, like he was really struggling in the polls. >> it was his first primary challenge since 1976 when he first ran for the senate. the fact that it just got to a primary challenge was a challenge. >> let's switch gears a little bit, politics and health care. tomorrow we're expecting an historic decision on the supreme court, what's come to be known on both sides of the argument as obamacare. both of the main contenders for the office for president were on the stump talking about what they think they know the american people want when it comes to obamacare. let's listen to the president and mitt romney. >> the american people understand that we're not going to make progress by going backwards. we need to go forwards. they understand we don't need refight this battle over health care. it's the right thing to do, that

we got 3 million young people on their parents health insurance plan that didn't have it before. it's the right thing to do to give seniors discounts on their prescription drugs. it's the right thing to do to give 30 million americans health insurance that didn't have it before. >> as you know, the supreme court is going to be dealing with whether or not obama is constitutional. if it's not, if obamacare is not deemed constitutional, the first three and a half years of this term would have been wasted on something that has not helped the american people. if it is deemed to stand, then i'll tell you one thing, we're going to have to have a president and i'm that one that's going to get rid of obamacare. we're going to stop it on day one. >> paul, a lot of people are saying whatever the supreme court decides to do tomorrow, it could be the mirror of what might happen in november. is that a reach? >> maybe a little bit of a reach. this election is still about the economy but health care is an important topic.

what you heard from president obama and mitt romney is like a little appetizer, a little taste of what you'll hear on thursday when the supreme court rules and some democratic strategists i speak to say even if the sprort strikes down the law on just the individual mandate, which is the key to the law, what would be a legal defeat for the president may end up being an electoral bonus because it could kind of take the wind out of the sail of the republicans. they've been talking about repealing obama care for so long. if the supreme court strikes it down, they don't have a rallying point anymore and it could motivate democratic voters who would be very upset about losing health care. so in the end, a defeat legally for the president may help him when it comes to his reelection. >> paul, who is on vacation and not at the same time. you better take an extra day for this fair trade you gave us today. thanks, paul. have a nice vacation, what's left of it. >> and john edwards' former

mistress, rielle hunter, stopped by "the view" yesterday and did she ever get grilled. look at that face. hunter opening discussing her affair. >> right now the personas are of elizabeth being a saint and john edwards being a demon. >> rielle -- >> i'm sorry, i'll let you finish. >> and me as home wrecker and those aren't true personas. >> well, not according to you anyway. and she says she and jed ward have ended their relationship, about a week ago, when the book tour started. and watching him deny paternity was the most devastating moment of her life. rielle hunter will join piers morgan for her first cable interview at 9:00 tonight on

cnn. >> gay pride at the pentagon. for the first time, they acknowledged gay pride month. >> there are still relatively few of us wearing the uniform who are willing to go on record and say this is my life, i am proud of my life and i will serve as a leader with integrity. >> that was a courageous moment. the event comes less than a year after the repeal of the pentagon's don't ask don't tell policy. >> the irs is feeling a wee bit richer this morning. that agency has raked in more than $5 billion and get this, it's come from tax cheats and it's come to them voluntarily. all of this because of some disclosure programs that came about in 2009. these were programs that were

designed to lure tax invaders back to the government by giving them reduced penalties and then the promise of no jail time. that is incentive. but they did have to give information about their offshore bank accounts in order for that trade. >> a georgia woman taking a giant step in her recovery from flesh eating bacteria. amy copeland releasing this photo of the 24-year-old outside for the very first time since contracting the disease 49 days ago. the doctor, if you'll remember, had to amputate both hands, her left leg and right foot. they've upgraded her condition from serious to good. look at the smile on her face. amy's father shared her feelings in a blog post he said that she says "i am blessed to be able to have a challenge that not many others have, i am blessed to have the capacity to share my experience with others and have a chance to improve the quality

of someone else's life. i am blessed to be different." what is incredible. later on "starting point" at 7:40 eastern, soledad talks to andy copeland, amy's father. >> did kenny chesney get kicked out of a kenny chesney concert? take a look at your screen. the country music star is on the right-hand side -- flip it around, flip it around. nathan's on the right, kenny is on the left. they're even wearing the same clothes except for the color of the hat. apparently when security officials approached and asked nathan for his ticket, they escorted him out of the stadium. >> i thought he was going to lead me back to my seat but he grabs me by the arm.

i said because i wear the hat, i've seen a million of these hats here. it's like they were really escorting kenny chesney through the crowd. >> chesney's people did apologize for all of this and refunded nathan's ticket and gave him medical for the forced exit. not sure what the merchandise is. i'm still curious as to why they kicked him out in the first place? he had a ticket. maybe there was too much hullabaloo going on to show it. it's no crime to impersonate a star. >> we have a live report from london coming up. a beautiful live picture for you. >> oh, good music choice. with over 25 delicious flavors for a fraction of the cost of the coffee house. add your flavor with coffee-mate, from nestle.

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we are only 30 days away from the summer olympics. can you believe it? just moments ago a huge pair of olympic rings were lowered from the tower bridge in london to mark that 30-day countdown. we are live in front of the tower bridge in london. did you catch the moment when they were being delivered via barge? >> as olympic organizers here say if you're going to throw the biggest party in the world, you'd better get dressed for it. the unveiling of the olympic rings this morning were a big part of that dressing. each olympic reng is the -- ring is the size of a double decker bus. it's not the only dressing that london has planned for the games.

each of the bridges that across the thames will be illuminated in olympic covers. and as you mentioned, we are 30 days out from the games and lord sebastian coe, the chairman for london 2012 this morning says london will be ready but they're going to need every one of those days to make it happen. >> so how are officials in london preparing for the influx of people coming into the city? >> well, it's expected to be some 3 million people, an incredibly busy olympic theater. one of the key questions is how will london's transportation system hold up? officials acknowledge that at certain times and certain areas of the city at certain venues, that it may be problematic, the supply will not meet the demand

for public transportation. they're encouraging local businesses to take necessary precautions. that would include opening up satellite offices outside of london so their workers can avoid the city all together and encouraging people to take vacation during the london olympic games. we'll have to see how that all plays out. >> it's tough to plan your vacation around that. >> it's 47 minutes past 5 on the east coast. let's get you up to date with top stories. christine romans has that for pus. >> the top story is still debby, one of the most stubborn storms in recent memory. many evacuees now coming back to homes that are a total loss. >> new details this morning in a suspected hate crime shooting in a south texas ton that killed within teen-ager and left another fighting for her life. this happened over the weekend in portland, just north of

corpus christi, texas. both girls were shot in the head. police say this was not a random attack. they're processing dna evidence and interviewing witnesses. friends say these two girls were dating for about five months. >> knicks star amar'e stoudemire slapped with a $50,000 fan for tweeting an anti-gay slur. he has since apologized releasing a statement saying, "i'm a huge supporter of civil rights for all people. i am disappointed in myself for my statement to a fan. i should have known better. there is no excuse." >> and finally college football has a playoff system. university presidents approved a plan for a four-team playoff that would involve all the major bowls you know and love with a rotating national championship

game as well. but some critics are saying you know what, this still doesn't go far enough. >> safe to say this is not how a would-be burglar drew it up. prosecutors in brockton, massachusetts said when he got his head caught under the gate when he tried to rob the store. >> there's an art to packing a suitcase. now there's an app. you'll learn how to pack a suitcase, a rolling bag and a carry on but i still can't afford a louis vuitton bag. you can only afford the app. >> i thought it was really great. i watched it this morning and it gave some really good tips. >> i was thinking a better app would be how to get to a stage in life where you can afford a louis vuitton.

>> any bag, ladies. it doesn't have to be a louis vuitton bag. thank you, christine. >> the nba's number one pick is worried about someone stealing his unibrow. really? >> another great song to take us out. go to cnn.com/tv. cnn is everywhere. ♪...

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well, it's time to take a look at what's trending on the web. and bow to the brow. >> anthony davis, known for leading kentucky to a national title this year and for his unibrow is expected to be the number one pick in the nba draft. his first order of business as a pro, he has trademarked his unibrow. he owns the right to the phrases "fear the brow" and "raise the brow." >> but not bow to the brow. didn't trademark that. that's why we're using it. >> oreo is taking a stand on an issue is that an is not so black and white. it generated thousands of complements when it posted a

facebook picture like this, a rainbow multi-layered verse of the beloved oreo cookie. it said aside from june 25th pride, it also said support love. the post has more than 207 likes from oreo's 26 million fans but there were critics who were nasty and vulgar. we can't tell you what they said but one of the supporters wrote yum, said i can taste the rainbow and it tastes fabulous. >> formula one racing legend david coletard and david shepard teamed up for the farthest golf shot caught in a moving car. >> it's good that he's wearing a

helmet. >> oh, my gosh! >> that is insane! that is insane! holy cow. i think that was done strictly through math. it had to be through math. here it goes again. if you have to really squint. look at this. again, good thing he's wearing a helmet. >> the ball was traveling at 178 miles per hour. it landed in the mercedes-benz sls roadster 300 yards away. the stunt was verified by guinness world records. >> that's a very cool story and a very cool moment to be a part of. i wouldn't have looked up, though. heck no. >> obama and romney, it's truly the stuff late night is made of. >> everyone is speculating about mitt romney's running mate. the latest rumor today is mitt romney's reasoning mate will be a white male from ohio. it's true. or as romney refers to him, a

person of color. >> the final state primary election of the season happened quietly in utah today. it was meaningless because both mitt romney and barack obama have clinched their respective party nominations but it's still fun to go go et a sticker at the booth. the real contest begins november 6th, which ever candidate raises the most money will be the winner. >> in boston president obama was booed when he made a joke about the red sox. people of boston haven't booed like that since romney was governor. >> it's just the beginning, folks, gear up. we have four more months of this. >> and the story behind this amazing video coming up. of any small business credit card! how does this thing work?

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we have disasters from two extremes, flooding swamps part of florida while ferocious wildfires threaten lives and

homes in colorado. >> flat broke at city hall. bankruptcy for a really big city in california. >> remembering nora ephron. the to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> it is 6:00 on the dot. tropical depression is duing more damage and more rain than hurricanes can do in their full force. sloshing across florida where a state of emergency is still in place. the storm is expected to bring very dangerous conditions, particularly flooding and it doesn't seem to end. george howell live in florida near where the storm made land fall. i've been tracking your

whereabouts, it's either in ankle or knee or waistdeep water. now it's behind you though the disaster is not beyond everyone. >> reporter: take a look at this, ashleigh. you see what used to be a front yard. now it's a small lake. that's really what you see in different places here in wa kul la county, here in the state of florida in these low lying areas. you see a lot of water piling up. flooding is the big story, especially around these rivers that are cresting above flood stage. we spent some time with families in one of those neighborhoods, spent time in a neighborhood -- went down a street that turned into a river with 15 feet of water. we spent time with these families, one family in particular, that saw their home for first time. take a look. >> should be down -- just down here on the left somewhere.

i don't recognize anything now. >> we can't believe we're looking at this. a massive amount of water. >> we're almost finished with the house, remodeling everything in there. >> reporter: they are optimistic looking forward but what they are dealing with, many people are dealing with here in the state of florida. in baker county, we saw rescues happening the other day and in pasco county, we are seeing mandatory evacuations, because of these fast rising rivers. >> looks like they are going down a river in south america when we see these pictures, it's remarkable, george, the landfall of debby was in the panhandle, but what about the rest of the state, georgia? the rest of the east coast? what do we know about the effects for everybody else? >> reporter: we know many places will see more rainfall until

this storm system finally pushes off into the atlantic. but we also know the governor did declare a state of emergency. fema officials are also on the ground here in the state of florida to help many of these families that were affected by the storm. >> that's really unfortunate. the pictures are incredible. to think a year ago, we were talking about the desperate fire situation in that region. so one extreme to the other. george howell, thank you. along with all of the flood dangers, some cars and homes are in danger of being swallowed by dozens of huge sinkholes that have opened up in the aftermath. forced several hundred road closures as evacueeses try to go back home. in brooksville, they had 20 sinkholes in that area alone. >> debby is somewhat of a democrat it seems, because in tampa at the site of the republican national convention said to be held at the end of

august, we have a before and after picture for you. flood winds testing the tampa bay area. great news, there has been no major effect on the preparations, full team ahead for the republican convention at the end of the summertime. amazing before and after pictures. >> let's head over to rob marciano. are you tracking this? >> yes, tampa one of the most susceptible areas to tropical storms and hurricanes but very prepared. wee still in june, right? tropical depression debby, the strength has not been the issue, it's the slow movement and proximity to the gulf of mexico and taking that water and dumping it over the same areas. the center is offshore of saint augustine, most of the rainfall will be drifting down south. the left over streamers will be south florida and most impacted areas across the north will not see anynor rain. the water on the roadways will

be slow to recede but ten plus inches in these areas, that's going to go away. 22 inches in crawford officially, this is certainly a remarkable stuff. may be strengthening to a tropical storm but by that time it's going to not be an issue at all. this was an area last year with droughts and wildfires, not the case today. the eastern third of the country will be the other big story. the rivers now cresting are going to stay a major or moderate flood stage for a good couple of days. either the rivers or the ponding on the roadways and in some cases entire downtowns have been ponded and interstates as well, a slow go here. even though the rains have stopped today, the waters will take their time to get out of the way. guys.

>> the remarkable statistic that even places that got 2 feet of rain are expected even more. it's outstanding, just remarkable. reminder to our viewers too that we're going to collect not only rob's awesome weather models but terrific video from the field. continuing coverage throughout the show this morning. >> utah senator orrin hatch's incumbency is showing. the 78-year-old hatch outspent his opponent 10-1 in the race and received an endorsement from sarah palin. charlie rangel also surviving a career threatening primary challenge, winning his race in new york. for the first time since being censured for ethics violations, he's running for a 22nd term in

congress. remembering nora ephron, after a battle with leukemia. she scored three oscar nominations nor screen writing, one for "silkwood" and "sleepless in seattle" and "when harry met sally". >> i love it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich and you get a crinkle on your nose and i can still smell your perfume on your clothes and loif you're the last person i speak to at night. >> i'm very sad to learn of nora's passing, she was a brilliant writer and humorist, being her harry to meg's sally will always have a special place in my heart. she was 71 years old. brand-new for you this

morning, stockton california expected to file for bankruptcy at any moment. and that would mean it's the largest city in the united states history to file for chapter 9. it is $700 million in debt. they tried everything. mediation with the creditors did not go well. last night completing failing. city council has voted to adopt a brand-new budget for operating under bankruptcy protection and the mayor is real upset saying this, it is a sad day for stockton, i see no other solution to this. an unexpected fireworks show stopping traffic. this is chester, west virginia. after police say an illegal fireworks stand caught fire in a bar parking lot. an extension cord running lights to the stand may have sparked this. fireworks shot through the window of the bar. no one was hurt. the owner, however, is expected

to be charged. we have breaking news for you. queen elizabeth on the left has officially shaken the hand of the man on the right, the former i.r.a. commander, martin mcginness, it is a personal gesture in a longstanding feud, 30 years plus, the queen actually lost her cousin in an irish republican army attack and many say it was actually that man who was part of the spearheading, the ira and britain ended what was called the trouble, it was really a war in 1998. this handshake just happening a few moments ago. we're working on getting the video. this was so incredibly stressful in terms of security. they weren't even prepared to let the media know if we could get cameras to get this handshake, secure or not, i'll tell you what, less secure than it has been in the past. there was a time when the queen

could not sleep overnight in northern ireland in belfast. this is a remarkable day. we're working on that story for you. it is nine minutes past the hour. a millionaire vanishes in florida, not even a week later, his family is in a bitter fight over his fortune. more coming up. the postal service is critical to our economy, delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet the house is considering a bill to close thousands of offices, slash service and layoff over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains $5 billion a year from post office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. house bill 2309 is not the answer.

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we have new video into cnn, this is what an out of control wildfire looks like in colorado springs. 32,000 people are now on the run. that fire now roaring unchecked through the mountains. eric loofer is live in colorado springs. we understand there's only 5% containment here. how are they planning to fight this? >> reporter: it's going to be tough because the forecast not looking good this morning, zoraida. once the sun comes up it's going to be another scorcher. a red flag warning in effect for most of the state of colorado, especially the western slope and colorado mountains. this fire, again, very likely could flare up. good news and we haven't seen much good news lately, the fire has laid down overnight. from this vantage point

yesterday we could see clear flames and see the fire advancing quickly just over the trees here. we're not seeing any flames, there's plenty of smoke overing over the whole city. i can see a heavy smell of smoke. we're not seeing flames like we saw yesterday. we're on north side of this fire near the air force academy. by the way, there are evacuations in place for the far south portion of the air force academy. again, the good news, we're not seeing much wind. it's chilly this morning, as we know with fires, they do lay down overnight if the winds calm down and temperatures go down which they have, but we're only waiting for the sun to come up and we're expecting this fire to flare up again. >> there's a massive amount of force trying to fight the fires. talk to me about the tourist attractions affected by this as well. >> reporter: garden of the gods is a huge tourist attraction here in colorado, nationwide,

garden of the gods an area that firefighters have been protecting since the beginning. that is dangerously close to the fire zone. we've also got the broadmore area, south of highway 24. the good news this morning, fire officials are confident it won't cross the highway but the major story here is that the whole city, whole northwest side of colorado springs is evacuated. that's 32,000 people, 32,000 instead of talking about these tourist attractions, we're talking about an entire city being affected and that's unheard of when you think of wildfires, you think in a forested area, high in the mountains. this fire is coming dangerously close to a whole community, a whole city. >> eric lupher in colorado springs, i hope you the next time you bring good news from

the area, thank you. the widow of pat tillman is now talking about her husband's final gift he made to her. you might remember pat tillman as the young man who went to afghanistan and gave up a football career to do so but died in a very controversial friendly fire incident back in 2004. his wife, marie tillman wrote a book about a letter that pat left for her, it was one of those just in case letters, that soldiers all know so well. listen to what she told cnn's piers morgan. >> he left a just in case letter for you. through the years i've asked a great deal for you it should surprise you little i have another favor to ask, i ask that you live. when you read that, when went through your mind? >> when i originally read it, it was something that was very difficult because at that time i didn't want to live. here he was gone.

he was my best friend, he was someone i had been with for most of my life. and the thought of living without him was something i couldn't bear. >> make sure you keep it here on cnn all morning because marie is going to join soledad o'brien later this morning, 7:50 eastern time to be exact. stay tuned for that. 16 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date. here's christine romans. >> good morning, debby will flood florida over the next 24 hours even though she's been downgradeded to a tropical depression. many evacueeses are coming back to homes a total loss. tough talk from president assad, he says the country is in a state of war and his regime will do anything to win. just hours after the president's remarks, state media reporting opposition fighters planted explosive devices in the headquarters of a pro-government tv network. fighting has been raging now for 15 months in syria.

he's barely been gone a week and the wife of gum ma aguiar are fighting over his fortune, $100 million in assets. aguiar was last seen sailing alone off the coast of florida. coffee is the new red wine. if you drink two cups of coffee a day, you have an 11% lower risk of developing heart failure. the new research in the american heart association's journal of circulation, showed coffee lowered the risk for diabetes and for heart failure. five or more cups a day could potentially be bad for you. big ben in london. there it is, big ben does not exist anymore, sort of. the iconic clock tower is still there but parliament is renaming the tower elizabeth tower in honor of her 60 years on the

throne. david cameron says it's a fitting tribute to the queen and service she's given her country. i always thought big ben was the clock inside the tower so technically big ben is still there. >> it doesn't have the same ring. big ben -- how about big betty? something -- >> i don't think that's flattering. >> you don't think she'd like that? >> no. >> people will still call it big ben. it's hard to catch on to a new name. thank you. 19 minutes past the hour. gas prices keep on falling. another 1.4 cents. that happened overnight. the question is why and for how long women the trend continue. christine romans is coming back with much more on this.

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we are minding your bees wax this morning. i don't know why i said that. minding your business but my kids say minding your bees wax. concerns about europe, creeping in, what do you know? >> i say they never crept out. the markets closed higher across the board yesterday with the dow gaining a quarter of a percent. christine romans is here to talk about gas prices, why they are falling. >> if you're filling up at the pump, it's a good thing. they are concerned about consumer spending but if oil prices and gas prices keep falling that will be more money in your pocket and more juice to consumer spending. you have more disposal income.

many economists and analysts are telling me they think the gas prices will keep falling into the autumn. you've seen them fall below $3 a gallon in a couple of different places and by halloween, one analyst said you could see it below $3. we're so concerned about $5 gas for the summer but the economy is slowing, the growth of the economy worldwide is slowing. demand from europe is one reason why you'll see lower demand. $78 a barrel. >> 78? >> $78 a barrel for oil now. and it's static demand for summer driving. there wasn't this big jump in demand in this country. so today's national average is $3.38 down 1.4 cents. according to aaa, if we don't have any big hurricanes, that's one of the things that can be out there as a possibility that can spike oil prices. and iran, just a few months ago the president was talking about having to tap the strategic petroleum reserve in case there

was shortages from iran because of sanctions there. >> three weeks ago. >> we have low oil prices despite what's happening in iran. >> do you remember a couple of years ago, drill, baby drill? >> yeah. obama is going to allow more drilling and this is the big story from the white house yesterday, no new leases until 2016 and they allow a lot of time for research and environmental impact and all of that stuff. the white house moving forward with more arctic drilling, the seas north of alaska, i wish i had a map but i'm told i don't. >> way up there. >> you can see -- >> russia from there so we're told. >> the oil industry wants a faster time line for drilling, no question, of course, that's where we are on that. we'll watch that as well. >> do you have one more thing we need to know that's positive about our money. >> while congress is playing chicken with student loan interest rates, the one thing you need to know about your money today, this debt could be

a good investment if you manage it properly. i'll tweet out a student loan calculator so you can know what you owe when you pay it back and interest great into that into your financial life. don't let it bring you down. a lot of people told me they can't start their life because of student loan debt. >> you're always there to remind us of that, the silver lining on a housy cloud. thank you. we've been monitoring this remarkable moment going on in northern island. queen elizabeth and former heads of the ira shaking hands. you did not hear wrong. the queen of the uk shaking hands with a top demander in the ira. a guy who many say was responsible for the murder of her cousin back in the 70s,

we're going to tell you about this and why it's so earth shattering coming up. if you're leaving the house right now, you can watch us any time, go to cnn.com/tv. we'll be right back. what happens when classroom teachers get the training... ...and support they need? schools flourish and students blossom. that's why programs like... ...the mickelson exxonmobil teachers academy... ...and astronaut sally ride's science academy are helping our educators improve student success in math and science.

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if you're tired of going around in circles, get headed in a new direction. ask your gastroenterologist about humira today. remission is possible. president obama leading mitt romney in a new poll but the news isn't all good. as we dig deeper into the numbers. >> the father of the late amy winehouse speaking out about the troubled relationship, this singing fen om was in. he says that the boyfriend, the boyfriend is responsible for introducing her to class a drugs that ultimately led to her death. >> senate leaders say they struck a deal on student loan rates. that means savings for 7 million new american college students. welcome back to "early start",

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm ashleigh banfield, good to have you with us. let's begin with this story and i'm sorry it is not a good one. a storm that won't go away and it is causing so much trouble. officially named debby, she's now been downgraded to a tropical depression. make no mistake, she is dumping a dangerous amount of rain all over florida. so now it's up to 25 inches that has come barreling down across the coast of that state. the deluge isn't over. 2 feet plus and it's still not over. people are starting to come back to their homes but they have to do so by boat only to find out what you're seeing on the screen means total loss. >> water was up this high on the doors. everything inside the garage was floating, there was a walkway in the center and everything was stacked on the sides and the water came up high enough it started to flood everything.

>> forecasters are predicting another 4 to 8 inches could hit northern florida as debby heads slowly towards the atlantic. the battle for the battle grounds is heating up. the obama camp sending joe biden to iowa, while mitt romney campaigns in virginia. there are several new polls out, the president is on top leading mitt romney 47% to 43%. political editor paul steinhouser joins us live this morning. it's all about the numbers and the president is on top overall, does he fare as well when you break down some of those key voting groups? >> let's do that. with this nbc wall street journal poll that came out 12 hours ago. the gender gap is still there. we've seen it for last couple of months. among women the president with an advantage by 13 points, a slighter advantage there for mitt romney among male voters, 48-43 over the president. what about independents, we

always talk about those, the people in the middle who determine who wins in november, a slight advantage for the president in this nbc wall street journal poll. we've been in a general election contest since april when mitt romney wrapped up the battle for the republican presidential nomination. we've seen a lot of fireworks but it's been pretty consistent, the overall horse race numbers nationally have stayed pretty close. take a look at the states, this is a battle for the states and electoral votes. brand-new numbers from quinn pea yak university, florida, 45 to 41%. ohio, you can see the president according to this poll with an 8 point advantage. pennsylvania, another state that could be in play hasn't gone republican since 1988. right here the president with a 6 point advantage. in another battle ground state, iowa. >> health care really important

issues but the key issue is the economy. you have polls that tell us what americans think about the president's performance when it comes to the economy. >> exactly, the economy is still by far the number one issue. health care and immigration will be important but the economy will win or lose the election unless something dramatic happens between now and november. take a look at this. what do americans think about the president's policies on the economy? have they made a difference? americans are divided on this one, 32% say what the president has been doing the last three and a half years has helped, equal amount says it hurt and same amount of people say it made no difference. one other number and this is interesting. people said over the last couple of weeks that i have seen indicators and 49% say all of these economic indicators make them more pessimistic about the economy. 43% say it makes them more optimistic about the economy. neither numbers are great for the president right now. >> here's the good news, we'll have plenty more polls until the november elections.

>> i think we'll have a few, yeah. >> paul stein hausser, thanks very much. whether your student loans go up could hinge on a meeting on whether to extend the current rate cut. conservatives could reject a deal over concerns how to offset the $6 billion price tag, how are we going to pay for that? the senate has it has already come to agreement. congress has until sunday to act. it won amy winehouse five grammys and made her an international star. listen up. ♪ >> just incredible music, no matter what your genre, people knew her and liked her on her 2006 album, she also sang about

refusing to go to rehab and her tortured love with her once boyfriend then husband, then ex-husband. amy died last july at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning. now a new book has amy's father opening up about coping with the devastating loss of his daughter. mitch winehouse spoke with cnn's piers morgan last night. >> he has to be responsible for the fact he introduced her to class a drugs, whether she would you have found her way to class a drugs without him, who knows. he stood up and said it was him so that's who we point the finger at, not for her death though. >> that's interesting revelation and mitch winehouse was talking about the boyfriend, then husband and ex-husband, black fielder civil. amy's father will be on "starting point" at 8:40 eastern time. >> the summer olympics only amonth away. the olympic rings were lowered

from the tower bridge to commemorate the 30-day countdown until the games begin. the huge rings are 82 feet wide and 36 feet tall. each ring the size of a double decker bus. they look tiny there, don't they? >> tower bridge is towering. it's huge. cannot wait. i wonder if there will be set ablaze in the opening ceremony. in sydney they did that, fire and sparks blazing from the rings. >> i'm sure they have something really incredible planned. >> can't wait. sports fans, ready? college football has a final four. and they are all cheering, the committee of university presidents approved the plan for a four-time playoff that will involve all of the major bowls that you know and you like, like rose bowl, orange bowl, sugar, everything. the rotating national championship game part of it as well. some critics are saying it still doesn't go far enough. so the debate continues.

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come over to your tv, good morning, atlanta. that is a beautiful shot as the sun rises there, 64 degrees right now. later it's going to be lovely, 89 degrees and sunny. not everywhere, two weather extremes thousands of miles away putting people in jeopardy right now. >> good morning, as is often the case with these kind of things, you get one extreme in one part of the country and one in the other. if you could swap them a little bit to help each other, it would be perfect. not the case though. northern florida, leftovers from debby with the torrential rain that came through the last four to five days.

one of many rivers in major, if not record flood stage. so dozens of subdivisions have been flooded out in some cases downtown areas ponding on the roadways from the rainfall itself. these rivers and the ponded areas are going to be slow to recede today. the good news is we won't see rainfall today. tropical depression debby is moving offshore of saint augustine, the leftover rains today will be really south of main flood zone, south of daytona and south of tampa and the streams will get into southern florida. the other big weather story is the heat and the wildfires that are burning in colorado. these pictures now, the waldo canyon fire west of colorado springs has pretty much exploded. it doesn't seem to be that big when you compare it to the high park fire, but 6200 acres, it's getting closer to colorado springs proper, nearly 10,000 people have been evacuated

inside the city limits, a total of 32,000 people have been evacuated in the fire zone just to the west of colorado springs, 5% containment with this and winds have been erratic and the heat has been extreme. that's the main thing with this. the temperatures in denver had set all time record highs with 105 degrees in the past several days. the heat will continue in the colorado front range and the heat will push off to the east and eventually the eastern u.s. as well. >> rob, there's no fire almanac, is there? it's june. any thoughts about how the summer is going to be? >> if you look at the fire season as a whole, it's not that -- really above average yet, but colorado certainly has seen above average fire behavior so far this year mostly because of the lack of snow that we've had this past winter. that's certainly not going to help going forward. >> thanks. it is 43 minutes past 6:00.

let's get you up to date with christine romans. >> a california couple in the process of giving children from ghana have been given the all clear to leave the country. they were accused of child trafficking, the couple, their two biological children and adopted siblings were stopped at the airport. they received a phone call from an amon mouse tipster, they are allowed to leave once their visas are approved. this is not how the would be burglar drew up his plans. when the suspect trieded to break into a rent a center, his head got wedged under the metal door. manuel fernandez was stuck there for nine hours. he'll be charged with breaking an entering and destruction of property. the ftc is slapping the chain with a lawsuit, saying

thrp allowed to steal credit card information earn racked up over $10 million in fraudulent charges. wind ham says the allegations are without permit. mysterious posters popping up in major u.s. cities, including chicago and new york and seattle, declaring who deserves to die, naming h hipsisters and cat lovers and crazy old aunt. the disease isn't named but they are stamped with the logo for the lung cancer alliance. a mother in michigan says a famgly dog saved her 14-month-old soun from drowning. she was walking with her son stanley in the yard and he disappeared. she looked around and spotted him in the pool. at first she thought he was floating but she noticed he was on their dog's bat. the dog kept very still and made sure stanley didn't go under.

they are both fine. oh, my gosh, pools are so scary, dog stories of dogs saving kids, so exciting and beautiful. >> there's a good reason why we don't have video of it because the fear and panic that ensues when someone does become aware. wow. >> i'm glad that has a happy ending. soledad o'brien joins us with a look at what's ahead. >> new developments in the race for the white house, now a dead heat between president obama and republican rival mitt romney. how are they planning to get the voters interested in voting for them? we'll talk about that. we have an obama supporter, chris van lolen will be my guest and ron johnson of wisconsin. new photos and a new lease on life for amy copeland. you were talking about that this morning. the 24-year-old woman battling that flesh eating disease. we'll talk to her dad this morning and see how she's doing and the father of late singer amy winehouse, talking about her

notorious drug use and alcohol abuse and placing the blame on her tragic downward spiral. we'll tell you what he's saying about that. when you talk about magic johnson you think basketball superstar, legend. hall of famer is becoming a legend in the music world as well. he'll stop by and talk to us about his new network. i go one on one with new orleans saints quarterback drew brees, are we going to talk about the bounty scandal and nfl concussions and more. >> busy, girl. >> i know, that was a lot. i'm worn out. >> i'm not sure if any of us thought we would see the day where we would get video into cnn that shows what you're about to see. look very closely, might look like a receiving line with the queen, some very important people. one martin mcginness, who used to be a commander with the ira. yeah.

that is history in the making folks, the first pictures now of this historic visit to northern island and why this is making such news and does it bring to an end, the troubles, famous troubles. live report coming next. ♪ [ male announcer ] ok, so you're no marathon man. but thanks to the htc one x from at&t, with its built in beats audio, every note sounds amazingly clear. ...making it easy to get lost in the music... and, well...

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brand-new and historic, 14 years after the irish republican army and british ended their war, something they called the troubles affectionately. the queen has come face to face with a former top commander in the ira. now the first -- the deputy first minister of northern ireland, mcbeggin necessary, th is the concrete -- firsthand shake with one of the officials and second handshake the historic handshake, top demander in the ira for some part of better 30 years, thought to be one of the people who is quite involved in the assassination of her cousin back in 1979.

that was personal and historic. nik robertson, i can't emphasize how historic it is, it's a handshake in a place where the queen heretofore had not been able to spend the night without extraordinary security concerns. >> reporter: even today there is still security concerns and clashes because the people who were sort of anti-the queen's visit have put a big banner on the hills of belfast. after that the loyalists who support the queen went up and there were fights last night. nine policemen were killed, that's the atmosphere even today. think of this, mcgin he is, trying to kill her, trying to kill her family members and kill her security forces in northern island to drive the british out of northern ireland.

there have been allegations coming from mcguinness that the troops, the queen is commander of british forces with were illegally killing ira members. you have all this extreme history and he is trying to show he has reconstructed and he's a politician and that he's reaching out across all communities here. this is an image that will last in northern ireland and royal family's history for decades, generations, ashleigh. >> also a notch in the political arm of the ira. you did say it is not without critics and security is high. let me ask you this. he was said to be quoted right before this visit, i am still an irish republican and after i meet queen elizabeth i will still be an irish republican. this in no way should be taken

as a thought that, well, i guess northern ireland will always be part of the u.k., there's still this desire to see from that particular da tant, isn't there? >> reporter: there is. what he's saying is says going to do it by political means. there are people here in this group that followed on behind the ira, the real ira, making 400-pound bombs -- a couple of them f every month in northern ireland. there are people still committed to this violent republican cause. which is what mcguinness has said he has given up. what the queen is doing here, also showing she is willing to forgive and that sends a message to all of the sort of unionists here in northern ireland, the people who support the queen, that they also need to bring mcguinness to deny the real ira

people any kind of foothold. >> let's pop that picture up again, the underlying story is the look on their faces. they are both smiling as is the rest of the entour age. this could have been a formal official event, done just sort of as a pro funkry thing but it is not. it looks like a welcome event this their lives. excellent reporting, nice to know. >> 55 minutes past the hour. the best advice comes from president obama's half sister about not being afraid to be yourself. that's coming up after this quick break. every communications provider is different but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company. ♪ we link people and fortune 500 companies nationwide and around the world. and we will continue to free you to do more

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we're going to wrap it up as always with best advice. >> president obama's half sister gave this advice, the best advice she's ever received. listen. >> the best advice i've been given is to first of all know who you are, at least find out who you are and know that person, love that person and then don't be afraid to be yourself. >> don't be afraid to be yourself. we've heard various it races in

don't be afraid to be yourself. >> figure out who you are. >> the president's half sister, his -- when he's written about finding out who he is and his family. >> do you know what i lover about that? this is done in the ireport style and caught in a hallway. >> we don't to give them notice and give planned talking points. >> you can totally catch people off guard. >> what is the best advice, they want to be thoughtful about it. >> sometimes we don't use them, if you knew the people who we decided because we thought it was just -- doing it for sure or -- >> we won't air that one, just kidding. that's "early start", nice to have you with us. >> "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. our starting point this morning, mountain inferno, the spot that inspired america the beautiful is up in flames. more homes are burning to the ground in colorado. we'll tell you abou