>> no moon beams, sadly. at least the ipad was recovered. we got to hear the story from a man in full clown regalia. those are some pretty big shoes to fill on the ridiciulist. thanks for watching. ♪ the republican congressman who created a firestorm with his legitimate rape comments has until tonight to drop out of his race. with his own party desserting him, what will representative akin do? >> a severe warning. president obama letting syria's leader know that the u.s. is ready to strike if they use or even move chemical or biological weapons. breaking the glass ceiling with a green jacket. augusta national finally letting women into the club for the percent time in its 80-year

history. woef a live report from the home of the masters for you. >> that is a long time coming. good morning, welcome to early start. i'm john berman. i'm zoraida sambolin. up first the pressure is mount ring for todd akin to drop out of the race. akin is refusing to go. before yesterday, much of the country didn't know who he was. but republicans were counting on him to defeat incumbent claire mccaskill and help them regain control of the senate. but this morning, his remarks have both parties united in their condemnation. >> the views expressed were offensive. rape is pe. >> his comments about rape were deeply offensive. and i can't defend what he said. i can't defend him. >> cnn political editor paul steinhauser live in our washington bureau.

this is a long list of people, house speaker john boehner, senate leader, mitch mcconnell urged him to withdraw. the editorial committee will not support his campaign. he's losing money here. what is the likelihood that akin will stay in this race? what are insiders saying? >> as you mentioned, there is a 5:00 local time deadline today. if he gets out, there are no penalties against him. everybody is going to be looking today to see if he changes his mind. twice yesterday in radio interviews he was firm in saying he was not a quitter and was staying in the ce. behind the scenes, insiders are telling us it's a different story and there is mounting pressure all the way to the top of the ticket. you heard mitt romney. presumptive nominee basically saying that he was shocked by that language. it was clear. it's time for akin to get out. the chairman of the republican national committee is high up in the party. take lie ak at what he told erin burnett last night on cnn.

>> if it was me and i wouldn't say anything that dumb as he has, but if it was me and i had an opportunity to let someone else run to actually give ourselves a better chance of winning, i would step aside. >> it's pretty clear language don't you think, zoraida. look at the numbers. especially in the battle for the senate. the democrats control the senate. missouri is a state republicans feel they can win, but not anymore. not with this candidate. behind the scenes people are telling me there's a lot of pressure here in washington and elsewhere for him to drop out. >> with all this controversy, is he saying why he plans on staying in the race? >> his comments on two radio interviews yesterday, he said he's not a quitter. >> not a quitter. >> he still feels he can win this day. some republicans agree with him. there has been some support but mostly no. this has repercussions not only in the senate but the battle for the white house. this is something that mitt

romney and paul paw did not want to deal with yesterday. but they were. the platform in tampa coming out with their platform, exclusive reporting that they're going to continue again as they have in the past to take a hard line on abortion. >> we're going to talk about that in the next hour. appreciate it. paul steinhauser live in washington, d.c. thank you. i have never seen a political party race to cut someone off at the knees as quickly as the republicans did yesterday. they went from 0 to 60 in an hour. >> he was talking about that platform and the message that the gop is going to put out. but it's different than the message we talked about yesterday, that ryan and romney are putting out on abortion. it's a little confusing to me how it could be o two opposite messages. >> platforms go back more than a ndred years. the conventions come up with a party platform. it's not always what the presidential nominee ends up supporting. four years ago the platform supported this human life

amendment. john mccain made clear he wanted exceptions for rape or incest. this time mitt romney made clear that he wants it. it doesn't appear in the draft language that there is that exception. there can be a difference sometimes. >> it's odd to me. as you go to the polls, you want clarity on these issues. it gets a little bit more confuse being. thank you for the perspective on that. >> want to get you up to date on other stories. overnight, insurgents fire rockets at the main nato air base in afghanistan damaging the aircraft used by martin dempsey. reuters reporting that he was not on board at the time. a nato senior spokesman says they think it was a lucky shot. those are their words. dempsey left on another aircraft. he was in afghanistan for talks with nato and afghan commanders. >> president obama issues a stern warning to syria. don't even consider a chemical or biological attack or you may provoke a military response from the united states. >> a red line for us is we start

seeing a whole bunch much of chemical weapons being moved around or utilized. that would chang mychal cue lus. >> a military and security studies expert says the syrian regime probably has the largest and most advanced chemical warfare program in the arab world. a federal appeals court blocking laws in alabama and georgia while lettingome others stand. the court rejected as unconstitutional a portion of the alabama law requiring public schools to check the immigration status of new students. but police in both states can check the citizenship of criminal suspects. suicide, not homicide. an autopsy report finding 21-year-old travis carter killed himself in the back of a police car. carter shot himself in the head while handcuffed after his arrest last month. the autopsy showed that carter had marijuana and meth in his

system. carter's family believes he was shot by police. their attorney spoke to erin burnett. >> ever since this has begun, jonesboro police department has said listen, this is a suicide. this is a suicide. what happened to an investigation? since when did we start with a conclusion and then find facts to support that conclusion? in the video, it's very important because there's 3, 3 1/2 minutes of video missing. the autopsy also found carter -- as i said, had marijuana, meth and depressants in his system. the report comes days after police release two dashcam videos taken before and after carter's body was found slumped over in that patrol car. drought conditions are causing low water levels along the mississippi and missouri rivers. an 11-mile stretch of the mississippi river near greenville, mississippi, is now closed to most boats and barges. it's an area considered vital to the economy. the closure left 97 vessels

stranded yesterday. low water levels are exposing a part of the missouri river's past. at least five steamships, back to the 1880s can be seen at the bottom of the rir. seven minutes past the hour. the tropics are heating up for. for a check of the forecast, let's go to rob marciano. good morning. >> good morning, zoraida. three areas of concern can. the one in the gulf of mexico is the closest. might not be the deepest area of concern. it's down in the southwestern gulf. 30% of this developing into a tropical system the next couple of days. we're not terribly concerned about it in the u.s. but it could bring heavy rain to mexico. something close to africa obviously, not far out there. not concerned too much. it looks strong. it's lining up. this is the time of year what we call the cape verde season. tropical depression number 9. our greatest area of concern at

this point. 35 mile an hour winds. a minimal tropical depression. was just given that status. here's the forecast from the national hurricane center bringing it towards the caribbean in the next couple of days. developing it into a hurricane, potentially a one or two category hurricane towards jamaica, cuba, the dominican republic and/or the united states. we'll watch this carefully. heavy rains in florida if you're traveling that way. john, back to you. >> thanks, rob marciano. everybody looking at that storm because the republican convention in tampa next week could, could be in its path. >> curiosity is getting ready to roll on the red planet. nasa mission members say the rover will take a test drive on mars today or tomorrow. it hasn't made any tracks yet. the plan is to drive it four meters forward, 90-degree turn in place and a few meters backward. small steps but important ones. it's on the heels of curiosity's first laser beam test fire on sunday. >> another storm is slowing down

62-year-d endurance swimmer diana nyad this morning. as she continues her quest to become the first person to swim from cuba to florida without a shark cage. we received an update moments ago. nyad is riding out the storm and everyone is safe. nyad had completed about 48 miles of her 103-mile journey. according to her team's blog, all hell broke loose. when nyad closed in forcing her to change course to escape 14 knot winds. >> stung by the jellyfish all the time. a storm, no big whoop. kids play hookey from school. should they have to pay a fine? one superintendent wants truant students, even six-year-olds to shell out the cash. that's coming up next. just befs touches your lips. the delightful discovery, the mid-sweetening realization that you have the house all to yourself.

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we believe in the power of people when technology works for you. to dream. toreate. to work. if you're going to do something. make it matter. welcome back to early start. it is 14 minutes past the hour. i'm zoraida sambolin. i'm john berman. finally, for the first time in its 80-year history, augusta national golf club allowing women to become members. former secretary of state condoleeza rice and south carolina business woman darla moore will soon be playing on the historic course. the move is pushed by women's rights activists including billie jean king. president obama was quoted by saying the decision was too long in coming and the right thing to do. mark mckay has more from home of

the master tournament. mark, there's been a big push for this starting about ten years ago when there was a protest led to get twoim play. the question is, ten years after that protest, 80 years after the course was built, why now? >> well, that's the question that's still unanswered this morning john and one that will likely not be answered any time soon. augusta national always operated under a cloak of secrecy. we probably will never have an answer to the question as to why it was the right time now to invite two female members into its club. billy payne, the chairman of the club said so as much when he put his statement out on monday saying "membership consideration with regard to any candidate is delirate and held in strict confidence and always takes place over an extended period of time." of course, the club has come under fire in recent years. remember a decade ago the protests led by martha burke and her organization, she at that time had even announced that

sponsors should pull out of their coverage. well, augusta turned around and went commercial-free with the coverage in 2003. martha burke telling cnn on monday after the announcement was made, this isn't mainly about getting into this club specifically. but in women's equality in general. >> i always said it's not about golf and it's not about playing golf. it is about making deals in corporate america. it is about those halls of power that you're talking about. the more women we have even if it's a couple to begin with, that cracks open the glass ceiling a little bit further. >> as you might imagine, john, reaction among golf fans has been mainly positive and mixed as well saying they welcome this move. but why has it taken so much time? >> what about the reaction among the golfers? >> that's also been positive. the pga tournament because of

weather issues had to finish monday in north carolina and we were able to catch up with tim clark from south africa. here's what he had to say about this move. >> i think it's great. it's a sign of e times. you know, augusta is a club that seems to want to progress. i think it's obviously about time. you know, it's a place i love and love going to. it's nice to see them make that move. >> four-time masters champion tiger woods also weighed in monday saying it was an important decision for golf and he would like to congratulate both female members especially his friend condi rice. >> he said it was a sign of the times. it was in the 1960s. >> good point. 1 minutes past the hour. here's christine romans with the top stories. >> good morning to both of you. still following the story. republican leaders say todd akin must go. but so far he's refusing to drop

out of the missouri senate race. akin ignited a political firestorm about his controversial remarks about rape. he has since apologized said he was wrong. but the chairman of the rmt rnc doesn't want him at the party's national convention next week. lawyers for the teen caused in a shooting in ohio. t.j. lane pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges in a february shooting at chardon high school. it left three students did. they're waiting for the neurological evaluations. no serious injuries after a falling crane knocked over three electrical poles in toronto trapping passengers inside that transit bus. a live wire fell on top of that bus. >> scary. >> leaving 23 passengers and the bus driver stranded inside for 40 minutes. while it may not be the era of bird, jordan, the nba is far from dead. this is a tweet from the

obituaries. a tweet from the owe bit section accidentally declared the nba dead. causing lots of twitter chatter, rather, among sports fans. it is not. they will play. i promise. >> thank you for that. all right. it is 18 minutes past the hour. we're getting an early read on your local news making national headlines. first up, a new york times poll finds that most new yorkers think the nypd favors whites over blacks. it's an overwhelming 80% of blacks that felt the police favor whites, especially when it comes to the controversial stop and frisk policy. 48% of whites said they believe that cops favor them over blacks. as for stop and frisk itself, 48% say it's acceptable tactic to keep the city safer and nearly as many, 45% say searching them for weapons and drugs was an excess a crime fighting technique. >> when it comes to this, 85% of

the people who are being stopped and frisked are black or latino. the numbers are very, very high. that's why some people are upset about that. play hookey and the kids could pay. this is from the new britain herald in connecticut. the school's superintendent there is proposing a fine of as much as $75 for students caught cutting class. this could apply to kids as young as 6-year-olds. this blew my mind this stat. a recent study found that 48% of new britain high school students are chronically absent. 48%. can you believe that? >> this is causing a lot of conversation which i think is good about what to do with truancy. especially when the levels are that high. what i personally don't understand is how a 6-year-old is wandering around with parental supervision. >> you think a 6-year-old is understandable but 16-year-old it's hard to find the family. >> it isment finding $75 to the family, how is it going to help the problem is what a lot are saying.

i'm glad they're talking approximate it and can find some sort of solution. >> 48% say real problem. for an expanded look at top stories, head to cnn.com/early start. great schools, quick drive to the big city and low unemployment rate. what else could you ask for in a hometown? cnn money has picked the top places to live in the united states. we are going to share that list with you coming up next. the wheels of progress haven't been very active lately.

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welcome back to early start everyone. we're minding your business this morning. apple is now the world's most valuable company in history ever. this in terms of market cap. >> christine romans has details and facebook stock as well. still talking approximate that. >> a lot of big tech news. apple shares, a lot of people looking at it yesterday. saying it is now the most valuable company out there. when you look at the shares, they reached yesterday a high of, wow, more than 600 -- look at that. this is since tim cook became ceo. 86% increase in just one year. isn't that amazing. >> yes. >> what does at that mean for the value of the company. if you look at the market company, all the shares value the company a $623 billion. now, now, now. let me give you an asterisk. >> that's a lot of money. >> the asterisk is that microsoft actually holds the title if you adjust for inflation. don't let the details get you in the way.

looking forward to that iphone, sale of the new iphone. maybe 250 million of these they'll sell. imagine 308 million people in the america. they're expected to sell 250 million iphones. unbelievable. facebook, this is the opposite story. facebook going down. it's been cut in half. remember the lockout period for the insiders. the people who got in early. the lockout period has expired. they can sell millions of shares. since the ipo it's been cut in half. a guy, one of the early investors cashed out a ton. we knew he would. ton of his stuff. this is a guy that we interviewed him last year. really interesting guy. he gives them seed money in the beginning and this is what -- this is a home run, right? this is a grand slam. he's taken out a bunch of money there. he's much richer than he already was and he was already very rich. let's talk about the bess places to live. money magazine has really good stuff. i'm going to tweet this out for you. carmel, indiana, number one on

the list. number 2 is mckinney, texas. one of the oldest cities in texas. there's a lot of growing places in texas. eden prairie, minnesota is number 3. the winter is cold but the economy is hot. there you go. >> is that what makes it one. best places to live? >> that it's cold? availability of job, housing stock. a lot of different metrics they put together for the best places to live, including education, how happy the people are. i will tweet a link and you can look at those. later this place, best places to find a job. >> that's going to be a popular one. thank you so much. 27 minutes past the hour. she was class valedictorian. but she is being denied a diploma over a twilight-inspired smeech. speech. because it matters. at hp we don't just believe in the power of technology. we believe in the power of people

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under pressure. the clock is ticking for congressman akin to drop out of his senate race after his legitimate rape comment. he's vowing to stay, but his whole party wants him to go sniefrnlt rocky landing. several passengers hurt when a plane flies through major turbulence knocking flight attendants on top of each other. diploma denied. a class valedictorian denied for one word in her commencement speech. we'll let you decide if that is fair. >> i don't know. welcome back to early start. i'm john berman. >> i'm jozoraida sambolin. republican congressman todd akin has until 6:00 eastern tonight to withdraw his bid for the senate. the missouri lawmaker is under intense pressure to quit his race this morning after making

controversial remarks abt abortion in the instance of rape. >> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down. let's assume that doesn't work or something. you know, there should be punishment, that the punishment ought to be in the rapist and not attacking the child. >> so akin insists that he's still running. the democrats and republicans are calling him on to step aside including republican national committee chairman rients pre bus. >> it's a bizarre statement and something he needs to seriously think about. if it was me, i would step aside and let someone else run for that office. >> priebus suggested akin should not attend the republican national convention. with us now is anna navarro. thank you so much for being with us this morning. i think the list is longer of people who would like him to step down as opposed to people

who want him to stay. do you think that he will step down? >> i don't know what he's going to do. i agree with you. people who want him to stay at this point is his opponent, claire mccaskill who would love to run against him. he will be easy to beat and his wife and son who allegedly both work on his campaign, as well as congressman akin himself. i think it's punishment enough to have to see that video you just showed over and over and over again. i've now seen it a number of times. there's not one time i see it that it doesn't make me cringe. >> what happens if he does step down? walk me through that scenario. >> i'm sure it's going to end up in legal challenges. the deadline is today 6:00 p.m. eastern time. close of business in missouri. there's going to be a -- there's a number of people that could step in. one of them might be allen keys who is an african-american that ran as a presidential candidate in 2008. he's a terrific guy.

this was also a very close three-way primary. ironically, senator mccaskill, who was his democrat opponent, put money into a race to try to boost up akin and now we see why. he's a trog la diet. he needs to go. >> i want to talk about this legitimate rape thing to see if you can shed some light here. akin told huckabee that when he used the term, he meant forcible rape. let's listen to that. then i want your perspective. >> were you attempting to say forcible rape or was that -- where did that come from? >> well, yeah, i was talking about forcible rape. it was absolutely a wrong word. yeah. >> all right. so that language, forcible rape, was used in a bill akin co-sponsored with vice presidential candidate paul ryan. the no taxpayer funded abortion

act which is what it's called would have only allowed federal dollars in abortion in case where the woman was in danger of dying or incest. if the pregnancy occurred because the pregnant female was the act of a forcible rape. what is forcible rape and why that distinction? >> i have no idea. i am not the one to shed light on this. i think that when legislators start parsing and dissecting the word rape, they're getting into a very slippery slope as we've seen. calling it legitimate rape to me is legitimately stupid. rape is rape. i don't understand what the word forcible has to be in there for. i really think it's a mistake. rape is rape. i think the rape is rape for democrats, for republicans, for all americans. we all understand it as an act of violence. zoraida, i'm just as much in the dark as you are. i will tell you that that bill do not coincide with mitt

romney. mitt romney has said and announced that his campaign, that his platform, his agenda does include an exception for rape and it's just that. it is rape. folks, it's a four-letter word. ra-a-p- r-a-p-e. it needs no preceding adjective. cnn contributor and strategist, anna navarro. thank you very much. that bill never actually defined what forcible rape was. but people who looked at it, it says that some people were trying to differentiate between one kind of rape and statutory rape because it dealt with medicaid funding, limiting or cutting off medicaid funding for abortions. they didn't want funding going to those of statutory rape. that's what critics were trying to do. it's heavy nuances. it's a tough debate. >> actually, when you look at the stat particulars of people who think there should be an exception for incest and rape.

it's p 75%. when they do make distinctions, it's mind-boggling, right? i don't know. >> it is. 36 minutes after the hour now. we want to update you on the other top stories. a state representative from minnesota is facing calls to give up his reelection bid after he was allegedly caught in a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old boy at a rest stop. authorities say cary gautier admitted to the encounter according to the duluth news tribune. he won't face any charges. that's because the boy was older than the legal age of consent and no money was exchanged. on the campaign trail today. president obama hitting two battleground states with events in ohio and nevada. vice president biden campaigns in minnesota. meantime, mitts mitt romney spends the day in texas fundraising. paul ryan will be stumping in pennsylvania. several passengers suffered minor injuries aboard a delta airlines jet while landing on monday.

passengers on flight 5762 saw several people hit their heads on the ceiling and two flight attendants fall on top of each other. fasten your seatbelts on the planes everybody. one went to the hospital for minor injuries. rosie o'donnell says she's happy to be alive after suffering a heart attack. on her blog, she said she felt symptoms on tuesday but just took an aspirin. the next day her doctor informed her that one of her arteries was 99% blocked. she wrote a poem to warn other women. know the symptoms ladies, listen to the voice inside. the one we all so easily ignore. >> now pitching for the sugar land skeeters, roger clemens. again for a second, roger clemens. he's 50. he signed with the texas minor league team leading to speculation perhaps about a major league comeback. the sugarland team plays the independent atlantic league. he's expected to make a first

start on saturday. he last pitched with the yankees in 2007. he's coming off a major legal victory. he was acquitted of lying to congress about using performance-enhancing drugs. >> all eyes will be on him. for car thieves across america, there's nothing like an old honda accord. the national insurance crime bureau says for the fourth year in a row now, the 1994 honda accord is the most stolen car in america. thieves like the older models. the second most stolen was the 199 honda civic. the newest car was a 2006 ford pickup. >> nostalgia among car thieves. a teen is settling into her freshman year at southwestern oklahoma state university. but her high school still hasn't handed over her diploma. this is because she used the word hell. i just said it. she used it in her valedictorian speech. it was a line inspired by one of the twilight movies. >> i did not think it would get that big at allment they're going to ask us what we want to

be. we're going to say who the hell knows. that's it. >> the high school insists caitlin new paragraph has to write an apology letter. she says she isn't sorry. she doesn't feel she did anything wrong. she's getting messages of support from all over the world. the school isn't commenting calling it confidential. not that confidential anymore. >> definitely not. 5:39 in the east. he's been warned. president obama putting syria's leader on notice and saying the u.s. is ready to strike if he crosses a line. a live report headed your way next. [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues

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welcome back to early start. 43 minute past the hour. i'm zoraida sambolin. i'm john berman. glad you're with us. president obama is delivering a strong message to syria. there will be repercussions should it even consider a chemical or biological attack. >> a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. that would change my calculus, my equation. >> a security expert believes the syrian regime "probably has the largest and most advanced chemical warfare program in the arab world." jim clancy is following the developments from beirut. jim, what do we know about the chemical and biological weapons arsenal at this point in syria? >> on the official front, we don't know very much at all.

clearly, obama's red line comments provoked a response both from the russian side and also from damascus. first to damascus. we heard from the foreign min city where they said that their statement of two days ago talking about the use of chemical weapons only against a foreign aggressor was being misinterpreted. it wasn't an admission that they had weapons of mass dee destruction like chemical weapons. they said in no way, shape or form would those ever be used against the civilian population. that's the reaction from damascus. does it allay any fears? no imt the u.s. is just as concerned that the chemical weapons might fall into the wrong hands. meantime, also reacting to president obama and what we just heard there was the russian foreign minister. he was in china for talks with officials there. he said both beijing and moscow are sending out the warning that no violation of u.n. charter, no violation of international law directly meaning that they

wanted the u.s. to rule out any unilateral intervention here in syria, which the president was obliquely referring to there in his comments from the white house on monday. >> jim, i thought it was interesting that the president said if he saw them moving weapons. that seems to be a fairly low bar there. at this point what is the american involvement in syria in terms of aid? >> well, there is really two levels of involvement. one of them is a very clandestine involvement, the other one is very public. this is what the president had to say about sending humanitarian aid in yesterday. >> number one, we want to make sure we're providing humanitarian assistance. we've done that to the tune of $82 million, i believe, so far. we'll probably end up doing a little bit more. >> all right. now that is the -- what he's talking about is humanitarian assistance that is arriving in r too little quantities and

far too late for many. 170,000 official refugees, john, but the unofficial number is probably three times that. it doesn't include the internally displaced. they do not want to give their names to the u.n.hcr. it's a very dire situation there. at the same time, you've obviously got accusations coming from russia and others saying, the u.s. and its arab allies are funneling in advanced western weaponry to those rebels. that's why they're being successful. back to you. >> all right. thank you, jim clancy in the middle east this morning. 47 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date. christine romans with the top stories. >> will he stay or go? congressman akin defied calls from the republican leadersp to quit the missouri senate race. following the comments about abortion and legitimate rape. akin faces a deadline today at 6:00 p.m. eastern time to leave the race. a medical examiner in

arkansas ruling the mysterious death of 21-year-old chavis carter, a suicide. the autopsy report found that carter shot himself in the head while he was handcuffed in the back of a police car in jonesboro, arkansas. carter's family says he wasn't suicidal and they believe police fired the fatal shot. curiosity getting ready to roll on the red planet. nasa saying the rover is going to test a -- take a test drive on mars today, maybe tomorrow. it hasn't made any tracks yet. the plan is to drive it four meters forward, make a 90-degree turn in place, then drive it a few meters backwards. the most expensive test drive in history. >> want to follow the movement of a great white sharks across the pacific ocean. you can. there's an app for that. stanford university tracked the movement of great whites along the northern california coast. this app follows sharks that carry electronic tags giving

users the chance to study their migration patterns on your own or use it to avoid sharks i guess. >> cool. >> i hope it reaches the atlantic. i'll feel better about swimming. >> you can watch it and watch the eaglets. you can have a nature show on your phone. 49 minutes after the hour. life iitating art. a woman selling candy inspired by the show "breaking bad." some are out raged. if you watch the show, you know why. go to cnn.com/tv. why not take a day to explore your own backyard? with two times the points on travel, you may find yourself asking why not, a lot. chase sapphire preferred. there's more to enjoy.

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welcome back to early start. everyone. it's 52 minutes after the hour. i'm john berman along with zoraida sambolin. we're looking at what's trending on the web this morning. >> the defending super bowl champs in trouble for a hazing

video that one of the players actually posted on the web. it shows giants all proline man jason pierre-paul caring corner back prince amukamara in the locker room and dumping him -- they dump him into an ice bath. oh, my gosh. the players yelling, stand up for yourself. it sent coach tom coughlin through the roof and the player who posted it deleted the video and apologized it ns. apparently he got really mad. >> there's this thing called the internet where it's a bad idea to post videos. that's my lesson for the morning. >> he said what happens in the locker stays in the locker room. they should know that rule. >> i agree. candy store in albuquerque, new mexico is breaking bad. fans of the show will know about this. the owner is now selling bags of blue rock candy, what does it resemble? the infamous blue sky crystal meth that the character cooks up in the show "breaking bad."

the candy store owner said she did it to honor the show which is filmed in albuquerque. the shop owner says she has moved hundreds of bags of the rock candy so far. as you can imagine, a lot of parents aren't so happy about this. it glorifies the drug trafficking business. they may be on to something there. it may be sketchy. >> i'm sure she'll continue selling it as long as she's making cash. 54 minutes past the hour. paul ryan said to be ap 90x devot devotee. it's clear that it's working. here's what jay leno and jimmy kimmel had to say about it. >> paul ryan has been called the fittest politician in washington. here's a picture of him and his wife. he's really in good shape. the fittest politician in washington? how hard is that? let's look at the competition. here's barney frank. there's rick santorum. >> there's newt gingrich. there's charlie rang he will.

>> tmz is calling this the first shirtless photo of paul ryan. like it's the harry potter movies. there are many more to come. i guess it's the time we're living in. can you imagine if tmz was around when clinton was the president? we'd have bottomless pictures of him probably. it's pretty common to see shirtless photos of political candidate. shim you are you remember this photo of president obama not wearing a shirt in hawaii. of course, there's the republican candidate magic mike huckabee. meanwhile, mitt romney is refusing to release more than the first four inches of his torso. he insists he has nothing to hide. >> it's just wrong on so many levels. >> all right. >> all right. >> speechless. >> it is 55 minutes after the hour right now. there is big political news. he is under immense pressure to

quit the race. will he stay or go? a live report coming up at the top of the hour. [ male announcer ] when this hotel added aflac

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all right. it's his move now. the congressman who talked about what he called legitimate rape, he has until this evening to drop out of the senate race. there is a deadline. the republican party has pulled its support. what will he do? >> ready to strike. president obama warning syria's bashar al assad the u.s. will act if chemical or biological weapons become a threat. having a sweet tooth may

cost you. one town considering a tax on candy and soft drinks. >> i'd be in trouble on the candy part. good morning, welcome to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john per man. we begin with politics and what everybody is talking about. the all to drive todd akin out of the missouri senate race. the party faithful turning his back on akin after his explosive remarks about legitimate rape and abortion. so far akin has been defiant in the face of tremendous pressure for him to get out. he has until 6:00 p.m. eastern to decide if he wants to remove his name from the ball ot. it has given mitt romney and president obama something to agree on. >> the views expressed were offensive. rape is rape. >> his comments about rape were deeply offensive. and i can't defend what he said, i can't defend him. >> a rare moment of -- between

the two men. paul steinhauser is live. are the tea leaves saying anything? >> they are saying things, the pressure will only increase. you heard the presumptive nominee that he did not agree with the comments. you want more language. listen to this. reince priebus talking to erin burnett last night on cnn. >> if it was me and i wouldn't say anything that dumb as he has but if it was me, and i had an opportunity to let someone else run to actually give ourselves a better chance of winning, i would step aside. >> priebus also said he didn't think akin should come to tampa. we may get that far. as for the congressman, he is not dropping out as of now. in two radio interviews was very firm he was sticking in saying he wasn't a quitter.

listen to this apology from him. >> i care deeply, you know for the victims of people who have been raped and they are equally vulnerable and a rape is equally tragic. i made that statement in error. let me be clear, rape is never legitimate. it's an evil act committed by violent predators. i used the wrong words in a wrong way. what i said was ill conceived and it was wrong and for that i apologize. >> republican senate sources tell me the pressure will only increase for him to get out. as you mentioned, this is a critical race, republicans say they need to win back missour they need this seat back if they can regain control of the senate in november. >> paul, let's talk pure politics, there are a limited number of days until the presidential election and this hit like a tidal wave swallowing one full campaign day yesterday and likely today. how does this play out on the national stage? >> this is exactly what the

romney campaign did not want to talk about yesterday. they had a big rollout yesterday, mitt romney and paul ryan in new hampshire, rally together. also they had a new ad on welfare and none of us were talking about that because of this story. we're six days from the convention where the spotlight will be on them. the platform committee is hammering out their platform. and peter got an exclusive look at the draft which includes language about abortion that explicitly does not have an exemption for rape. we've seen this in past platforms but the timing is not terrific at all for the republicans on this. why? look at these numbers from last year on whether abortion should be legal in cases of rape or insist. 75% say yes. also, john, take a look at this other poll number. this is the gender gap, we've been talking about this for quite some time. the president has an advantage

among women voters, this story not helping the romney campaign when it comes that that. >> paul, thank you very much. >> he mentioned that republican platform and and copy of the draft that we have and it differs greatly from what romney and paul ryan put out. you would think they would be aligned? >> it differs from what the romney campaign put out. they made clear the administration would allow for exceptions for rape and insist. the draft we have seen does not specifically allow for any exceptions. mitt romney, his position has shifted over the years but made clear as of late he does allow for exceptions. paul ryan's personal record does not believe in exceptions for anything other than the life of the mother. this is a complicated issue for the ticket. >> it's kind of tough if you're a voter and trying to make a decision and you're confused by the position of the candidates

versus the position of the republican -- >> more than anything what the republicans want you to remember, they want they to be an election about the economy, not social issues at all. even talking about this, no matter what side you're on, is not something they want to be doing. >> four minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date on the rest of the top stories developing overnight. insurgents fire rockets at the main nato air base in afghanistan. shrapnel damaging the c-17 used by martin dempsey. he was not harmed. he left on another aircraft, he was in afghanistan for talks with nato and afghan commanders. president obama issues a stern warning to syria, don't even consider a chemical or biological attack or you may provoke a military response from the u.s. >> a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical

weapons moving around or being utilized. that would change my equation. >> a military and security studies expert say the syrian regime probably has the largest and most advanced chemical warfare program. the go ahead on virginia's voter i.d. law requires voters to present a valid form of identification before casting their ballots. bob mcdonnell signed it into law in may saying it will make elections more secure. critics argue it discriminates against minorities who may not have a proper i.d. >> an autopsy report shedding light on the mysterious death of carter. the medical examined ruled that carter shot himself in the head while handcuffed in the back of a car. and also showed that carter had marijuana and meth in his system. carter's family believes he was shot by the police. >> curiosity is getting ready to roll on the red planet.

nasa mission members say they will take a test drive on mars today or tomorrow. it comes on the heels of the first laser beam test fire on sunday. >> i love it when you say laser beam, kind of cool. >> two cosmonauts have completed a space-walk. the pair moved a cargo boom and installed micrometeorshields. the space station was overshadowed by the mars curiosity thing. >> spirit and opportunity, the initial two mars rovers and will they meet up? >> seven minutes past the hour. for a check on the weather, let's head over to rob marciano. >> good morning, we have action in the tropics, it's that time of year where storms line up off the african coast line. we have something strong that

will develop into a next tropical depression. in the next hour and a half we had tropical depression number nine form. you see it blown up here on satellite picture. that will put it in the caribbean here over the next couple of days, there's not a whole lot to stop it as far as strengthening goes and that puerto rico, jamaica through days four and five, either way, it looks like it will develop into a hurricane when it gets in the caribbean. watching showers and storms down through florida. florida will be the spot where we see heavy rain today. temps in the upper 70s and 80s near chicago. back to you. >> rob marciano, thank you very much. a colorado town with a not so sweet tooth. the city of lakewood is set to approve a 3% sales tax on candy and soft drinks. the state has been taxing those numbers for the last two years.

a hearing on the proposed sweet tax is scheduled for next week. if approved, it would take effect in october. >> just in time for halloween. >> different take on the whole syntax you get for cigarettes and alcohol. >> too bad, i have a sweet tooth. >> nine minutes past the hour. the most expensive american car ever has been sold at auction. how much? the jaw dropping figure coming up next. [ annie ] this is the story of a girl named annie who dreamed she could fly.

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condoleezza rice is making history on the golf course. augusta national golf club it allowing women t become members. rice and south carolina business wom car la moore have been incii invii invit invited. president obama was quoted as saying that the decision was quote, too long in coming. and the right thing to do. cnn's mark mckay has more from augusta, national. what's been the reaction in the golf community to this? >> reporter: overwhelmingly positive zoraida as golfers themselves took to twitter, took to facebook, spoke to reporters and basically it was a very positive reaction among the golfing community. case in point, tiger woods, four time masters champion issued a statement after the club announced this move. i think the decision by the augusta national membership is important to golf.

the club continues to demonstrate its commitment to impacting the game in positive ways. tiger continued by saying, i would like to congratulate both new members, especially my friend condi rice. golf fans have been vocal in this, positively speaking but wondering why it took so long for augusta national to come around. >> that's a good question and i believe they started admitting blacks in 1990 and there's been a big push to admit women as members for years now, especially since marge that burke led the protest there a decade ago. how has the club reted to outside pressures in the past? >> they basically ignored it to be honest with you. you remember those protests, they were vivid outside the gates here on washington row where we're standing, protests a decade ago, martha burke calling for people to boy scott sponsors and augusta national goes commercial free so sponsors don't get involved in this.

back in 2003, while miss burke says she's not taking credit for what augusta national did with this historic move, she did tell cnn it's more about women's equality in genel than ininclusion or exclusion in this exclusive club x. >> i always said it's not about playing golf. it's about making deals in corporate america, those halls of power you're talking about. the more women we have, even if it's just a couple to begin with, that cracks open that glass ceiling just a little bit further. >> there are so many things that we don't know and will continue not to know about augusta national, but we do know this, the club's first two female members will receive their coveted green jackets when the club opens the season this fall. >> congratulations to them. at 7:15 eastern, soledad o'brien will talk with former player

hollis stacy about the changes. christine romans is here with the headlines. >> still following the story of congressman todd akin, republican leaders say he must go but he's so far refusing to drop out of the race. he ignited a political firestorm with the controversial remarks about rape. he has since apologized but the chairman says he doesn't want akin at the party's national convention next week. he is not weekend. higher gas prices and sluggish economy aren't expected to be a drag on labor day travel. holiday travel will hit a post recession peak. aaa expect 36 million people to travel six miles from home, 2.9% more compared with last year. the travel website orbitz fined for failing to disclose airline fees clearly and prominently on the website. it has since corrected the

problem. a spokesman says they are not aware of customer confusion or complaints. a federal judge tossed out lance armstrong's lawsuit against the u.s. anti-doping agency. he claimed the agency accused him of using performance enhancing drugs did not have jurisdiction in the case. a 1968 ford gt-40 race car is the most expensive american auto ever sold at auction. this car for $11 million as part of an auction of the investment quality automobiles in california. this was used as a camera car to help film the classic steve mcqueen racing movie. wasn't it in 1971? right? >> what does it do for $11 million? >> the thing is there weren't very many made. when you -- the original engine, the original body. >> $11 million.

>> i'm a little bit of a car girl and for classic cars of the big muscle car american era, they taken to made a lot of money. >> hopefully it's under your christmas tree. >> i'm justifying an $11 million, i'm not saying you should buy one unless you can afford it, then enjoy. airline seats can be cramped for many of us, if you are a larger person they could be downright torture. some passengers have been buying their own seat belt extenders but that's a no-no. christine romans explains why. there's an interesting market for seat belt extenders. you can take not off unless you can bucket the seat belt safely. in a recent memo to the airlines, the faa said personal seat belt xepders like this one are not allowed, even if the extenders are sold as faa approved or faa safe. just because it says that doesn't mean the airline will let you fly it. we reached out to the faa and

they told us they wants passengers to be as safe as possible. passengers can only use seat belt extenders that have been provided by an airline so we can ensure they meet the highest safety standards and properly maintained and inspected. airlines are going to have to make sure there are enough extenders to go around literally because more than one third of adults in the u.s. are obese, according to the cdc, more and more people are flying and more obese people are flying. large people might be embarrassed to asking for a seat extender. what's the solution here? diplomatical diplomatically, we asked a board member of the national association to advance fat acceptance, called naafa. if they go in with the premise of respect, the solutions may be to increase standard seat belt lengths and increase the amount of extenders available or make it easier to attain one. instead of asking the flight attendant for an extender, maybe

a passenger could get one at check-in rit away or when you're ordering the ticket even. the bottom line, if you can't fasten the seat belt, you can't fly. the plane will take off without you. >> interesting solutions. >> but what you need is, you need diplomacy on both ends and not a last minute kind of confrontation. >> if you thought it was faa approved, you would think that would be enough. >> the bottom line here, if you are flying and think you need a seat belt extender, that's the first thing when you check in anget the ticket and get that handled so you're not causing a problem. >> you want to be able to fly. >> thank you, christine. >> 20 minutes past the hour. great schools a quick drive to the big city and a low unemployment rate. does it sound perfect? what else would you want in a hometown? money mag has picked the top places to live in the united states. for an extended look at the top stories, head to our blog,

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welcome back, minding your business this morning, apple is the most valuable company ever in history, like ever. and that's in terms of market chat. >> christine romans has details for us and also on facebook stock as well. >> apple market cap making it the most valuable company ever if you're waiting patiently or

inpatientlfor your iphone, look at the stock over the last year under the new ceo tim cook, up 86%. it had another record high yesterday. it eclipsed a previous record set by microsoft on december 30th 1999. what happened after that? i think there was a tech bubble. i'm not drawing -- i'm not saying there's a bubble. take a look at the market cap of this company, $623 billion, that's a lot of dough. i could name a whole bunch of countries that aren't as valuable as apple. let's also look at facebook, you might recall i'm going to toot my own horn here. individual investors should not fall into the mania over ipos and that is why. that is what happened since the initial public offering. when a country goes public that's the beginning of the

story when you learn what it can do and how it's going to earn money and return value for shareholders and assess if you would like to own it. now there are individual investors saying maybe at $19 a share rather than $38 a share. big insiders have legally start to sell millions of shares and many of them have. so that's my little warning sign again about facebook. and i think we'll see people talking about whether facebook is a buy here as opposed to $38. maybe you should move to one of the best places to live on the list. caramel, indiana, tops that list. there's a town in texas, mckinney, texas, and eden prairie, minnesota. families love eden prairie, minnesota. you can see why all of those towns are the best places to live in america. >> pack your bags and head to

minnesota. >> christine romans, thanks very much. >> 26 min the after the hour, who's collecting? we'll tell you the university with the proud or notorious title of biggest party school. >> parents pay attention. >> go to cnn.com/tv. would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now, that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. the wheels of progress haven't been very active lately. but because of business people like you, things are beginning to get rolling. and regions is here to help.

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deserting the man who used the words legitimate rape. less gives more. the middle class outpacing the wealthy when it comes to charity. >> first in beer. the university voted the number one party school in the country with the top beer -- >> are you speculating which school it is? >> i don't know. >> welcome back to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. >> we are talking about the politics of abortion, missouri congressman todd akin at the center of a waiting game with top republican leaders strongly suggesting that he drop his b for the senate. akin of course under fire for comments he made about women's abortion rights in the instance of rape. take a listen one more time. >> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. i think there should be punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child. akin has said he misspoke. so far the head of the rnc and republican committee is withdrawing $5 million in advertising that was planned in missouri. here's what mitt romney said. >> his comments about rape were deeply offensive. and i can't defend what he said. i can't defend him. >> a lot is at stake here. congressman akin running against claire mccaskill in one of the most closely watched races. joining us right now is margaret hoover, form white house appointee with the bush administration. how are you? >> how are you guys? >> it's important for the senate race but this has some national political implication as

evidenced by the fact that the rnc running as fast as they can from akin. romney, ryan, running as fast as they can from ryan. what are the national implications here? >> first of all, as long as we're talking about women and the fact that president obama is leading mitt romney by 15 percentage points when it comes to women and if that margin continues to grow, they are not talking about jobs or the economy, they are not talking about the impending debt crisis or things that all voters are saying are number one on their mind. behoofs the rnc, by the way, missouri hangs in the balance, really, all of their combinations, if they want to win the senate back, need claire mccaskill to lose. we're talking about women's issues and not the economy which all voters say is the most important thing to them in november. if the gap continues to widen with women, president obama stands a chance of being

re-elected. >> this is all happening as republicans are in tampa discussing the party platform today. >> cnn obtained a draft of their platform on the issue of abortion and human life amendment. let me read you a quote. we support a human life amendment to the constitution and endorse legislation and make clear the 14th amendment protections apply to unborn children. what's not included in this is an exception for rape or incest. >> this is a fantastic example, there is a special interest in the republican party that has absolutely hijacked the platform on this issue. 67% of republicans according to the gallup do not support this amendment, they support women being able to choose to have an abortion in the case of rape and incest. furthermore, what defies this generally, there is not a monolivic point of view from women in the republican party about abortion. 78% of women want the woman, her doctor and her family and her

god to be the deciding factors whether to have an abortion, not the government. >> you have said, republicans -- no one is a single issue voter, however, is there a point in this abortion discussion where a party's position becomes disqualified. you are a pro-choice republican, is there a point where it becomes disqualified? >> if there ends up being so much collateral damage that it shifts the debate so far in one direction it takes from center stage what the top of the ticket wants to be talking about which is jobs and the economy and debt crisis and how to get the economy back and working. women will say, all issues are women's issues, not just the issue of health care issues that have to do with freedom to have an abortion. women are making kitchen table decisions about their pocketbooks and their families and how they are going to spend money in groceries, watching prices go up and watching gas prices. all apply to women as well.

it is not as though it's the only issue that applies to women. 6% on either side of this issue are single issue voters, either for pro-life or pro-choice. everybody else is in between. >> how many days for todd akin? >> the convention starts on sunday, i think it probably goes until tonight when he decides to step out. >> do you think he will? >> i don't see how he can't. he has mitt romney, reince preeb u. all top leadership saying, if you want a career in national politics, you will do the best thing for the party. >> if he doesn't step down, do you think we'll continue to have the same dialogue and it will be more weighty. >> lose missouri and become a side show. >> margaret hoover, thanks for joining us. >> thanks. >> let's get you up to date on rest of the top stories. on the campaign trail, president obama hitting two battle ground states with events in ohio and nevada. vice president biden campaigns

in minnesota. mitt romney spends the day in texas. cantaloupes tainted with salmonella are being blamed for two deaths. the cantaloupes come with a sticker shown they were grown in indiana. salmonella bacteria gets on the skin of the mellon and can spread on the knife when it's cut. >> very scary. a voice from the flower power generation of the 1960s has been silenced. let's stop to listen for a few seconds, for the soj, if you're going to san francisco. ♪ >> i want tokeep listening, scott mckenzie died from a

disease affecting the nervous system. just 73 years old. >> great having that song. >> when it comes to charitable nations, wealthy have nothing on the middle class. a study says on average, households earning between 50 and $75,000 a donated more than 7% of discretionary income, people making more than $100,000 a year, donated just over 4%. for many who earned $200,000 or more, the giving rate dropped below 3%. >> interesting. love to know what all of that means. former dunkin' donuts franchise owners are sewing the company. according to the new york post, the chain discriminates against minority owners pushing them to take locations in less desirable locations. in a complaint filed in new jersey, the state court, the former owners accuse dun kin brands of giving prime locations leaving minority owners to pick marginal areas.

the spokesperson for dunkin declined to comment. we have breaking news on politics which we've been covering all morning. we've been talking about todd akin, and wondering what will he do? we have an answer sort of. he's releasing an ad this morning just seconds ago asking for forgiveness. it was just posted on youtube. >> i'm todd akin and i approve this message. rape is an evil act. i used the wrong words in the wrong way and for that i apologize. as the father of two daughters, i want tough justice for predators and have a compassionate heart for the victims of sexual assault and i pray for them. the fact is, rape could lead to pregnancy. the truth is rape has many victims. the mistake i made was in the words i said, not in the heart i hold. i ask for your forgiveness. >> he hasn't said whether he's

staying or going but didn't stay he's dropping out. really interesting what he has done since yesterday. yesterday he posted a fundraising plea on twitter asking for money. now asking for forgiveness right now. obviously he's checking every avenue he can to make sure he can stay in the race to see if he can still raise enough money to stay in the race and see if he can generate enough support in missouri to stay in the race. >> he's also apologized repeatedly. i suppose it's up to the voters to decide whether or not it is genuine and what he intended to say. >> the question will be is it up to just the voters or is there so much pressure that the republican leadership that can apply to force him from the race. if he wants to stay. >> he can stay. but there are repercussions to that, right. >> >> and there will be. 40 minutes after the hour. next on quts early start, no i.d., no vote. a controversial voter i.d. law

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welcome back. 44 minutes past the hour. >> very glad you're with us here right now. we want to get you up to date on the top stories. insurgents fire rockets at the main nato air base in afghanistan. shrapnel damaging the aircraft used by dempsey. he was not on board and was not harmed. voters heading for primary and election days will have to show i.d.s before casting ball

ots, virginia governor signed it into law in may saying it will make elections more secure. critics say it discriminates against minorities who may not have proper i.d.s. >> curiosity is getting ready to roll on the red planet. nasa mission members say it will take a test drive. the test drive comes on the heels of curiosity's first laser beam test fire on sunday. >> there's been so much news, you would have thought it would have been trekking all over mars. what is this year's ultimate party school? guesses? the princeton review is out with its list and we have the top five for you. university of georgia. that's soledad in the background. in fourth, the university of illinois in third. ohio university, the university of iowa is the runner up and the number one party school in america is -- west virginia university. it also topped the lots of beer

list. >> not shocking there. >> we should announce a bus tour right now for "early start." we'll visit all five party schools in the next three weeks. >> i think when we do the spa tour -- i'm more with you on that one. you may go to the party school. we will do something else. >> in case you haven't noticed, soledad is here. >> we're going to continue to talk about todd akin, will he quit? the u.s. senate race in missouri after making those comments about abortion and rape. we'll talk about that this morning. also, we'll chat with amy kremer, the former alabama congressman arthur davis. and he switched to republican and now a romney supporter. we're going to talk to steve forbes, former republican candidate for president, founder of forbes media, will weigh in for us on all of this. also, we're going to talk about the augusta national admitting two female members.

the former lgpa star stacy will join us. we've been following nyad as she tries to push through more storms as she makes her way from cuba to florida. plus a director and actor curt cameron will join us. he has a movie that celebrates monuments around the states. >> very cool. a lot going on. >> 13 minutes and counting. >> join soledad. 47 minutes past the hour. he has been put on president, president obama threatens syria's leader with force if he crosses a red line. we have a live report coming up xt. and zoom... in your car. introducing the all-new cadillac xts with cue. ♪ don't worry.

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welcome back to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. president obama delivering a strong message to syria. there will be repercussions should it consider a chemical or biological attack. >> a red line for us is start seeing chemical weapons being moved around or utilized. that would change my equation. >> a security expert says he believes a syrian regime quote, probably has the largest and most advanced chemical warfare program in the arab world. jim clancy is following developments from beirut. does this mean the obama administration has a plan to possibly put troops on the ground? >> it would seem unlikely it has a plan to put troopsz on the ground unless it was a special

operation to neutralize stocks of chemical weapons or secure them so they couldn't be transferred to terrorist groups. the u.s. is keeping a close eye on this, use s satellite technology to track the whereabouts, the free syrian army accused the government of shifting some of its stocks of chemical weapons saying it has sources within the regime. the u.s. as president obama underscored is watching this very carefully. at the same time, damascus was quick to respond. now, there's certainly an awareness here that weapons of mass destruction like chemical weapons were used as a cause for the u.s. to enter the war in iraq. syria saying it's not even confirming it has chemical weapons and saying in any event it will not use them against its own people, only against a foreign invaders. the russians jumping in saying they and the chinese are adamantly aposed to u.s.

unilateral military action to intervene in syria, saying that would violate both u.n. and international law. you see a lot of sides reacting to what the president had to say. clearly his sharpest most pointed statement on this subject to date. back to you. >> no doubt, john mccain has been advocating for more presence there and particularly troop presence there. let's talk about the humanitarian aid. there's a lot of talk about aid being sent but what actually reaches the people there could be different. can you tell us about that? >> well, we talk with the free syrian army's representatives, they would say very, very little is arriving to assist the people on the ground inside syria, yes, camps have been set up in northern iraq, in turkey, aid is reaching those groups. many more people though have fled to unofficial sites they are staying with families and in very poor areas of lebanon,

jordan and other countries in the region seeking shelter there. they are afraid to give their names to register officially. so what we have 170,000 officially registered people, we know there's probably double that number, triple that number outside the country as well as all of the internally displaced in hundreds of thousands inside syria and they are unable to get a lot of that aid. so the situation still very dire, zoraida. >> was it $82 million the united states has spent so far in syria on humanitarian aid? >> it was and president obama referred to that from the white house only yesterday, take a listen. >> number one, we want to make sure we're providing humanitarian assistance and we've done that to the tune of $82 million and we'll probably end up doing a little bit more. >> now, the u.s. donation, the

money that he's talking about right there, is perhaps the largest that has been given for humanitarian aid but the europeans joined in as well. >> jim clancy, thanks very much. we're diving into today's best advice. when we come back, words of wisdom from olympic gold medalist david boudia. . our shipping costs. dallas. detroit. different rates. well with us, it's the same flat rate. same flat rate. boston. boise? same flat rate. alabama. alaska? with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. dude's good. dude's real good. dudes. priority mail flat rate boxes. startg at just $5.15. only from the postal service. exclusive to the military, and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military

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58 minutes past the hour. >> as always we wrap it up with best advice. here's christine. >> more olympic best advice. this comes from olympic gold medal diver, david boudia. >> the best advice that was given to me was actually from olympic diving legend greg louganis, stay true to your roots and remember where you came from. >> very cool. remember where you came from. i love the idea of the high level athletes talking about stuff together, you know. >> david boudia, so cool, we met him here last week. >> that's all for the early start. "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. >> good morning, welcome, everybody, our starting point this morning, will he or won't he? >> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut