>> yeah, i know she has moved on, but i haven't. so who won the goldfish beauty pageant? who cares. i don't actually know. there were a bunch of categories. it is not like one fish did the tearful wave with the roses or anything, but as far as we are concerned, they are all winners. what chris stevens said abouthe threats against him. fast and furious fallout. a dozen officials blamed in a blistering report on the botched gun operation but not the attorney general. and a split second save. take a look. a police officer pushes a woman to safety just before disaster struck. this is must see complete video,

folks. make sure you stay tuned. unreal. lucky to be alive this morning. >> good morning, everybody. welcome to "early start." it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. great to see you. >> we begin with new details in the kimg of christopher stevens. he had expressed concerns about security months before his death. four americans were killed in the attack on the american consulate in benghazi last week. the nation's counter-terrorism chief telling congress heavily armed extremistsaw an opportunity to attack during protests over an anti-muslim film and took it. and the u.s. is looking for links to al qaeda. >> i would say, yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy. >> now sources are telling cnn ambassador stevens was worried about his and others safety mentioning a rise in islamic extremism and growing al qaeda presence in libya.

he also mentioned being on an al qaeda hit list. john mccain was outraged last night. >> does it make any sense to you the level, or the small level of security he apparently had with him? >> it doesn't make any sense. i'll tell you what else doesn't make any sense is that the white house spokesman, secretary of state and our ambassador to the u.n. stating categorically it was not a terrorist attack when obviously it had all the earmarks of a terrorist attack including rocket propelled grenades and heavy weapons and a very well carried out military operation. >> libyan military officials telling cnn they met with members of the u.s. consulate three days before ambassador stevens and three other americans were killed. and warned them about the rising threat against western interests. we'll have more on this coming up in the next hour. back home, flawed strategies, poor judgment and

the botched gun running operation known as the fast and furious. an investigation of the justice department conducted by the justice department. here's crime and justice corresponden joe johns. >> reporter: it's the closest thing so far to a definitive account of an investigation that almost everybody agrees was a terrible idea, allowing firearms to slip south of the border to try to catch the cartels that were doing the gun running in mexico. at the justice department, most did not see the red flags until december of 2010 when two of the guns turned up at the murder scene of cbrian terry. larry alt is one of the atf agents who blew the whistle. >> i found it egregious that we were observing the transfer of firearms to persons that were transferring these guns to persons in mexico and we were not taking an enforcement action. >> reporter: a report from the justice department said operation fast and furious and

related matters revealed a series of misguided strategies, tactics and judgment and permeated atf headquarters at the headquarters of the department of justice. it referred 14 people for possible disciplinary action but did not recommend anyone for criminal prosecution. and almost within an hour of the report's release, two of the highest ranking individuals named in the report were out. former atf director kenneth nelson and deputy assistant attorney general jason weinst n weinstein. eric holder didn't know about fast and furious prior to january 2011. i asked if this meant holder had been exonerated. holder was cited with contempt of congress for failing to turn over documents in the matter. >> no. i mean this is his organization. he takes personal -- he should take personal responsibility to this and to suggest everything he said was right and everything congress did was wrong is --

would be a mischaracterization of what's moved here. >> reporter: holder issued a statement saying it is unfortunate that some were so quick to make baseless accusations before they possessed the facts about the accusations, accusations that turned out to be without foundation and caused a great deal of unnecessary harm and confusion." still, larry alt wants to see those responsible held accountable. >> certainly i would say the persons responsible for this case both at the field level, the division level and at the headquarters level and as far as it went into the department of justice should be held accountable for any decision they made that allowed these guns to go out on the street unmonitored. >> reporter: there's a hearing on capitol hill thursday. the inspector general is expected to testify about the new reports. democrats and republicans are both claiming they've been vindicated. joe johns, cnn, washington.

the congressional chair of the house oversight committee that launched the contempt hearing against holder speaking out saying just because the report clears holder doesn't mean he is in the clear, specifically regarding wiretaps that report says should have tipped off prosecutors that something was amiss. i'm quoting here regarding the wireta wiretaps. we reviewed the wiretap affidavits in both operation wide receiver and operation fast and furious and concluded that the affidavits in both cases included information that would have caused a prosecutor who was focused on the question of investigative tactics, particularly one who was already sensitive to the issue of gun walking to have questions about atf's conduct of the investigations." darrell isa had this to say. >> just because you're not convicted doesn't mean you're vindicated. attorney general holder didn't ask the questions, didn't read the memos and up and down the chain the people that worked for him. the political appointees responsible to him failed to do their job including denying

reading wiretaps that they were responsible for signing. >> so coming up in the next hour, we'll talk about that and the inspector general's findings with robert heyer, the cousin of brian terry. prosecutors in colorado intend to file ten more files against james holmes. he will be back in court today. he's accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 in a shooting spree during a packed midnight show of "batman" in july. a diary sent to a psychiatrist just before the shooting may be used as evidence. players locked out and many bolting to europe canceled all preseason games through the end of september. preseason hockey was set to begin on sunday. the last time the nhl canceled preseason games was in 2004 when a lockout cost the whole season. even the stanley cup finals. i know you're disgusted. >> this is not a proud moment for the nhl.

a close call for a police officer and woman who i say definitely owes him her life. police video shows two cops witnessing an accident and the police officer pushed her out of the way just before that van slams into the police cruiser. the woman and officer suffered minor injuries. the van driver that crashed into the car was cited for dwi. space shuttle "endeavour" is on the final journey, this time atop a modified 747. the retired shuttle is en route to los angeles where it will go on display at the california science center. today "endeavor" will fly from houston to edwards air force base in california. it will include a flyover of tucson, arizona, to honor gabby giffords. her husband mark kelly was the commander on endeavor's final mission. >> such amazing pictures. rob, we want to know will the weather cooperate with today's flight? >> it looks like it.

you never get tired of seeing that piggyback of the 747. today's weather will be fantastic. although they are not happy that they're not getting one of these puppies at mission control in houston. rightfully so. they have a problem there. 60 degrees in houston. so we're looking at really what it looks like the first half of the journey and then getting to the west coast later on tonight and tomorrow. all right. morning lows aross the northeast right now we have 27 degrees in new york. that is enough for frost and pumpkins for sure. frost and freeze advisories up for northern new england and parts of lower canada. 56 degrees in new york city. you really have to go north of albany to get into the chilly stuff. just a sign of things to come. a couple quick moving systems across the western great lakes and into the upper great lakes here in parts of michigan seeing showers and thunderstorms. not a terrible deal. the back half of the front that came from new york yesterday is still dragging showers across

florida. we're seeing showers and thunderstorms. front number two comes through the great lakes today. there is another pulse that's going to come from canada. that brings another shot of cold air that may be enough to drop snow across parts of minnesota and wisconsin for the first time. all right, from snow we go to fire nato. if you haven't seen this, it's been going around the internet for a few days now. you never get tired of looking at this. in australia, a filmmaker shot this. that's why the video is so fantastic. he was out there for 40 minutes. you can hear it. it sounds like a 747 with a space shuttle taking off it's so loud. anyway, that is one example of how fires can kind of create their own weather there with an amazing amount of heat they put out. all right. there you go, guys. >> looks beautiful. >> we can't really beat that, rob. thanks for giving us something we can't top. >> you have an hour and 50 minutes to do it. >> thanks a lot.

>> so john burton says when i'm complaining i'm getting old. that's terrible. >> i say that off camera. thanks for bringing it up here. >> all right. mitt romney trying to strike a different tone as he tries to court hispanic voters and explain his 47% comment. coming up, new poll numbers on how the comments are playing with voters. brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover. a short word that's a tall order. up your game. up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up.

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among registered voters, 20% say they're more likely to vote for romney because of it. 36% are less likely. 43% say his remarks make absolutely no difference. even more important here, among independents, 15% say they're more likely to vote for romney, 29% less likely, 53% say it makes absolutely no difference. at a forum on univision, he struck an exclusive tone. >> this is a campaign about the 100%. over the last several years, you've seen greater and greater divisiveness in this country. we had hoped to come back together. instead, you've seen us pull apart and politics has driven us apart in some respects. so my campaign is about the 100% in america. i'm concerned about that. i'm concerned about the fact that over the past four years life has become harder for americans. more people have fallen into poverty. more people we just learned have had to go on to food stamps.

>> that is romney talking at a univision forum. paul steinhouser is live in washington for us. that is a lot of numbers i threw out there. what do they show us? >> let's go back to the independent number. democrats and republicans probably set when it comes to the presidential race. this one is effective. you see no difference. look at that. of those that say it makes a difference, they say they're less likely to vote for romney. that could be a little troubling for romney. this is just one poll conducted tuesday night. we'll see a lot more numbers. this is just the appetizer. we've also seen a lot of reaction with republicans since monday when the tapes first came out. some in favor, some in support of mitt romney. here is an interesting one over the last 12 hours. this is from suzanna martinez, the republican governor of new mexico, up and comer in the party. she had a big role at the convention. here's what she said at a forum. we have a lot of people that are

at the poverty level in new mexico but they count just as anybodyelse. there is not allow them to be caught and taken care of through medical services or food services. i think certainly the fact that new mexico provides that safety net is a good thing. we're going to hear more, more of this from republicans either in favor or not over the next few days. >> i suspect you're correct on that. you also have new poll numbers from some key swing states. what is that showing us? >> for mitt romney to win in november, he has to win all the states that john mccain did four years ago and make pickups. some of the new numbers don't really help mitt romney in that case, take a look at our new cnn poll from michigan. this is a state where mitt romney was born. this is the second poll to indicate the president with a lead in michigan. and that can be troubling for mitt romney. take a look at wisconsin. two polls out yesterday in wisconsin. another one of the states that president obama won four years ago but paul ryan is from wisconsin. in one poll, 14-point lead.

again, a lead. a similar story in virginia. i'm not saying this is over, not at all. things change. but still, troubling signs. other things in the national polls, some themes, some trends, i guess. the president starting to catch up with mitt romney when it comes with dealing with the economy and more people are a little more enthusiastic now or optimistic about how the economy and country will do over the next year. >> i know you have us covered on all the polls. we appreciate that. just ahead, at the bottom of the hour, we'll talk with anna navarro about mitt romney courting that latino vote. i'm sure she has a lot to say. >> it's 18 minutes off the hour. christine romans has the headlines. one day after releasing the report on the botched gun running operation, michael horowicz, the inspector general of the justice department will be testifying before a house oversight committee about the

findings. that's scheduled to begin in just over four hours. his investigation found in criminal behavior and exonerates attorney general eric holder. 14 officials with department of justice and bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms face potential punishment. 129 inmates who escaped from a mexican border town prison are still on the loose this morning. and now mexican authorities say the prisoners didn't dig a tunnel as first reported to escape but they escaped through the front door. 16 people including the prison director were arrested following this prison break. police in eagle pass, texas, just across the border say that town is on high alert. a danish gossip magazine published a 16-page spread featuring kate middle ton sunbathing topless. earlier this week a french court barred the publication. they say if the british royal family wants to sue us, we'll deal with it. >> there you go. thanks, christine.

19 minutes after the hour right now. time for the early reads. first, from "los angeles times." chick filet is promising to stop difg money to anti-guy grouant stay out of debates. they found themselves in the middle of the gay marriage debate and protests and boycotts because the president of the company came out against same sex marriage saying it's not the biblical definition of the family unit. a group in illinois says they agreed in meetings to stop giving groups such as focused on the family and the national organization for marriage, two groups that oppose same sex marriage, they stopped giving them money. more junk mail coming to a mail box near you. this is in "the new york times." the story about how the u.s. postal service facing multibillion dollar losses that we know about, desperate for revenue, they're planning to stuff even more unwanted mail in

your mailboxes. it's already cutting deals with direct marketers to deliver more sales pitches with we just learned is the official more friendly term for junk mail. i'm saying they started with me maybe because that's all i get. >> i don't get junk mail. no one writes me otherwise. >> stuff it in his box then. >> all right. for an expanded look at our top stories, cnn do t.com/earlystar. next, how president obama's health care plan could cost people more money they didn't plan on paying. ain. can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. only from aveeno.

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together. hi there. u.s. stocks futures down this morning. the market rally over the past week, losing steam. >> world markets are down also after new data released showing china's manufacturing industry slowed for the 11th month in a row. we have information about the end of this big stock rally. >> that china news is really big. china is an engine of global growth. the u.s. is very slow. europe has been in recession. that's why you're seeing futures down. also, we've been telling you about this huge runup in stocks. up 14% or something in the s&p 500 this year. and there are those who think stocks are overvalued. 58% of mutual fund managers surveyed in september by bank of america and merryll lynch, they say stocks are the most overvalued investments in the

world. that is up from a 51% reading in august. yesterday i told you don't fight the fed. the fed is putting so much into it. others are saying it feels overvalued here. i want to tell you, some new information about obama care. there is an insurance -- if you don't get insurance by the year 2014, you will pay a penalty. that's the way health care reform has been structured. official score keepers of congress say an additional two million more americans are likely to pay penalties under the president's health care law for lacking insurance. six million americans think are going to pay penalties. let me tell what you the penalties look like, how big they are. people who don't go to the state exchanges or who aren't covered under their health insurance at work, they will be required to go out and buy health insurance, right? so if you don't, penalty for family is $285 for the year 2014. that's when the penalties start. it goes up the next year to $975

and tops out at $2,085, a family. it's phased in to push people out into the world -- into the health care world, the new health care world. most fines start in 2014. again, official score keepers saying that likely two million moreeople. finally, the biggest catch. this was really a surprising little story. everyone says the official shellfish and fishing catch in 2011 was huge. the biggest catch, the biggest in two decades since 1994. this is a report from the national ocean annic and atmospheric administration commercial fishermen landed 10.1 billion pounds. we still import 91% of our fish. but looks as though some of the overfishing regulations, you know, 10 to 15 years ago may be working. >> thank you. >> check this out, they were looking for a thrill. boy did they get more than they

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a cnn exclusive. what chris stevens knew about threats to his life before the attack that killed him. 14 officials singled out in the fast and furious report but no blame for the attorney general. mitt romney now talking about the 100% as he tries to court latino voters. welcome back to "early start," everyone. >> very happy that you're with us this morning. we're going to begin this morning with new details in the attack on the american consulate in benghazi, libya.

u.s. officials saying it was a case of terrorism. that attack killed four americans including u.s. ambassador christopher stevens. the nation's counter-terrorism chief telling congress heavily arm the extremists saw an opportunity to attack over an anti-muslim film and he took it. the u.s. now searching for links to al qaeda. >> i would say, yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy. >> and this morning cnn learning ambassador stevens expressed concerns about security in the months before he died. specifically mentioning a rise in islamic extremism and a growing al qaeda presence in libya. he also acknowledged being on an al qaeda hit list. our other big story, 24 hours after releasing the report on fast and furious, the justice department's inspector general michael horowicz is testifying before a oversight committee

about his findings this morning at 9:30 eastern time. horowicz's investigation uncovered no criminal behavior and says that eric holder wasn't properly informed about the operation until early 2011. 14 officials with the department of justice and atf face potential punishment. two of them resigned just moments after that report hit. politics now, tonight president obama will address a crowd of latino students at the university of miami. this is part two of a town hall forum hosted by univision and facebook. mitt romney was in miami last night and he continued to answer questions about his 47% remark. >> this is a campaign about the 100%. over the last several years, you've seen greater and greater divisiveness in this country. we hoped to come back together but instead you see us pull apart and politics has driven us apart in some respec. so my campaign is about the 100%

in america. >> that 100% line a new one for mitt romney. joining us from miami is our cnn contributor ana navarro. you attended the event. there was pretty serious exchanges there about the issues. a lot of energy from the candidates. whatid you think about the event? >> you know, it was a very -- this is one of several hispanic events that romney is doing this week. he began the week on monday in l.a. speaking to the u.s. hispanic chamber of commerce. he did a telemundo interview and th this forum yesterday. something he hasn't done until now really, until after he clenched the nomination after he formally became the nominee after the convention. he's also spending a lot of money on hispanic ads lately. so we're seeing a sprint to the finish all out effort by mitt romney in these last 40-some days. it was a very good crowd for

him. his people did a great job in packing the house with some of the strongest supporters in south florida. president obama will have a similar crowd today of his strongest supporters. he got some tough questions, john, at the beginning. a real grilling on the immigration issue. but then they moved to the economic and education issues. you could see this was a mitt romney at ease. i could tell that he's been preparing and briefing for debates. this was not a debate format. it was close. he did well. >> you talked about immigration there. one of the reasons that mitt romney is trailing president obama 2-1 among latino voters is what he is considered his trofr controversial position on immigration. he was pressed hard last night about that. >> we're not going to round up people around the country and deport them. that's not -- i said during the primary campaign, again, we're not going to round up 12 million people, that includes the kids and parents and have everyone deported. our system isn't to deport people. we need to provide a long-term

solution. i describe the fact that i would be in support of a program who say that people who served in our military to be prerm nebe p residents of the united states. >> he was pressed repeatedly about that last night. he didn't really fill in any blanks. were you satisfied? >> john, i've been very critical of him. i think he went too far during the primary. i see and i hear a change in tone in him. he's not -- he hasn't provided specific really answers. he was pressed hard and asked questions three times. didn't get an answer. i'm not sure you're going to get an answer before now or november. maybe candy crowley can make another attempt. i can tell there is a change in tone. there is a change of some of the words he's using. we've gone from talking about self-deportation to now him saying we're not going to have

massive roundups and deportation. we've talked to him about a veto threat for a dream act if it were to pass, to him addressing some ways that he could pick up and give legal resources to some of those students that would be covered under the agreement. so he made progress. i'll give him credit for making progress. are we going to get specifics? i'm not surement i'm resigning myself to the fact that we're not going to get specifics. >> if you're giving credit, that's a step. you're one tough analyst on the subject of mitt romney. thank you for joining us right now. >> well, john, i'm going to be a obama candidate for him with univision today around the noon hour and also plays today at 10:00 p.m. i think i'm going to be critical on him a little later today. >> i won't be surprised. all right. thanks, ana. 37 minutes past the hourment candidates in a couple key senate races face off today in

televised debates. in massachusetts, scott brown will meet up with his democratic opponent, elizabeth warren. a poll gives warren a four point lead over brown. an apparent boost from her convention speech. in virginia, republican george allen and democrat tim cane will debate today. that is scheduled at noon the they're battling for retiring democratic senator jim lense seat. cane is leading allen by eight points. >> both interesting debates. a growing number of senate races. also fascinating, you might say terrifying about 20 people got stuck on an amusement park right in california's not fairy farm. >> come to your tv. look at how high up this is. >> they must be so happy to be on solid ground. some problem with the ride left the passengers there 300 feet in the air four hours. four hours. at least they were sitting down, right? the second time in two weeks this ride has experienced a

malfunction with passengers onboard. second time in two weeks. a sign something might be wrong. >> yeah. >> no one was hurt. there were no signs they were in any danger. they just were stuck there for four hours and not going anywhere. 300 feet in the area. >> you panic, you have to go to the bathroom. all sorts of things. >> i hope they brought snacks. >> there you go. >> you don't anticipate getting stuck up there. 38 minutes past the hour. fury and flame in the mideast, how each candidate would handle it. focus on the issues that will bring you to the polls in november next.

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i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. welcome back, everyone. all this week cnn is going indepth, exploring issues shaping this presidential election. our focus this morning turns to the middle east where the arab string has taken a dangerous turn. we watched it all over the last week. foreign affairs reporter live from washington this morning.

how did the president and mitt romney really differ in their middle east strategies? >> john, i think it's important to look at how president obama's attitude towards the arab world evolved up to right now in this last week when we've seen the protests sweeping the arab world. when president obama came to office in 2009, he promised to engage the arab world, making famous cairo speech saying he wanted better relations with arabs and muslims. by 2011, when the arab swing was -- arab spring was in full swing, he was calling it a historic opportunity and said the u.s. had to do more. let's take a listen to what president obama said last may. >> after decades of accepting the world as it is in the region, we have a chance to pursue the world as it should be. >> so what does that mean, president obama was going to do? he started by giving an extreme package of financial investment,

trade, economic opportunity to the arab world to countries like egypt and tunisia. trying to get them to develop that way. he also started with a select military intervention. he wasn't going to invade everywhere. in egypt, for instance, he held back. in libya where you saw there was an extreme case of people being killed, he did get involved with the u.s. in libya. but he was cautious, john, with some of the allies. when national security interests were at stake, bahra a very close ally there, he held back. he didn't criticize bahrain but didn't really have a strong u.s. policy towards that country. now mitt romney has really accused president obama and his administration for not being forceful enough in the region, not trying to direct events even as the obama administration said these events were indigenous to the region. how would governor romney be

different? he said he would have gotten involved in libya much quicker. he would have made u.s. aid conditional on the countries. egypt, for instance, making sure they adhere to the peace treaty with israel. he said he would back u.s. candidates. he said if you look at all these islamists leaving the region, some he believes don't match with u.s. interests and values. he said he would have been much more forceful about looking at backing u.s. candidates, picking winners. let's take a listen to what mitt romney said about how he would approach the arab spring. >> american leadership is necessary to ensure that events in the region don't spin out of control. we cannot hesitate to use our influence in the region, to support those who share our values and our interests. >> now, john, it looks as if you look at what happened over the last week, the two candidates in

a way are coming a little closer together. mitt romney, for instance, saying he would have aid to countries conditional upon certain things, meaning u.s. interests. president obama talking about egypt, for instance, last week basically said that he doesn't consider egypt an ally necessarily even though they get billions of dollars in u.s. aid. let's take a listen to president obama last week as these protests were sweeping the arab world, particularly in cairo. >> i don't think that we would consider them an ally. we don't consider them an enemy. >> now, john, really both kanld dat candidates have to define the positions. we know the economy was the main issue. as we saw last week with that horrible attack in libya with these protest that's are sweeping the nation and the anti-american sentiment, it's going to become much more of an issue. >> so important given what's gone on in the world in the last week. thank you so much for being with us from washington.

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welcome back. 50 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date. christine romans with the top stories. flawed strategies and poor judgment and bad management but no criminal behavior. that's the finding of a justice investigation into the botched gun running operation fast and

furious. the inspector general who published the report will testify on the hill today. 14 officials face potential punishment, two of them are already out. the report found attorney general eric holder was unaware of this botched program until after it happened. a riot at california state prison sacramento has left 13 inmates in the hospital. the incident started yesterday morning in an exercise yard. several inmates suffered stab wounds and one prisoner was shot by a guard. took prison staff about ten minutes to bring all of this under control. a florida mom han arrested for allegedly starting a fight with a high school student she says was bullying her son. sheriff's deputies say she got into a physician altercation with a 17-year-old boy at a bus stop wednesday morning and the fight, it continued on to the school bus where it was caught there on camera. phillips says she was simply confronting a bully and she says her son is proud of his mother.

>> he called me. i smooshed him in his face or whatever. i love kids. >> i feel bad about it. a lot of people wish it didn't happen. some parents just when you tell them they just ignore it. >> phillips has been charged with child abuse and trespassing on school property. but she was not going to let that kid get at her son. >> boy, i would love to have a discussion about this one. >> there's a lotthere. >> all right. 52 minutes after the hour. a packed hour still ahead on "early start." starting with the fallout on the report of the fast and furious. the attorney general, he's in clear on some allegations. two officials already taking the fall. we'll talk about the inspector general's finding with robert heyer. he is the cousin of brian terry whose murder blew the lid off this botched operation. plus, president obama wedding crasher. how the white house made good

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welcome back to "early start." it is 56 minutes past the hour. we are taking a look at what is trending on the web for you this morning. so do you remember the elderly woman who took it upon herself to touch up a 19th century

fresco? this was the end result. now she is demanding she be paid for her work. she is demanding royalties for restoring the painting because it turns out bloated jesus which is the restored version, is a tourist attraction. that is the original version. a spanish paper says the church that houses the painting decided to start charging admission. they made $2,600 in the first four days alone. and this 85-year-old says she wants a cut. >> nice try. >> yeah, well -- >> have you seen the picture? >> i have. i've seen the original picture and then what she attempted to restore. but what she says is she was given permission to restore this and so that it wasn't her fault. the priest said go ahead. >> no one gave her permission to do a job like that. >> you don't get permission when the person doesn't restore antiquities, right? wow. all right. go for it. >> all right. once again the boss is showing he is a man of the people.

check this out. there he is. he's 63 years old. 63. crowd surfing at metlife stadium in new jersey. i have to tell you, i'm thinking he's going to break a hip. the guy is 63. you don't do that when you're 63. take it easy, pal. come on! >> all right. >> all right. meanwhile, actress lindsay lohan is back in the news again. and become on late night radar. >> lindsay lohan is in trouble again, ladies and gentlemen. did you hear this? lindsay lohan was arrested in new york city last night for allegedly hitting someone with her car and leaving the scene of an accident. yeah. that is the bad news. the good news is she's not driving in los angeles. >> it seems that lindsay lohan has a car accident once every four days. frankly, i have run out of things to say about it. i have no jokes left about this. i do have a contract with a company overseas. from time to time we outsource

our joke writing. do we have them up on video chat? let's see if they have anything. hello? >> thank you for coming to the hotline. my name is gary. what is your build a bear emergency? >> i don't have an emergency. it's jimmy kimmel. >> hey. jimmy kimmel. >> long time no vision. >> it's good to vision you, too. hey, i was wondering if you have any jokes about lindsay lohan getting into a car accident. >> no. i think we ran out like two accidents ago. did it happen again? >> yeah, it did. they arrested her for a hit-and-run last night. >> oh, no! >> yeah. yeah. >> well, she is quite a hot mess, huh? >> yeah, i guess so. she is. >> "early start" continues right now.

>> only on cnn this morning, new information about the murder of the u.s. ambassador to libya. what chris stevens knew about potential problems in the weeks before his death. fast and furious fallout. more than a dozen officials blamed in a blistering report on the botched gun running operation, but not the attorney general. >> and this -- a split-second save. take a look. a police officer pushes a woman to safety just before disaster strikes. what a picture. all right. good morning and welcome to "early start," everyone. i'm john burrman. >> it's 6:00 a.m. in the east and i'm zoraida sambolin. we begin with brand-new details on the attack in benghazi that claimed the lives of christopher stevens and three other americans. the nation's counterterrorism chief telling congress it was an act of terrorism. he says armed extremists saw an opportunity to attack during protests over an anti-muslim

film and they took it. and more exclusive new details. sources tell cnn ambassador stevens expressed concerns about security in the months right before he died, specifically mentioning a rise in islamic extremism and a growing al qaeda presence in libya as well. he also acknowledged being on an al qaeda hit list and warned a journalist in an e-mail sent last summer that things were heating up. that's what they said. foreign affairs reporter elise labott is live from washington this morning. and if ambassador stevens was so worried, why wasn't his security beefed up? >> reporter: well, zoraida, in the recent days, senior state department officials offering the most vigorous defense of ambassador stevens' security and the security of the diplomatic office in benghazi. teing me that although there was no threat specifically on the consulate, that they knew that, you know, things were, as you say, heating up in benghazi.

so starting in june, when there was actually an ied attack at the consulate, they started reinforcing the facility, in addition to barriers, in addition to steel doors on the whats, adding a lot of reinforcement, some physical security, also adding guards to the consulate. our understanding is, the night of the attack, there were five armed u.s. shooters, in addition to a group of armed libyan militia, living on the compound. and they say what these senior officials are telling me is, they don't believe it was an issue of actual physical security at the consulate. they say the amount, zoraida, of manpower, of firepower, that the consulate faced that night, really, it's not an issue of physical security. so they're trying to offer a real defense, saying that at no time did anybody come to them, ambassador stevens or anybody else, to urge greater physical

security. they said that even before 9/11, that a physical check of the embassy was done, that security measures were examined, and that the consulate was deemed to be safe, zoraida. obviously, in retrospect, it wasn't. >> elise labott, thank you for those details. our other big story this morning, the justice department investigating itself and finding no criminal behavior in the botched gun running operation, fast and furious. inspector general michael horowitz did single out 14 people for poor judgment and bad management. two of them are already gone. one retired and the other resigned. as for attorney general eric holder, the report says he was essentially out of the loop. crime and justice correspondent joe johns joins us now, live from washington. and joe, what are the details of this report? >> hey, john, so this report from the justice department's inspector general said operation fast and furious and related matters revealed a series of misguided strategies, tactics, errors in judgment, management failures that permeated atf

headquarters and the phoenix field division where all of this was going on, and at the headquarters of the justice department here in washington, d.c. that referral, 14 people for possible disciplinary action. no one was recommended for criminal prosecution. it was just about an hour or less after the report was released, two of the highest-ranking officials named in the report were out. former atf director kenneth nelson, and deputy assistant director general, jason winestein. and also found no evidence that attorney general eric holder knew about operation fast and furious prior to 2011. i asked one of the republican congressman, jason chaffetz, if this meant holder was exonerate, because as you know, holder was cited with contempt of congress for failing to turn over documents to congress. chaffetz essentially said no. >> well, i mean, this is his

organization. he takes personal -- he should take some personal responsibility to this. and suggest that everything he said was right and that everything congress did was wrong, is -- would be a mischaracterization of what's moved forward here. >> holder issued a statement saying, among other things, it's unfortunate that some were so quick to make baseless accusations before they possess facts about these operations, accusations that turned out to be without foundation, that have caused a great deal of unnecessary harm and confusion, john. so we're going to have this hearing today. that's the next step. >> well, you know, we heard from jason chaffetz just there, joe, and darrell issa, the chairman of the oversight committee, who launched the contempt charges against holder. he's also saying that this doesn't clear him. well, help me clear this up. you know, is he free and clear now or not? >> well, he's free and clear to the extent that no one can say that anybody at the justice

department thinks holder was engaged in some type of a cover-up, and that was the type of message we were getting from capitol hill. on the other hand, a court case continues in washington, d.c., at this moment, to try to get certain documents that congress requested. so -- to we have that sound bite from darrell issa from the house government reform and oversight committee? i don't know if we have that. >> just because you're not convicted doesn't mean you're vindicated. attorney general holder didn't ask the questions, didn't read the memos, and up and down the chain, the people that worked for him, the political appointees rponsible to him failed to do their job, including denying reading wiretaps that they were responsible for signing. >> so this fight kind of continues on capitol hill, quite frankly, john, even though we have this ig report that says he didn't know anything about it.

honestly, though, when you think about it, when you're the top guy in any organizational structure, if somebody didn't get the information to you and that's your best defense, it's not the greatest defense. >> joe johns, thanks very much. and coming up, we'll talk with robert heyer, he's the cousin of slain border patrol agent, brian terry. we'll get his reaction here this morning. seven minutes past the hour. colorado prosecutors intend to file new charges against aurora shooting suspect james holmes. it is at a court hearing today. holmes is accused of killing 12 people, wounding 58 in a shooting spree during a packed midnight showing of "the dark knight rises." that was in july. the state will look to add ten criminal counts to the 140 that he already faces. the hearing will also address the admissibility of a diary that holmes sent to his psychiatrist right before the shooting. a really, really close call for a lubbock, texas, police officer, and a woman who almost

certainly owes him her life. check that out. police dash cam video shows is two cops checking out an accident, and then the officer pushes this woman out of the way, just before that van slams into the police accuser. the officer and the woman, amazingly, suffered just minor injuries. the van driver was cited for dui. space shuttle "endeavour" about to take its final journey. live pictures from houston, texas, where the retired shuttle atop a modified 747 is getting ready to leave for california where it will go on display at the california science center in los angeles. doesn't that look cool? all lit up and stuff for us. it will fly from houston to edwards air force base. the route includes a flyover of tucson, arizona. it's a low fly, a tribute to former congresswoman gabby giffords. so you get to see it. her husband, astronaut mark kelly, was a commander of "endeavour's" last mission. so for those of you in the tucson area, it's flying the at

11:15 today, look up, you will spee it. >> it's the big plane with the space shuttle on top of it. >> very cool. something not nearly as cool, with players locked out and many bolting to europe, the nhl has canceleded all of its pre-season games for the end of september. the last time nhl canceled pre-season games was back in 2004, when a lockout cost the whole season, including the the stanley cup finals. one of the first victims of this lockout, a mascot. it's true. "the miami herald" reports that the florida panthers has laid off mascot stanley c. panther. you're looking at him right there obviously in happier times. dozens of other layoffs are taking place right now across the league. >> that's terrible. >> it's awful. you can't keep canceling the season. they did this seven years ago, you can't keep canceling the season and expect us to keep watching. >> what are they fighting over? >> what do you think? money. disgruntled fan right here. mitt romney trying to strike

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have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. welcome back to "early start." 13 minutes past the hour. time zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman, glad you're with us. romney addressed a cloud of latino voters in florida yesterday during a rally in miami and a univision forum. he struck an inclusive tone. >> this is a campaign about the 100%. and over the last several years, you've seen greater and greater divisiveness in this country. we had hoped to come back

together, but instead you've seen us pull apart, and politics has driven us apart in some respects. so my campaign is about the 100% of america. and i'm concerned about them. i'm concerned about the fact that over the past four years, life has become harder for americans. more people have fallen into poverty. more people we just learned have had to go on to food stamps. >> president obama addresses the same univision forum tonight. cnn political director paul steinhauser joins us live now from washington. paul, we have our very first poll numbers which specifically ask about those comments from mitt romney, about the 47%. what do those numbers tell us? >> reporter: let's take a look at them, john. this is a gallup poll conducted tuesday night, the day after these clips from that fund-raiser came to light and it really dominated the coverage of the campaign trail since. here you go, around registered voters, they interviewed 885 people. about one in five said those comments from that fund-raiser back in may make them more likely to vote for mitt romney, 36% say less likely, and 43% say

no difference. let's go to the next number, because as you and i know, democrats are still in favor of obama and republicans still in favor of romney, but what about the independent voters? more than half say no difference, but of those who say there is a difference because of the video, by a two to one margin, those are less likely to vote for him. >> we're seeing a lot of polls this week in some key swing states, a new look at how the race is sheai ishaping up there. >> let's start with our own, in michigan, a cnn/orc poll. a state where mitt romney was born, a state he would lake to take back. president obama won it four years ago. but an eight-point lead for the president in our poll. another poll last week had it at ten points. what about wisconsin, a similar story? president obama, then senator obama, won it four years ago. of course, paul ryan from wisconsin is on the republican

ticket as the running mate. but look at these two polls, john. a 14-point late in the marquette law school poll, and a smaller lead, six points in the quinnipiac poll. another state, virginia, a similar story. and one of the things i've seen in the national polls, some trends, the president is starting to catch up and take away that advantage mitt romney had on the economy. and more americans are starting to get optimistic about the way e economy and the country may go over the next year. and one other thing, we learned this from the romney campaign just overnight. they say that we're going to see more of mitt romney on the campaign trail starting pretty much next week, including a three-day bus tour for romney and ryan, where we're going to see more of the candidates and more of them spelling out what they say they can do for the middle class. john? >> that bus tour in ohio. all right, paul steinhauser, thanks very much for being with us from washington this morning. >> 16 minutes past the hour. later this hour, we'll talk with ana navarro, cnn contributor and republican strategist about mitt romney and that coveted latino vote.

let's get you up to date. here's christine romans with our top stories. >> good morning, you too. 16 minutes after the hour. we begin with fast and furious. one day after releasing his report on the botched gun running operation known as fast and furious, michael horowitz, the inspector general of the justice department, will be testifying before a house oversight committee about his findings. that is scheduled to begin in just over three hours. his investigation found no criminal behavior and essentially says attorney general eric holder was out of the loop. 14 officials with the department of justice, and the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms face potential punishment for misguided strategies, errors in judgment, and management failures. two of them are already out, one retiring, one resigning yesterday. a controversial ad that critics say is hateful to muslims is set to appear in new york city subway stations next week, despite new york city's efforts to stop it. the metropolitan transportation authority initially rejected this ad, but a judge overturned its decision on first amendment

grounds. the ad reads, "in any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man, support israel, defeat jihad." some iowa newlyweds almost had their wedding day ruin by a campaigned appearance by president obama. just seven days before their wedding, john and saily gibbs were told that the president was holding a rally at the same property, living history farms, a lovely place, by the way. everyone should visit. they didn't even know if their guests would be able to get past security. when the president left, they were able to exchange vows without a hitch, but that wasn't the last they heard from president obama. the wedding planner handed them a bag with the presidential seal. >> we were just both kind of like wide-eyed. didn't know what to expect. >> we opened up the gift and there were two boxes. >> there's a silver tray with the presidential seal and his signature engraved and a mint julep cup as well. >> a mint julep cup? >> along with the gifts, the newlyweds also got a handwritten

card. the card reads, "michelle and i wish you a great life together, barack obama." >> i totally bet they didn't register for that. >> can you imagine? >> what a great story zp. >> in iowa, the president and mitt romney keep dropping in. and it's hard to get caught in traffic in iowa. >> it's a really nice gesture, really, really is. we want to check in with rob marciano, get a sense of how it's looking for the weather. >> it's getting cold. >> that time of year, get in the mood for it. a little frost on the pumpkins across upstate new york and parts of northern new england. temperatures in the 30s, and in some cases, in the 20s. saranac lake reporting a 27-degree temperature right now. so 55 in new york, comfortably cool. grab a light jacket. we have some frost and freeze advisories in effect for this morning and will likely be re-posted as we get toward the weekend, because we'll get a couple successive shots of cooler air. so no dramatic warm-up, back to indian summer just yet.

looking at showers and thunderstorms, another little front cruising across the great lakes. and the leftover front from what we saw the last couple of days is kind of hanging around the florida peninsula, and that's where we'll expect to see showers and thunderstorms throughout the day today. here's another one. and then this guy -- by the way, beautiful stuff out west, especially the pacific northwest. their streak continues of wonderfully warm and dry weather. but another little shot from canada will come down over the weekend, maybe a little snow, possibly a dusting in places like minnesota and wisconsin. john and zoraida, back to you. when it comes to presidents, who's better for your stock portfolio? a republican or a democrat? christine romans the takes a look. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory

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minding your business right now. u.s. stock futures all down this morning. that market rally over the past week, losing some steam. >> here's a good question. do stocks perform better under republican presidents? that is the question that you are answering this morning? >> i am answering it. this is conventional wisdom. you hear this a lot. especially think of george bush, he was the ceo president. he was someone who had worked in business. a lot of people thought he lowered taxes for investments and the like. and a lot of people think that republican presidents are better for the stock market. so we've run these numbers from the wilshire 5000, the broadest gauge of the stock market. this is what we've found. we'll start at the left -- ronald reagan, not the left, is

you know what i mean, the left of this screen. under his first ten years, the stock market went up 12.5%, and up again in his second tenure. and george h.w. bush, stock market went up 15%. and bill clinton, a democrat, in 1992, it went up 18%. also had a good run in 1996. but at the end of the bill clinton years was something called the tech bubble. so president george w. bush came into play and had to deal with the tech bubble and also a credit boom that turned into a bust. and barack obama,, when he was first elected, people called it the obama market because it was so horrible the very first months of his term. but it turned out that the stock market turned around and rebounded, and at least until now, the stock market is up 19% in his first term. so always question conventional wisdom, because sometimes president's performances because of the president before them, their policies, and sometimes it has nothing to do with the president, it has to do with congress and the economy overall. so presidents get too much credit, i say, and too much blame for their economy.

and i'm going to quote alan sloan here from "fortune," who did a really great piece on this this week, and he said, vote for the president you want, because you want that candidate, not because you think your stocks are going to go up. >> what's the one thing we need to know? >> the one thing you need to know today is this is the least productive congress in a generation. only 170-some public laws as of last month. they leave friday until the election. normally i'd say good riddance, but they've left us with a fiscal cliff hanging. 102 days left with the fiscal cliff. with every day that goes by that congress does not fix this cliff, it's another day companies aren't hiring and we know the san francisco fed studied uncertainty and found that the uncertainty in the economy, because of things like the fiscal cliff, is holding back hiring. you would have a lower unemployment re if it were tn't for things like the fiscal cliff. >> thanks, christine. 26 minutes past the hour. they were looking for a thrill,

they got more than they bargained for. so much more. this story, coming up. ♪ questions?

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his murder on the border blew the lid off the botched fast and furious gun operation. today, agent brian terry's family reacts to a new report that places blame. >> a cnn exclusive. what u.s. ambassador chris stevens knew about threats to his life before the attack that

killed him. too much medical waste, too many medical mistakes. the author of a no-nonsense new book that says we're wasting billions on health care, and we are not better for it. we're going to chat with him. welcome back to "early start." we're happy to have you with us this morning. i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. about 30 minutes after the hour. our top story right now, a new report from the justice department's inspector general on the fast and furious gun running operation. the details were broke wide open after the shooting death of agent brian terry on december 10th, 2010. two guns connected to fast and furious were found at the scene in arizona. this new report clears attorney general eric holder of any wrongdoing, at least from the justice department point of view. but 14 officials in the justice department and the atf have been recommended for discipline. the report says a review of fast and furious and related matters revealed a series of misguided strategies, tactics, errors in judgment and management failures that permeated atf headquarters

and the phoenix field division, as well as the u.s. attorney's office for the district of arizona. now, robert heyer is brian terry's cousin. he's also the spokesman for the family. brian, i know you've been waiting for this report. i know you've now had time to review it. what's your first reaction? >> good morning, john. well, the family has not had time to review all 471 pages of this document. long-awaited, you are correct, though. it's been almost 21 months since brian was murdered. we've been calling for answers, we've been calling for the truth to come out. so we are very anxious to fully look at this report. >> so, robert, the report mentions eric holder. it seemed to suggest he's not directly responsible for anything that went on there. it said he simply didn't know about it. shortly after the report came out, the attorney general, eric holder, released a statement, before mentioning your cousin, and it says, "i have reviewed the officer of inspector

general's report on operation fast and furious, and the key conclusions are consistent with what i and other justice department officials have said for many months now, tin appropriate strategy and tactics employed were field driven and date back to 2006. the leadership of the department did not know about or authorize the use of flawed strategy and tactics, and the department's leadership did not attempt to coffer up information or mislead congress about it." now, he does say he will recommend several officials for review, but are you satisfied with that? >> well, we're disappointed at the tone of that statement by the attorney general. look, nobody should be doing a victory dance right now. anything less than a sober reflection of the mistakes made and the negligence by many officials within the department of justice and atf, anything less than that is a disservice to brian's sacrifice. >> now, robert, darrell issa, who is the house chairman of the oversight committee, which has brought contempt charges against eric holder, he doesn't seem satisfied at all that the attorney general is exonerated.

let's listen to what the representative said. >> just because you're not convicted doesn't mean you're vindicated. attorney general holder didn't ask the questions, didn't read the memos, and up and down the chain, the people that worked for him, the political appointees responsible t him failed to do their job, including denying reading wiretaps that they were responsible for signing. >> robert, to what extent do you and the family hold the attorney general responsible for what went on? >> well, this whole operation, fast and furious, and the subsequent immediate inquiry into fast and furious, based on the atf whistle-blowers' allegations really, we believe, was a combination of incompetences and arrogance. and, you know, right now -- >> arrogance by whom? arrogance by whom, sir? >> well, throughout the

government, doj, and atf officials. that's how operation fast and furious was implemented. that's how it was allowed to continue. and then the immediate aftermath, especially when the department of justice denied that weapons were ever walked. when we had atf agents raising their happened and screaming, hey, this thing is happening. and you know, those are the guys that are vindicated today. those whistle-blowers. that's really who we should be thanking. but you know, brian was murdered on december 15th of 2010. one of the very first things we noticed in this report is the attorney general saying that he did not know about operation fast and furious until january or february of 2011. remember, everybody in federal law enforcement associated with the murder investigation, to include the u.s. attorney at the time for the district of

arizona, dennis burke, knew that the weapons found at the murder scene were operation fast and furious guns. they knew then who the suspect's straw buyer was who bought those weapons, and now they saw that they were found at the murder scene and carried by the men that killed brian terry. it's very distressing that top officials in the department of justice did not provide that information to the attorney general. something was broken, something remains broken, and we have to wait to see if this thing gets fixed. >> robert heyer, cousin to brian terry, it seems not completely satisfied with this inspector general report, but thanks for joining us this morning. >> those wounds are hard to heal. thank you, john. it was a case of terrorism. brand-new details this morning on the attack in benghazi that killed four americans, including chris stevens. the nation's counterterrorism chiefs tells congress that

extremists saw an opportunity to talk during the protest over an anti-muslim film and they took it. the u.s. now searching for links to al qaeda. >> i would say, yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy. >> sources tell cnn ambassador stevens expressed concerns about security in the months right before he died, specifically mentioning a rise in islamic extremism and a growing al qaeda presence in libya. he also acknowledged being on an al qaeda hit list. candidates in a couple of key senate races will face off today in televised debates. in massachusetts, scott brown will meet up with his democratic opponent, elizabeth warren. a recent suffolk university poll gives warren a four-point lead over brown, which is a boost, apparently, from her convention speech. and in virginia, republican george allen and tim kaine will debate today at noon. they're battling for the seat of retiring democratic senator jim webb. a "washington post" poll has kaine now leading allen by eight points.

that's a big shift in that race, according to the poll. mitt romney now talking about the 100% as he tries to court latino voters. we'll talk with ana navarro, cnn contributor and republican strategist. that's coming up. [ mujahid ] there was a little bit of trepidation, not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪

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the university of miami is hosting a two-part forum this week for its latino students. it's organized by univision and facebook. mitt romney spoke last night and president obama will follow up tonight. ana navarro was there last night and joins us. you have criticized romney a lot for not being able to connect.

he was pressed last night on some key issues, including immigration. he told the univision cohost that he would not, would not deport 12 million. let's listen to that and i want you to chime in. >> we're not going to round up people around the country and deport them. that's not -- i said during my primary campaign, time and again, we're not going to round up 12 million people. that includes the kids and the parents and have everyone deported. our system isn't to deport people. we need to provide a long-term solution. and i have described the fact that i would be in support of a program that says that people who have served in our military could be permanent residents of the united states. >> all right. so he says that he will not deport the 12 million illegal immigrants. but he didn't really lay out a plan. was it enough for you? >> well, you know, it's not about whether it's enough for me or not. i'm going to vote for him was i think he's a better option than barack obama. but he needs to do a lot better than he's doing. he's now at 28, 27, 29% with latino voters, according to

polls, and he needs to chip away at that obama margin. obama needs to turn out. romney needs to narrow the gap. and the problem romney has, i think, is that latinos don't really know him. he's just now begun this really all-out blitz for the latino voter. if latinos don't know him, they can't trust him. the immigration issue, dzoraida is one of trust. it's not the priority issue, the ecomy, jobs are, but it's one of trust. and i think he'll continue being haunted by these question he told us last night what he's not going to do. he hasn't yet told us what he is going to do. he talked about some of his normal talking points on immigration, but he has not given specifics as to what he's going to do for the undocumented. the other answer that he didn't give is, what is he going to do about those dream acts -- >> the deferred action. >> -- that right now are covered around the deferred action order. he's now been asked the that question eight times.

i really hope he gives an answer, because i think the question will continue coming up over and over again. and i think there's a simple answer. i think he should keep it, for the first two years. this thing -- this deferred action, this order is for two years at a time. he could keep it. he could tell those kids that are going to be under that order, look, you can go ahead and make your plans. i'm going to keep it for the first two years. i'm not going to extend it, was i'm going to keep it for the first two. >> ana, you mentioned something earlier that is very important. when we're talking about the number one issue for latinos, it is the economy. and romney addressed that last night. let's listen and talk about that. >> this is a tough time for america, and i'm convinced that if we take different course, based upon my experience, a course that will reignite america's economy, you're going to see those numbers change. you're going to see people coming out of poverty. you're going to see incomes rising again in america. that's the course that i think we have to take. and by the way, with regards to how i'm confident that that's

what can happen, i have a record. i've demonstrate ed my capacityo help the 100%. >> we were hearing about the 47% before, right, ana? now we have 100%. but latino voters, as you very well know, overwhelmingly support president obama. and you know these stats. i'm going to put them up for everybody here. 27% are living in poverty. 10% unemployment in that community. 52% fear deportation for self or a loved one. how can mitt romney sway them to vote for him? >> well, i think, number one, he's got to get latinos to trust him. and number two, he's got to get specific as to how he's going to turn this thing around. yesterday was interesting, zoraida, because he went back a lot to his massachusetts record, when it came to education, when it came to jobs, when it came to health care, even, which is something interesting i haven't seen him do before. i think it's a smart thing for him to do. it is a huge part of his resume. but he's got to -- he's got to reach out to latinos.

he's got to do more of these things. do more press. he hadn't done a major hispanic tv interview since the florida primary. this week he's done two of them and he's done also a number of radio interviews. and i just think he's got to do it every day, between now and the election, because he's got a lot of o work and a lot of road to make up. >> ana, it's always really nice to talk to you, and i like read y ing your tweets as well. >> good to be with you, my friend. all right, 46 minutes to the top of the hour. a day after releasing his report on the botched gun running operation known as fast and furious, the justice department's inspector general michael horowitz will be testifying before a house oversight committee about his findings. horowitz' investigation uncovered no criminal behavior. it found attorney general eric holder wasn't properly informed about the operation until early 2011 and cites 14 justice

officials for potential punishment. going to look at some live pictures right now out of houston. that is the space shuttle "endeavour" atop a giant 747. the shuttle takes off for los angeles in just a little over an hour. it's going to go on display for everyone to see at the california science center. about 20 people who got stuck on amusement ride at knotsberry find are happy to be on the ground this morning. do we have pictures? it's amazing, 300 feet in the air for nearly four hours. >> i'll do a dramatic reenactment. they're sitting there like this terrified for four hours. >> this is crazy, the second time in two weeks that the ride has experienced a malfunction with passengers on board. don't ride it! that's what i can tell you. >> they looked more scared than i did just now. so what's on "starting point"? >> ahead this morning, we're going to talk about a top intel

official who now says that attack in libya is a terrorist attack. reaction to the fast and furious report as well. this morning we'll chat with democratic congressman elijah cummings. also trey goudy, both members of the house oversight commission. and we'll monitor "endeavour," as it gets ready to take off again this morning, heading eventually to its final destination. as we did yesterday, we will monitor where it's going and update it for you when it takes off n off. that and much more on "starting point." that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have six grams of sugars. with fifteen grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart.

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welcome back to "early start." 51 minutes past the hour. one of the major issues in the presidential campaign sl health care reform. in a new book, dr. marty mccare

says transparency, not policy could be the true root of the problem. he writes, "when i listen to health care gurus propose overhauling the health care system with new ways to finance it, i often feel they are tragically off the mark. the simplest, most economical solution to the problems of our complex system is to empower patients with information." so the book is called "unaccountable: what hospitals won't tell you and how transparency can revolutionize health care." dr. makary is here now. >> according to good studies by doctors, many tests are completely unnecessary. and patients need to be empowered to say, look, do i really need this done? if we're going to get serious about health care costs and if patients are going to get good-quality care, we need to cut the waste in health care, not just pay for it differently. >> so how do you achieve transparency? >> well, there are good metrics

now of performance. there are good websites, consumer ratings, hospital compare is a great place where you can go and look up a hospital's performance, their infection rates. soon you'll see their readmission or bounce-back rates. these are useful metrics. and in the next couple of years, we are seeing a transformation of health care, so that it's more transparent and people can look up where to go, just like they would look up a restaurant's ratings before they go to a new restaurant. >> so i have some pretty staggering numbers on health care costs i want to share. nearly $2.6 trillion in 2010. $8,000 a person, the average hospital stay was $18,000. how is it that more transparency can cut down on those costs? because those costs are fixed right? they're fixed costs. >> they're fixed costs, but you're absolutely right. people are frustrated and they are angry. their health insurance premiums have gone up 9% to 10% every year, and businesses can't compete overseas now, so we need to cut the waste.

the 20% to 30% of health care that's unnecessary and doesn't make us any healthier. most people choose their health care based on parking. we can do better than that. >> who's at fault here? the doctors? the system? the hospitals? who's at fault? >> we've got good people working in a bad system. we need to change the incentives so we're not doing things based on more, but instead, doing things based on what's better. and as we get good measures of health outcomes, hospitals can be evaluated by their patient outcomes, not by how much they do. >> i love the fact you're trying to empower the patient. medical mistakes i want to talk about really quickly. one study says 25% of admitted patients suffer from some kind of preventable error. why are these so common? >> we have the same mistakes naht that keep happening again and again. when a plane crashes, the entire aviation and pilot community nationwide learns from that mistake. we don't learn from our miakes in health care and we need to be open and honest about the problem. that's part of the reason a lot of doctors now are saying, we

need to talk about medical mistakes, not gag people about them. >> dr. marty makary, thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> today's best advice from wyclef jean coming up.

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[ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well. ...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. 58 minutes past the hour. we wrap it up as always with best advice. >> christine? >> and today, my mic is off, i'm so sorry. today it's the hip hop star and activist, wyclef jean. >> best advice i've ever received is probably from my daddy. what my daddy told me was, nine times out of ten, when someone tells you you're not going to

make it, all you have to do is ignore them, because there's 24 hours in a day, if someone has time to be paying attention to what you're doing, eventually you're doing something right and they're doing something wrong. >> calling his father daddy. >> and set to music. that's all for "early start." i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. and "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. new information about the murder of chris stevens. what he said about threats against him in the weeks before he died. and new details that the attack in libya was terrorism. a fast and furious fallout. 14 federal law enforcement officials have been blamed in a blistering new report on the botched gun-running program, but not attorney general holder. i'll tell you why some people think he should stillak