itself, as it often does. the ketchup guy called 911 during this brouhaha and by the time the police arrived the sandwich artist had left the building. nonetheless i would like to point out this makes the second time we heard about somebody calling the police due to a sandwich-based situation. roll the tape. >> i'm at greatful deli, and, um, i specifically asked for, um, little, um, turkey and little um ham and um a lot of cheese and a lot of mayonnaise, and they are giving me a hard time. i was wondering if you could stop by. i was just wondering if you could um just -- >> you're calling 911 because you don't like the way that they're making your sandwich? >> exactly. >> so then don't buy it. >> great advice, 911 operator. if you don't like the way someone is making your sandwich, don't call 911. just don't buy it. when all else fails, speak softly and carry ketchup bottle. that's it for us.

thanks for watching. have a great day. "early start" begins now. deadly plunge. at least two americans among seven killed in a helicopter crash in peru. release the kraken! for the first time, pictures of a giant squid alive in its natural habitat. we have the pictures for you this hour. >> this is so cool. >> it is. i don't want to talk about this. a new dynasty. it's alabama in a rout on college football's biggest stage. did you stay up and watch? >> you know, i knew it was happening. you could just tell it was going down. >> did you set your alarm clock to get up and watch? >> i saw enough of the game to know where it was headed. >> so you watched about two minutes of the game. good morning, folks. welcome to "early start." >> i don't want to rub it in, but one of us was right and one of us was wrong. you are the wrong one. >> i will eat microtoday. it's in my coffee.

>> i was right. it's january 8th, and it's 5:00 a.m. >> i was wrong. >> up first this morning, roll tide. and we're talking a major roll. a rout inside a blowout wrapped in a complete drubbing. the alabama crimson tide crushed notre dame 42-14 to win the college national championship. alabama scored touchdowns the first three times it had the ball. they led 28 at halftime. that's why i got a full night's sleep. alabama quarterback a.j. mccarron threw for four touchdown passes in all. the tide has now won 3 of the last 4 titles in college football. they're good. >> it was pretty crazy. i just think about i've been here four years, i've got three national championships, two back to back. it's pretty special. >> dynasty? >> dynasty, no doubt about it. >> carlos diaz was at the game last night. he is live now in miami. i think he was up all night last night. >> he was. >> carlos, 3 out of the 4 national titles here, right? we can actually call alabama a

dynasty now, can't we? >> reporter: yeah, definitely. i mean, that's an easy word to use, although nick saban doesn't want you to use that word, or any other words of congratulations. can someone pinch nick saban and tell him that he just won another national championship? when you're talking about two consecutive national championships, three in the last four years, especially today in the parity that is sports in general, that kind of domination is not seen anymore. after the game, as i said, nick saban was his normal stoic self, although he claimed that he was really enjoying this victory. >> this is not about me. it's really about seeing all those people being happy and being proud of what this team was able to accomplish. that's the thing that makes me happy. you know, whether i look it or not, i'm happy as hell. >> reporter: look at that face. you can tell he's extremely happy.

i mean, basically when you have not only a victory that makes it your third in the last four years as far as national championships go, when you have such a dominating victory, 42-14, that just goes to show that this is truly a dynasty. >> and last year, too, carlos, they kicked the hell out of lsu last year in the national title game. i mean, they are really, really good here. and nick saban maybe can crack a little bit of a smile next time. how about the s.e.c.? the s.e.c. has been incredibly dominant, too. they've now won seven straight titles. is this the type of thing that can go on indefinitely, or will the bcs playoffs, which will finally come into play, could that change things? >> reporter: i actually think it's going to help the s.e.c. because if you're talking about more chances for more s.e.c. teams to get into the national championship picture, if you will, you know, with an expanded playoff system going to four games after next year's national championship game. so i don't see the s.e.c.'s domination dying down any time

soon. when you're talking about how much more dominant the s.e.c. is, people are talking about the championship game really happening in december when it was georgia against alabama in the s.e.c. championship game in atlanta. that's how dominant that conference really is. >> i think that's absolutely right, carlos. now, it was so one-sided last night, you almost had to look for other things for entertainment. the broadcast actually provided some sideshows there including -- i don't know if there's any other way to put it -- kind of a creepy sideshow dealing with a.j. mccarron's girlfriend. >> reporter: okay, hold on. >> i tell you, you quarterbacks, you get all the good-looking women. what a beautiful woman. >> wow! a.j. is doing some things right. >> superior youngster at alabama, start getting the football out and throwing it around the backyard with pop. >> reporter: okay, that's the creepy part right there because i respect brent mussburger, he's

the best in the business, but dude, chill out. he was a little bit too, whoa, h hubba, hubba. brent needed to ease off. that's katherine webb, a.j. mccarron's girlfriend, the reign says miss alabama. her twitter followers went from 2300 -- she had 2300 at the beginning of the night. she topped 100,000 by the end of the night. at one point lebron james followed her and then later unfollowed her in the evening. so she was the star last night. but i can tell you this. even though she looks great, don't hate, even though she looks great, she still went to auburn. she went to auburn. so a.j. mccarron, that's a definite black mark against you. it's a rivalry against alabama. so he might have to dump her. and if he does, she may have to call somebody. i don't know. >> i'm not hating on her, for the record. that is a lovely young lady. i just didn't appreciate the commentary either.

>> yeah, it was a little bit out of the early '70s. >> reporter: it was weird! >> carlos diaz in miami up all night, thank you for joining us. we'll have much more on the bcs title game ahead. >> what's he drinking? >> i know. he's going crazy, man. that's what happens on no sleep in a big victory. we're going to talk about coy wire about alabama's big win. we're going to switch gears. following a developing story out of peru. at least two americans are among seven people who were killed in a helicopter crash. this is central peru. the chopper crashed and exploded shortly after it took off yesterday afternoon. and authorities say three of the bodies were recovered away from that crash site. four are still trapped inside the wreck. the death of a chicago man who died before he could collect on a winning lottery ticket. this has been ruled a homicide. >> crazy story. >> the cook county chief medical examiner says there was a lethal amount of cyanide in his system. in late june, khan won $1 million with a scratch-off lottery ticket. the check for his winnings was

formally issued on july 19th. khan died the next night at a chicago hospital before he could cash that check. >> you know, originally they ruled that just a death by natural cause. and then when a family member said hey, look a little bit more, they found the cyanide in his body. chuck hagel firing back at critics who question his support for israel. in his first interview since the president nominated him to be defense secretary, the former nebraska senator told a lincoln newspaper his record is being distorted and an accurate assessment will reveal unequivocal total support for israel. and in the next hour of "early start," we'll be joined by peter beinart, correspondent for "newsweek" and the daily beast about the implications of hagel's nomination. >> a fascinating talk. james holmes is expected in court today again in colorado. a police officer testified that holmes was, quote, very, very

relaxed. the preliminary hearing will determine if holmes will stand trial in this case. 12 people were killed in the shooting and, of course, dozens and dozens were wounded. and bells will be ringing across tucson today marking two years since the shooting that killed six and severely wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords. giffords and her husband, mark kelly, also announcing a new gun-control initiative that they are launching today. their new website, americansforresponsiblesolutions .org is designed to encourage elected officials to fight gun violence while protecting the rights of responsible gun owners. so when you get in your car for work this morning, imagine a giant squid twice the size of your car. and for the first time in history, folks, we have video of that sea monster in its natural habitat. the wicked pictures are headed your way next. >> you know it's a good morning when we have squid for you. also other news. when i tell you that the gun debate on piers morgan's show last night got heated, that does not begin to cover it.

take a look at this. >> and i'm here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms! it doesn't matter how many lemings you get out there on the street begging for them to have their guns taken. we will not relinquish them! do you understand? nurses are dealing with a wider range of issues. and there are ever-changing regulations. when you see these challenges, do you want to back away or take charge? with a degree in the field of healthcare or nursing from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to advance your career while making a difference in the lives of patients. let's get started at capella.edu.

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welcome back to "early start," everyone. cnn's piers morgan facing off with the man behind a petition to have him deported for piers' strong stance against guns. radio host alex jones created the deport piers morgan petition and posted it on the white house website. last night he kind of went off his rocker, telling piers that more guns mean less crime. >> the second amendment isn't there for duck hunting. it's there to protect us from tyrannical government and street guns. hitler, stalin, mao took the guns, chavez took the guns, and i'm here to tell you 1776 will commence again if you try to

take our firearms! it doesn't matter how many lemmings you get out there on the street begging for them to have their guns taken. we will not relinquish them! do you understand? >> it was a subdued, calm discussion. meantime, the white house issued a statement on the petition. the white house responds to all petitions that krosh the threshold, and we will respond to this one. in the meantime, it is worth remembering that the freedom of expression is a bedrock of principle in our democracy. that's what the white house says. get ready for a whole bunch of metaphors. it may sound fishy, but this really is one colossal calamari. >> the discovery channel says it caught a monster squid on video in its natural habitat. for the very first time ever. right now we only have these still pictures for you. japanese scientists spotted it about nine miles east of the chichi island in the northern pacific. it is 26 feet long which is the length of four kobe bripts or

most of the length of a standard school bus. can you believe the size of that thing? >> it is a very, very big squid. >> and the first time caught in its natural habitat. we are so excited about this. >> we love big squids here on "early start." they're the official giant sea creature of "early start." meteorologist alexandra steele with more on the threat of flooding. help me out. >> the first picture of a giant squid dates back to the 1800s, so it's the stuff of myth and legends that's been around for a very long time. and so we've had pictures but never video, live video, in its natural habitat. supposedly it's the largest fish or reptile with the biggest eyes the size of plates. >> how do you know so much about this, alexandra? >> because i was supposed to do the story. i studied for an hour! you can ask me anything! its tentacles, its sucking, what its teeth do! i know everything! i've never known so much about a squid in my life. >> oh, wonderful. just share details throughout

the morning. thank you. >> okay, i'll just pepper them out. let's talk also about the weather story. what we're seeing is this rain. no snow abound for the most part because this is the area of low pressure that's developing in texas. here it is, but it will impact a lot of the country. i'll show you its movement. houston, corpus christi, eastern and central texas, that's where the heaviest rain will fall not only for today but for tomorrow. so through thursday, between four and six inches. and you can see eastern texas really gets the balance of it because it doesn't move a lot today and tomorrow. but then it begins its trek. thursday picks into louisiana. but here's the severe threat. not only incredibly heavy varai but the potential for damaging winds and even the severe weather threat with possible damaging tornadoes today. corpus to houston down to brownsville, keep an eye to the sky and certainly listen if those sirens go off. tomorrow it pushes eastward and gets toward new orleans. new orleans gets into that not for today but for tomorrow.

so here's the futurecast with this. there goes the rain as far north. by the time we head toward thursday, chicago, it's a rainmaker, so this is certainly more wet than white because chicago will be in the 50s by friday and saturday and in the 40s tomorrow. big picture today, the heavy rain, pretty dry. and guys, we're seeing much milder temperatures around the country than last week. so a big-time warm-up. so a lot of that snow is melting. and again, this moisture gets to the northern tier, but it's just a rainmaker. >> alexandra steele with our weather forecast and squidcast this tuesday morning. thanks very much for that. it is 16 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date. here's christine romans with this morning's top stories. >> still the kings of college football, alabama's crimson tide rolled over the not-so-fighting irish of notre dame, 42-14, to win the bcs national championship in miami. the game wasn't even that close. alabama built a 28-0 lead at halftime. let me say that again, a 28-0 lead at halftime.

sorry. the only drama in the second half is when the alabama coach got a gatorade bath, although he didn't seem happy, he'll take it. it's alabama's second straight national title and third in four years. hillary clinton has a little extra protection this morning thanks to her staff. the secretary of state returned to work yesterday after suffering from the flu which led to a fall, a concussion and a blood clot in her head. her colleagues gave her a football helmet as a welcome-back gift. she also received a jersey with the number 112 on the back. that's how many countries she has visited as the head of the state department. mrs. clinton is expected to step down at the end of the month. cancer deaths in the u.s. on the decline. a new government report said cancer death rates from 2000 to 2009 fell 1.8% a year among men, 1.4% a year among women. researchers credit reductions in risk factors like smoking, also improvements in early detection and treatments. the study did find increases in cancers linked to obesity and human papillomavirus. that's the most common sexually

transmitted disease in the united states. former new mexico governor bill richardson, google chairman eric schmidt are in north korea this morning. their controversial mission includes meetings with north korean government officials and business leaders on a trip that's described as a, quote, private humanitarian visit. >> we're here as individual american citizens looking at the humanitarian situation. we are concerned about the missile launches, and we're concerned about the importance of dialogue. >> richardson says he'll also be seeking the release of kenneth bay, a korean-american tour guide from washington who was detained last year for unspecified crimes. the state department has criticized the visit, calling it ill-timed. senate majority leader harry reid says he simply misspoke last friday when he took to the senate floor and compared the devastation caused by superstorm sandy to that of hurricane katrina. while taking lawmakers to task

for not approving sandy relief sooner, reid said katrina was nothing in comparison to sandy. in fact, katrina was responsible for more than 1,800 deaths. sandy claimed at least 113 lives. >> probably smart to give that apology for harry reid there. >> absolutely. it is 5:19 in the morning. time for "early read," your local news making national headlines. to connecticut, the mayor of stratford wants a new school that's going to be built there to be named for victoria soto. you'll remember she was the first grade teacher at sandy hook elementary who tried desperately to shield her students from adam lanza's murderous rampage. soto was one of the six adults killed along with 20 children. she was 27 years old. she was a lifelong resident of stratford, connecticut. this was the woman who grew up wanting to be a teacher, and she achieved that goal and by all accounts she was a marvelous educator. who can forget -- or you can forget about landing tickets to this year's inaugural ball

apparently. "the washington post" reporting on a foul-up at ticketmaster who left thousands who signed up for tickets completely shut out. they sent an e-mail informing everyone that they would be receiving another e-mail monday with a special link to purchase tickets to an official inaugural ball with president obama and the first lady attending. but just four hours later, the tickets went on sale, and they sold out in a hurry. everyone who was waiting for that monday morning e-mail got shut out. all they got instead was an e-mail from ticketmaster acknowledging that they made a mistake. >> too bad for them. you can watch the inauguration and all the festivities here on cnn. so stay in the comfort of your own home and watch. i would be terribly disappoi disappointed. head to our blog, earlystart.com and also on facebook and twitter. >> i follow us. coming up, a new warning about the debt ceiling. why we might get there much faster than expected. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes.

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♪ good morning, new york city. how are you on this fine morning? grab a cup of coffee, head over to your tv sets because we are minding your business this morning. u.s. stock futures are trading lower this morning. >> earnings season kicks off today. we just learned the unemployment in the euro area hit a record high. >> imagine unemployment at 11.8%. i mean, this is troubling for people in europe, our biggest trading partner as a zone. and another reason why it's so important, because europe has been in the midst of austerity, cutting budgets, cutting spending, cutting benefits. and it's driving unemployment higher. and as we enter into this big debate in this country about cutting spending, cutting benefits, what are the things to take away from that for the united states? also a debt ceiling alarm bell from the bipartisan policy center saying the treasury department's going to run out of room on the debt ceiling earlier than we thought. february 15th, they say. that's the "x" date when we

can't pay all of our bills, when we literally only have that date $9 billion coming in, and we have $52 billion in bills. imagine that in your own household. if you had $9 billion coming in and $52 million going out. when you look at it, it's staggering. i think we have a chart on the left. that's how much daily catch flow analysis, that means how much on the left, $9 billion is coming in. look at all the bills on the right we have to play, interest on the debt, $30 billion, we only are bringing in $9 billion a day on february 15th, but we have $30 billion in debt payments. how about irs refunds because it is, of course, tax season. federal salaries and benefits, $3.5 million, military active pay, medicare/medicaid, defense, food/hud/welfare/unemployment, other spending. that's how unbalanced it is. that's why they say we can't live like this anymore. the fight about how to get that in line is going to be ugly and vicious. and it should be buckle up. >> that doesn't look very good

at all. >> no, it doesn't. >> in the last 24 hours, we've seen huge, huge settlements between lenders and the government. >> $19 billion. the government has squeezed out -- regulators have squeezed out $19 billion from banks for the mortgage debacle. these are big mortgage settlements. we told you yesterday how bank of america coughed up $10.4 billion to fannie mae, now ten banks settling with regulators for $8.5 billion. this gives some clarity to the banks but it does give money to taxpayers and it does give some money to homeowners. consumer advocates have been saying it's not enough. it's been three years. the banks got off too easy. it is money, though, coming in finally. it's not the end to the suits, civil suits, against the banks. i think they're going to cough up more. >> that's a little bit of good news. thanks. 26 past the hour. startled commuters taken for a sudden ride in the wrong direction. more on this escalator accident all caught on camera. that's headed your way next. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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relaxed and detached. a new chilly account of the accused aurora shooter's demeanor right after the massacre. technology, the next generation. tomorrow's gajdgets unveiled today at the consumer electronics show in las vegas. and what goes up should not have come down. a camera captures the first chaotic moments of a bizarre escalator malfunction. that just looks bad. >> yep. >> welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. it is january 8th. we have new details about the immediate aftermath of the aurora theater shooting massacre. a police officer testifying that

the alleged shooter seemed very detached from it all. the details are coming out at a preliminary hearing for james holmes. other officers described the chaos and all the confusion at the scene as they tried to help victims. one officer saying he thought holmes, who was wearing a helmet and a gas mask, was a fellow cop. >> more witnesses will take the stand today. this hearing will ultimately determine whether there is probable cause for trial. criminal defense attorney joey jackson joins us to talk about all the latest developments. joey, yesterday's testimony focused on the immediate aftermath of the shooting. we heard from police officers who came upon james holmes first. and this is how they describe him. they called him "very calm and moving with purpose." another officer said, "it was like there weren't normal emotional responses." it seems, like i said, a lot of this that's going on in court right now, trying to frame his mental state. what do these statements from the cops tell you about his mental state? >> i think they certainly will be an issue, john.

in this case, obviously i think the defense ultimately will move towards the insanity plea, right? and interesting about this, though, is insanity, we have to know, in colorado, much different from other jurisdictions. why? because in other jurisdictions, the burden is on the defense, right? to establish that there's insanity. in colorado, john, it's a little bit different than that, right? because the prosecution has to establish sanity, the burden's on them. so, of course, that hasn't been played out yet. i presume it will. that's where this is going. but when it does, that's what makes it interesting, the burden of proof being on the prosecution. >> and joey, holmes' demeanor in court, very much the way that these police officers describe it when they first came upon him. he didn't speak during the hearing. he displayed no emotion while listening to the chilling testimony. does this help or hurt the case? >> i ultimately from a defense perspective, it goes to show that he was insane, right? zoraida, something was amiss. when you have an incident like this and the police officers, first responders, testifying as to him being detached, as to him

just smirking at them, as to him just having -- being emotionless in something like this, what does it tell you? it tells you that a normal person would be very anxious, very responsive, very nervous, just distressed. this person, zoraida, is standing by a car with his hands on the car. >> at the scene the crime, right? >> with no emotion. it's bad. >> we're hearing from victims' families, some in the room, some watching on a monitor nearby. we heard from one of the fathers of the victims. let's listen to what he said. >> i never stopped watching him in the courtroom. as soon as he saw different things happen and he smiled a couple times, very quickly because he caught himself because he's really pretending to be crazy. that guy's evil, but there's no way that guy's crazy. >> what's interesting, is this is someone in the room. these are usually the types of things you hear during a jury trial. right now it's just a judge. what is he looking at? >> well, here's what happens. according to our constitution, of course, a person is entitled to a preliminary hearing.

what does that mean? it means is there probable cause to detain you further and to move forward to trial? and so what the judge is examining is all of the evidence to determine whether or not that evidence meets the standard of having him legally held and, of course, having the trial move forward. of course, i think the judge will make that determination. then it will move forward to that trial. and that's when there will be fireworks. >> does he watch the demeanor of the defendant the way that a jury might? >> i think it's different. the i think the judge is valuing the evidence at this point. i think that a jury is always watching, the lawyers, the defendant himself. and it was an interesting point the father made as to whether or not that illness is being feigned. state doctors in the event there is an insanity defense will evaluate him, and every piece of medical evidence about him and psychiatric history, that's going to come out because the prosecution has a right to know what his mental state was. >> well, there are a couple of tidbits of information that came out that make you wonder about premeditation, right? so i want to talk a little bit about that. he purchased a ticket, holmes did, for that movie on july 8th.

it was 12 days before the shooting actually occurred. surveillance video also shows him dressed in dark trousers, a light-colored shirt with a t-shirt underneath and a ski cap covering his hair when he scanned the ticket off of his cell phone. that was before he went back and changed and came back into the movie theater. what does that tell a judge? >> i think what it will tell a judge and ultimately what it will tell a jury is what you just said, that it was premeditated and intent. whenever you look at crimes, you have to look at your emotional state. did you mean to do it, were you acting with the intention that the law requires? prosecutors will play that up to show that he was lucid, logical, focused, had a mission and carried out that mission. the defense will say, you know what? he wasn't lucid as it appears, and as a result of that, he deserves to be declared insane. >> last question, do you think there will be a plea deal, or do you think it goes to trial? >> you know, i think with this mounting evidence, zoraida, it would be incumbent upon the defense team to contemplate a plea deal particularly if they're looking to save his life

which might be something that would entice them to say i'm guilty. it would also save that community and everybody else the tragedy of reliving this. >> you're absolutely right. joey jackson, thank you so much for joining us. there is word this morning that the connecticut school shooter, adam lanza, was wearing earplugs during his murderous rampage. "the hartford courant" determines they're trying to determine the significance of these earplugs. lanza is accused of killing 26 people including 20 children. mark your calendar, a coalition of gun rights activists designating january 19th gun appreciation day. they are asking people to visit gun stores, gun shows, gun ranges on that day as a protest against plans for tougher firearms laws. it comes just two days before president obama's inauguration as well. and new york mayor michael bloomberg, a strong advocate for stricter gun laws, is now advising vice president biden's task force to curb gun violence. bloomberg says he's urging for

preliminary gun checks on all owners. he's also calling for a renewal of federal assault weapons ban similar to the one enacted in 1994 that's since expired. going up? maybe not. abruptly reversing direction sending people into complete panic. commuters were riding the escalator up in the jersey city station when suddenly they weren't. the malfunction sent a stampede of people down the moving staircase. five people suffered cuts, scrapes and bruises in all that crazy confusion. >> that just looks awful. can you imagine being on that escalator? >> no, and little kids. if you have little kids on there. so it was billed as dynasty versus destiny, but in the end, man, it was just a blowout. we're talking alabama's dominant display in front of the entire nation. it happened last night. we'll tell you all about it coming up. woman: we're helping joplin, missouri, come back from devastating tornado. man: and now we're helping the east coast recover from hurricane sandy. we're a leading global insurance company, based right here in america.

we've repaid every dollar america lent us. everything, plus a profit of more than $22 billion. for the american people. thank you, america. helping people recover and rebuild -- that's what we do. now let's bring on tomorrow.

so at the end of the day, irish eyes were not smiling.

not one bit. the alabama crimson tide, they crushed notre dame's fighting irish in last night's bcs championship game. they just owned the game. it was 42-14. and for from the very first drive, it was tied dominance. this was nick saban's fourth national title, winning one at lsu. he now has three at alabama. he gave credit for the win, though, to the players, the university and the fans. >> this is not about me. it's really about seeing all those people being happy and being proud of what this team was able to accomplish. you know, that's the thing that makes me happy. you know, whether i look it or not, i'm happy as hell. >> can you imagine what he would look like if he lost? the guy would just be bawling. coy wire is a player formerly with the atlanta falcons and buffalo bills. he's been talking to us all week about the national title implications here. now, coy, we have to be honest

here, you suggested that notre dame was going to win this game. but rather than rub it in, because i did say alabama was going to win, rather than rub it in, let me ask you this. what went wrong for notre dame? why was it so one-sided? what did you see on that field? >> what went wrong? just about everything went wrong. the four-leaf clovers were four-leaf clobbered. notre dame is now notre done. i actually felt sorry for them, watching that game. i think they were just so emotionally overhyped coming into it that they got off to a rough start. the opening drive that we're watching here, they just didn't stand a chance, making mental mistakes, penalties and giving up big plays. from there it was a snowball effect. this game quickly became a game in which the only story line was that a.j. mccarron's girlfriend was in the stadium, and she went from 500 twitter followers to 112,000. amazing. >> was this just a vast difference in talent? was that what decided this game? >> there's no question about it. the thing that was going to give

notre dame a chance was going to be their defense. and they were outmaneuvered. they were outmuscled and overmatched. they just didn't stand a chance against a.j. mccarron who came out and played a phenomenal game. the guy now has won three national titles. he's the only quarterback ever in college football to win two national titles for the bcs. and on top of that, he's got the most popular girlfriend in all of the twitterverse. >> what happened to manti te'o? notre dame's linebacker was supposed to be one of the best players in the country last night. he did not look dominant in any way on that field. >> well, manti te'o is still a phenomenal player. what happened to him last night was the offensive line of alabama. i mean, they're just a dominant force there. the best offensive line arguably in the entire nation this year. and then as we talked about yesterday, remember, i said to watch out for eddie lacey. he was too much for notre dame to handle. the guy had 140 yards and was

running through arm tackles, too many missed tackles by the irish on the night. >> he was fantastic last night. let's talk about the "d" word, dynasty. it's not a word that nick saban likes to use. let's listen to what he said about that. >> i don't think words like "dynasty" are really words that i'm much interested in. you know, we're interested in accomplishment and consistency and performance. and we want to continue to try to do that in the future. so those are for other people to talk about. >> my thing to nick saban is sorry, nick, you're a dynasty, you've won 3 out of the last 4 titles including two in a row. can we look for more from nick saban and alabama in the coming years? >> i think so, john. the scary part is just about every single person who's touched the ball for alabama on offense is returning next year. we know they'll put up a good defense. the elephants are for real. unfortunately for zoraida and i, the leprechauns remain just myths. they were outmatched in every phase of the game.

even the fans of alabama were better than notre dame last night. >> what? >> there was one fan, in particular, that was spotted, you can see here. this guy -- >> there we go. >> i mean, they were just absolutely phenomenal across the board from their fans to the football players to the football coaches. alabama, roll tide. >> that is such an accurate likeness. i have to say. although i don't generally wear pants quite that tight. but otherwise very impressive there. coy, let me get one last question in about rg3. he had an mri yesterday. it looks like there is some damage in there, some torn ligaments. they may not know for sure because he had so much damage when he was in college. what does that say to you? >> well, it says to me that a guy, unfortunately despite trying to go out and give his heart and soul for his team and for his city, further injured a knee that was already problematic. the positive side of this is that we know this guy, based on his appearance in that game, is

an uber competitor. and if anyone can come back from this, it's going to be a guy like him. we saw adrian peterson come back and almost break the all-time sing single-season rushing record. we'll see what happens to rg3. our thoughts and prayers are with him as he begins his comeback road to victory. >> coy wire, thanks for being with us and bringing pictures and visual aids. always nice to talk with you here in the morning. >> doctoring it up quite a bit, i might add. you know what i don't get about these nfl players? he's got this injury and then insists on being in the game. and this could cost him his career. i don't understand the mental y mentality. >> i can understand robert griffin iii wanting to play. >> i understand that but it's not a wise decision at that moment because your career could be over. >> i think it's the coach's job job to take care of you and the team. >> that's true. turn on household appliances and even start your car without getting out of bed? that and more will be shown off at the consumer electronics show

starting today. boy, that would be the ultimate for me. we have a preview for you coming up. plus, one mother's horror of waking up to see a snake wrapped around her daughter's arm. >> snakes and squids on "early start." happiness? by the armful? by the barrelful? the carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. has oats that can help lower cholesterol?

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welcome back. 49 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date. christine romans with the top stories. >> good morning. thank you. at least two americans have died

in a helicopter crash in central peru. police say seven people in all were on board when this chopper crashed and burned just after takeoff yesterday afternoon. three of the victims were recovered away from the crash site. four bodies remain trapped in the wreckage. more trouble for the dreamliner. a fire broke out yesterday on a 787 dreamliner at logan airport just minutes after passengers left the plane. a fire official said a battery pack exploded and caught fire. the plane was brand new, delivered only last month. there are been a series with the 787 since boeing introduced them in 2011. attorneys for casey anthony will be in a florida courtroom today. anthony is peeling four convictions for lying to law enforcement after her daughter, caylee, was first reported missing in 2008. she was acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter back in 2011. casey anthony is not expected to attend today's hearing. imagine being a young mother, you wake up in the middle of the night to see a python wrapped around the arm of your 2-year-old daughter who is sleeping next to you.

it happened to a mother in australia who woke up from the hissing of her cat. the snake already had sunk its teeth into the child's left hand. the mom managed to pry it loose. >> after we went to the hospital, and techs came, they found the snake sort of down behind the bedside table and in between the wall. i don't doubt that he was under the bed for days. >> she knew something was wrong because her cat was jumpy and nervous for a few days. it apparently knew the snake was in the house. >> oh, my goodness! >> i mean, i guess the good news is the snake didn't eat her baby, but the bad news is that, like -- >> or choke the baby to death. oh, my gosh! >> crazy. >> that cat is going to get whatever it wants to eat for however long. >> wow! that's a crazy story. imagine waking up to that. what would you do? >> i hate starting the morning with snake stories. >> all right. thank you for that. it is 51 minutes past the hour. it's that time of year, tech

companies are showing off their most innovative gadgets at the consumer electronics show in las vegas. it kicks off today in si. and dan simon has an early look for us. >> reporter: it's a january tradition here in las vegas as crews work furiously to get the booths and exhibits ready for the start of the consumer electronics show. more than 150,000 people are expected to roam these vast halls over the next couple of days to get a glimpse of the technologies that might hit the store shelves in the coming year. tvs are always the biggest crowd draw at ces. the last couple years the companies were pushing 3-d tvs. they're hoping ultra hd will win over consumers. they have four times the resolution, but they're expensive. some of these sets cost as much as a car. and speaking of cars, they're becoming a bigger deal every year at ces. this year you'll hear the term connected car a lot. that means using your smartphone for a lot of different things

including using the phone to start the car on those especially cold winter days. another big theme, home automation. run your home from wherever you are. this category used to be for people who were really wealthy. now they're more affordable. it's about being able to control your lights, thermostat, your appliances while on the go. look for the latest innovations in pcs, tablets and cameras. more than 3,000 companies are on display here. all of them really vying for one thing, attention. dan simon, cnn, las vegas. >> it's like geek paradise. there's no question about that. >> it's fantastic. and you can play tricks on people. so if you have that little device and somebody's staying in your home, you can turn on the music and turn it off without anybody knowing. and then they start wondering what's going on. turn on the lights. turn them off. >> you know how to have fun. you really do. you're crazy! some of the other cool things we've seen, mini-tablets, we know about them, but what about mega-tablets?

lenovo is introducing this 27-inch tabletop tablet called the ideal center horizon 27. it comes with air hockey paddles, joysticks and a six-sided die. >> that looks like fun. i would love that. check out this no-frills phone. end gajts reports square one plus promises a 15-year battery life from a single aa battery. its makers say it isn't meant to replace your smartphone but could be added to a first aid kit perhaps or tucked away in your car if you have an emergency. >> 15 years. >> crazy! >> fueled by magic. we have a packed hour straight ahead on "early start" including the first look at a deep sea monster. a giant squid. what a morning. a giant squid alive in its natural habitat. 3,000 feet below the surface. we're going to get reaction from the man who wrote the search for the giant squid. plus, off the fridge and into your living room. child art getting the 3-d

printing treatment. and these sculptures do not stay within the lines. plus, all the buzz about the alabama beauty queen. she stole the spotlight from her quarterback boyfriend last night in miami. we'll have this rather interesting story coming up next. so if you have a flat tire, dead battery, need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geico's emergency roadside assistance is there 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

welcome back. let's take a look at the top cnn trends this morning. >> so the big winner last night's bcs title game, not the winning quarterback, a.j. mccarron, it was his girlfriend. katherine webb, the reigning miss alabama, says she gained close to 100,000 twitter followers during last night's game. well, why? espn repeatedly cut to her during the broadcast. and of course, brent musburger

had words about her. remember the contraband cat h the one prison officials caught with breakout tools including batteries and saws taped to its body. the story just won't go away. in fact, you could say the cat caper had nine lives on late-night. >> police in brazil have apprehended a cat that had been traveling in and out of a men's prison with various escape tools like saw blades and drill bits and stuff like that, taped to its body. the cat was smuggling objects in and out of the prison. and the judge was pretty harsh. stated the cat receive nine life sentences. >> the cat -- don't kid yourself, it's all different in south america -- the cat is in real trouble, has already hired a lawyer and a real weasel. i'll call for -- i was going to call for the weasel. not a sleazy guy, an actual weasel.

not a slaeazy guy, an actual weasel. my fault for coming out here. "early start" continues right now. deadly plunge. two americans among seven killed in a helicopter crash in peru. d-day for america's debt. some experts predict we'll hit the ceiling sooner than expected. a new sports dynasty. alabama in a rout on college foo football's biggest stage. >> are we going to talk about this all morning? >> i think we are. >> i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. at the end of the day, irish eyes sadly were not smiling. the alabama crimson tide crushed notre dame's fighting irish in the bcs championship game.

they owned the game. apparently. 412-14. they crushed notre dame, nursing its wounds. mante teo said the team did the best it could. >> i think we just did what alabama does, and like said, we had opportunities to make plays, we just didn't capitalize on those opportunities. >> meanwhile, much of the alabama win was credited to nick saban. his fourth bcs title. gave credit for the victory to the players, university, and the fans. >> it's not about me, it's really about seeing all of those people happy and proud over what this team was able to accomplish. that's what makes me happy. whether i look at it or not. i'm happy as hell. >> maggie gray, an anchor for

sportsillustrated.com. she was at the game last night. lucky to have you this morning. we didn't talk to you ahead of the game, were you surprised by last night's major win? >> i think everyone was surprised at the scale of the win. the fact that it was a blowout. we thought this would be an old-school tough defensive battle and it turns out alabama has this high-flying offense able to dominate the game from kickoff. and right now in college football it is alabama and everybody else, because notre dame certainly did deserve to be in the national championship game. deserves to play for it undefeated throughout the season. a tough schedule and they ran up against an alabama team on a completely different level. >> maggie, what stood out to you as a highlight for last night's game? >> the highlight for me was any time notre dame started to get a little bit of momentum, alabama stopped it. at the beginning of the third quarter, coming out of halftime,

notre dame put together what looked like its most promising drive of the game, and just add insult to injury, as they were driving toward the end zone, a player named ha ha, first name ha ha, intercepted the notre dame quarterback. almost indicative of the game. they were driving, they end up getting intercepted, it's a guy named ha ha, and this was the end of it. any time notre dame tried to get traction, alabama there was to suffocate them. >> let's talk about nick saban, coach of alabama. he said he was happy. he should be. won four overall national championships. he called alabama a dynasty, a word banned in the alabama locker room. listen. >> i don't think words like dynasty are words that i'm really much interested in. we're interested in accomplishment and consistency and performance and want to continue to try to do that in

the future. those are for other people to talk about. >> i don't know. ask can we call it a dynasty now? >> oh, yeah. you win three championships in four years, and it's definitely a dynasty. i understand why you don't want to embrace that word, you are not leaving anything out there to gain. but i don't think there is any slight in calling this alabama team a dynasty, and what nick saban has done to cause that. zoraida the scarier thing, there are even better players coming in for next year and this team that won last night, they are young guys on that team like t.j. yelton, scored two touchdowns, just a freshman. stacked from top to bottom. no reason to think that alabama's dominance will end any time soon. >> you can call it tonight. you have probably been up all

night long. >> haven't slept yet. >> i want a female's perspective of this. the girlfriend of the quarterback a.j. mccarron got special attention during the game from commentator brent musburger. >> i'm telling you, you quarterbacks get all of the good-looking women. what a beautiful woman. >> wow. >> a.j. is doing some things right. >> if you are a youngster in alabama, start getting the football out and throwing it around the backyard with pops. >> if you're a youngster in alabama. was that odd to you? >> no, i think that we've kind of come to expect a little bit of that sort of pitch, old boys club in sports and even though it is changing and the sports landscape is changing because there are so many more women covering sports and involved in sports in such a high level and that could be seen as a little bit low brow, but i think people just take it as good natured --

brent mussberger is 73. i think he thought he was being funny and pitchy. i don't think he meant any disrespect. >> some people were calling it creepy actually. >> you can't argue with that. a little creepy. >> sportsillustrated.com anchor. thank you for joining us. get some rest, girl. >> thanks. >> six minutes after the hour. if the u.s. doesn't raise the debt ceiling, the country could be in default, five weeks, half a month earlier than expected. according to analysis by the bipartisan tax center. it will almost certainly happen before march 1st, despite ordinary measures taken by the treasury department. >> new overnight. a tragic helicopter crash. officials say two americans were on board when it went down in a village in central peru. the chopper crashed and exploded

shortly after takeoff yesterday afternoon. three of the bodies recovered away from the crash site. four are still crashed in the wreckage. day two of a court hearing in the case of james holmes, the alleged shooter in the aurora theater. details emerge ed about his behavior after the shooting. holmes was "very, very relaxed." a preliminary hearing will determine if he will stand trial. 12 people killed in the shooting, dozens woundsed. and in tucson, kaez, two years since the shooting that kill six people and wounded gabrielle giffords. a new gun control initiative is being launched today. the website, americansfor responsiblesolutions.org is designed to encourage legislators to use gun control

while protecting rights. >> i'm here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms, doesn't matter how many lemons you get on the street. we will not relinquish them, do you understand? what are you doing? nothing. are you stealing our daughter's school supplies and taking them to work? no, i was just looking for my stapler and my... this thing. i save money by using fedex ground and buy my own supplies. that's a great idea. i'm going to go... we got clients in today. [ male announcer ] save on ground shipping at fedex office. [ male announcer ] why do more emergency workers everywhere trust duracell...?? duralock power preserve. locks in power for up to 10 years in storage. now...guaranteed. duracell with duralock. trusted everywhere.

welcome back to "early start ow ". piers morgan sat down with a radio show host who wants to deport him. >> the second amendment isn't there for duck hunting. it's there to protect us from tyrann tyrannical street guns. i'm here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms. doesn't matter how many lemons you get out on the street begging to get their guns taken. we will not relinquish them. do you understand? >> after the interview was over,

piers finally had a chance to respond. >> he is really one of the reasons why i'm so concerned about the lack of gun control in america. he owns 50 weapons, has a pathological view about it. he seems unhinged to me, and the irony of these gun rights guys saying to me that i'm rude to them, won't be lost on my regular viewers i'm sure. i try to stay calm and really there is no other way of dealing with him. he's just sort of a ranting guy who doesn't want anybody to grab his gun. >> if you watches, you know piers remained very calm during the rant. john. president obama looking to restock his cabinet in making his choices official. he dominated former nebraska senator chuck hagel to be his replacement for leon panetta as secretary of defense. >> chuck hagel's leadership of our military would be historic. the first person of enlisted rank to serve as secretary of

defense. one of the few secretaries to be wounded in war and the first secretary to lead the department. >> and he is giving his nod to john brennan to be next director of the cia. it's really chuck hagel getting the most scrutiny. comments from his past are coming back to haunt him. i want to bring in peter biner from "newsweek" and daily beast. peter wrote what i think is most of the interesting and compelling articles about the hagel nomination, explaining it better than anywhere i've seen it, including the president. the first paragraph of the piece, you write it may prove the most consequential foreign policy appointment of his presidency. because the struggle over hagel is a struggle over whether obama can change the terms of the foreign policy debate. explain that for me. >> i think so far, the debate about military action in iran has been conducted by and large

in washington, as if iraq and afghanistan didn't happen. as if we haven't leashed anything from the disaster that these two wars over the last ten years. the real struggle between hagel and his foes, is he wants to bring some of the lessons in to the iran debate that we learned about iran and afghanistan. he talks compelling about wars once launched can't be fully controlled. cognizant of the enormous financial cost that these wars have imposed on the united states, and the heart of the hostility is the fear that his recognition about what happened in afghanistan and iraq will make taking to us war in iran harder. >> you suggest there are no consequences for the iraq war in terms of those who supported or imposed it. >> if you listen to republican foreign policy discourse, with the exception of a few people like chuck hagel, would you think that the iraq war had been a great success. all of the same people who said it was a great success are

defining in large measure the debate over war on iran, pushing the united states closer, and i think hagel is a message by the president to say hold on a section here. i am going to set the bar for war higher than george w. bush, and i don't think this is a simple and easy thing. >> why does obama need that. he opposed the war longer than chuck hagel. >> chuck hagel did. same thing with one of the few republican senators. after the war started he began to rethink his view of the world. it's not only about iran. the other thing is that obama wants someone to bring the defense department back into focus. >> is this a smaller foreign policy? >> i think it is. you can completely separate it, wall it off from all considerations about the national debt.

chuck hagel doesn't see it that way. he's a lot like dwight eisenhower who drove the defense budget down quite dramatically. he believed america's real power was its fiscal health. >> a lot of fire around hagel has to do with israel and the lack of support for israel. let's listen to what john cornyn said. >> comments with the so-called jewish lobby, which seems to denigrate the efforts of pro-israel individuals, myself included, who view that relationship as a special relationship one that is important to our national security and stability in the region. >> is this a real problem for hagel? >> this is really a smoke screen. if chuck hagel had the same views on iran and defense spending as john mccain, no one would even be talking about the comments. i think it's a side show. one of the most important jewish

leaders used the same phrase, jewish lobby, just last december. i think it would be more accurate to call it the right wing pro-israel lobby. but many of the pro israel lobby are jewish, as is myself. one of the groups is the american jewish committee to suggest this is in any way anti semitic, when many jews, including a rabbi from omaha, has testified to his good relationship with jews. >> peter br er biner, thank you joining us. thanks very much. >> 17 minutes past the hour. time for a quick check of the top stories. bcs championship. it wasn't a game. it was a shame for notre dame and its legion of fans. alabama crimson tide rolled over the irish, 42-14 to win the national championship. alabama's third bcs title in the

last four years, looking every bit like a college football dynasty now. george h.w. bush continues his recovery at a houston hospital. according to a statement released by his office, the 88-year-old former president has been busy watching football, enjoying big wins by texas a & m and the houston taxi iatexans. he was moved out of the intensive care unit at the methodist hospital. at a time, it was said that mr. bush was being treated for a stubborn fever. hillary clinton, a little extra protection this morning. the secretary of state returned to work yesterday after suffering from the flu which led to a fall, a concussion, and a blood clot. she received a football helmet and a jersey with 112 on the back, how many countries she visited as head of the state department. she is expected to step down at the end of the month. >> notre dame could have used her.

>> yeah, right. thank you very much. we still have a few months of winter left. 2013. and travel delays could perhaps be in your future. the good news, airports across the united states are sprucing themselves up, adding new services for you. maybe you will even be wishing for a delay? >> i doubt that christine romans with details. >> you could get a man cure ima. it used to be shabby carpet and few restaurant options. las vegas opened a new wing, complete well 300 slot machines, gamble while you wait. there is a new sleep international terminal in atlanta is and high-end retail stores. and in 2013, good news if there are travel plans in your delay. san diego's airport include an upgrade a new media lounge. and personalized flight updates,

and baltimore airport, one addition of a bar in the observation gallery, if you get stuck have a cocktail and a view. and improvements planned in new orleans, ft. lauderdale, columbus, l.a.x., and the new terminal set to open this year will have more than 60 shops and restaurants, including an armani store, a caviar and champagne bar. in o'hare, they have a green garden, a market garden on the roof you can go -- i'm not kidding with fresh organic vegetables. the things they are coming up with are pretty interesting. maybe because they determined we are going to be cooling our heels a lot and have money to spend. >> i love the mini mani/pedi.

coming up next, "minding your business." the boys use capital one venture miles for their annual football trip. that's double miles you can actually use. tragically, their buddy got sacked by blackouts. but it's our tradition! that's roughing the card holder. but with the capital one venture card you get double miles you can actually use. [ cheering ] any flight, anytime. the scoreboard doesn't lie. what's in your wallet? hut! i have me on my fantasy team.

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there she is. new york, new york, the sun about to come up over the big apple right now. minding your business here in new york this morning. u.s. stock futures trading slightly lower, close to the break even point really. >> earning seasons kick off. and unemployment in the euro area, hit a record high in november. crazy. 11.8%. >> 11.8% is the unemployment rate in the eurozone. one of the reasons we look at this, they have been in the mist of austerity, cutting budgets, tightening the belt. something we're talking about in this country as we face the debt ceiling debacle, and in europe, that's causing a rise in unemployment. something economists are watching closely. earnings season will kick off here in the next couple of days. alcoa, the first big one, monsan monsanto. i'm listening to big commeecome.

speaking of the debt ceiling, bipartisan policy center says we'll hit the "x" date maybe as early as february 15th. if you don't raise the debt ceiling, the u.s. can't pay all of its bills. a chaotic situation, a real problem. if we hit it then, we'd see $9 billion coming in on revenue, cash flow. that's on the left side. and to pay our bills, we have $52 billion due on committed spending the same day. that's a $43 billion deficit. with interest on the debt, urs refunds, federal salaries, military active pay, entitlement programs on the right side, so a big imbalance that will be bag problem and cause chaos in government and politics. i want to talk quickly about a big bank foreclosure. regulators have squeezed $19 billion over the major banks over the last couple of days in foreclosure settlements. some consumer groups say it's not enough. banks looking for clarity.

some homeowners will be eligible up to $125,000 in compensation if you were wrongly launched into the foreclosure process because of the shenanigans of these terrible loans that banks rote and made moneys on for years and years. $19 billion. and i don't think it's over. i think it's almost over for the banks, but there could be more money they have to cough up in the months ahead. >> one thing we need to know about our money? >> rents are still rising and will keep rising this yore. have been for three years now. in major cities like new york and san francisco, good for the housing market. real estate firm reis says affluent renters will turn into buyers. some people turning into buyers now because they have been squeezed by higher rents for a few years. bottom line, higher rents will continue this year. >> it does force the decision for a lot of people. >> thank you, christine. 26 minutes after the hour. take a look at this startled

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relaxed and questi eed and . a new chilling account of the aurora shooter. for the first time in the history of the world, pictures of a giant squid alive in its natural habitat. >> way, way, way below the sea. a camera captures first moments of a bizarre escalator malfunction. welcome back to "early start" so

happy are you with us, i'm john berman. 30 minutes past the hour on january 8th. new details this morning about the immediate aftermath of the aurora theater shooting massacre. a police officer testifying that the alleged shooter seemed very detached from it all. details coming out at a preliminary hearing for james holmes. others described chaos and confusion as they tried to help the victims. one officer thought holmes was wearing a helmet and a gas mask was a fellow cop. >> and more witnesses will take the stand today. the hearing will ultimately determine whether there is probable cause for a trial. criminal defense attorney joey jackson joins us to talk about the latest developments. and yesterday's testimony focused on the aftermath of the shooting, and the police account of what they saw, what they witnessed. officers described holmes as very calm and moving with purpose they say. another says said it was like there weren't normal emotional

responses. another said he seemed very detached from what was happening around him. both want to establish holmes' state of mind. what do you think we'll get from the accounts? >> sure. what happened, zoraida you want first responders to testify, you want to know what they observed, what happened. what was the scene like, and that description. remember what the ultimate goal is. a probable cause hearing before a judge. and as a result, the judge has to determine whether it's probable cause to continue to detain and, of course, to prosecute bringing him to trial. as we move forward, i would expect a continuation of the additional evidence they have, i think it will become even more compelling as to what his acts were, atrasities, he committed and victims there. and the entirety of that scene to establish the recollect sit probable cause that the judge is satisfied that this can go to trial. >> a lot of people watching holmes, including the families of the victims from the horrible shooting. a lot of people said he seemed detached and quiet.

didn't speak at all during this hearing. there was a father of a victim who had this to same let's listen. i'm sorry. he said he smiled occasionally and seemed to laugh and then would catch himself and try to act sort of calm and reserved again. what is the judge looking at? >> john, i saw the clip you were talking about from the father, and he seems to be saying, that father, he's feigning mental illness and he's gaming the system. that's something certainly in these cases you want to look out for. but what will happen, john. he will be evaluated, should they go that way, and i think they will go that way, seeking to have his mental illness at issue, what you will find is an evaluation of him and anything that he's done in prior history that speaks to his mental capacity will be valuated to determine whether it's legit or an act. >> i want to get your opinion on something. two mystery witnesses have been

subpoenaed to testify for the defense. what do you make of that? what do you think is happening there? >> it's hard to tell, but this is about his mental state. how do you act? whenever are you talking about a crime, did you act with a recollect sit intention. from the defense perspective, what you want to show, he was insane, not lucid. i would have to believe that these mystery witnesses have to do with mental health issues. >> the cris we talked about expressed concerned about his behavior while he was enrolled in school, she could we one of the mystery witnesses. >> and remember, the letter that holmes mailed to that psychiatric professional. what is contained, what does it show about his state of mind? that is yet to be seen, but i think we'll find it out. >> whether or not do you think we'll go to trial? this community will have to relive so much. >> it's portable, and that's

what the instances do. reliving the tragedy has to be horrible for families. you will be well advised on the compelling nature of the evidence, particularly if he's trying to save his life. the defense attorney's goal in this case. >> joey jackson, thank you very much. interesting case. a lot of people watching right now. the controversial subject of violence in the movies was talked about on the premiere of "gangster squat." in the wake of the massacres in aurora and newtown, the accidto were asked if hollywood has a responsibility to tone down the violence. >> i think it's a shame people use hollywood as a scapegoat, can when there are so many different factors that evolved in the last 20 years that could contribute and could be overlooked. >> we're story tellers, we just do stories based on real-life

events and this is one of them. >> the actors said they were horrified by the mass shootings, but pointed out violence on the screen is part of a history of film making and story telling. superintendent of a school district near seattle is facing heavy criticism of her proposal to disarm all officers throughout the district, thereby making every school a gun-free zone. even teachers union are against this. despite the pressure, the superintendent is not backing down. the local board will ultimately vote on the proposal. taking a look at top cn then trends. the medical examiner has ruled the death of a chicago lottery winner was a homicide. he had a lethal amount of cyanide in him. he won $1 million in june but never had a chance to spend the money. he died on july 20th, one day after receiving a check for his winnings. >> they ruled this a death of natural causes initially.

and a family member said look a little more closely. down the up staircase? check out when a jammed case lator in a new jersey train system changed directions. five people suffered minor injuries in the chaos. >> a lot of people very, very confus confused. luck of the irish ran out fast. alabama rolled to victory over notre dame. the crimson tide scored 21 points the first three times they touched the ball. can't do better than that. they beat the irish 42-14. alabama's second straight college title, third in four years, that "d" is for dynasty. >> good for them. british authorities out with a second investigation into the death of amy winehouse. what coroners found this time. the next best thing to the

lochness monster. a sea beast recorded in its natural habitat for the first time ever. with unitedhealthcare, i get personalized information and rewards for addressing my health risks. but she's still going to give me a heart attack. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

40 minutes past the hour. ra the rain just won't quit in texas. alexandra steele with more. >> hi, guys. the rain has started. lightning in abundance, take a look at this. and potential for severe weather today. today, moment, in central and east texas. a barrage of rain, winds and the potential for severe weather. but this area of low pressure, the storm system will move, and impact millions around the country. i will show you where. as we head through thursday, here is a look where the heaviest rain will be and how much we're expecting. the legend, between 4 and 6 inches, even 6 plus inches. east texas from wednesday to thursday, it gets into louisiana and it becomes a really lot of rain for them. again today, heave rain, winds, and the potential for tornadoes there. and as we head toward tomorrow, the severe weather threat with the moisture from the south. the energy from the low pressure.

brings the severe weather threat wednesday here. moving in farther eastward along i-10 for new orleans. here is what will happen with this thing. area of low pressure in texas. here is the time stamp. wednesday to thursday and even friday, but it becomes a storm that's not white, but wet, even for places like chicago on thursday. temperatures on thursday in the chicago will be on the 40s and mid 50s friday and saturday. certainly not a lot of snow with this. a rainmaker for so many around the country. forecast for today. warmer temperatures, guys, than we've seen in quite some time. temperatures continue to warm another 10 degrees or so. maybe 4 to 5 days. >> thank you very much. >> sure. 42 minutes after the hour right now. a search and recovery under way in peru after a deadly helicopter crash. two american victims are among the seven who were killed in central peru. the chopper went down just after takeoff. three bodies found away from the

crash site. four remain trapped in the wreckage. one of the teens on the video mocking the girl at the center of a rape case regrets his comments. the 18-year-old's attorney said he did something dumb but did not commit a crime. >> michael was very callously talking about the sexual assaults he had been told about by others. there is no excuse or justification for the comments and jokes michael made on the video, and with some sober reflection, he is ashamed and embarrassed to hear them himself. >> two 16-year-old members of the town's powerhouse football team are charged with sexually assaulting the girl after a series of parties. this was back in august. they are expected to face trial in a juvenile court next month. new this morning, a second inquest into amy winehouses death confirms she died of

accidental alcohol poisoning. the original results showed the same result, but had to be thrown out because the coroner lacked appropriate qualification. harry reid is backing away from the comments he said about the devastation after hurricane katrina. he said he simply misspoke. reid said katrina was nothing in comparison for sandy. katrina was responsible for more than 1,800 deaths. a texas coach stepping down after admitting an affair with an athlete. the attorney for bev kearney was negotiating a salary increase and a new five-year contract. when a former athlete told school officials about the romantic relationship. the person was involved with kearney about ten years ago. they forced kearney to step down

after hearing about the relationship. derek howard says he has questions about the timing of when the former student athlete chose to come forward. we'll hear from coach kearney at 8:30 on "starting point." tech companies will show off slickest gadgets at the consumer electronics show in las vegas. the big buzz surround ultrahdtvs. what do you do with all the resolution? another big buzz creator, connected cars which let you turn your engines on using your smartphone. >> i love that. >> other cool things to talk about. traditional gallery for children's artwork is the refrigerator. a new company is changing this. turning sketches into 3-d culp sculptures. it costs about $130. it takes a drawing and creates a sculpture with a 3-d printer.

>> a little pricey, but how cool. when you get into your car, imagine a giant quid twice the size of your car. r the first time in history, we have video of the monster , coming up after the break. fact is, when it comes to your smile, if you're not whitening, you're yellowing. crest 3d white whitestrips go below the enamel surface to whiten as well as $500 professional treatments, at a fraction of the cost. guaranteed, or your money back. crest. life opens up when you do. want a whiter smile today? try 2 hour express whitestrips.

check out these amazing pictures. the things of myths and legends, giant squid captured on film for the first time ever. >> this is from the discovery channel and japanese public broadcaster nhk. this is believed to be up to 26 feet long and was found in the pacific ocean some 3,000 feet below the surface. we want to bring in richard ellis, a research associate at the museum of american history. author of "the search for the giant squid." all right, this thing is big, as in really big. we knew these giant kids existed before, but this is being seen as something special as a break through. explain to me why. >> because no one has ever seen one alive before. this is the first time anyone has ever seen these things alive.

people have been searching for them for hundreds of years, literally. not with the technology of today, but they wash ashore and people know they exist, but no one has ever seen an alive one. they are always dead when they wash ashore. >> and also in its natural habitat this is unique and so different. we have video from 2006. but it was alive, hooked sxon the surface. this is in the abyss. you traveled a long distance to see it in its natural habitat. what will we learn from this footage? >> we'll learn how this thing moves, how it swims what it does with its arms. you can't tell from one washed ashore or from the one that was hooked. by the way, the guy who hooked it is the same guy who saw it under the ocean. >> what an exciting discovery for him. >> we said huge. they are simply enormous. like four kobe bryants stacked on top of each other. >> we have a comparison so you can see exactly what this looks

like. >> four kobe bryants, a school bus. they can get bigger than that. >> they can get to be 60 feet long, a lot of school buss. >> what do we know? solitary things? live in the vast, deep sea. >> they live at great depths, we've always known that, because no one ever sees them except when they are dying at the surface. we know they are very exaggerated version of smaller squid. a lot of different kinds of squid. this one just happens to be the biggest, and because it's the first time anybody has ever seen one alive, it is an enormous break through for science and mythology. a long time, people didn't think they existed. >> talk about the importance of that. this is legends and myths is what we equate to giant squid. >> people thought there was something called a cracken, a giant octopus like creature that eight ships and grabbed people

and did horrible things. until we see one alive, we're not sure what they can do. now we know what this actual animal can do. we've seen it at work, we've seen it attacking something. it changes everything. about deep sea biology and about these large cephalopods. >> we have seen sketches from these large squids attacking ocean-going vessels. this is missing two of its arms or tentacles. >> it has eight arms and two very long tentacles. it uses it to grasp prey, the tentacles, and it uses its arms to bring it back to its mouth. it has a beak like parrots. until we saw it ali, we didn't know how this operation worked. we knew what it looked like it was dead. a big blob with long arms that

lived somewhere in the ocean and wash as shor washes ashore. i wrote a whole book in "the search for the giant squid." we didn't find one. we were looking for this animal. now my book is a little obsolete, an exciting, exciting discovery. >> a giant squid, and we can see video of it. >> hooray. >> we are delighted you came to is share your experience. thank you. plenty of people who planned to go to the inaugural ball instead have to watch from home. find out why, coming up. and later on "starting point," soledad talking to crimson tide players about their big victory in the bcs championship. and host of mike & mike in the morning. from capital one, olaf gets great rewards for his small business! pizza! [ garth ] olaf's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! helium delivery. put it on my spark card! [ pop! ]

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time for early reads. local news making national headline. a report in the san francisco chronicle said an 8.5 billion settlement reached with ten major banks. won't bring much relief to millions of homeowners, victimized by mishandled loan foreclosures. some funds will go directly to people who lost homes. the report points out that the banks cost people trillions of dollars. the negotiate d settlement will leave people less than hope. and the drubbing by alabama over notre dame. the "daily news" says the irish woke up because they played a team with superior coaching, superior talent and superior mental and physical toughness. the irish played a soft regular season schedule. alabama players and fans can use the "d" word for dynasty after

winning their third national championship in four years. >> except the coach. he says don't call it a dynasty. forget about landing tickets for the inaugural ball. on sunday morning, ticket master sent out an e-mail informing everyone they would receive another e-mail on monday with a special link to purchase tickets to an official inaugural ball with president obama and the first lady attending, but four hours later, the tickets went on sale and they sold out in a hurry. everyone waiting for the monday morning e-mail got shutout. ticket master acknowledged, yes, indeed, we made a mistake. >> you can watch it from the comfort of your own home, right here on cnn. for an extended look, head to the blog, cnn, and on facebook, search for early start cnn. the inauguration coming up in a little over a