we are all done at this "early start." thanks for being with us, i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john berman. "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. morning, welcome everybody. our starting point this morning the papal conclave beginning today. 115 cardinals start the secret process to elect a new pope as the world waits for white smoke from within. we're live in rome, and at the vatican this morning. then a ban on large sugary drinks goes flat. now new york city's mayor set to fight a court ruling that stops his controversial law. we have some outrageous video to show you. a toddler apparently putting his mouth to a bong. but that is only the beginning. we have the shocking details surrounding this story coming up. and up and up and up. the dow set yet another record. does this mean it's time to sell? it's tuesday, march 12th. and "starting point" begins right now.

welcome, everybody. our starting point this morning is the conclave day one. 115 cardinals from around the world just finished celebrating a mass for the election of a new pope. a memorable event when cardinal angelo sodano, the dean of the college of cardinals, paid tribute to the former pope. here's what he said. >> translator: such an interior attitude is ours today as we wish to offer ourselves to christ, to the father who is in heaven, to thank him for the loving assistance that he always reserves for the holy church. and in particular, for the brilliant pontificate that he granted to us through the life and the work of the 265th successors of peter, the beloved and venerable pontiff benedict xvi, to whom we renew in this moment all of our gratitude. >> just under four hours the cardinals will be taken from

their residence at casa santa maria and escorted to the sistine chapel. then they'll begin their processional and one hour later they'll be locked in to begin voting. around 2:00 p.m. eastern all eyes will be on the top chimney atop the sistine chapel for signs of smoke signaling the cardinals have voted. they'll recite the invest per prayers and return to santa maria -- santa marta for dinner. let's get you to rome. chris cuomo is covering this historic event for us. good morning. >> hey, soledad. how are you? the italian paper said it in one line, it is time to choose. the mass just ended. the last for these cardinals before they enter the conclave. there are 150 cardinals. not just the 150 that will vote. they were joined by some 6500 normal people who they call the

laity in the catholic church. they waited in long lines to get in this morning, because of what a big moment it is. and the message of inspiration about what a pope is supposed to be. about the sacrifice and the love for people that they're offering the next pope will have. this is an interesting moment for us all to observe because the conclave is one of the best-known secret proceedings. it dates back to the 1200s. changed a little bit over time. but it is still a process where we really don't know what's going on. it makes it so hard to cover as reporters, because the only men who can tell you what's happening ain't talking. under threat of excommunication they take a vow of secrecy. so it is a very big deal. that said a vatican insider told me not too long ago that this time it's different. first, pope benedict xvi resigned. first time that's been done in like 600 years. so that set the stage for this conclave. but it's also different for a very meaningful set of ideas. they are calling this a

potential watershed moment for the catholic church. big issues about financial responsibility, about the morality coming out of the sex abuse scandal. so this conclave is very heavy with expectation. they've had ten general congregations where the cardinals have been able to talk about everything. now, it is time to vote. now, to set the scene for you here, st. peter's basilica behind us, it's been raining throughout the morning. they call them here temperale. the big storms that dump on us. no one knows that better than miguel marquez. he's been by the vatican dealing with the weather and setting the stage for us. you look much better now, my friend. >> it's -- the skies are treating us well. but you've just jinxed us, of course. it's about to rain here any second. we've suffered rain, hail, everything today. the mass is just getting out behind me. you are absolutely right. everybody we talked to across the board, whether in the u.s. or here in rome, says this this

pope, this decision they were making, is going to be enormously important, and this pope, will be vetted like never before. in the politics of becoming pope, there's never been a race quite like this. the church's problems, enormous. the need for a powerful, unifying pope, never greater. >> we have to finish this. we have to get on with this. if we don't do this it's over, blow the candles out. >> reporter: the new pope will have to reinvigorate the church and bring its enormous bureaucracy, the curiae into the modern world. we're talking nuts and bolts, finances, being a good ceo. >> the church does not run on hail marys. we've got to make it work in terms of personnel and money and being effective. and i think the question is, how effective is the curiae in an internet world. >> reporter: from the time a cardinal becomes a cardinal, the race for pope is on. they are judged on their intellectual, religious and spiritual heft. even their ability to communicate in italian.

politicking done, support secured in, formal settings, and often in out of the way and unlikely venues. this restaurant is just around the corner from the vatican. cardinals come here in the ones and twos. they have lunch, dinner, sometimes a little wine. and some places like this that a lot of the heavy lifting is done. benadina has served meal to powerful vatican insiders for 21 years. dozens of cardinals have been here the last couple of weeks, she says. when you're at the table, you decide things. deciding important for many reasons, as one cardinal jokingly told her during his last meal here, the conclave is under way, he eats bread and water until a new pope is named. many of those cardinals joking

with her that being in the conclave once it starts is a little like being in prison. their first vote, this afternoon, will be about 2:00, we expect. 2:00 eastern time. that's when we expect to see smoke rising from the chimney. just behind that roof there is the sistine chapel. we don't expect it to be white. if this rain keeps up, we're not sure we're going to see smoke at all. chris? >> that's right. it's very tough to see that smoke. conclave starting is a very harsh thing. but some creature comforts have been built in for these 115 cardinals. it will be a very big decision. soledad, back in new york. >> want to get right to monsignor richard hilgartner the head of the u.s. conference of catholic bishops. also cnn contributor father edward beck is in rome with us. monsignor, we'll start with you. 2:00 p.m. is kind of the time that everybody is looking at. one of the things i find interesting is whether you're catholic or not catholic all eyes are on the chimney at a

time when they think there might be some interesting information coming out. what do you think the chances are, realistically, that today is a day at 2:00 they'll decide on the pope. >> i think today will be more of a learning experience for all the cardinals. for them to really see what all the others are thinking about. and clearly that's going to affect how they vote. and none of them -- some of them are probably still wondering themselves and will allow the ritual to kind of take them through and lead them up to that moment. it's a very prayerful moment. their ballots are cast in silence, and those who have been through it before have spoken about the fact that it is an intensely prayerful moment. because they find it a little bit, not just awe-inspiring, but probably a little just -- there's a lot of weight on that. the gospel reading this morning at mass, it was not you who chose me but i who chose you and part of their oath that they'll take today, not just the oath of secrecy, but really an oath of fidelity that implies that if they are the one chosen that they would accept it. >> hmm. >> and i would venture to guess that many of them probably would

rather not have to make that decision. >> really? we have been talking about it in sometimes political terms, as if everybody wants to be pope and you enter the sistine chapel with the goal of hoping to emerge as pope. but you seem to be framing it, as might be not the choice of most cardinals. >> i would imagine not. when we are called to priesthood, it's not a decision that we make, and we make our promise to our bishop to be sent where the bishop wants to send us, to whatever parish or whatever ministry we're sent to. and without any real ambition. so this is a moment that really runs counter cultural to the whole life of a priest. >> let me bring in father beck if i may. we hear the monsignor talk about it as sort of a learning opportunity today. how does it exactly that work? we'll see the fumata which is what they've been calling -- what we refer to as the smoke come out. and then what happens from there that informs the learning experience for the next day, and days ahead?

>> well, again, probably as monsignor said we won't have an election today. the first vote is usually a cast everything vote. some vote for their friends. they just want to get a feel of where the others are. continuing to pray for the guidance of the holy spirit. and then when there is the election, they will break, go back and have a dinner. some people think that because it's a conclave they never talk. of course they go back to saint marta's. they have a dinner. some private meetings. what did you think about the vote today? what did you think about that candidate? so some of that does occur. keep in mind just because people talk about a candidate does not mean that the holy spirit is not moving in that room and with those men. when former pope benedict was asked about, does the holy spirit pick the pope? he said, i wouldn't say that. i would say that the holy spirit moves in us in the room and hopefully brings us to the best person for this position. >> father beck and monsignor, thank you, guys. appreciate it.

always enjoy being walked through sort of the process as we drill down into exactly what happens in the days, really, hours, and then days and maybe even weeks ahead. appreciate it. coming up at the bottom of the hour we'll take a virtual look inside the sistine chapel. and then we're going to be talking with cardinal edward egan the former archbishop of new york. he is not in rome and i wonder if he wishes very much that he were there. so we'll -- and he's not obviously inside the conclave because he's going to be talking to us. but it will be interesting to see if he -- how he feels about that, not being part of those discussions. first, though, john's going to look at some of the other stories. new details this morning on the deadly helicopter crash in southern avz. we now know that all five people who died are americans. according to a government spokesman the black hawk chopper lost control and went down near kandahar city. bad weather appears to be the cause. coalition forces say there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash. in a new op-ed this morning former vice presidential candidate paul ryan claims he

will cut $4.6 trillion from the federal debt while balancing the budget in the next ten years. "the wall street journal," ryan calls for increased oil drilling, the repeal of president obama's health care reforms, and overhaul of medicare and the welfare system and rewriting the tax code so just two tax brackets exist at 10% and 25%. this as president obama begins a three-day capitol hill charm offensive. the president meets with senate democrats today. house republicans tomorrow. and senate republican and house democrats on thursday. he is trying to get some kind of a budget deal done. elsewhere, the suspect in the aurora, colorado, movie theater massacre james holmes expected to enter a plea later this morning. yesterday a judge ruled that holmes could be given medically appropriate drugs during psychiatric interviews, and possibly face a polygraph test, if he chooses to plead not guilty by reason of insanity. holmes must also waive all medical confidentiality and turn over the names of any doctors or

psychologists who treated him. holmes is accused of killing 12 people at that theater last summer. take a look at this shocking video. washington state police say this cell phone video shows a mother letting her 22-year-old -- -- >> 2 month. >> sorry, 22-month-old son, that's what makes it so startling, take a hit off her marijuana bong. police say they received this video anonymously. the mother 24-year-old rochelle bratton, was arrested. police also reportedly found 40 marijuana plants in the home. the 22-month-old boy is in the custody of protective services. >> god. disturbing. >> that's just awful. what are people thinking? >> you know, if she had a bong in her hand she may not have been thinking, obviously. >> really. ahead this morning a new fight is brewing after a judge overturned new york city's ban on those large drinks. the health commissioner is going to sit down with us next. and then a police officer with just moments to spare when a car catches fire.

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why turbo? trust us. it's just better to be in front. the sonata turbo. from hyundai. welcome back, everybody. new york city mayor michael bloomberg is vowing this morning to fight a repeal of the city's ban of sugary drinks over 16 ounces. it was supposed to go into effect today but a state judge said it was, quote, arbitrary and capricious. >> we strongly believe that in the end, the courts will recognize the board of health's authority to regulate the sale of beverages that have virtually no nutritional value, and which, consumed in large quantities, are leading to disease and death for thousands of people every year. >> dr. thomas farley is the health commissioner for the city of new york. it's nice to have you with us. >> good morning. >> walk through with me the judge's ruling. you said you were pretty surprised. you thought you kind of had this

victory in hand. >> basically the judge said that the board of health doesn't have the authority to put in place this regulation. our lawyers think he's wrong on the law. more importantly, he's wrong on health. >> he also says this, it applies to some but not all food establishments in the city. it excludes other beverages that have significantly higher concentrations of sugar, sweeteners and/or calories on suspect grounds and the loopholes inherent in the law include, but not limited to, no limitations on refills, defeat and/or serve to gut the purpose of the law. he also said, and i guess that's an extension of it's capricious. there are so many loopholes in this, that this law wouldn't even work was basically part of the gist of his argument. >> obviously we disagree. the board of health certified a rule for vetting trans fats in restaurants. the board of health regulates what it can. and what it can here is very appropriate. again our lawyers think we're going to win on appeal. but more important, this is really crucial for health. we have a major problem with obesity in new york city.

>> that's two different arguments. let's talk about the appeal first. what makes you think you can win on appeal? or would you extend the ban. even the judge himself felt that the ban because it was limited was problematic in your -- in the ruling anyway, so would extending the ban work and is that part of the appeal? >> first of all it's not a ban. it's just a cap on container size. the appeal is going to say that 9 board of health does have the authority to do this. and we think the court of appeals will recognize it does. the board of health banned lead in paint in 1959. if we didn't have authority to do that we'd still have lead in paint. >> part of the argument of the judge was, and let's continue with the lead in paint, metaphor if you would like to, there's not a store where you can buy lead in paint next to a store where you can't buy lead in paint. what this judge is saying a 7-eleven would be exempt and could sell whatever they want next to a korean grocery store, which we have a zillion here in new york city, where they would actually be limited under the health department laws. so that's what he's sort of pointing to the capriciousness.

would you extend the limitation so that something like the 7-eleven would also not be able to sell the larger sugary drinks? >> the board of health doesn't regulate convenience stores or grocery stores. that's one of the realities the board of health had to deal with when it came up with this rule. just because the rule doesn't cover everything doesn't mean it shouldn't cover the most important thing that it can regulate and that's something that's important from a health perspective. >> we're going to be talking to the restaurant association later and they said, listen, one of their big problems, and again it's lobbying, but one of their big problems is they don't feel like they're partners in this. they feel like the city is trying to tell them what to do and ultimately the better way to reach healthier options for people in the city is not to dictate something where, by the way, you could go and just pick up five different sodas and get that large number of sodas if you wanted to. >> well the restaurant association doesn't like any of the regulations we put forth. we don't like the fact we inspect to make sure their refrigerators are the right temperature. but we do that to protect the health of the customers and new

yorkers overall support that. >> interesting. one of the things that the mayor said to david letterman was this. listen. >> i think that it is incumbent on government to tell people what they're doing to themselves and then let people make their own decisions. so our job is to educate people. >> so there are people who would say the ban is not that. the limit is not educating people. the limit is literally not allowing them to purchase something. it's kind of the opposite of what the mayor was telling him. >> i disagree. right now if you want 32 ounces of soda you can buy 32 ounces of soda. under this rule in the future, if you want 32 ounces of soda you can get it in two cups. that is a little reminder that maybe this is beyond what you should be eating but you can certainly consume that and buy it. and the restaurants can sell that. >> what happens? what's the plan in terms of like a time line for the appeal? >> the city will be filing an appeal. i don't exactly know the timing but sometime in the next few months, a board of appeals judges, five judges, will rule on this.

and again, our lawyers have looked at this very closely before we even put the rule in place and we're confident we ask that the board of health has the authority to do this. >> we'll see. it will be interesting. i've been a long supporter of it. i actually think it's a good idea. but i do think the judge has interesting points. we'll talk to the restaurant association a little bit later this morning. as you know they completely disagree with you. will be interesting to hear what they have to say. thanks for talking with us. also ahead, going to be talking a little bit more with andrew moesel, as i mentioned, he is the spokesman for the new york restaurant association. also your credit score could go up soon. we'll tell you why a new scoring model could help lots of americans. from capital one,miles card bjorn earns unlimited rewards for his small business. take these bags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjorn's small business earns double miles on every purchase every day. produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles or 2% cash back

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welcome back, everyone, i'm zain asher in for christine romans. minding your business this morning, another day, another dow record. the blue chip average had a record high for a fifth straight day. right now dow futures are pulling back only about 20 points. that's not surprising considering the dow is up 10% this year. and a new credit scoring system, vantage score 3.0 could help improve people's credit scores. vantage score was created by the three credit bureaus equifax, experian and transunion and people in collection no longer have to wait seven years to have their debt removed from their records. also millions of people with no credit history will be able to use utility and rent payments to help them get a score. could actually help 30 million more people get a score who otherwise would have been ineligible. >> that's great news. obviously paying for those

utilities helps create some kind of a record. >> especially before you come to this country you don't have any credit history at all. >> -- opportunities to kind of have a record of purchases. all right, zain, appreciate it. still ahead this morning on "starting point," a live look at vatican city where 115 catholic cardinals are preparing to vote for a new pope. we'll have details this morning on the historic prospects. and a look inside the vis teen chapel where the cardinals will be voting. that's coming up next. plus a police officer pulled a man from a burning car. new yo. mr. wiggles and curling irons. for the little mishaps you feel, use neosporin to help you heal. it kills germs so you heal four days faster neosporin. also try neosporin eczema essentials.

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and rachel thomas is president of lean in, created in conjunction with facebook coo sheryl sandberg's new book. we're going to talk a lot about that this morning. first the big story coming to us of the 115 cardinals from every corner of the globe will be filing in to the sistine chapel to help select a new pope. earlier this morning they celebrated a special mass at the vatican and then later, 10:45 a.m. eastern time they'll be escorted from their residence at casa santa marta for the processional to the sistine chapel where they will take the oath of secrecy before they're literally locked in to begin voting. this afternoon all eyes will be on the copper chimney atop the sistine chapel for signs of smoke, signaling that the cardinals have voted. if the pope's not selected the cardinals will recikriecite ves prayers and return to santa marta. inside the sistine chapel, no video, no photographs, no communication with the outside world. we can give you a virtual taste of what it will be look for those who are allowed inside

those hallowed halls. here's tom foreman. >> normally the sistine chapel is one of the most visited places in all of europe. thousands of tourists pouring through here every day to see the chapel itself from the 1400s, and most of all to see the magnificent fresco painted overhead by michelangelo in the 1500s, depicting the creation of man. but now, this has been transformed into one of the most secretive and private places in all of italy, because this is where the cardinals will select a new leader for the 1.2 billion catholics in the world. let's look at where they are. the biggest congregation of catholics in south america, 501 million are there, if you include the central americas as part of that. 186 million in africa. 89 million in north america. and 285 million in europe, and so on. but the decision on who's going to lead them is actually done by a very small number of people, 115 of the world's cardinals are considered electors to this process. they will vote probably once the

first day, then twice in the morning, twice in the afternoon thereafter, until they can select a new pope. and as you might guess, if you look around this room, like everything else, it is steeped in great tradition. as the cardinals come in, they will take a vow of secrecy. there will be no cell phones, no pagers, no newspapers, no messages to the outside of any sort because it's very important that they keep their considerations here private. then, when it comes time for a vote, each of the cardinals will get a piece of paper which he will write on and say, in effect, this is my vote for the pope. he will fold this piece of paper twice, he will hold it overhead and then walk right down the center aisle, alone, where he will kneel at the altar for a moment. then he will drop his paper into a receptacle upon the altar. once they're all there, they will be counted by a special group of cardinals who will determine whether or not there were any double votes or anything like that. that the number of votes are the same as the number of people in the room, and the names will be read out.

as they are read out each ballot will be threaded through a needle and thread so they cannot be counted more than once. in the end if you have 77 votes or more, that's the new pontiff. if not, twice a day all those papers will be taken to the back, to the two stoves you see back there. one on the right, one on the left. they will be put into the stove on the right. there will be other material burning on the left, and it will be set ablaze. if there is no pope, they will add red straw and some chemicals to make sure the smoke comes out black so everyone knows there's no decision. otherwise they will let it burn clean and white smoke will issue through the top of the sistine chapel and that will tell the world there is, indeed, a new pope. >> and we will all be watching for that. another developing story that we're following for you this morning. tensions at a breaking point right now between north and south korea. south korea warning that it is ready, with u.s. help, to respond to any provocations res absolutely and destructively. this was said after the north said they were scrapping an armistice credited for keeping an uneasy 60-year cease-fire

between the two sides. the highly volatile demilitarized zone for us this morning. >> as north korea continues to threaten war on the korean peninsula, the military here in south korea remain on high alert. we are at the border near the dmz. this is as close as we can get to north korea. the rail line behind me used to go all the way to pyongyang. well now it just crosses the river into the demilitarized zone. even this location is now considered highly sensitive. the south korean military have asked us not to reveal their posts, identify their troops or show their defense positions. this comes in the wake of north korea scrapping the armistice agreement that ended the korean war back in 1963. it also set up an emergency hotline between the two countries which means that if there is a military provocation, there is no official form of communication. north korean leader kim jong-un

has recently been on the border, addressing the troops. and he said, quote, to throw all enemies into the cauldron, break their weight and crack their windpipe on his orders. he also threatened to launch an attack on the headquarters of south korean marines on an island very close to the island which was shelled back in 2010. now, while he rallies his troops, the united states and south korea are holding their own sets of military drills on the korean peninsula and seoul has said if there's any military provocation from the north it will respond in a resolute and destructive manner. anna coren cnn on the north korean border. john berman has a look at some of the other stories making news. new information about that tragic suv crash in ohio that killed six of the eight teenagers on board. police say the owner of the honda passport had reported it

stolen. eight people were packed into the vehicle, which is designed to really seat just five. cnn's brian todd spoke to some family members. he's with us this morning. good morning, brian. >> reporter: good morning, john. we have actually tried to contact the man listed as the owner of that vehicle. we've not been able to reach him. this is all still very fresh for survivors and victims' relatives who got very emotional when they spoke to us. kyle can barely bring himself to describe it, the moments at the hospital when he had to identify the body of his little brother. >> it took me an hour. by the time i found him, they -- they had me -- they had to have me identify him. i went back there and all i seen was blood everywhere. >> reporter: his brother kirkland, who would have turned 16 this month, was one of six teenagers killed when the honda suv they were riding in lost control, flipped over, and careened into a pond in warren, ohio. police have not given a specific cause, and say test results for

possible drug or alcohol use may not be back for weeks. as for the vehicle's speed -- >> we do believe the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed. speed limit was 35 miles per hour. however, at this time, we're not prepared to release an actual speed of the vehicle. >> reporter: this is the path the vehicle took. there are the skid marks. police say the car hit the guard rail right here. flipped over, and these markings, these orange markings on the branches, police say that is the path they've marked off the path that the vehicle took as it flew into the water. 18-year-old brian henry was one of two survivors. he tells a harrowing story. >> i hit my head off the dashboard. somehow i flew to the back. i was in there like being in a like little space under water like but i wanted to give up, but i couldn't. >> reporter: henry and another young man punched through the back window, swam out, then ran about a quarter of a mile to call 911. kirkland's mother calls brian henry a hero but she still can't

absorb what happened to her son. >> he can't go home. he can't come through the door, mom, what's for dinner? what did you cook, mom? i'm not going to hear none of it anymore. >> reporter: police say there was some seat belt usage in the car but they're not giving any specifics beyond that. and as we said before, this car made to hold only five occupants, there were eight people at the time of the crash. john? >> brian todd, thank you. tragic story but still a lot of questions that need to be answered. voters in the tiny town of byron, maine, knocking down a proposal that would have required every household to own a firearm and ammunition. the vote was largely symbolic. most people in the town of 140 already possess at least one firearm. the person who proposed the ordinance said it was intended as a statement in support of the second amendment. we saw a case like that in georgia, as well. a blunt assessment by former first lady laura bush about some of the republican candidates who ran for office. during an interview on cnn's erin burnett out front mrs. bush was asked about the emphasis some of them placed on social issues and how that may have

influenced how some women voted. >> every candidate was different. you know, each one of them. there were obvious examples of candidates that were -- that i think frightened some women. but they were the exception, rather than the norm in the party. >> mrs. bush also said the republican party does have room for people of all different types of viewpoints on social issues. take a look at this amazing scene. a brave police officer pulls an unconscious man from a burning car. this is all captured by the police dash cam footage. this is in urbandale, iowa. police say the driver was doing doughnuts in a church parking lot but lost control and crashed. the driver was taken to the hospital. he also faces charges of reckless driving. he is lucky to be alive. >> you know whenever i see those i always think how amazing it is that firefighters and police officers go in and save people. here's a guy who really self-inflicted damage. doing doughnuts, slams in, could have easily died in a fire in that car. some officer put himself at risk

to go in and save his life, someone who was not doing anything particularly intelligent right beforehand. that's my editorial for the morning. so there are threats against michael vick. we'll tell you why the quarterback had to cancel his book tour coming up next in the bleacher report. and facebook coo sheryl sandberg says she's trying to start a social movement with her new book called "lean in." critics, some of them, saying it's a marketing campaign instead. we'll explore that coming up. [ boy ] i used to hate eating healthy stuff. but badger likes it, so i do too. i used to have bad dreams, but not anymore. [ barks ] i used to be scared of the basement. but when badger's with me, it's not so bad. [ barking ] [ announcer ] we know how important your dog is to your whole family. so help keep him strong and healthy with purina dog chow. because you're not just a family. you're a dog family.

march madness is in full effect. last night gonzaga put an exprogramation point on their argument that they should be the top seed for the ncaa tournament. jared greenberg has more in today's bleacher report. >> hey, soledad. just five days until selection sunday, the top team in the country has a reservation to the dance. gonzaga will make its 15th consecutive trip to the tournament after monday night they took down rival st. mary's in the west coast conference championship game. they'll be looking to lock up that top seed which could be announced this sunday during selection sunday. gonzaga trying to win its first ever national championship. four other teams punched their tickets to the big dance last

night. western kentucky, davidson, james madison and iona. a sibling rivalry or a big-time? anquan boldin is reportedly being traded to baltimore to his brother's team jim in san francisco. boldin helped the ravens beat the 49ers in the super bowl. but he was unwilling to take a pay cut. the michael vick book tour has been sacked. reports have surfaced that credible threats of violence have caused organizers to cancel the quarterback's book signings in new jersey and his former home in atlanta in 2007 vick served an 18-month prison sentence for his role in a dog fighting ring. dennis rodman is making his summer vacation plans. the former nba star says he's headed back to north korea to hang with his quote/unquote friend kim jong-un. >> i don't condone what he does. but, he's my friend. >> do you anticipate going over there again?

>> yes, i will. obviously. >> you are going over there? >> yes. i'm going to vacation with him. yes. >> not strange enough for you? here's this. tmz says rodman has his sights set on meeting the new pope. the flamboyant former nba rebounding machine told tmz he is jetting off to rome, and that his peeps are in contact with the folks at the vatican trying to arrange a sit-down with the next pontiff. unbelievable. the san antonio spurs made a real statement last night. logon to bleacherreport.com to check out a recap from the first place showdown with the thunder. and soledad, rodman saying to tmz that he wants to be anywhere that he is needed. now -- >> that does make you examine the word needed, doesn't it? >> well, we're searching the dictionary. we can't quite find the right definition yet. if i find it i'll get back to you. >> the pontiff wants to sit down with a new pontiff. how about castro. he's still alive in cuba? doesn't he want to negotiate something there? >> exactly, wow. >> i was surprised last week

when we were doing this like version 1.0. but i guess it goes on. coming up next we're going to talk about facebook sheryl sandberg saying that she's trying to inspire women to become leaders with her new book which is called "lean in." can she spark a new movement? we're going to talk to the president of lean in, the organization. that's coming up next. [ female announcer ] let our chefs take your lettuce from drab to fab with new lean cuisine salad additions. the perfect combination of grilled chicken plump edamame ripe pineapple crunchy broccoli colorful carrots

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i like that music. you're right. we're talk about facebook executive sheryl sandberg. she has become a lightning rod for saying that women have to lean in. and the new book is called "lean

in" and it launches a support group for women. we have the president of lean in. what does lean in, the organization is, versus lean in the new work? >> we're an organization about offering women the ongoing encouragement and support. we have a community. so sharing ideas, sharing inspiring stories, 62,000 people have joined so far. online education. so this is free content. 15 to 20 minutes in length. about practical skills women and men can use to be successful. >> body language, negotiating for a raise. >> thirdly, what you refer to which are lean in circles. small groups can get together monthly and offer support. it's like a book club for your career. >> some of the criticism, what they want out of the circles not negative stories, it's positive stories with a happy ending at

the end. why that? >> actually, lean in stories are both happy ending and times when we lean back as well. we are celebrating moments of leaning in and leaning back. >> that's just not true? >> that's not true. >> i read a number of criticisms. they only want happy endings, they don't want sad stories. maybe we don't have the benefit of learning from them, but other people might. >> hundreds of stories on lean in.org that are happy and celebratory, but others are women who have struggled. >> i appreciated watching the "60 minutes" piece and sheryl going through her struggle. she had to be reminded by her husband to not take the first offer at facebook. that's indicative. no matter what job you have and where you are trying to go, you have to not self-sabotage.

>> i thought it was interesting about that example, was not only listen, that money is not enough, because it was goo gobs of money. they won't respect you if you take the first offer. you have to be respected and this is your first test it negotiate. >> like her common core skills. >> why is this such a hot button issue? remember when ann marie slaughter wrote that article. and everybody went crazy this is a similar reaction. big sheryl sandberg supporters and big bashers in a way. why is that? >> i think women send to -- they don't like people telling them to do often and ann marie slaughter's piece who was great and sheryl slaughter, i have followed this avidly, and i think she's important and what she's doing is important, you can't prescribe for 50% of the population sort of one way to do things, and i think that the

media in part is responsible for making sheryl sandberg seem like a crusader, who is saying i will fix everything. she's selling a book, putting herself in the position of trying to market a product at the same time. but i think that women have to adapt to changing situations in the same way we lean in, we lean back, and, you know, careers are a long time and life is complicated and i think that there are plenty of women who feel like this doesn't speak directly to me, so it must be criticism of me. >> i'm surprised by the bashing at times. one of the things consistently, sheryl blames women for not getting ahead. no women at these higher levels. the blame the victim thing. having read the book twice, that is not what she is saying at all. >> agreed. she is encouraging us all to fight for what we should have. and no one is saying you have to go out and become a sheryl

sandberg clone. a lot of people cannot do what she did. >> there are worse things. >> you take what you can get out of it and use what's relevant to your own life. if everybody can take a been step forward, the world would be a better place. >> is it a movement? >> we consider it a community, and the goal is bringing men and women together. >> of the 62,000, how many are men? >> i don't know the number on that we've had a lot of interest from men, and not just doing it because it's altruistic. we want to do better things for women. they are doing it, because self-servingly, we will do better if we draw from the whole population. more balanced teams are more effective and more balanced households are happier. >> interesting. and anybody with a daughter would say i have a vested interest in not seeing my daughter dealing with some of the things my spouse is dealing with. the book is a great read. i've enjoyed it.

i'll chat with her tomorrow and air our interview next week. i'm looking forward after so much drama about her interviews. a short break. still ahead, about four hours until the cardinals will head right to the sistine chapel and begin the process of selecting a new pope. live to rome with the latest at the top of the hour and we'll speak with cardinal edward egan. and a college student films his unlikely survival through an avalanche. about this ski trip that obviously went horribly wrong ahead in the next hour as well.

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our starting point this morning. the process to elect a pope begins in a few hours. 115 cardinals will gather for the papal conclave. happens behind closed doors in the sistine chapel. the world will watch for white smoke or black smoke. live in rome for this historic event. a judge overturns new york city's soda ban. there are vows from the mayor they will appeal. con man paul ryan introducing his new budget plan. democrats criticizing it. is a compromise even possible? a college student survives getting caught in an avalanche and films surviving the whole thing. this jaw-dropping video and the story ahead. tuesday, march 12th. "starting point" begins right now. welcome, everybody. our team this morning, kathryn

cro rosman, a reporter. and alex mccord. little kids, next city and on "real housewives of new york." and rachel coleman with lean in. and the starting point, the 1.2 billion catholics waiting for the 115 cardinals to select their new spiritual leader. conclave day number one. cardinals celebrated a special e mass. and they paid tribute to the former pope. >> translator: such an interior attitude is ours today as we offer ourselves with christ christ to the fatter in heaven to thank him for loving assistance that he always reserves for the holy church and in particular for the brilliant pontiff can't that he granted to us through the life and work of the 266th successor of peter,

the beloved and venerable pontiff benedict xvi. >> in three hours, they will leave the residence at casta santa marta and they will begin their march to the sistine chapel. all eyes on the copper chimney, looking for signs of smoke, a signal that the cardinals have voted. and we'll cover this historic event. >> good morning. >> reporter: hi, soledad this is all about the numbers. tonight, they will have their first vote. you have the 115 cardinals who are trying to find 266th pope. magic number, of course, 77. that's what you need because the church rule that the winner, the pope, receives 2/3 majority vote plus one. so 77 is that magic number. but on another level, this is

something unquantifiable. a vatican insider says this time is different. for two reasons. pope benedict xvi resigned. that hadn't been done in 600 years. a deeper reason this is different. the church hasn't faced issues like it does now in a long time this could be a watershed moment. financial responsibility. responsibility coming out of the sex abuse scandal. major issues that they will have to put on the shoulders of the man who becomes pope at the end of this process. and that why is why many believe, soledad, this conclave could go longer than the last one did that made joseph ratzinger, then the dean of cardinals, pope benedict. >> chris cuomo for us, the perfect person to talk about that is cardinal edward egan. former archbishop of new york and knows timothy dolan quite well. >> great to be with you, soledad. thank you for the invitation. >> my pleasure. we were hearing chris cuomo talk about the length of time this

could take. and he was suggesting this conclave could be longer than the last. part of the reason no specific front-runner that everybody is pointing to. sounds very much like campaigning for office. for those of us who have never spent any time in rome or at the vatican, we see it as a campaign. do you agree with what he's saying? >> i always agree with chris. and i agree with all of the cuomos. i might mention that when i became a cardinal, chris' mother came to me, so i will certainly never contradict a cuomo. i would say this. there is not so much a front-runner or nonfront-runner, simply a question of identifying someone who fulfills the characteristics we are all looking for. >> which is what? what are the top five things that a pope should have? >> isn't soledad great. >> you can give me three if you want. >> no, i'll give you five.

first of all, soledad, the person who is chosen has to be someone who loves to pray, leads public prayer with great enthusiasm and devotion and prays privately and continually. that's number one. >> okay. >> number two, soledad, we look for a cardinal who will become the pope and is one who can repeat the message of the gospel, attractively and completely, and with great fur for. >> a good communicator. >> number three. it has to be someone who can lead the faithful in the great issues of our day, and i identify them for you. >> okay. >> justice, compassion, and peace. number four. it has to be someone who knows how to -- they like to say in rome, govern.

how to administrate. how to run a world-wide organization and that doesn't mean you do everything yourself. it means that you find others who do things for you and with you. >> got to be a good manager. >> and did you wait for the fifth? >> i'm ready. >> it has to be someone who can handle criticism. and handle it with great calm, and with total trust in the lord. if that is lacking, you are in trouble. >> are you sure you're not interested? that was very impressive. >> i am interested, but i'm not available, somehow or another the years passed and i am 80 years old and therefore not available. i also not as healthy as i used to be. i asked the doctor why. and he said 1932. and so i'm believing that is exactly the situation. maybe 1932 is the reason i'm not voting either.

>> given that list of five with the three sublists number item number three. who do you pick then personally if it were up to you, and it's not obviously who would you pick. the perfect person for this gig is? >> i would love to answer that, soledad. >> i am named for the virgin mary. >> i would never name anyone, but i would say that the choices are broader than they used to be. i have been involved believe it or not in an awful lot of conclaves. >> how many? >> i was living in rome. >> she wants numbers. >> how about four? all right. i was living in rome teaching at the north american college when paul vi was elected. and all of the candidates were living with us.

i listened to the consulate breakfast, lunch and supper throughout the day. and john paul i and ii, i was the judge of the rhoda, the supreme court of the catholic church. and for hundreds and hundreds of years, judges were asuned -- there were 14 of us, to guard the cardinals in the conclave. i wish you could have seen us. some of us were to thorring at 75 and so forth. not great guards. >> were they trying to escape or something? >> to see if others didn't come in. we each had a door. i was assigned a door for both of those conclaves. you remember this extra almness. let everyone leave. most who are to leave is the 14 judges that did the guarding. we leave along with a doctor and a few others.

so that's three. and then i was a voter and an election for ate during the election, the conclave for benedict xvi, and i just came back from rome. and i said good-bye to pope benedict, and he told me i was to come back and tell new york how grateful he was for perhaps his most successful visit anywhere, here in the center of the world. and then i attended all sorts of meetings with the cardinals and then two of the congations. the preliminary meetings, and when i said that was over, i don't have a vote, better go back home and see cnn, with soledad o'brien and get the inside story day by day. >> i feel very sorry for you if

you are coming to me for the inside story. cardinal dolan, some believe he, in fact, could be elected as pope. he said this. i've got a better chance of following a-rod at third base for the yankees than following benedict xvi as the bishop of rome. >> can i make a comment on that? >> you certainly may. >> many years ago i was chairman of the board of the pontifical college in rome. the college where they are living at now. i was looking for a new rector. i wanted father dolan from st. louis. i got on a plane, went over and saw cardinal pialage, who would make the decision. and i went in and i said i want father dolan to be the rector of the american college, and he said, you don't do things that way. and i said, in rome you do that. here are my reasons and here are 13 letters from the 13 members

of the board of trustees. we want father dolan. so we went in and have lunch, and he said you can go home and have your father dolan. i have known him that long. and we are very good friends. i like him very much. >> will he be pope? >> will he be pope? any one of 115 could be pope. >> sir, if you were a politician, we would say are you dodging that a little bit. >> i studied my politics in chicago under richard a.daly. >> john berman will take a look at others making news. other news around the world, all five people who died in the deadly helicopter crash were americans. according to a government spokesman, the helicopter went down near kandahar city. bad weather appears to be to

blame. no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash. 18 coalition deaths so far this year. house republicans released their budget plan. paul ryan, former vice presidential candidate, claims it will balance the budget in ten years and balance it by 4.5 trillion. ryan calls for increased oil drilling, repeal of obama care, overha overhall of medicare and welfare, and rewriting the tax bracket. vigils for a missing teacher from california who vanished in new orleans. terry lynn monette seen leaving a bar the morning of march 2 know. there are no suspects. and a college student swept up in an avalanche and helmet

cam video to prove it. >> i could feel it building up behind me, like more and more pressure on my back, pushing me harder into the tree and finally i heard the wood splintering and went through the tree and the tree got taken down the hill with the avalanche as well. >> 22-year-old jeremy irons completely buried. his friends had the correct gear foin him, dig him out within minutes. walked away with dislocated shoulder and bruises. and great footage. new york city's soda ban goes flat. the mayor plans to fight for it. back in just a moment. e twins. [ tylenol bottle ] we are? yeah we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. and i relieve nasal congestion. overachiever. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't. a hairline fracture to the mandible and contusions to the metacarpus. what do you see?

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welcome back. the supersized sugary drinks are intact. a judge struck down the ban of extra large sugary beverages. mayor bloomberg won't give up

the fight. he plans to appeal. mary snow has developments for us. >> reporter: it was a first of its kind effort in the country to ban soda, sugary drinks, even some types of coffee bev ranges from being served in containers larger than 16 ounces. the idea, part of mayor michael bloomberg's effort to fight obesity. beverage companies, restaurants, movie theaters went to court to fight back against a nanny state. a state supreme court judge invalidated the city's rule, saying it's arbitrary and capricious, because it applies to some but not all food establishments in the city and excludes other beef ridges that have significantly higher concentrations of sugar sweateners and calories on suspect grounds. lattes, who were at least half milk, were not on the list and supermarkets and convenience stores were also exempt. the mayor vowed to appeal.

>> if we're series about fighting obesity, we have to be honest about what causes it and have the courage to tackle it head on. >> reporter: the american beverage association considers the block a victory. the court ruling provides a sigh of relief to new yorkers and thousands of small businesses in new york city that would have been harmed by this arbitrary and unpopular ban. businesses worry about their bottom line, like this theater who says 30% of sales is from its larger size. >> this is the smallest size, 22 ounce. the theater would have to had to lose large sizes in favor of 16 ounces or less. and he was worried his small theater would lose tens of thousands in sales. >> independent theater like ours, u.s. a significant hit. >> reporter: the portion control battle continues on late night. >> i think it's incumbent on government to tell people what

they are doing to themselves and let people make their own decisions. >> that movie theater you just saw held off making any changes until the lawsuit was resolved. that business along with others will now wait a judge to make the final decision. >> right. all about the appeal right now. i want to get to andrew mossle, spokesperson for the new york restaurant association. the mayor, says he will appeal. and we spoke to the guy who runs the department of health, he seems very confident he can win on appeal. >> i would like to start out by saying we're pleasantly surprised by the decision. i don't think anyone in our industry thought we would win. the emphaticness of the judge's ruling leaves very little space to appeal. we pretty much won on all of the merits of the arguments we are making. the judge says arbitrary and

capricious and creates an uneven playing field in terms of the economic environment and the department of health doesn't have the broad authority to do something like this. >> dr. farley, works for mayor bloomberg, he believes the issue, do they have the ability to oversee this, the department of health, they do. here is what he told me earlier. >> they can ban transfats in restaurants and had complexity. the board of health did what it can, appropriate. and our lawyers think we'll win on appeal and more importantly, crucial for health. we have a major problem with obesity. >> you lost a lot of these, the whole calorie count issue, on the transfat issue. do you worry an appeal, you will be eventually 0-3. >> i would like to see a lawyer that says they wouldn't win a case, we're very confident. we have great people working on this, and we did a good job in

the original decision and we'll do a good job on appeal. >> the argument about health which dr. farley referred to at the end, has been supported by research. right? a new study out, the university of north carolina, chapel hill, comes out today, and sugar sweetened beverages are primarily responsible for higher caloric intakes that consumers consume and are associated with higher in take of healthy foods. those bigger drinks are connected to just taking in more calories, and connected to unhealthy calories. in a way, congratulations on a victory. but aren't you standing up for something that is ultimately unhealthy for children and adults too? >> our association, the restaurant industry, mayor, commissionary free on, education is really the best way to solve this problem. obesity a big problem on the

country. the restaurant association ahas taken big steps. we think government has a place, but it's to enable people to make healthy decisions on their own. >> but we don't. we put on our seat belt because there is a law to do so. and people will smoke in a restaurant until there is a law that says you have to smoke outside. sometimes we enhance a good decision or healthy decision by telling people these are the rules. >> we don't think it's good public policy to further this educational debate to tell people what they can and can't do. in this case, being portion sizes. we do it with soda today, maybe next thing you know, you can only have x amount of calories at mcdonald's. not that far of a leap to say you can only get x amount in each thing. this would set a bad precedent for the industry and really for

choice of americans. >> we'll see what happens. mayor bloomberg's head of department of health. congratulations on your victory. a surprise to everybody on both sides of the issue. we have to take a break. ahead, a look at spring break, embarrassing moment for ball girl. >> a fair ball. right over the bag and -- >> going viral this morning. we'll tell you about that. >> knocked it down. no idea that she's interfered with the play. temperature on the thermometer, be ready. for high fever, nothing works faster or lasts longer. be ready with children's motrin.

trending online this morning, spring training for the ball girls also. take a look at an embarrassing moment for a hooter's waitress ball girl. so much in that, isn't there? a spring training game in florida, fields a baseball, hands it to a fan, only that wasn't a foul ball. that was a fair ball. the ball still in play. the phillies use hooter's workers a lot in spring training games. since the original facility is only a mile away. >> that's why. three gas stations and an auto dealership nearby. they don't use them as ball people. >> they wanted them to be

baseball employees. they have to go back and train everybody on that. we're live in rome after the break, and an ohio town mourning the loss of sex teenagers. we learn more about the car crash. the superintendent will join us live to talk about that. ever.

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pontiff. a special mass this morning and jim bittermann was inside that mass with the cardinals. good morning. >> reporter: hi, soledad. good morning. i went to the mass got the book to prove it. not the kind of book you see very o. a holy mass for the election of a roman pontiff. a real souvenir this mass only comes along when there is an election of a pope. it was led by angelo saldano. thousands of people, the public were let in and the basilica was pretty much full as this mass took place this morning. and soldano thanked benedict xvi for his role as pope. and talked about evangelization and the need for charity in the church and the idea that a pope should, in fact, be ready to give up his life for the church.

kind of a -- something that would focus the mind of the cardinals present, unone of the 115 that will vote will probably exit later on this week sometime if it goes according to what with think it will go to. and as the pope. that is basically the mass this morning, one of the things that was interesting for me, not in the mass, but outside the mass, and a little chapel alongside, many of the cardinals stopped to say quiet prayers this morning, because they really appreciate the seriousness of this event. >> jim bittermann, thank you, appreciate it. we have a look at other stories making news. must be amazing to be there, whether are you catholic or not catholic. >> 800 years in the making. other news going on. this morning, tensions near a boiling point between north and south korea. the south says it's ready to respond to provocations

resolutely and destructtively. this follows the latest saber rattling by north korea, which claims it canceled the arm is a stis that ended the fighting 60 years ago. and two students accused of rape in steubenville, ohio, want the charges dismissed. the 16-year-old boy's constitutional right to a fair trial is being jeopardized. the accuser was too drunk to consent to sex. defense attorneys says she was aware and making decisions. the boy's trial is scheduled to begin tomorrow. the state of illinois has been charged with securities fraud. securities & exchange commission claimed investors were defrauded because illinois did not release information on its pension funds. only once before has the s.e.c. accused a state of securities fraud, that was new jersey in 2010. manatees are dying because

of an algae bloom known as red tide. it killed 174 manatees since january along southwest florida. scientists say manatees are eating algae that's settling on the sea grass, which is a key part of their diet. >> that's terrible. what will they do about it? >> it doesn't look to get any better any time soon. >> that's awful. new details about the tragic car accident that claimed the lives of sixteenagers near warren, ohio. the owner of the honda pilot reported it stolen. none of the teenagers are related to the owner, nor did they ask permission to use the vehicle. five boys and a young woman between the ages of 14 and 19 killed when the suv flipped over a guard rail. the mother of one of the toonage boys spoke out. >> he can't come home, can't come through the door, mom, what's for dinner, mom, what did you took, mom.

i am not going to hear none of it anymore. >> the tragedy rocked a blue collar community. 41,000 people near the pennsylvania border. we'll go to the superintendent of schools for warrentown, ohio. thank you for talking with us. how are the schools reacting? some thoughts about closing, and then it seemed it was a better idea to keep the school open. walk me through how that has gone? >> we decided -- we met as an administrative group one son and had services from an outside counseling agency come and give us direction as the school district and there was some consideration in closing the school district down for yesterday. but after much discussion, we thought it was in the best interest of our students, our families, our parents, to open up our school buildings and provide our students, our teachers, and families with

counseling services that were available. >> i know that some of the people who were seeking out help and certainly solace were some of the sib blings of the kids who died in the crash, is that right? >> that's true. i was at our high school yesterday, and my associate was at the k-8 building. very emotional day. some of the siblings of the deceased decided to come to school. we were happy to see them there, to offer condolences. once they saw teachers and friends, they began to open up and we felt that they needed that. it was good for everybody yesterday to be able to be around one another and support one another through the difficult times. >> sounds brutal. sounds horrible. warren is a small city. i have to imagine it's the type

of place that knows everybody else. and this would be a largest loss of life in a car accident in the history of the community. what has the impact been outside of the school? but on the entire community? >> you know, i've stated the last couple of days, i've worked in a couple of different school districts and warren is a wonderful community. one thing i have noticed, they come together in difficult times. unfortunately, we had a tragedy about a year ago from today that involved some of our students and families, and we rallied together as a community, supported one another, and we'll continue to do so, so a lot of local support, a lot of our pastors, and a lot of our local school districts reached out to help yesterday. i can't say enough thaws to everyone who has helped out and come together and tried to help the district in our community

move forward. >> it must be a really helpful thing. michael notar, warren city school superintendent. thank you for talking with us. >> thank you. thoughts and prayers out to those families. >> gosh, ours too. what a terrible story to report and be living in the community where you are. thank you, appreciate it. ahead this morning, we'll talk about sheryl sandberg's new book. about why more women aren't at the top of the business world and sparked a reaction, a big one and polarizing is she the right woman to talk about how women can press ahead? "starting point" back in just a moment. for the times you need to double-check the temperature on the thermometer, be ready. for high fever, nothing works faster or lasts longer. be ready with children's motrin. or lasts longer. oh, hi thehey!ill. are you in town for another meeting? yup, i brought my a-team. business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe!

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because of the position i'm in, i feel i have that responsibility to speak out on behalf of all women. we deserve equal pay, we deserve equal voice, we deserve to sit at any table we want to sit it. >> go for it, sister. facebook coo sheryl sandberg talking about her new book, "lean in." the book used to launch a nationwide movement to empower women. rachel thomas is the president. created in conjunction with the book. have you found the debate and sometimes a fierce debate about all of this has increased the number of people who are interested in lean in the movement? >> this is reallied good thing. the more we talk about women in the workplace and issues that are relevant, the better. we've been very excited about the very active dialog, and what i hope it spurs is more individual conversations between manager and employee, parents

and sons and daughters, and husbands and wives. >> take a drink of water. >> thank you. >> i want to ask you a question about your lean in moment. i know a little about your background. you worked in startups in tech, and one that ended up falling apart, and you didn't lean in, you leaned out? >> i did. as a recent grad, i ran a company that had kind of a difficult end, and i really did feel myself lean back for a point in time and i think we all do. we all have moments when we lean back, and it really took some time to get my confidence again. confidence is an issue for all women. >> wasn't the leaning back good? wasn't it valuable in that moment to lean back and not lean in? >> i think there is a time and place. there is a french phrase, leaning back to lean in. >> sounds so french. lean back to lean in. >> the fundamental issue is that women are less confident than men so we underestimate our

ability slightly. men overestimate. women have to feel 100% qualified to apply for a position. men don't. they feel partially qualified and that's not enough. so really understanding those issues and having an open dialog can make a material difference. >> a lot of book is a lot of stats and research about women in the workplace, the percentages of which they apply for jobs, just all the research. i thought was fascinating. >> one of the great things about the book, sheryl put herself out there. i can speak for myself personally, i have felt self doubt, a lack of confidence. >> because are you a human being. >> i feel like i have doubt. >> those are general inflatiiza. >> as human beings, we can all feel lack of confidence. just women generally underestimate our abilities where men generally overestimate abilities. >> a clip of what sheryl was

saying to katy talking about children. a lot of the conversation is really rooted in the fact that women have kids and that is sort of where we differ with men and kind of how we think about our jobs. listen. >> we don't talk to our bosses and our employees about you might want to have a child one day. i'm here to help you. i think we can change that. >> you think we can change that? the advice i have given young women, never, ever, ever, mention i am going to mention the i'm going to have a child phrase, because your bosses will not appreciate that. >> imagine a future state where this is a part of the dialog. i know right now it sounds don'ting to go from somewhere we don't talk about to make it an open subject. we are losing women when they start to have families and we are losing women and mott making it up to leadership positions. >> i think there is often an assumption in workplaces that a woman of a certain age, you know, might potentially have a

child and i don't -- i don't know. i felt it was irrelevant to me personally. i never felt myself held back and i'm a mother and never -- i wasn't like riding around saying i can't wait to be a mother. but i never hid it. you do your job, do it well, work hard. >> i had a lot of conversations where people feel like if you are interesting in being a mother, you are saying i don't have a commitment to being -- which i had my wins, which were my third and fourth children, the head of the company said to me, you know, how are you going to feel about coming back? i have four kids, i have to work. are you kidding me? the only employee who has to come in in six weeks when maternity leave is done. there was this assumption, you may not have to think about coming in. that person responsible for your career is not -- i can tell, not betting on you, if they are thinking -- >> the executive to have, they are not going to be heralding the best talent.

>> i don't think it's unusual. go ahead. >> if we don't take baby steps, or nothing will change. if we don't talk about it, we will never get anywhere. i think what she's doing is great. we can all take what resonates for us and it's individual. we'll not all be sheryl, but let's all take a step forward. >> there is a moment to make that decision in your life. if you have a child and you want to decide to stay home or stay in the workforce, but what sheryl has seen a lot and all of us have seen is very young women starting to worry about that, starting to internalize a decision they don't need to make yet, and if they kept their foot on the gas and advanced, sitting and looking at a different decision the day they make it. a senior manager, director, moved ahead with their peers and making a decision as opposed to leaning back and having lost opportunities and just not looking at interesting or

dynamic a role on decision day. a big part of the message. >> interesting. i sit down with sheryl sandberg to talk about this. she has put herself in the maelstrom of people who think she say villain. some say she is blaming women for their role in this, which is not what the book says. other people heralding what she is doing, creating this movement. i think as an individual, right, a crazy place to be in the middle of a swirl of a debate. front and center, interesting to chat about that. starting next week on monday on "starting point." up next, if you like curly fries, you must be smart. if you like science, you might be dissatisfied with life what your facebook likes say about you. not making up, john berman. [ male announcer ] if she keeps serving up sneezes...

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choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal. welcome back to "starting point." i'm zane afternosher in for chr romans. dow futures down less than 30 points. history shows in the less than two months, stocks tend to drop a little or stay flat. be careful you what like on facebook. it could reveal a lot about you. researcher tez university of dam

binge looked at what thousands liked online it can predict if you are white, african-american, gay, straight, democrat, republican, if you smoke or drink alcoho if you like cover girl, are you probably a woman. but the study also says you are more likely to be intelligent if you like colbert report mozart and curly fries. if you like the hunger games, probably single. >> like the hunger games and curly fries and ipods. >> you are very smart. >> smart but dissatisfied and single yet married with four children. hmm. really interesting. love to know the al go rhythm behind that. >> great for advertisers in terms of revenues. this next story, about a woman who is 89 years old and blind, but her lack of vision is not stopping her from traveling the world. her name arlene gordon, featured in "on looking."

eleven walks with expert eyes. here is dr. sanjay gupta with this week's human factor. >> this is what the world looks like through arlene gordon's eyes. 100% darkness, 100% of the time. >> it started in my 30s, 40s. the vision became so bad, decided to gamble. i said, you know, it's worse this way. i'm neither here nor there. >> she scheduled herself for an operation that could potentially make her vision worse. >> for six weeks, i had the best vision i ever had in my life. it was fantastic. i was -- i was like a baby walking around looking at everything. >> but as she had been warned, a few weeks later, her remaining vision vanished, rendering her completely blind. but soon she learned to navigate

her new world. >> as you tap are you deliberately clearing the path in front of you. >> streets of new york city were never enough and gordon refused to let her blindness stand in the way of her passion for traveling. cuba, south africa, countless cities in europe. collecting souvenirs at every stop along the way. >> so many things you can experience other than visually. as a matter of fact, one friend said to me, i never saw as much as i did when i traveled with you. >> dr. sanjay gupta, cnn. >> so interesting. "end point" is up next. we're back in a moment. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! ♪ wow.

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