backstory how for centuries, the catholic church has chosen its leaders. it's a story, full of surprising facts. the conclave it's a solemn process dating to the middle ages and born out of frustration after cardinals took three years to select a pope. the locals got so fed up, they tore the roof off the building where they were meeting and decided to lock them in to speed a decision. eventually, pope gregory x was chosen. he wanted to avoid a repeat of his own experience. thus, the conclave, with key, became a tradition. cardinals in the future would get only one meal a day if they took more than three days to decide, and only bread, water and wine if it went beyond eight. the food restrictions are gone but pope gregory would be proud. they have chosen a pope within three days. if history is a guide, age,

experience and geography offer some clues about a potential pontiff. cardinal joseph ratzinger was 78 when he was chosen in 2005. but he wasn't the oldest pope. in the 12th and 13th centuries, two donned their robes at the age of 85. the youngest, pope john xii was a youthful 18 when he assumed the papacy. he had help of his father who fixed the election of his only son before his death. only one man was not a cardinal first. he was named pope urban vi back in 1378. the italians have clearly had the home field advantage, dominating it through the centuries. the conclave of 1978, produced the closest thing to a surprise we had in decades, in john paul ii, the first nonitalian in 500 years. more often than not, the outcome

is predictable. without a clear front-runner going in this time, this conclave could be a cliff-hanger. that it for us from rome. "early start" begins now. pope watch at the sistine chapel. a live picture right here, the world waiting for the signal with cardinals voting right now on a new pope. a dramatic finish to an intense manhunt. police storm a motel room to catch a suspected killer. sinkhole. >> this is crazy! >> a dog suddenly swallowed up in a sand trap of a whole different kind. this you will not believe. >> you will when you see the pictures. >> it is crazy. good morning, everyone. welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. nice to have you with us this tuesday wednesday, march 13th. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. welcome to cnn's special live

coverage of conclave day two, the selection of a new pope. and right now, everyone affixed on the copper chimney atop the sistine chapel with cardinals voting again right now. yesterday, we saw black smoke, signaling they had failed in their first attempt to produce the next spiritual leader of the roman catholic church. just 30 minutes ago, the cardinals re-entered the sistine chapel to vote again. and 30 minutes from now, at 5:30 eastern, we could see white smoke if a new holy father has been chosen. if not, we will again see black smoke or white smoke at 7:00 a.m. eastern, marking the end of the morning voting session. and if necessary, the cardinals will return for afternoon voting. that is beginning at 11:00 a.m. eastern. we are truly on papal watch. let's get you out to rome. cnn's chris cuomo anchoring our coverage on this historic morning for the world's 1.2 billion catholics. and today's really the first full day that we will see. >> reporter: this is a very important day. good morning to you, zoraida. you're talking about that

chimney, so simple, yet so poignant. everybody has their eyes on it. it means so much to so many people, whether or not you're catholic, and if you take a look this morning at st. peter's square, there are people out there, and i'll tell you, the weather is not hospitable. it's cold here, it's raining on and off, but there's expectations. we're waiting. they will say that in italian here. what we know is this, this is a very big day for several reasons. why? there are a lot of issues on the table. and even though the voting procedures as we have learned are very solemn in occasion, it's not politicking like a political convention, but the names are out there, and what has to be done, priorities must be set. and just as a little key, we had a graphic up there. if you want to bring it back, you can, for smoke watch, but you're going along your day, moments to start paying attention locally would be 5:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., because that's when you may see white smoke early. why? well, if there's a vote and it's successful, then there could be

smoke right away. if not, and there are two unsuccessful votes or two votes, then you could have white smoke at about 7:00 or black smoke certainly at 7:00, because every two votes, they burn ballots if unsuccessful. then on the early side, 12:30 a.m., you get white smoke if they're successful. if they're successful on the second vote or certainly after that fourth vote, they would then burn and be black. those are the times. you also have moods. miguel marquez is getting a sense of how people are in terms of anticipation of smoke. miguel, can you hear me? >> reporter: yes! chris, bon juerno, how are you? we're on smoke watch here at st. peter's square, and i'm joined by two americans here, victoria and nora, who are down here on

smoke watch as well. how did i know you were american, nora? look at this, walking around with the american flag. isn't that brilliant? why are you down here? >> we're actually here studying abroad and we're here to see when the pope's going to get elected and hopefully, we'll be here for the white smoke. >> reporter: you watched the smoke last night at dinner and realized we should be down there, yes? >> yes. unfortunately, i couldn't make it, i had class, but i know that when i'm not in class, i will be here waiting. >> reporter: why is it so -- this place was packed last night when the smoke came out. why? why is it so important to see that smoke? >> it's such an exciting experience and it's part of history, and just to say that i was here for a new election of a new pope, it's amazing. >> reporter: you're both catholics, you're both active in the catholic church. how important is this vote? >> it's very important. i mean, the pope is the leader of our church, and he's such a model, so we really need someone who is strong and o and who can lead us. >> reporter: the church has also had a rough time in recent

years. is this a more important pope and a more important choice than in previous years? >> i think that, obviously, every election for a new pope is very important, and i think this one is very important as well. yeah. >> reporter: thank you very much. have a great time. >> thank you so much. >> reporter: and i hope you see some smoke soon. we're all watching that chimney up there. chris, we'll hand it back to you for now. >> all right. thank you, miguel. let me bring in john allen, cnn senior vatican analyst and father beck, cnn contributor, passionist priest. okay, a brilliant line i read this morning, that although it is wednesday, this is the first full day of wednesday of voting and it's like super tuesday, the clearing house. >> what's brewing in mind as you collect that insight? to you, it's the american political metaphor. yesterday was the new hampshire primary, the first test for the candidates after looking around and speculation and armchair handicapping and so on. last night, those 115 cardinals

found out who might have play, the candidates. now, today becomes what we americans would think of as super tuesday, because it's the make-or-break day for the front-runners. either they close the deal today -- that is, it looks like they're going to get across that magic two-thirds threshold of 77 votes and become the next pope, or it's going to become clear to the electors that none of these candidates are going to get to that threshold and they'll have to go back to the drawing board. that's the drama today. >> and again, unlike american presidential politics, if you have people neck and neck and the cardinals don't believe we don't know either of them can get it, they literally start looking for a third, so it's unusual compared to presidential politics. father beck, we understand this is about setting priorities. there are big issues on the table and perhaps no one potential cardinal as pope can deliver on all of them. as a priest, as a member of the catholic family, what do you believe? if you were going to pick for just one reason, what should that reason be? >> well, if i could take it from the perspective of people that are talking to me as a priest,

there's two things that come up. one is, they want a reformer. not only the reforming of the sexual abuse you've seen inhouse, but people have seen there's been mismanagement at the top, and it hasn't really been pope emeritus benedict's fault, it's been those that surrounded him that are supposed to keep the trains running on time, keep organized, all that's going on at the top. so, they want a reformation of that organization. secondly, they say we want someone who can communicate to the masses. they long for john paul ii again, who can stand up on a world stage and elicit excitement about the church, about the vision of the church, someone who can inspire youth once again as well. >> two very different qualities in a leader, though, someone who can batten down the hatches and someone who can inspire people. >> father tom reid, a friend and colleague of ours, said people seem to be looking for jesus christ with an mba, and that's a hard profile to go looking for in this college. >> thank you.

the italian lesson for the day is something somebody told me, what's going on in there right now? [ speaking italian ] slowly, slowly, but then we'll get there. >> wow, i can't get enough of you speaking italian, chris. thank you. chris cuomo -- >> you can't get enough of him? >> it's fantastic. multilingual to boot. eight minutes after the hour. while we wait for smoke at the vatican, the los angeles archdiocese is paying $10 million to settle four sex abuse lawsuits involving a now-imprisoned ex-priest. the suits claim that cardinal roger mahoney knew of the priest's behavior and allowed him to continue in his position. right now, mahoney is in rome taking part in the conclave to elect the new pope. >> a lot of criticism about that, that he's participating. eight minutes past the hour. standoff over. 26-year-old michael boyson, accused of killing his grandparents and stealing their car was captured. boysen was just released from prison on friday. his grandparents picked him up.

they were found dead the next day. a tactical team forced their way into his beachside hotel room in oregon last night, using water cannons to blast down parts of the front door. boysen suffered self-inflicted cuts and was placed in a waiting ambulance. >> the standoff over but still a lot of questions. coronavirus claims another life. the saudi health ministry says a 39-year-old man who was hospitalized died earlier this month. the worth health organization says there have been 15 confirmed cases so far. nine people have died. symptoms include severe respiratory illness, fever, coughing and breathing problems. and happening now, at least 40 to 50 firefighters are on the scene battling this huge fire. it's a vacant factory in eastern alabama. it was reported around 7:00 p.m. tuesday night in the town of opelika about 60 miles east of montgomery. the plant has been closed since 2008. so far, no injuries have been

reported. is that opelika? >> opelika. >> there we go. the faa approving a fix for battery problems that led to two fires and the grounding of boeing 787 dreamliner. the fix includes a redesign to minimize the odds of battery short-circuiting. the dreamliner first needs to pass a series of safety tests before the faa will approve the redesign. until then, the plane will stay grounded. the game of golf is tough enough with all that water and those frustrating bunkers, right? but one golf course in waterloo, illinois, you can add sinkholes to the list of hazards there. take a look. 43-year-old michael mykoff was playing the 14th hole at the golf course on friday when a sinkhole swallowed him up in the middle of a fairway. he fell 18 feet down into a pile of mud and instantly knew that he was in a heap of trouble. that is when his buddies literally jumped in. >> there's just darkness down there, so you know, i was just, i was like, someone get me out

of here now and i knew he couldn't get up the ladder by himself, and the longer he stayed down there, the worse it was. so, i felt that somebody had to do it. they put a rope around me. >> pulled me out from the top and he pushed me from the bottom. >> do you think you'll ever golf again? >> i hope so. i love it. i probably will. i don't know if i can play that course or that hole again. >> but it's so freaky. we're still amazed, like we can't believe that just happened. >> it is freaky! >> mihal had played the course dozens of times before and says ordinarily, his only worry at the 14th hole is whether the beverage cart will return before he gets to 16. look at that hole! oh, my goodness! swallows you up. all right, his arm is hurting a little, but that's not stopping mark mihal from sharing his ordeal, joining soledad o'brien on "starting point." >> and no sinkholes here when he gets here, i should tell you. as far as he knows. there is a desperate search

under way right now for a bright, young teacher who's been missing for days. what witnesses say about the night she vanished, coming up. plus, the next george bush. politics runs in the family for this texas political newbie.

welcome back, everyone. there is growing concern this morning about the fate of an elementary school teacher in new orleans who has been missing for nearly two weeks now. 26-year-old terri lynn monet was celebrating a teaching honor when she disappeared. the search by volunteers and police has so far come up empty and it has her family fearing the worst. nick valencia is following developments live from new orleans. good morning, nick. >> reporter: good morning, john. i spoke to terrilynn's mother yesterday, and as you can imagine, she was just swelled with emotion. the 26-year-old went missing from this bar behind me, and as we enter our 12th day, authorities tell cnn there are no new leads.

it's well into its second week, an intense search by new orleans police for a missing, recently honored school teacher. after all this time, her family and friends are growing increasingly desperate. >> i might be sitting here, i might look strong, but inside i'm just breaking. i'm just breaking. i just want my baby back. i just want her back. >> reporter: police say terrilynn monnette, the 26-year-old who taught second grade was last seen at this popular bar in the lakeview section of the city. friends told and affiliate she was out celebrating her nomination for teacher of the year for turning one of the lowest performing classes in one of the highest achievers in a matter of months. the bar's general manager told cnn monette appeared to have had too much to drunk and was cut off by a bartender. police then say she decided to sleep it off in her car. police say a witness saw her in a parking lot talking with a man

around 4:00 a.m. officers questioned him, but he has not been thanamed a suspectd is not being held. her black, two-door honda accord has not been found either and monette's mother believes foul play was involved. >> i really, truly believe someone took my daughter. someone literally got in her car and took her. that's what i feel like. you know, i could be wrong, but that's how i feel. and i thidon't think she let someone into her car. if she did, it was someone she knew. i don't think she would let a stranger into her car. >> reporter: police are searching surveillance tapes from local businesses and searching local waterways for any clues in the teacher's disappearance. john, this morning, equusearch, that mounted search-and-rescue team out of texas, they're expected to arrive in new orleans today. they'll be searching nearby waterways and lagoons, looking for any sign of terrilynn

monette. john? >> nick valencia in new orleans, thank you. on "starting point," we will speak with the missing teacher's mother. 17 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to dade on this morning's top stories. it is day two of the conclave to elect a new pope, and right now, 115 cardinal electors are inside the sistine chapel. they are voting for the next spiritual leader of the roman catholic church. at 5:30 eastern, just a few minutes from now, we could see white smoke if a pontiff has been chosen by two-thirds majority. the coast guard now says it's going to let a barge and pipeline fire off the louisiana coast burn itself out. it happened when a tugboat pushing the barge hit a natural gas line. flames shot up into the air about 1,000 feet. this is a big fire. affiliate wwl reports one person on the tugboat was burned over 70% of his body, now in critical condition. a second person was reportedly injured when he was knocked off the boat. all four people on the tugboat have now been accounted for. >> look at that fire. terrible. 18 minutes past the hour.

another generation of the bush family is entering texas politics. george p. bush, the son of jeb bush and grandson of george h.w. bush, is running for texas land commissioner. it's a position seen as a jumping off point for more prominent, statewide office. he's released a new ad asking texans for their vote in 2014. >> george p., p. as he's called, actually worked for george w. bush in his campaign, was a big part of the 2000 campaign, moved to texas and is now trying to enter texas law. >> if he wanted to speak spanish? >> well, naturally. 19 minutes after the hour. one tiny mistake will mean weeks of waiting for hundreds of thousands of taxpayers who hired a pro in hopes of a fast refund. did it happen to you?

welcome back to "early start," 23 minutes after the hour. we are "minding your business" this morning. it has been an amazing run on

wall street. >> absolutely. >> the dow closed at a record high yesterday. the blue chip have risen for eight straight sessions, marking the longest winning streak in two years. and right now, stock futures are pointing to a mixed open. >> keep it going! >> oh, yes. so, google has reached a multimillion settlement over how it collected its map images. the tech giant is saying 37 states a total of $7 million. google admitted three years ago when it sent around cars and cameras to collect images for the streetview component, the cameras also collected information like passwords and e-mails from unencrypted wi-fi networks. >> bad, bad, bad. 600,000 people will have to wait an extra six weeks for their tax refund. the irs says some tax refunds that claimed educational credits were filed improperly. the agency isn't saying who is to blame, but h&r block does acknowledge that it encountered errors when filing some returns. h&r block says the problem is now fixed that it's working with the irs to get the refunds out

as fast as possible. the long national nightmare is over. twinkies are coming back. >> thank goodness! >> i know, right? they could hit the store shelves by this summer. now we can solve the sequester, everything will get better. this is after a group of private equity firms agreed to buy bankrupt hostess for $410 million. hostess has not been making any new twinkies since november, when the company filed the liquidated business after a bakers union strike. >> now i can stop thwarting my twinkies. i didn't grow up on sweets, but i love twinkies. 25 minutes after the hour. ahead on "early start," we're keeping an eye on vatican city for any possible word of a new pope. plus, you sure like them, you post them on your wall, but do you really know them? your facebook friends. and one man is making it his mission to meet all of his facebook friends. is that even possible? we will tell you about his journey, coming up. >> depends on how many friends you have.

waiting for a sign. all eyes are on the chapel chimney with a secret vote for a new pope under way right now. major airlines taking on the tsa. at least two of them coming out strong against the knives on planes policy. invasion of the monster mosquitos. bugs so big, they'll bite through your clothes. >> oh, no. >> isn't that great? good morning to you, on that note. >> oh, no! >> thanks for being with us. i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i am john berman. it is wednesday morning, about 29 minutes past the hour right now. ♪ it is day two now of the conclave, and at this moment, we

are monitoring the chimney atop the sistine chapel very closely, because 115 cardinal electors are voting right now for a new pope. we could see white smoke at any moment if a new holy father has been chosen. otherwise, we're going to have to wait a bit. we'll see white or black smoke around 7:00 a.m. eastern time. that will mark the end of the morning voting session. if a pope has not been elected by then, the cardinals return for afternoon voting at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. we want to get right to chris cuomo, who is anchoring our coverage live from rome. and chris, we really are entering a critical few minutes in the pope watch. >> reporter: yeah, this is a big moment. i think it's a big reason why you see a pretty sizable crowd at st. peter's square right now. they have umbrellas. it's not a pleasant day here, but if there is smoke right now, and the cardinals should be finishing their first vote. it takes about an hour or so for them to go through the voting process. that would mean the smoke would have to be white, because it's their first vote. it would have to be successful.

that's the only reason tlwld be smoke because they usually do smoke after two ballot counts. so, that's why this crowd is here. if we see no smoke soon, i think people will start to get on with their day. now, obviously, to bring in john allen and father edward beck here. if you hear the ambulances, it means nothing emergent about this. there is a hospital right nearby, ambulances go through. ignore it. so, this is day two of the conclave. when we look at how long they usually go, benedict was how many votes? and john paul ii, let's say, how many votes? >> well, let's go further back. since 1923, this is the tenth conclave. over that span of time, the average conclave took a little over seven ballots. the average is actually 7 1/2 ballots, meaning about three days or so. the last time was considerably shorter, four ballots, a day and a half in 1939. it was three ballots. so, you know, if we got white smoke today, the point of all this is that it would be the

fastest conclave in the last 110 years, and that's why i think most of us reasonably don't expect to see the white smoke this morning. but again, chris, let's remember, this story started a month ago with a massive surprise, which was benedict's resignation. there would be a certain poetic art to ending with another massive surprise. >> and one of the reasons we believe, father beck, that this should take some time is because there is not a dominant figure, true, but also because of how much is on the table. we were talking earlier about the priorities, assuming one man cannot fill all needs. where do you think the cardinals will feel the influence strongest? >> i think wherever they're coming from in the world, they're bringing those concerns. we have people coming from the developing nations, they're bringing issues of poverty, social injustice, equality. those are big concerns for them. if they're coming from europe, obviously, it seems to be here more the reformists, getting the vatican in order. those are not the same concerns as the developing nations. it's how you put food on the table, how you get people jobs, it's social justice, and that's

what they're bringing. >> very important, the western mentality goes immediately to ideas of celibacy, female priests. >> right. >> but the main business of the church, to speak loosely about it, is feeding the poor, dealing with the most grave of needs, and that is something that they really have to make a priority over things that may seem secularly more attractive? is that your point? >> and some of us coming from the states and the western world, we think that 1.2 billion people care all about power concerns, when it's a much wider concern than that. so, we can't think that that is the only thing on the minds of all catholics. >> remember, chris, there are 1.2 billion catholics in the world and 65 million in the united states, which means that american catholics represent just 6% of the global catholic population. put another way, 94% of the catholics in the world don't necessarily get out of bed in the morning thinking about the same stuff we do. >> true. however, is it fair to say that universally, using catholic in the widest sense, that this church does put someone as a leader who is going to say

something new about the abuse scandals that we've heard about? because they may roll out in other continents. >> oh, absolutely. i think there is an enormous concern among the cardinals that the next pope has to profile as a reformer on the abuse crisis for exactly the reason you mentioned. nobody wants to see the same cancer that has grown up in the united states and grown up in many parts of europe erupt in other parts of the world, too. they want to try to get ahead of the curve. >> by the way, chris, we talked about the shortest time. i want to say the longest, almost three years, 1268. so, we could actually be here a long time if we match that record. >> that's the one that started all the conclave restrictions in the first place? >> just south of rome, they gathered and they could not decide, and the townfolk locked them in, took the roof off the palace, starved them until they had a pope. >> that's tough. that's tough justice right there. back to john in new york. john? >> all right, chris cuomo, our thanks to you. of course, we will be watching the chimney very closely. if we see any signs of smoke, we will go back to rome right away. meanwhile, just in to cnn, an apparent home invasion that turned into a hostage situation

in maryland is over. police in jessup, maryland, about 20 minutes outside of baltimore, say five people, three adults and two children, were inside the home at the time. police did manage to gain entry. they made sure everyone in the home was safe. the suspect, however, is on the loose. and after months of intense media scrutiny, in just a few hours, two star players from steubenville's beloved high school football team go on trial for rape. they are charged with assaulting a 16-year-old girl. a friend of the defendants recorded video of the accuser. she had been drinking. they could be heard calling her a dead girl and so rape. lawyers for both defendants deny the allegations. american airlines is calling on the ts toonk overturn plans to allow small knives on planes starting next month. this is the third major carrier to do so.

delta and us airways also proposed the plan. an effort is under way in washington to stop it. democratic congressman ed markey of massachusetts has introduced the no knives act, being co-sponsored in the house by republican michael grimm. new york. president obama returns to capitol hill later this morning for day two of his so-called charm offensive. he will be meeting with house republicans trying to find common ground on a host of issues, especially the budget and those forced spending cuts. yesterday, paul ryan presented a republican plan that he claims balances the budget in ten years. he challenged the white house to do the same, but the president is not biting. >> my goal is not to chase a balanced budget just for the sake of balance. if we have controlled spending and we have a smart entitlement package, then potentially what you have is balance, but it's not balance on the backs of, you know, the poor, the elderly, students who need student loans, families who have got disabled kids. that's not the right way to balance our budget.

>> ryan's budget also again called for a full repeal of president obama's health care reform. so, a little honky tonk happiness for former president george h.w. bush. the 88-year-old made a cameo at the school of government and public service that bears his name at texas a&m university for what he thought would be a regular photo op. instead, he found a flash mob. ♪ >> this happened earlier this month, but the video just made its way to youtube. bush 41 was with former first lady barbara bush and granddaughter jenna bush hager, who was sort of whispering a play-by-play into her grandfather's ear at one point. the song "boot scootin' boogie" became "bush whacked boogie." that's jenna telling her grandfather, this is the song "bush-what canning boogie." ahead, the boy scouts send a

survey to parents asking if gay and straight members should share a tent on overnight trips. and attack of the monster mosquitos, for real. coming soon -- >> are they really that big? >> yeah, i'm afraid they are, and it's going somewhere that knows a few things about big, giant bugs.

41 minutes past the hour. communities in illinois, texas and ohio are reeling this week from car accidents that have wiped out more than a dozen young lives. the number of fatal crashes involving teenagers is on the rise, and driving instructors are hoping that these tragedies will send a message to their young students around the country. cnn's george howell is live with more. >> reporter: good morning, zoraida. when you look at the stats of teenagers and the roads, it's alarming. teenagers are three times more likely to be involved with fatal wrecks

wrecks, and it has a lot of people talking about safety. three tragic car wrecks in three different states claimed the lives of 15 teenagers in a matter of just three days, the most recent near chicago. authorities found four teenagers dead after they believe the driver lost control on a patch of water or ice and slammed into a creek. before that, five teenagers were killed in a fiery crash at an intersection in the texas panhandle town of dumas. police say their suv ran a stop sign and collided with a fuel tanker whose driver was severely burned. and in ohio, investigators say an suv took a curb too fast and flipped over into a small lake, killing six of the eight teens in the packed vehicle. >> she sped up. i don't know whether she lost control, she jerked or how fast she was going. >> reporter: car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers ages 15 to 20, according to the national highway traffic safety

administration. at tagert's driving school in georgia, teenage students are given a quick reality check. what do you tell teenagers, first thing, about driving on the roads in your class? >> the first 15 minutes of class, i have the students randomly, it's every third student is what it is, and i have them stand up. and then i have them look around in the classroom, and i say, all right, this is a third of the students. the first year you drive, a third of you will be in an automobile accident. >> reporter: accidents caused by everything from distracted driving to drunk driving. a study by the governor's highway safety association shows the number of fatal crashes for 16 and 17-year-olds rose 19% during the first six months of 2012 from the same period a year earlier. >> we're going to go around the course. this is a closed course. this is the first part of a person's driving exam. >> reporter: even first-time drivers like callie katz have

firsthand knowledge of the risks. >> there's a girl at my school that died last year. a lot of people are really disturbed by that, but it makes sense. >> reporter: so, in the report there, you saw that there has been a sharp increase, but that goes against, it bucks the trend of the insurance institute of highway safety that shows, zoraida, those numbers have been declining steadily, dramatically from 1975, from more than 8,000 fatal car wrecks to more than 3,000 fatal car wrecks in 2011 involving teenagers. and according to the cdc, it could very well be because of seat belt laws and graduated license programs, zoraida. >> well, that's always good news, george, but right now, as we head into the season where they're going to parties and proms and stuff like that, it's really a great reminder that they need to be safe. george howell live for us, thank you. >> 44 minutes after the hour right now. the boy scouts of america currently considering lifting its longstanding policy against allowing gays, has sent out

questionnaires about the issue to parents and members. now, the survey asks more than just should gay members be allowed or not. the survey goes further, asking questions like should gay and straight scouts be allowed to share the same tent? so, raising some eyebrows. how many facebook friends do you have? a few hundred? more than 1,000? have you actually met all of them in person? connecticut photographer ty warren has made it his mission to personally meet every single one of his 788 facebook friends and photograph them doing what they love. he's making a documentary about the process and says the purpose is to get people to re-evaluate what a friend really is. >> i want to make it a solid relationship with all 788 of them. it's going to be quite a quest, but i think i'm setting out to reconnect with people. >> i want to do this, too! morin estimates connecting with all of his 788 facebook friends will take about three years.

>> i wonder what happens if he meets someone and doesn't like them. will he then unfriend them? >> he will probably find something to like about them. all right, 46 minutes after the hour. firefighters are at the ready to respond to an emergency at any second, but what if that emergency is in their own house? >> oh, my goodness! could you imagine that? >> coming up. and right out of a sci-fi movie, look at this, giant mosquitos! they are coming to one southern state. we are going to tell you exactly where. >> so you can get out. >> or get bit.

50 minutes after the hour right now. i want to bring you up to speed on the morning's top stories. 115 cardinals voting this morning, trying to elect a new pope. all eyes on the sistine chapel chimney. if we were to see white smoke, which we could see at any minute, it would mean that a new pontiff has been chosen. black smoke means there is no two-thirds majority and another vo would be needed. a volunteer fireman from new york was called to his own home after a man slammed his pickup truck into the house, sparking a raging fire. suffolk county police say the driver appeared to be high on drugs and refused a breathalyzer test. his truck hit a gas line, which triggered that explosion. firefighter michael cosgrove answered the call and got right to work on the fire. his wife and two young children

escaped the flames unharmed. can you imagine that moment? >> yeah. i can't imagine that moment. attack of the monster mosquitos coming soon to south florida. you thought you had problems? experts say floridians will be battling mosquitos as big as 20 times the normal size. >> oh, wow. >> during this summer's rainy season. they're said to feed day and night, and these mosquitos can sting through clothing. >> we're used to the little, tiny ones that go to the back of your knees, and this one's right in your face. it's aggressive. it's got a nasty bite. this thing's like a tar daxl ta the mosquito world. >> that's just what we need. a bite from the supersized mosquito taradactal is going to feel like a poke from a knife. >> oh, my goodness! >> they blame last year's tropical storm for this invasion. >> what are they eating? >> bad news. sorry, florida.

it's been a wet few days in the northeast. is it over? where are the storms headed? alexandra steele is live in the cnn weather center in atlanta. what are you going to tell us this morning? >> good morning. no super mosquitos in florida. we have red flag warnings. it's dry and warm and windy, so don't worry about that now. hi, everyone, good morning. you know what we're looking at, pretty benign around the country. the wet weather in the northeast is off the eastern seaboard. we're seeing low pressure moving around the great lakes, bringing a few snow showers to cincinnati and indy this morning and west virginia, but it won't add up to much. the temperature's the bigger story. around that area of low pressure in the midwest and northeast, 10 to 20 degrees below average until we get toward the middle of the week, and then we'll get into more of a zonal flow and very warm temperatures today in the southwest, but that all spreads eastward into the south for this coming week. so, really nice, mild week in the south. there's the snow. the rain's off the coast. the other story is what we've got, it's called the pineapple express. it's bringing moisture from

hawaii into the pacific northwest. and in places like the olympics and the cascades, a flood watch with two to five inches of rain coming for the next couple of days. and again, here's the highs. below average in the northeast and warming in the south. zoraida, john? >> all right, alexandra, thank you. all right, so, 53 minutes after the hour. lady gaga, she does not want your sympathy or your attention. pay no mind to the woman in the 24 karat gold wheelchair. what is this all about? >> custom made for her. >> we're going to show you more, coming up.

56 minutes after the hour right now. we are taking a look at the very top cnn trends on the internet this morning. first up, lady gaga.

bum hip or tragically hit? i'd say both here. she's getting a ride now in a 24-karat gold-plated wheelchair as she recovers from hip injury. the designer specifically made it to her. he told cnn he had assistants all over the country putting it together. the gold was applied at a factory that usually does hotro hotrods, and this gold-plated wheelchair is complete with a leather seat and a removable leather canopy. >> do we know how much it costs? >> i'm going with a lot. >> i bet you're correct. >> for other cnn trends, head to cnn.com/trends. the conclave, the papacy, the pontiff, how about papal humor? >> here's "saturday night live." >> in accordance with the vatican tradition, the cardinals in the papal conclave will release white smoke when a pope is chosen. the practice was started by those two ancient leaders, cardinal cheech and cardinal

chong. >> you know, the 24-hour coverage of the selection process for the new pope. a lot of papal trivia. for example, did you know, and i'll bet you did, no pope has ever in the history of the catholic church, no pope has ever been elected without carrying ohio. >> well, the papal conclave has begun. they put up the chimney. and as you know, if there's white smoke, it means there's a new pope. if there's black smoke, that means there hasn't been a decision yet. if there's gray smoke, it just means, you know, they're burning evidence. but it's exciting! it's exciting to watch, yes. actually, they're doing things a little different this year. for example, for the first time ever, the winner will be announced by michelle obama. she's everywhere! i think she's doing too much. she really is. >> "early start" continues right now.

pope watch at the sistine chapel. the world waiting for the signal with cardinals voting right now on a new pope. a dramatic end to an intense manhunt. police storm a motel room to catch a suspected killer. sinkhole in one. a golfer suddenly swallowed up in a sand trap of a whole different kind. he was pretty shocked, to say the least. >> we've been looking at it all morning. i still can't believe this. >> it's insane. good morning, welcome to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. it's wednesday, march 13th, 6:00 a.m. in the east. right now, the world is focusing on a thin copper chimney above the sistine chapel, because at any moment in the next hour, we could have a new pope. yesterday, black smoke signaled that the 115 cardinal electors had failed to choose the catholic church's next spiritual leader. one hour from now at 7:00 a.m. eastern, we are expecting to see

smoke again. could be black, could be white, marking the end of the morning voting session. if necessary, the cardinals will return for afternoon voting beginning at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. and at 12:30 this afternoon all eyes will be back on the sistine chapel awaiting another smoke signal from the cardinals. really it is a day of watching and waiting with immense anticipation. cnn's chris como anchoring our coverage. we seem to be past the first period where we could have seen white smoke. >> right, if we're going to see any smoke it would have been white because it would have been the first vote. would have been successful. we believe they're in the process of their second voting. remember, there are no speeches, no politicking. it's like a prayer service. it takes about an hour and change. so we'll be waiting for smoke when it finishes, could be black or white. thousands of people gathered in st. peter's square because this is a big deal. is it likely there could be a

pope? maybe, maybe not. but certainly, as i bring in john allen our senior val can analyst and the inimitable anderson cooper here with us on smoke watch. this is a big day because this is the day that if someone's going to be a favorite they must show or go, right? >> yeah. i mean, to use the american political language, yesterday was the new hampshire primary. today we got our first test of who might have legs as a candidate. today is super tuesday. even though it's wednesday. because this is the day where the front-runner either closes the deal, whoever that front-runner may be. and of course we don't know because the balloting is going on behind closed doors. but somebody had the most votes last night. whoever that person is either going to show he's got the potential to get to the magic two-thirds threshold of 77 votes, or he's going to drop back in which case this thing becomes much more wide open and potentially could go on a bit longer. >> the idea of countries. we've been doing the math. italy has the most, europe has the most as a group, america's got more than south america. how much does that matter?

how much national attachment a real voting bloc? >> well, i don't think it's an issue. because first, chris, is these guys don't go into the sistine chapel to vote for a passport. they go in to vote for a man. they're looking for a particular set of qualities. things like global vision. the ability to inspire people to the faith. the ability to govern and to get the vatican bureaucracy under control. they'll take it no matter what country the guy comes from. but it does come into play in another sense in that, for example, if one of the latin american candidates looks like he had real legs, then i would expect a number of the other latin american cardinals who would be tremendously excited at the idea that one of their own might be elected would come on board. same thing for the african, the asians, and frankly same thing for those 11 cardinals from the united states. i think if it looks plausible that one of the american cardinals might break through, i think he would carry those 11 american votes with him. >> how much of an adjustment period is it for the new pope? especially if it is a pope who has not been working inside the

vatican for many years? >> oh, believe me, there's some on-the-job training that has to go on if you're not a preacher in the vatican. there's a famous story told about pope john paul i who had been cardinal lugani from venice who was not a vatican insider. he was elected in the evening on the second ballot. came out and did his blessing on st. peter's square. came back in and turned to the vatican official who was standing with him and said, hey, do you know where we eat? he had no idea where the lunch room, so to speak, in the vatican was. it's an enormously complex role. think about what we want popes to be? fortune 500 ceos, intellectual giants, we want them to be political heavyweights, we want them to be media rock stars. any one of these things is hard to do on a good day. >> it's also important that the popes have around them, i was bringing the educational background of the cardinals, only one of them has an

economics background. so there's not too diverse of educational backgrounds here. >> well, i mean, most of these candidates, of course, come out of catholic seminaries where they study theology or canon law or biblical studies. although there are a few candidates who have an interesting background, the cardinal from peru trained as an engineer. but most of them do have a pretty similar academic education. you're right about that. so the team does become very important. and it's even more important this time because i think one of the central criticisms of benedict's papacy among these 115 cardinals is that while he was a great teacher, he didn't always have a good idea for management. didn't always put the right people in the right positions to make the trains run on time. they want to be sure the next pope has a bit more developed capacity to spot administrative counts. >> interesting, chris, and i and you and father beck have been talking about over the past couple days is this idea of reformers versus people more part of the vatican

establishment. but when we talk about reform, i mean, we're not talking about a huge amount of change very quickly. this is the catholic church, after all. >> yes. reform is one of the times that's like change or hope. everybody's for it. the hard part is how you define it. i don't think the kind of reform these 115 cardinal electors are looking for is reform, that is change to marriage or abortion or things like that. when they talk about reform they're talking about business management. they mean a vatican that is more transparent, both internally and externally. they mean a vatican that is more accountable and a vatican that is more centralized versus greater power towards the bishop. >> i think fundamentally what they want is to inject a dose of 21st century business practices into this centuries old institution. >> the point last night, they're still implementing changes from vatican ii. that shows you how much time it

takes. yet there's so much anticipation of who's going to be the next pope. the weather here not so great. rain starting to come down a little bit more. people still gathering at st. peter's square. miguel marquez is there in the crowd. miguel, how is it now? >> -- christopher, but so far things are going great. the crowds are gathering. people believe that we're all obsessed with watching the chimney. i've never been so obsessed with smoke in my life. i'm with two americans also here watching this. michelle and joey from new york and from new jersey. you were here last night. >> yeah, we were. >> what was it like to see it? >> to see the smoke? >> yeah. >> it's exciting. the energy is really high. there's like very positive vibes around. you kind of just get excited from the energy of the crowd. >> you're both catholic? >> yes. >> why is this such a big decision? >> i think that it's really exciting, because we see like

what like this is really important to a lot of people so it's really exciting -- >> the church has had a tough time the last decade or so. is this a bigger decision for this pope than previous years? >> probably. probably so. >> you think so? >> i think it's like pretty unique given the circumstance. so i think everyone's just kind of condpused. is this something they're going to try to do quicker than usual because there's no one right now. or is it something they're going to take a little bit more time to talk over. like we don't know. it's kind of like everyone's, i think they're a little bit confused. when we first got here the cab driver just said we're all a little confused. >> we're all feeling a little confused these days. >> right. >> you're sticking around for the next puff of smoke. >> we are. >> all right, have fun. >> thank you so much. >> chris, the crowd is gathering here at the vat can. everyone hoping for smoke. >> thank you, miguel. let me get one thing before we go back to new york. you heard those young women

there who were watching. if they come out of this conclave with more of the same, someone who is not a, wow, he'll get it done, given the sex abuse scandals, given the urgency of the idea that management is just poor there, do you think they understand that they have to make a big move with this decision? >> look, i think the 115 cardinals who went into the sistine chapel yesterday are profoundly aware that the hope of the world have been raised that this is going to be a dramatic moment of change and they're anxious to deliver. the hard part, as you and i and anderson have been talking about is they also want a nuts and bolts manager. an inspirational visionary and nuts and bolts manager don't often come in the same package. that's what makes this job search, so to speak, the most unique job search so difficult. >> john, zaida, in new york. >> all right, thank you, chris. as the catholic faithful wait for news of a new pope, the church's dark side has been rearing its head. los angeles archdiocese has agreed to pay nearly $10 million

to four different victims who filed child sex abuse lawsuits involving a former priest who is now in prison. the suits allege cardinal roger mahoney knew of the priest's behavior and allowed him to continue in his position. right now mahoney is in rome taking part in the conclave to elect a new pope. this morning a standoff over in oregon with double murder suspect michael boykin captured. he's accused of killing his own grandparents within his first day of release from prison. they picked up boysen and had a welcome home party for his release. dan simons breaks this down. >> reporter: this was certainly the outcome that authorities here in lincoln city, oregon, had wanted the suspect 26-year-old michael boysen now in custody after a nearly 12-hour standoff with police. a s.w.a.t. tactical team went into his hotel room where he'd been holed up. they somehow were able to get him out. nobody was injured except for some apparent self-inflicted

cuts to the suspect. >> there is a tactical advantage that we were able to take advantage of. >> reporter: boysen was released from a prison last friday in washington state. he served a year behind bars for burglary. his grandparents picked him up, they had a homecoming reunion for him. the next day, they were found dead, an extremely puzzling double murder. boysen then fled, hit the road, driving some five hours away here to lincoln city, where he wound up in this motel room. police tried to get him out for several hours. he wouldn't come out. that's when they decided to go in and forcibly remove him. dan simon, cnn, lincoln city, oregon. >> our thanks to dan. happening now, a factory in flames. at least 40 to 50 firefighters are on the scene battling this, a huge blaze. it's a vacant factory in eastern alabama. it was reported around 7:00 p.m. tuesday night. that's about 60 miles east of montgomery. the plant had been closed since

2008 and so far no injuries have been reported. new video to show you right now of north korean leader kim jong-un visiting a front line artillery unit. "the new york times" reports that north korea is now evacuating some of its people into tunnels and putting camouflage on buses and trucks. south korea says the north's tactics are nothing new, saying north korea has a history of using these tactics during tense times to build up support among its people. >> if you're not near the tv, come on over. talk about a hole in one. at one golf course in waterloo, illinois, you can add sinkholes to the list of hazards. 43-year-old mike myhall was playing at the golf course friday when a sinkhole swallowed him up in the middle of a fairway. mark plunged 18 feet into a pile of mud, and instantly knew, of course, that he was in big, big trouble until his foursome buddies literally jumped in. >> just darkness down there, so i was just -- i was just like

someone get me out of here now. >> i knew he couldn't get up the ladder by himself. and the longer he stayed down there the worse it was. so i felt that somebody had to do it. >> they put a rope around me, pulled me out from the top, and he pushed me from the bottom. >> you think you'll ever golf again? >> i hope so. i love it. probably will. but i don't know if i can play that course with that hole again. but it's just -- it's so freaky that, you know, we're still amazed. like we can't believe that just happened. >> what are the chances? he says until this week the only worry that he has ever had at the 14th hole is whether the girl with the beverage cart will return before he reaches the 18th. that is insane. his arm is aching a little bit but that's not preventing mark from sharing his encounter with that big sinkhole. he joins soledad o'brien at 7:40 eastern on "starting point." i would never go back there again. >> that was the last thing on your mind if you're lining up a shot. i'm going to fall through the ground right now. >> swallowed up by the earth. there is a desperate search

under way for a bright young teacher who has been missing for days. what witnesses say about the night she vanished, coming up.

it's been nearly two weeks now and still no sign of a schoolteacher who went missing in new orleans. 26-year-old tara lynn monnette was celebrating her nomination for teacher of the year award. now her friends and family are fearing the absolute worse. cnn is live in new orleans. what can you tell us, nick? >> good morning, zoraida. it's a story that has a lot of people talking here in new orleans, especially at this bar right behind me where 26-year-old terrilynn monet went missing and sources tell cnn there are no new leads. it's well into it's second week. an intense search by new orleans police for a missing recently honored schoolteacher. after all this time, her family and friends are growing increasingly desperate. >> i'm just breaking. imjust breaking. i just want my baby back.

>> reporter: police say terrilynn monette, the 26-year-old transplant from california who taught second grade was seen on march 2nd at this popular bar. friends told cnn affiliate wwl monette was out celebrating her recent nomination for teacher of the year, turning one of the lowest performing classes into one of the highest achievers in just months. the bar's general managered to she appeared to have too much to drink and was cut off by a bartender. police said she then decided to sleep it off in her car. police say a witness saw monette in the parking lot talking with a man around 4:00 a.m. officers questioned him, but he has not been named a suspect and is not being held. her car, a 2012 black two-door honda accord, has not been found, either. and monette's mother believes foul play was involved. >> i really do believe someone took my daughter. someone literally got in her car, and took her. that's what i feel like. you know, i could be wrong, but

that's how i feel. i don't think she's let someone into her car. if she did, it was someone that she knew. i don't think she would have let a stranger into her car. >> reporter: police are checking tips, revealing surveillance tapes from local businesses and searching local parks and waterways, for any clues in the teacher's disappearance. zoraida you may be asking yourself, why haven't authorities tried to check the cell phone. terrilynn's cell phone battery died just a few hours before she went missing so authorities have been unable to use that to try to ping her and her search. also worth pointing out, equusearch, the mounted search and rescue team from texas are expected to arrive here today to help with the search and rescue effort. they'll be looking at local waterways and lagoons for any signs of the 26-year-old teacher. >> nick, you mentioned in that piece that the mom talked to her daughter every day. did she speak to her right before this happened, do you know? >> she did. the mom lives in california,

long beach area, and spoke to her daughter about an hour before she went missing. and i asked her, toni, the mother, if there was any signs, you know, that something was wrong, any red flags? she said no, nick, this is just a normal conversation. we said i love you before we got off the phone. >> that poor mother. all right, thank you very much for that. a little later on "starting point" at 8:15 we'll talk with the missing teacher's mother tony enclade. fire on the water too intense to approach. the coast guard now says it's going to let a barge and pipeline fire off the louisiana coast burn itself out. the explosion and fire started when a tugboat pushing the barge hit a natural gas line. flames shot up into the air about 1,000 feet. affiliate wwl reports one person on the tugboat was burned over 75% of his body. he is now in critical condition. a second person was reportedly injured when he was knocked off the boat. all four people on the tugboat

have been accounted for. 19 minutes past the hour. hundreds of thousands of people who hired a tax pro hoping for a fast refund are instead finding out they'll have to wait because of a mistake. we'll explain all of it to you coming up.

welcome back to "early start," everyone. we are minding your business this morning. the dow will try for its ninth straight win today. >> go for it. >> blue chips have been rallying with some upbeat data on the economy. today wall street will get a new report on retail sales. we are expecting an increase but investors will be watching to see if higher gas prices and the expiration of those payroll tax cuts cause shoppers to pull back. a multimillion dollar settlement over how it collected its map images. the tech giant is paying 37 states a total of $37 million. google admitted three years ago when it sent around cars with cameras to collect images of its

street views it collected pass words from unencrypted wi-fi. >> the irs says some tax returns claimed educational credits were filed improperly. the agency is not saying who is to blame but h&r block does acknowledge that it encountered errors when filing some returns. h&r block says the problem is now fixed and that it's working with the irs to get the refund out as quickly as possible. signs of life on mars coming up why some astronomers say we're closer than ever to answering the big question.

wait for a sign. all eyes on the sistine chapel chimney, with a secret vote for a new pope under way right now. major airlines taking on the tsa. at least two of them coming out strong against the knives on planes policy. invasion of the monster mosquitoes. >> sounds like a movie. >> it's worse. bugs so big they will sting through your clothes! you're going to watch that. welcome back i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. 29 minutes past the hour. ♪ for the next 30 minutes we could find out if the world's 1.2 billion catholics have a new pope. we're closely monitoring the chimney right there atop the sistine chapel because 115

cardinal electors are voting right now. at 7:00 a.m. eastern we are expecting to see more smoke, black or white, marking the end of the morning voting session. and if necessary, the cardinals will return for afternoon voting that is beginning at 11:00 a.m. eastern. then at 12:30 this afternoon, all eyes will be back on the sistine chapel chimney awaiting yet another smoke signal from the cardinals. so let's get right to cnn's chris cuomo anchoring all of our live coverage from rome. good morning to you. >> hi, zoraida. yes, we're waiting for the pope to come here. the crowds are gathering. if you look at st. peter's square, obviously no action from the chimney, but you see more and more people are starting to come in there. tourists, sure, but this is a big tradition. you take a look you'll see flags from all different countries. we've been hearing different languages there, different signs in different languages. so people are coming in as john allen just explained to me. even if it's black smoke, not a bad time to hit the restaurants in the area, get a nice meal.

so it's an occasion any way you look at it. let me bring in john allen senior vatican analyst. father edward beck, cnn contributor. all right a little bit of a tone change here. we've been talking about how there are big issues and they have to figure it out and maybe there's a reformer. but a reformer could mean in the eyes of the church as they bring back the throne and the crown as father edwards say. does that mean anything is the point? my question to you is this, don't they have to make an important change on the big ticket issues, sex abuse scandal, money mismanagement? doesn't the pope have to come out and say, as headlines, nothing vague this time as we're used to, but that this matters, this matters. isn't that -- are we at that threshold of urgency? >> listen. i think all the issues you just ticked off, money management, other administrative questions, they are critical. and obviously in the run-up to the conclave a number of cardinals have been saying they want somebody who is going to get his hands around those issues and move the ball. let's not forget the first and fundamental role of the pope is

to inspire people about the presence of god in their lives, and try to draw them deeper into the faith. so this isn't primarily a job for a ceo or a business manager. it's critically important as those things are. the fundamental thing they want is somebody who could do what catholics call evangelize, which is try to set people on fire for a hunger for the faith. >> okay. let me take the argument to you. that i understand john's point. however, you have a lot of the faithful, sure, it may be an american perspective but it's relevant on some level nonetheless. all the evangelism for a second, come out and say we did the wrong thing, it may still be out there, i'm going to approach it differently. i'm not going to punish cardinals like wuerl who comes forward and says we haveak a harder line. you're not going to have to tell us about abuse scandals anymore, we'll do it for ourselves. >> i do think a lot of people expect and want that to happen. whether it will? i think it depends -- >> that's what i'm trying to

understand. >> i see that perception is reality for people. and the perception is, i think, that the pope is out of touch, doesn't get the real life of the people, doesn't get connected with issues today. you have to remember how long we've come in the papacy. i was mentioning to you earlier that it was paul vi who famously, we used to have a coronation and the pope was crowned and carried around on a throne. he took the crown off, put it on the altar, and said i'm done with this. sell it and give the money to the poor. and that was the last time a crown and that throne was used. john paul i when he was elected? no crown. no throne. the image of the pope, the papacy shifted from a coronation of a king, who used to rule papal states, remember, to a spiritual leader who was a vehicle to god and to people. >> but you have your big blocs, africa, south america, poverty is hard. to hear about the money not being used wisely is

unacceptable. okay you want to put celibacy to the side, okay, let's do women priests to the side, okay. but you're wasting the money. you know the church has to deal with the poor. we must do better. the urgency of no half measures. no double-speak. aren't we at that point for the catholic church? >> i think we certainly are. and i think, actually, you referred a striking number of cardinals in the run-up to this conclave sound like chris cuomo in terms of what they want from the next pope. we use d to have -- the thing i, there's a big difference between 2013 and 2005 is that in 2005, the cardinals felt they had just witnessed the end of a massively, historically successful papacy. the primary thing they looked to do was keep momentum from john paul ii going. that's how they get john paul's right hand man in four ballots in the conclave. this time i think there's a perception that while benedict has been a magnificent teacher

in terms of the substance ticked off at least at the level of perception, the handle of the sex abuse crisis, the handling of the financial scandal, the handling of the business in the vatican went off the rails and they know, to come back to the point i was making before, it's going to be very difficult for the next pope to fix people on fire with the faith the perception is that the vatican is not walking its own talk. which is why i think basically these two things go to the. it's not either inspiration or business management. it's that you've got to get the business management right before you can inspire. >> say what we believe. say what we want you to say. give us married priests. give us women clergy. allow same-sex marriage and for people i think that perception would mean that would mean the church is modernized. that would notten the church's perception on modernization. >> or hold yourselves to the level of accountability that your station and your religion suggest. i think that's -- i think that's the message. to be sure, zoraida, john, when

the pope comes out it's going to be a big deal no matter who it is. but there will be a message with that selection. we just have to figure out what that will be. we stay on smoke watch. back to you. >> we're certainly waiting to hear that message. chris cuomo in rome. thanks so much. go now to steubenville, ohio, stebing back into the national spotlight today. in just a few hours two star football players from steubenville's beloved high school football team go on trial for rape. they're charged with assaulting a 16-year-old girl. a friend of the defendants recorded video of the accuser, she'd been drinking. he could be heard calling her, quote, the dead girl and so raped. prosecutors contend she was too drunk to consent to sex. lawyers for both players deny the allegation. the case is being heard in juvenile court. a third major carrier is now calling on the tsa to overturn its plans to allow small knives on planes starting next month. american airlines joins us airways and a flight attendants union in possessing this plan. a bipartisan effort is under way in the house to stop it.

democratic congressman ed markey of massachusetts has introduced the no knives act, which is being co-sponsored by republican michael grimm of new york. trending this morning the boy scouts of america currently considering lifting their long-standing ban on gays. they sent out a questionnaire to parents and members about the issue. it's more than a simple, should gays be allowed or not. it takes it further. it asks if gay and straight scouts should be allowed to share the same tent or should an eagle scout who comes out be banned? >> and also trending, could there really have been life on mars? now we may know. the mars rover curiosity produced a startling discovery in the first robot drilling ever on the red planet. a chemical analysis of the powder dug up shows conditions did exist that could have supported life. the mission's chief scientist even said the water that flowed there 3 billion years ago would have been drinkable. >> the truth is out there. all right. a super sized insect invasion.

>> we're freaked out by this this morning. look at the size of this baby. >> experts say mosquitoes the size of quarters are on the way to south florida this summer. they're set to feed day and night and they can sting through clothing. >> the little tiny ones that go to the back of your knees and this one is right in your face. it is aggressive. it's got a nasty bite. this thing is like a pterodactyl in the mosquito world. it's huge. >> she seems way too excited about this. a bite from the mega mosquito is said to feel like a poke from a knife. last year's tropical storms are to blame for this invasion. >> that's just -- >> not at all happy about that. >> too much. too much. one minute he's playing a relaxing game of golf. the next he is fighting for his life! there's a guy inside that hole! he was swallowed up by a sinkhole on a golf course.

all right welcome back to cnn, ladies and gentlemen. we are seeing smoke coming out of the chimney from the sistine chapel right now. >> it is black smoke. >> it certainly does appear to be black smoke, folks. which means there is no pope. let's go right now to chris cuomo, leading our coverage, live this morning in rome. >> all right we're all seeing what you're seeing here. a little bit on the early side, smoke does look dark. we understand that it is supposed to mean no pope. they'll come out with a little bit more definitive word. hopefully we'll get a little bit sense of it. it looks dark. it's part of the pageantry of all of this is deciphering the signal. up against the dark white sky the smoke certainly seems dark. the reaction a little muted from the people in st. peter's square. another indication that there's some type of informal consensus. but you know, when you look at the smoke, it's not as dark as it was last night.

and that's part of the mystery here. john allen, father edward beck alongside with me to share the blame, if i'm wrong about the color of the smoke. do you believe in looking at it that it seems of a darker hue? >> well, chris, bear in mind my expert ooerz as vatican analysis is not color coding but it certainly does look black to me. in all probability, you know, as we were talking earlier in the morning, there's only been one time in the last 110 years that a pope has been elected in three ballots. so it would be highly unusual if they reached a conclusion. >> okay, so let's say what this certainly means. what this certainly means at this particular time is that they're voting a little bit more briskly than we had calculated. >> that's right. it probably means they got an early start and it probably also means that they want to try to move this on as quickly as they can, because, as you know, as we've been talking about, after three ballots they have no pope, okay. now what that tells us is the work is not yet done. i think they probably feel the

need to get out of this very formal setting of the sistine chapel where they really cannot talk in any informal fashion with one another and get as quickly as they can to the casa santa marta. that's the hotel on vatican grounds where they're staying, to be able to sort of talk amongst one another in ones and twos and tens and '20s. that's where the politics of the conclave unfold. not in the sistine chapel but in the casa santa marta. >> and talking to a vatican insider this morning, he used this expression that you were helping me understand, it goes slowly but eventually -- >> the logjam breaks. >> so this is about finding those points of pressure. figuring their priorities, father beck. what i've been harping on a little bit here this morning, is through three ballots no pope. that means it wasn't simple. it wasn't extraordinarily easy for them? >> we didn't expect it would be. i think if it goes past today, as john has said, all bets are

off. >> although we should also remember the way this unfolded in 2005, we had black smoke at this point on day two of the conclave, as well. what we didn't know is that at that stage cardinal joseph ratzinger was just a handful of votes short of the two-thirds majority and in the first ballot of the afternoon he pushed to the front. for all we know they could be very close or hopelessly deadlocked. >> since 1922 no conclave has gone more than four days. we shouldn't expect a real extended -- >> we're watching the crowd in st. peters seeming to be moving out a little bit. certainly not people rushing in. i want to point out the smoke has seemed to have abated there. but the smoke was lighter, and less than it was last night. maybe they were making a bigger demonstration the first night of the conclave. we can get a little signal, bells. bells ring a lot in rome but bells would be sounded, the big bell, if, in fact, the smoke was white. if, in fact that smoke meant that it was a pope.

but at this point, there's no real urgency to it. assume as it says on the bottom of your screen, black smoke. let's get to st. peter's square. miguel marquez is there monitoring the situation. miguel, was the expectation that this is black smoke that we saw? >> oh, definitely black smoke. and i've been watching that big bell, and it is not moving at all. it takes a few minutes before it actually starts to cham, so clearly this is black smoke. they are still divided. the question is obviously how divided. i'm here with some students who are studying theology here? >> i'm a theology major, yes. >> what do you make of this scene out here? >> it's just really exciting to be here. obviously it's a really good semester to study abroad in rome. i love it. >> the church has a very big decision to make. is this bigger than past years? >> i can't really comment on that. but i just know that for me, this is such a moving an amazing experience but i'm so excited for t new pope. >> but it's always -- it's always a big decision to make, a big decision on the new pope.

this year, obviously there's a lot at stake. there's been a lot of issues that the church has had over the years. do you attach more importance to it? is it more exciting than other years? >> i think it's very important and i know that there's a lot of changes that they're talking about like wanting to do so i thinkth a very big decision because it's just a lot of stuff. >> and how emotional, interesting is it? we're all sitting here smoke obsessed. >> i was actually here on the pope's last day, helicopter flew over st. peter's and that was a really big experience. that really hit me i'm excited to be here. when i really saw him leaving for the last time, that was really moving. >> excited? >> so excited to be here. it's -- i don't have any words to describe it. >> i thought you were going to cry there for a second. >> maybe. we'll see. >> when the white smoke comes? >> when the white smoke comes we'll run from school and when we get the first blessing, that will be when everything is going to be worth it. >> you were pointing out earlier in 2005, the smoke was kind of

weak -- >> it was kind of -- actually commenting on it earlier in class and he was mentioning how they were watching it for 20 minutes, like they couldn't black? tell, is it white, is it they couldn't tell. but, luckily the bells tipped them off. >> this year very, very definitive. the oven system or the stove system is new. it's clearly very dramatic when it comes out of that chimney and it's very, very clear the color. the color we haven't seen so far is white. will it come out as gray? perhaps it will look black. but we're expecting to have a pretty clear sign once it comes. because whatever issues they had with the oven and stove before they clearly are beyond them, at least on the black side of it. back to you guys. >> all right, miguel, thank you. if you're just joining us welcome to our viewers in america and around the world. we do have smoke, a little on the early side here. we believe it is black smoke meaning that through three ballots, no pope. i will also mention, if you

haven't been watching with us, smoke this time, less than there was last night. . it also stopped for a moment and began again. i'm johned by john allen, senior vatican analyst for cnn and father edward beck, cnn contributor. let us understand the smoke-making process, been used since 1939 you were saying, secondary unit that helps infuse color? how do we account for this staging in smoke coming out? >> it could well be, they have two rounds of ballots to burn. they did two votes this morning. so there would be one set of 115 ballots from the first round and another set of 115 ballots plus notes and so on that second round. this is a relatively small stove. i mean i remember last time there were times when we got two bursts of smoke rather than one and the explanation after the fact was they couldn't cram all of the stuff in the first time around so they had to light it up twice. that may well be what we're getting this morning. >> ballots and notes get burned. >> that's right. there's not supposed to be any

written record of what went on inside the sistine chapel. >> last time we had one ballot, all of that smoke and now we have two ballots, less smoke. >> remember they didn't do a formal test of this system before they fired it up the first time last night so my position is last night they wanted to make sure they were getting it right and they certainly did. >> voting going more quickly. difficult to decipher because it's really somewhat of a very formalized process. so it doesn't mean that they just knew what they wanted or didn't want very quickly, it's just how quickly the procedure -- >> i would be very hesitant to read much in to how quickly or nonquickly this thing unfolded. i mean the voting is very carefully choreographed process. it's not just raising your hand. the cardinal fills out a ballot, he then processes up to a table in front of michelangelo's fresco of the last judgment, puts it in an urn. a bank of three cardinals counts, another bank of three cardinals confirms the count. that could be 40 minutes, that could be an hour or more

depending on the rhythm of the procedure. it doesn't mean there's questions about the procedure. >> to be sure they're now going to a place where they can talk and get amongst themselves. certainly, father beck, they've got a lot to discuss, because this is something they really have to get right. >> they will do that at lunch. that's where the real conversation takes place. >> what do you think about this morning? that has the potential for somebody to lead us, they'll talk about all those things. don't forget, then someone takes a threaded needle, takes each vote, i vote, they put the threaded needle through, they bind it together and that's when they burn it. >> and now, as they go to lunch, they start talking, through three ballots, no panic, means nothing historically for them to not have a pope through three ballots, right? >> no. >> pope benedict was on the fourth ballot? >> the last previous time there was one time a pope was elected

on the third ballot, 1939. and so there is something unusual about the fact that we do not have a pope through three rounds of voting. and remember, chris, it's -- they don't go back into the sistine chapel until around 4:00 this afternoon. they've got a good time here in which they can have a meal and move off into various rooms, salons, so forth in the casa santa marta and do what we would call in secular political art, caucusing. you know, find out where -- >> and also take a nap. >> a lot of tease men are older. >> yes. >> and this is a taxing process for them to be sure. >> on the other hand i think any of them would probably believe they can catch up on their sleep when they have a pope. right now there's work to do. >> and what do we think in terms of in this period, the meal is together? are they allowed to eat as they want? >> it's a large dining room at the casa santa marta and all the

cardinals will move in to that room. they typically sit at large tables. actually several of the cardinals i interviewed after the 2005 conclave will tell you that the real sort of nuts and bolts, brass tacks political conversation doesn't go on in that lunch room because everyone can hear it. so after about an hour, they break up for lunch, then they'll move back into their rooms, or some of these small salons or meeting rooms at casa santa marta in small groups and that's where the ball gets moved. >> all right. to wrap it up we have three votes. we have black smoke. that means no pope. they now go on to lunch. they now have time to talk for several hours. and certainly john and zoraida, back to you in new york. they need to get this right. it's been the biggest decision this church has made in modern history. >> absolutely, chris. and it does continue. we have black smoke today. >> i know it's the highest office, right, but there's so much at stake that i wonder, you know, what's going through the cardinals' minds if they could

be the one facing all of these monumental challenges in the rolen catholic church. >> there's so much anticipation now as they go to lunch. something so simple as lunch and then they go back into the sistine chapel to vote again this afternoon. you will want to stay with us. it is a very, very interesting. "early start" will be right back.

welcome back to "early start." we are on day two of the papal conclave. you're taking a look at the chimney there at the sistine chapel where we are seeing black smoke. we're going to go right out to chris cuomo. he is there live. we understand you have confirmation of the black smoke. >> we do. we do. zoraida, as it says on the bottom of your screen right now

the vatican has confirmed this is what it looks like, black smoke. more importantly, of course, is what it could mean to the ongoing process. joined by anderson cooper, john allen our senior vatican analyst. does the super tuesday metaphor hold for where they could be in this process with three no pope votes? >> well, bear in mind, chris, the only people who really know what this vote means are the 115 cardinals casting ballots. but one way to sort of try to make sense of it all is what we know for sure, they have not yet -- nobody has got the two-thirds threshold of 77 votes as of the third ballot. now that could mean there's someone whose support has steadily grown over the first three ballots, looks like they're about to get across, and we could get a pope this afternoon. it could mean that those 115 votes are still scattered across two, three, maybe even four possible candidates and there's going to be an awful lot of heavy lifting to be done over this lunch break to figure out where they go from here. >> we actually interviewed a lot of the cardinals after the vote

eight years ago and in that case how did the voting go? >> well, as you know, right out of the gate, they went in -- they took one ballot. we know at that stage cardinal joseph ratzinger had strong support depending -- somewhere between 40 and 50 votes on that first ballot. the first two ballots of the next morning, his support continued to grow, and by that third ballot he was basically three or four votes away from the two-thirds majority. by that stage his candidacy had the inevitability about him. basically what cardinals told me, that lunch was a celebration. they knew they had a pope. all they had to do was go back in and make it formal. >> now will they be breaking off into smaller groups? >> if someone is very close to that two-thirds majority it may be a repeat of last time. if no one is, if there are two or three candidates who all have strong support then yeah, they're going to be breaking into small groups, organized by

language, by friendship, by interests, trying to figure out which one of those three guys might be able to make it across. if none of them can, going back to the drawing board and looking at somebody else. >> we'll continue to watch the afternoon session, and in terms of who's in the hunt. the last time the man who supposedly finished second, not really even being mentioned this time. back to you in new york john and zoraida. >> all right, chris, thank you so much. "early start" will be back right after the break.