korea was not quite as crazy as the rest of the world seem to think it was. >> that's it for this hour. thanks for watching. the news continues next on cnn. . a dire warning out of north kor korea. foreigners in the south told to get out or take shelter in case of what it calls all out war. >> star wars in the persian gulf. take a look at this. the u.s. navy's answer to iran's nuclear program. laser cannons that can torch a plain in instant. two young boys abducted from florida allegedly by their own father. now comes the hard part, how are we going to get them home? >> and wayne for the ages. what a day. louisville finding inspiration from a fallen teammate and they

claim the national championship. >> this was a cool game. >> this was a fantastic game. >> this is the way to have a championship game. >> fantastic! congratulations to louisville. it is a great morning. good morning to you. welcome to "early start," everyone. >> it is tuesday, april 9th. it is 5:00 a.m. on the east. let's get started. we begin with a dire warning from north korea. they're worng south korea to come up with a plan to evacuate foreigners should the two countries go to war. north korea's ironically named asia pacific peace committee said this morning if there is to be a war, we do not wish to see foreigners in south korea to be harmed. cnn reporters all over the story this morning. we have a reporter live in tokyo with the negotiations going on in japan. first, queer goiwe're going to clancy. what do you make of the warnings? what has the response been so far? >> well, you know, i was

watching television, watching north korean television when this came on. even though i don't understand korean, you can tell by the tone of the anchor they're very fierce when they deliver these kinds of things. it's like you explained, we don't want to see foreigners harmed, looking out for our welfare. they adviced t advised the sout should have plans to protect the tourists coming to south korea in order to protect them in case of war. obviously, just a veiled economic threat that they would like to see, of course, some disruption in south korea's economy. one of the tiger economies, the fourth largest in asia. they're not going to see that. the response has been very calm. it's been very cool. it's been very clear, too. stay put. stay calm. that's the message. and some embassies are saying really we're not going to react to every one of these threats that comes out of the north. they expect more. this is a tactic meant to put

pressure on everyone. >> all right. tom clancy live for us. thank you very much. >> this is truly an international crisis. japan deployed missile defense systems at three locations around tokyo. patriot missiles are now in place in the central district and in the suburbs of osaka. our coverage of the korean crisis continues now with diana magnay. tell us more about the preparations. >> hi, john. actually, the missiles behind me, two patriot missile batteries that you can see there were deployed overnight at the ministry of defense in the heart of central tokyo. residents waking up and seeing these war machines where normally they see a baseball park. but this isn't the first time that they've seen that, john. there have been patriot missiles deployed in this spot and around tokyo three times since 2009. and that's every time that north

korea has announced it will launch a satellite. so people are getting used to it to a certain extent. and these deployments come in conjunction also with war ships, destroyers being moved into the sea of japan. they also have a missile interception system onboard. i was talking to a security analyst earlier. he said, you know, even though pyongyang is just 800 miles from tokyo, if these systems work and all the tests would suggest that they're pretty effective, then they should keep the japanese safe. but north korea isn't actually targeting tokyo or japan. it simply accused the japanese of really blindly telling u.s. policy. it said it will strike u.s. military bases in japan. japan is home to 38,000 u.s. troops. and so that is what japan is worried about. these missile systems almost just a reassurance for the japanese people and to show that they are putting forward a sort of minimum care required to

protect the japanese people while it's also showing they're not cowering to north korea. >> all right. diana, live in tokyo this morning. literally standing in front of a patriot missile battery. our thanks to you. new in iran, the government says they inaugurated a brand new uranium processing facility. it is located in the country's central province of yaz. the u.s. navy released video of a laser attack weapon deployed to the persian gulf. the demonstration shows the laser bringing down a drone. the weapon is a warning to iran not to step up activity in the gulf if tensions over the nuclear program build up. so the search for two kidnapped florida boys taking a dramatic turn. the focus this morning now on cuba. law enforcement is confirmed that 2-year-old chase haguen and 4-year-old cole arrived safely in cuba. they were allegedly abducted by their father joshua who sailed the whole family there.

victor blackwell is live in tampa. this is getting stranger by the moment, victor. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, this also could now start an international political fight. it was the hillsboro county sheriff's office here in florida that first reported late yesterday that they received information that the haguen family had arrived by boat in cuba. of course, we asked them to elaborate. they would not. but what we know this morning is that the u.s. state department says u.s. officials in havana are aware of the situation and involved. and indeed the hakken family, if they're in cuba, this is what authorities say is the end of a plan that started here on wednesday. here's what happened on wednesday. authorities tell us that joshua hakkan came here to hillsboro county into tampa and went to his mother-in-law's home, the grandmother of 2 and 4-year-old chase and cole hakkan. tied that woman up and took the children and ran off.

there was a search for a car and then a truck and then this boat we realized we were told by authorities that he purchased just days after this kidnapping, we're told by authorities. so this now we said has become an international incident. we're still waiting for confirmation from the u.s. government exactly why or how they ended up in havana, cuba. >> so, victor, there is no extradition treatien with the u.s. and cuba. the question is what happens? might cuba send these people now back to the u.s.? >> reporter: you know, joshua hakken is described by authorities as someone who has anti-government views. and he likely knew that if indeed he is in cuba. there are 70 fugitives in cuba. that is an estimate from the fbi. many of the people have been there for decades. we do not know. when he comes back, if he comes back, he'll face charges of kidnapping and child neglect and false imprisonment. that is just for what happened here according to authorities in tampa.

not to mention the charges from slydel when in 2012 the two boys were taken from him in a hotel. >> thank you, victor. and happening right now, hundreds of people evacuated from their homes as strong gusty winds fueled a brush fire. so so far it's burned about 170 acres just north of los angeles. it started in a building and it quickly spread to nearby hillsides as you're taking a look there. 400 firefighters are trying to get things under control right now. no injuries have been reported thankfully there. meanwhile, plunging temperatures and heavy snowfall in other parts of the country despite the fact that we are well into spring now. >> well into spring. >> millions are bracing for another shot of winter from colorado to minnesota. utah to the dakotas. severe thunderstorms and hail have already pelted parts of kansas. >> look at that. >> yeah, those are large pieces of hail there. and reports of tornadoes touching down in northern colorado as well.

anything else in store for them, jennifer? she is tracking the system from the severe weather center. jim spellman is live in gold en colorado, where they could see a foot of snow. >> paint a picture for us, jim. >> it's just starting to switch over from rain to snow. it was shocking last night right around sundown. it dropped ten degrees, 20 degrees, 30 degrees in the course of an hour here. the roads are still clear. there are 400 plows on the roads in colorado ready to keep everything moving as best they can. at the airport, a few flights canceled. they'll be doing de-icing all day. they actually canceled school in denver and most of the suburban counties this morning. the first school day of the year here almost half way through april. they're taking the storm very seriously. they expect it to be an all day snow event. even though it will be fun for the kids, treacherous driving conditions. it's already sort of a frozen

rain here that's coating this bottom layer. it will be covered by snow in the next hour or two. so a late spring surprise here for everybody that was wearing shorts yesterday. they're taking it very seriously and want to keep everybody safe. >> they should. but those poor folks. man, it is spring time. we're going to check back in with you. thank you. >> thank you for bringing cnn the very first pictures of snowflakes in colorado today. how bad will this system get? jennifer delgado is tracking it for us. >> yeah, he's on that breaking news. the snow is going to be increasing. and here it is on the radar right now. we're starting to see that snow burst moving through. you can see from colorado springs up to denver right along 25. now as we go through the morning hours as well as into the evening, the snow will be kicking up. the winds are already gusty out there. look what's happening. we're also seeing a warm area where the lightning is firing up anywhere along this line we're going to continue to see showers and thunderstorms. snow coming down right now through parts of the dakotas and nebraska.

yes, we're talking about some impressive snow totals, especially for this time of the year. we're expecting three to six inches in some parts. you can see for areas like north plat as well as into rapid city, four to nine inches of spring snowfall. i know you don't want it. the reality is you're going to get it out there. look at the winds right now. very gusty. as we go throughout the day, the visibility is dropping down. winds right now, 28 for rapid city. for north plat, 18. and then for denver, we're looking at gusts at 25. now you saw the lightning on the radar. today we do have a severe weather threat. many areas in that slight risk category. but if you're in the red this is our moderate risk. this looks like our first moderate risk for the season. that means we're looking at some of the storms producing the possibility of some hail, of course damaging winds. you certainly want to be cautious when you're going to be out there for today. on a wider view, fire threat down towards the southwest. of course, very windy conditions. still even out in the southwest and including areas like

california. i know they've been battling fires there. but over towards the east and the south, guys, we are talking about -- we need to hear a round of applause -- high temperatures near 80 degrees. that is washington, d.c., maryland. she gives the high five to john. john is always silent. whenever i give him good news, he just sits there. >> i don't want to gloat. apparently we do want to gloat a little bit here. >> i'm with it. >> thank you so much. >> all right. so do you say louisville or do you say louisville? >> i say winners. i say ncaa champs. >> the will ylouisville cardina drawing inspiration from kevin ware to win college basketball's national championship. both teams play with a lot of passion and a lot of pride for 40 heart pounding minutes. >> it was awesome. >> yes. rachael nichols sat down with ware right after the big win. >> you told me before this that you were going

escalator up to that net. what was it like when you got to cut down the nets after you've been through? >> it meant everything. honestly. i didn't know they were going to actually do it. they told me. it was shocking. but just being able to cut the net down and celebrate with my teammates is everything to me. >> how you would wrap up this week for you, everything you've been through, the lows, the highs, the injury, and then watching why your team? >> it was all worth it. this is a great, great game. i really enjoyed every moment of it. >> and the reception you got from everyone around the country and the fans tonight? >> it was big. the support has been keeping me in good spirits. honestly. that's what's getting me through. thank you to everybody. >> next year your going to be back here playing instead of watching? >> i'm praying so. >> we'll watch you at the nets again. thank you, kevin. >> thank you. >> we'll have much more on the big game. rachael nichols one-on-one interview with rick pitino and the next half hour of "early start." i have to plengs for michigan, spike albrecht had five three

pointers. >> this kid is 5'11," 170. he goes on the court with tray burke in foul trouble. he drains three after three after three. and then luke hancock comes off the bench. i would be remiss if i didn't talk about the cnn bracket challenge. i want to congratulate ashleigh banfield. really the answer is what happened between us. i had a dramatic come from behind victory. >> no kidding. >> i toppled you at the very end. i finished sixth. you finished 11th. that puts me five full places in front of you. >> congratulations, mr. berman. by the way, my bracket was completed by my 14-year-old son. >> see, if you won, i would get all the credit. now you're blaming your kid. >> i'm not blaming. look how well he did for a 14-year-old. good job, nico. >> 14 minutes after the hour here. she went looking for a taste of the great outdoors. she ended up eating dirt and fighting off wild animals. one teen's firsthand tale of

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welcome back, everyone. 17 minutes after the hour. let's bring up to date. there are maj nor new developments in the korean crisis. north korea warning the south to start making plans to evacuate foreigners should the two countries go to war. meantime, japan is preparing for the worst as the rhetoric from the north reaches a fever pitch. batteries of patriot missiles have been deployed in three sites around tokyo in case any missiles are launched. news developing in serbia this morning. at least 13 people including a child reported killed in a shooting spree right outside of belgrade. the police chief saying a man in his 60s went into five different houses and just started firing away. other media report the gunman killed his own son and that he tried to kill himself and his wife. they're reported in serious condition right now. there's no word on a motive. an airport worker in

minneapolis busted for stealing stuff from passenger's checked bags. he is accused of swiping about $85,000 worth of jewel riz, electronics, guns, and other items. wow. authorities say bang only stole from bags connecting through the twin cities. cameras finally exposed the crimes. bang's wife is also charged. and we're hearing now from the second of two hikers who survived after being lost in a southern california wilderness for days. 18-year-old kyndall jack is telling her story at least the part that she remembers. >> i only remember the first night and the last thing i remember the first night was fighting off some animal with nick. and then i just remember the last day scooting down a little hill -- actually, it wasn't little. it was a cliff. and then just resting on my little rock for the rest of the time being. i know i ate dirt, tried to eat dirt and rocks and i came to the

hospital with a big mouthful of dirt. that's all i remember. >> so both teenagers were dehydrated when found in separate locations a day part. jack also suffered a hand injury and scrapes and bruises. >> what a harrowing story. fighting animals. >> it is a little bizarre. >> yeah. >> so the new boss out at jcpenney, the old boss back in. sounds like a song from the who. more on this bizarre corporate shake-up coming up. welcnew york state, where cutting taxes for families and businesses is our business. we've reduced taxes and lowered costs to save businesses more than two billion dollars to grow jobs, cut middle class income taxes to the lowest rate in sixty years, and we're creating tax free zones for business startups.

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23 minutes past the hour. we're minding your business this morning. wall street kicked off corporate earning season late yesterday, first to report aluminum maker alcoa posted better than expect the profit despite lower sales. >> stock futures are a bit higher. christine romans, jcpenney in for a day. >> i thought ron johnson would have been fired by now, quite frankly. he lost a lot of customers. he lost a lot of money. he lost a lot of confidence in this company. shares are up. but they're all over the map this morning in early trading. look, that is ron johnson. this is a guy who was hired because he was a genius over at apple who helped design those apple stores to be this go-to place, slick, appealing to young people, appealing to people who have money to spend on consumer products. guess what? ipads are different than sweatsuits and towel sets. and he changed jcpenney so much so quickly that jcpenney's core

audience said, i don't like what i see. they took their money and went elsewhere. i went in recently. there was all this drama about jcpenney and martha stewart and macy's. i went in. i said why are sales falling so badly? what has this guy done to jcpenney? i walked in. first thing i noticed, there weren't checkouts. there weren't counters with checkouts. there were people with mobile checkouts like at an apple store. i saw women all over the store with merchandise who didn't know where to check out. didn't have a place to put their purse to find their coupons. that's what women have done for jcpenney and men for years. he changed it so much, sales fell 28% in 2012, a whopping 40% drop during the most important time of the year, holiday season. the board slashed his salary last week. you know what? some board members said, forget it, we have to go back. we have to press the reset button. they brought in the old ceo. wall street not happy with that choice, by the way. they tried to undo what they did

to make this a relevant and fresh company on top of all that, jcpenney back in court with macy's over the right to sell martha stewart branded products. if they don't get the right to sell this stuff they want to sell, they have warehouses full of martha stewart branded products that the judge says they can't sell. it is a total corporate mess. this is a massive leadership flameout that i haven't seen since as my producer said, new coke. it's been since new coke that you've seen such a dramatic try to change a brand that didn't work. >> now they're going back to classic. >> really. they're trying to. >> stock is up a little bit. i'll be interested to see -- it's been cut in half. the stock is cut in half. it's about $15.80 a share now. cut in half. look at that. if you are a shareholder in jcpenn jcpenney, board member, executive, you look at that chart and you are terrified. and -- >> listen to consumers. >> and cut a lot of workers, too. >> thanks, christine. it's hard to feel bad for a guy

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new this morning, preparing for war in north korea telling the south to evacuate foreigners to get ready and now nearby countries with missile launchers on the move. a tale of two seasons. winter storm warnings in the plains. spring temperatures could crack

80 here in the northeast. and the louisville cardinals champions of college basketball. congratulations, mr. berman. the victory over michigan so emotional. it brought coach rick pitino to tears. >> what a game. >> it was a fantastic game. good morning. welcome back to "early start." >> it is futuesday, april 9th. there are new developments we're following. the north is sounding more and more like it's ready for war. the north now warning south korea to prepare to evacuate foreigners, increasingly hostile rhetoric has japan deploying patriot missiles at three locations forming a protective ring right now around tokyo. jim clancy is live for us in seoul, south korea. jim, what do you make of the warnings right now and what has the response been from the south so far? >> well, they're just veiled threats, john. veiled threats. they are going to attack south korea and that if you're a

foreigner working here, living here, a tourist here, you should make plans to find some place to hide or to leave the country. it's an attempt to disrupt this the fourth largest economy in asia. and an attempt to blackmail the south koreans to do some kind of harm to them. not many people are taking this seriously. none that i know of. the embassies have said they don't want to even respond to every salvo of rhetoric that is being fired now from pyongyang. instead, they're telling people to stay calm, stay put. they do not see a risk here on the korean peninsula. john? >> nevertheless, though, some countries are taking measures to protect themselves. japan putting up patriot missile batteries around tokyo. what does that indicate to you? >> what it indicates to me, most importantly, john, it indicates that diplomacy is almost off the table. japan in particular is fed up with trying to deal with north korea. this has been a process that has been taking place over years.

they have opted for a deterrent. that deterent are the missile -- anti-missile batteries, the patriots that they can put up. that sends a message to pyongyang, we won't be intimidated by your threats. i should add that there are such batteries here in south korea. they don't like them publicized. they don't like them shown. but they have them as well. that is just prudence in the face of threats in the face of a young leader that no one can really predict. he's obviously reckless. the question is how far is he going to take this? john? >> indeed, he pointed out that the patriot missiles have been put in place several times since 2009. that is important to know. jim clancy, thank you. 33 minutes past the hour. new developments overnight in the search for the two little boys allegedly snatched from their grandparents' florida home last week by their own father. 2-year-old chase hakken and his 4-year-old brother cole are in the custody of cuban officials along with their parents.

it's believed their father joshua took them and his wife to the island nation by a sail boat. the children were taken away from the parents last year and parental rights were stripped last week in louisiana. a paper in miami reports they're in the custody of cuban immigration officials right now. happening right now, freezing temperatures, heavy snowfall and look at this. hail pelting parts of kansas. i always think that looks other worldly. plus, gusty winds and reports of tornadoes in northern colorado. winter certainly back for a huge portion of the country right now. from colorado to minnesota, people are on blizzard watch. blizzard watch. jennifer delgado is watching the system. we want to go first to jim spellman. i believe i did spot some flakes there. the snow is now officially falling. >> yeah, it's just now switching from sort of freezing rain mix to snow. you can take a look, john. it's been very warm. it was in the 60s yesterday. it's not sticking on the streets

yet. you come over here and we have maybe a half of inch of snow forming on the other areas. 400 snow plows out across colorado. we just got word from denver airport, about 400 flights canceled. that will go up. this is expected to be an all day snow event. and for the first time this entire school year school is closed in denver and a lot of the suburban counties. good news for the kids. bad news if you have to come out here and drive whether the sun starts coming up in a couple of hours. john? >> all right. by my count, we have a quarter inch of accumulation so far on your hair. and that is continuing to develop as the morning goes on. jim spellman, our thanks to you. >> wear a hat. so how long will this big mess last? let's go to meteorologist jennifer delgado. good morning to you. >> good morning. you're right. jim doesn't look like he's getting a lot of snow out there. i can tell you the snow is coming down. look at the totals. we're talking a foot of snowfall through montana and more of that is going to be coming down through eastern parts of colorado. in fact, we already do have

blizzard conditions reported through parts. now as we show you on the radar, here is that burst of snow moving through colorado springs and into denver. so your snow will come down more. it will increase. yes, we are expecting some of the locations to pick up some good totals. we'll get to that in just a moment. i also want to point out to you, look what is happening there. line of nice storms there along with the lightning. even spreading over towards chicago. this is going to continue throughout the morning hours. on the cold side, you see the snow coming down through parts of nebraska as well as into south dakota. but the snow totals, we're talking still another foot possible and some of these parts of the dakotas. this is going to last as we go through the afternoon as well as into evening as we help time this for you. even tomorrow morning at this time we're still talking about a wintry mix. some very heavy rainfall. and then the chance for some stronger storms to arrive. and we're also talking a severe weather threat today that now includes the moderate risk. right across oklahoma city, down towards parts of texas. i want to point out now today,

slight risk includes millions of people from kansas city all the way down to dallas and even into parts of st. louis. high temperatures today much warmer, guys. we're talking a lot of 80s out there. now look at the cold air. denver, 21 degrees. yesterday, they were at 65. all the warmth, you see it on the graphic in the orange and red. >> it's here. >> we're loving it. thank you very much. all right. so cnn learned that former rutgers athletic director tim permetti will get $1 million after stepping down in the wake of the mike rice video abuse scandal. rutgers will pay him the annual salary of more than $450,000 through june of 2014. and next month he is scheduled to receive a lump sum payment of almost $680,000. >> wow. that's incredible. >> he also remains eligible for up to $50,000 in bonuses based on the schools academic, athletic and financial success. a new jersey governor chris christie is no fan of former

rutgers coach mike rice's behavior in practice. here's what governor christie had to say about rice on monday. >> win or lose, that is completely reprehensible conduct. to be using homophobic slurs and to be -- having the physical contact with young men that he was having is simply unacceptable. >> so while governor chris christie had harsh words for coach rice, he offered his support to rutgers president robert barchi. he says barchi should not lose his job over the scandal. i wonder how everyone else feels about that? >> they had a town meeting yesterday. i think they're all still talking about it. very much so. 38 minutes after the hour. brighter side of college basketball right now. heart pounding, stirring, exhausting. >> passionate. >> there are not enough words to describe last night's game. louisville's 82-76 victory for college basketball's national

championship, it was just awesome! look at that. the top-seeded cardinals overcame a 12-point deficit in the first half with a dazzling array of dunks and long range bombs. luke hancock was just stroking it. they wore down the wolverines. kevin ware, of course, providing inspiration from the sidelines after that horrible leg injury. there he is cutting down the net. his cardinal teammates, you know, just so grateful to everything that he did for them and the inspiration he gave and how about the week that louisville coach rick pitino is having? >> not bad. >> forget basketball. his horse golden sense won the santa anita derby to earn a spot in next month's kentucky derby. then he finds out he's inducted into the basketball hall of fame. and now he's the first coach, the very first coach in ncaa history to win a national basketball championship with two different teams. wow! >> overachiever. >> exactly. >> rachael nichols talked to a very emotional rick pitino after

the game. >> can you kind of explain the way this team came together around kevin ware? >> well, you don't know sometimes. you know, we have a lot of discipline in our program. any time you struggle and have to fight for things in your life, you become very close. and the spontaneous emotion from that event today makes me as proud as any moment i've ever had in coaching, to see the love of my players for an injured player, to seat courage of the injured player to say forget me, it's not about me. we have to win just as a teacher of the game, it's just the most special moment anyone could have. >> and then they brought down the net for him so he could cut it. what was that like -- >> we knew we were going to do that. >> kevin told me earlier if it took an escalator, he was going up. >> he was. you know, he's become a great personality. i never knew he was so funny until he went on david letterman. >> hey, you know, it's going to happen. >> going forward now, you have a

hall of fame credit to your name now. you have a horse that's going to be in the kentucky derby. your son got a head coaching job at minnesota. it hasn't been a bad week for rick pitino. how do you top it? >> you know, we have such a great family. we celebrate big time. we're true new yorkers. atlanta won't sleep. we'll stay up all night. and we will celebrate. my children know how to celebrate. >> excellent. i have a feeling louisville won't sleep tomorrow either? >> i'm so happy for louisville. we're going to head to the women's game. >> excellent. >> we're hoping that we can have two championships. i'm a big fan of our women. jeff walls and we're going to head to new orleans right from not sleeping. >> let's go celebrate. >> yeah! >> so as you heard, coach pitino mentioned it's been a heck of a week for louisville and all of the sports fans. the lady cardinals take on connecticut tonight in new orleans for the women's national

basketball championship. if they win, louisville will become only the second division one school in history to hold the men's and women's titles simultaneously. i have to give a shoutout to a viewer, robert summers. he said you better make sure that you root for them tonight at 8. 3067 i appreciate robert. i'm a new englander. go huskies. okay? there you go. >> i vote for louisville. president clinton sits down with stephen colbert and winds up with a new twitter account. this is hail air oilarious. we'll tell you about billy jeff clinton. that's coming up next. sure does! ♪ wow. [ buzz ] delicious, right? yeah. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... ♪ well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? bee happy. bee healthy.

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school massacre. >> connecticut, this is not about me. this is not about politics. this is about doing the right thing for all the families who are here that have been tore apart by gun violence. it's about them and all the families going forward so we can prevent this from happening again! that's what it's about! >> the president is now working with some of those sandy hook parents to fight for gun control legislation on capitol hill. brianna keilar is following that for us. >> reporter: if he can't convince congress to take up gun legislation, perhaps they can. president obama brought 12 family members of the newtown victims back to washington with him. among them -- >> the president of the united states -- >> nicole hawkly lost her 6-year-old son dylan at sandy hook elementary school. >> though sometimes the waves of sadness are so great they threaten to drown me, i stand

before you now and ask you to stand with me. with all the families. >> reporter: hawkly earlier introduced the president as he began a week-long white house push for a gun bill. obama criticized republican senators for trying to block a measure from coming to the senate floor. >> in the wake of a tragedy, you think this would not be a heavy lift. and, yet, some folks back in washington are already floating the idea that they may use political stunts to prevent votes on any of these reforms. >> reporter: senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is planning to join the 13 senators who say they will filibuster a bill. democrats are hoping to overcome the filibuster with a bipartisan compromise that would require background checks for all or almost all gun purchases. the measure has overwhelming public support but is in jeopardy in the senate. >> we have to tell congress it's time to require a background

check for anyone who wants to buy a gun so that people who are dangerous to themselves and others cannot get their hands on a gun. let's make that happen. >> reporter: brianna keilar, cnn, washington. all right. so 47 minutes after the hour right now. and former president bill clinton finally has a twitter account, sort of. last night stephen colbert dedicated his entire show with an interview for clinton. and at one point colber surprised clinton by telling him he set up an account in his name. >> now president clinton was taken, william jefferson clinton was taken. but pres billy jeff was available. would you tlik break into the 21st century right now and send

your first tweet? i'll type -- >> you're going to type it? >> i'll type it. 140 characters or left. >> just spent -- >> just spent -- >> amazing time with colbert. >> all right. so in case you thought they were kidding, not at all. the full tweet, just spent amazing time with colbert. is he sane? he is cool! that is signed billy jeff clinton or presbillyjeff. now that i'm no longer president, i've been downgraded to air force seven. so far pres billy jeff has more than 28,000 followers. >> he is keeping the account? >> one thing is clear to me, clinton only seems sort of by him bemused. he is not totally comfortable with. this. >> now especially if someone is

tweeting on my behalf. >> is your account disabled? >> it is. i'll find out what is going on during the break. it's all messed up. all right. so big rig dangling over the side of a bridge. the driver still inside! the dramatic rescue above a freezing river on top of everything coming up next. if you look at the house right now, you can watch us any time from your desktop or mobile phone. >> tweet me while you're at it. if you think running a restaurant is hard, try running four. fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. governor of getting it done.

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53 minutes after the hour. let's get you up to date. new this morning, north korea warning foreigners in south korea to take shelter or get out should war break out between the two countries. this message from state-run media follows a warning to diplomats in the capital last week that they could not guarantee their safety if a war begins. a weekend cook out turned into a tragedy in lebanon,

tennessee, when a 4-year-old boy, a 4-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed the wife of a sheriff's deputy. state police say wilson county deputy daniel fanning was showing off his gun collection to a relative. he did not see his 4-year-old nephew enter the room. the boy then took a loaded gun off a bed and it went off killing 47-year-old joseph feen fanning. no charges have been filed. a seventh death in three new cases of bird flu reported in china. thousands of birds are slaughtered in poultry markets are closed as health officials track the source of the infection. this is the first time h7n9 is found in humans. there is no evidence right now that it could be passed person to person. and annette funicello died. she may have been the most popular mouseketeer ever. she also starred in i a number

of "beach blanket movies." she died from multiple sclerosis. she was 70 years old. >> i remember the skippy hats when growing up. >> yep. >> 54 minutes after the hour. check out these pictures of a dramatic rescue above the frigid james river in virginia. they plucked a terrified cab driver from the big rig as it dangled over a bridge. the woman lost control of her truck on i-664 yesterday morning and it caught fire for a few minutes. >> is that her peeking out of there? >> what a picture that is. the firefighters were able to use the truck's rescue bucket to bring the woman to safety. lucky. >> yeah. great effort. coming up, my favorite manager, the manager -- former manager of the red sox but now the manager of the indians who got lost on his way to his own game. he got lost going to his own stadium. >> this would be a problem.

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all right. welcome back to "early start," everyone. trending online this morning, welcome to cleveland, terry francona. yesterday was the indians home opener and a funny thing happened to their new manager on the way to progressive field. >> i got lost three times. even when i got to the garage, two people that work here say, hey, do you know where you're going? i'm like, nope. i think cleveland is officially like the nicest people i've ever met. i mean everybody i did walk by was like hello and -- like

everybody i walked by said hello. so that was a little different than i'm used to. >> so i have to tell you, i love terry francona, the former red sox manager led the manager led the sox to two world series. which makes him the best person ever. but the guy lives two blocks from the indians ball park. and he says he got lost three times. >> wow. >> the bad news for him is that the tribe was blown out by the yankees 11-6. maybe he knew something. maybe he was better off staying away. he had 80 more games to find his way. >> drop some bread crumbs next time. "early start" continues right now. a dire warning out of north korea this morning. foreigners in the south told to get out or take shelter in case of what it calls all-out war. and star wars in the persian gulf? take a look at the u.s. navy's answer to iran's nuclear program. look. laser cannons that can torch a

plane in an instant. >> wow. spotters in cuba, two young boys abducted from florida allegedly by their own father, now comes the hard part. how to get them home. and the heart-stopping, rim-slamming win for the ages. louisville finding inspiration from an injured teammate capturing college basketball's national championship. capping off a remarkable week for their history making coach as well. >> and a remarkable comeback in the pool for me. >> it is congratulations mr. berman. even though i had not picked the winning team at all and i was what, 5 behind you? >> you did well. >> i did incredibly well. welcome to "early start" i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. up first we have new developments along the korean peninsula. north korea issuing a warning that south korea has to come up with a plan to evacuate foreigners should the two countries go to war. north korea's ironically named asia pacific peace committee says this morning if there is to be war we do not wish to see

foreigners in south korea to be harmed. jim clancy, live in seoul, south korea this morning. jim, what do you make of these new warnings? is this an escalation? or is this just more rhetoric? and what's the response been so far? >> well, you know, it's branching out. look, clear message. and it was crafted to be chilling and ominous. and it was directed straight at, well, me. telling me, as an expatriate working here in seoul that i should consider getting out of dodge or looking for a place to run and hide. but the reaction has not been what north korea would have liked to have seen. let me just give you a coat from the u.s. embassy. it says, we inform our citizens that despite the current political tensions with north korea, there's no specific information to suggest there are imminent threats. all right that's from them. the brits are saying, we're not commenting on the specifics of every piece of rhetoric coming out of north korea. our travel advice remains

unchanged. and that advice is it's safe 20 come here. this is designed to punish south korea, economically, if at all possible, cut tourism, perhaps get disrupt the economy by getting about more than 1 million expatriate workers that are living here in seoul. john? >> jim, this follows a development at the kaesong industrial complex where north korea pulled out its workers or north koreans didn't show up to work. that event also met with some skepticism, correct? >> we don't know yet whether it's going to be permanent or not. because once again, you can't judge what the north is saying. you can't really trust what they're saying. and it would appear that they've shut it down at least temporarily. that's going to punish some of the firms that are in there. but it's the president here park geun-hye had to say all this is going to do is convince a lot of firms, don't do business with north korea because you can find yourself in a very expensive predicament because of their politics. john? >> jim clancy in seoul, south korea, where the u.s. embassy,

the british embassy warning you and other foreigners in seoul there is no imminent threat. thanks, jim. and three minutes past the hour here. japan is taking some pretty dramatic steps in the wake of all this increasing talk of war. it has deployed patriot missiles in ichigaya and in asaka and narashino forming a protective ring around tokyo. we have that part of the story from tokyo. >> they were delivered in the dead of night, residents waking up this morning to see two patriot missile battery systems where normally there is a baseball pitch. but it's not the first time that they've seen this. every time since 2009 that north korea has announced it will launch a satellite the japanese self-defense forces have deployed this patriot missile defense systems in the heart of tokyo, and around tokyo, whilst also moving aegis destroyers into the sea of japan which

themselves have a sophisticated missile interception system on board. i was talking to a security analyst who said those two systems combined, these patriots and the aegis destroyers, could have the capabilities of protecting the japanese archipelagos from any kind of missiles that might come over or any kind of debris that might come off a missile that north korea might test, and which might malfunction. and that is a big concern. it's not so much that north korea will target japan. although it has accused the japanese of blindly showing u.s. policy and saying that it would strike u.s. military bases in japan. there are, of course, 38,000 u.s. troops positioned here. so japan is essentially saying a low profile, but doing what it must, which is protect its citizens, whatever it is that the young leader of north korea chooses to do. diana magay, cnn, tokyo.

new in iran. the government says it has a new facility in the central province of yazdp it comes hours after the u.s. navy released new video of a laser attack weapon being deployed in the persian gulf. the demonstration shows the laser bringing down a drone. this weapon is reportedly meant as a warning to iran not to step up activity in the gulf if tensions over its nuclear program build up. and happening now, at least 200 people evacuated from their homes as strong, gusty winds fueled a brushfire. and so far it's burned about 170 acres. this is just north of los angeles. it started in a building and then it quickly spread to nearby hillsides. about 400 firefighters are trying to get that massive blaze under control. luckily, no one has been hurt. we're well into spring. but it is a tale of two very different weather stories this morning. here in new york where temperatures are expected to reach the mid 70s. >> how beautiful. >> it's a gorgeous day here. we don't want to gloat because it is a very, very different

story out west. winterlike weather has millions bracing for heavy snowfall and gusty winds all the way from colorado to minnesota. reports of tornadoes touching down in northern colorado. >> look at that. >> you've got to look at this. severe thunderstorms and hail just pelting parts of kansas. looks like another planet there. jennifer delgado is watching the storm in the weather center in atlanta. jim spellman live in golden, colorado, where we're told they could see up to a foot of snow. jim, let's start with you. >> john, we appreciate you not gloating. it was in the mid 60s here yesterday in the denver area. in the 20s now. just starting to stick on the ground here. i think we can say we officially have a snowstorm on our hands. they have about 400 plows ready to keep these roads clear for people who have to commute and as the snow starts to pile up, got word about 300 flight cancellations at denver airport. that's bound to go up as the day goes on. good news for schoolkids here, though. for the first time this school year, they'll have the day off in denver and most of the suburban counties. so good news for the kids. bad news for commuters.

john? >> jim spellman. a snow day in april. you don't see that very often. >> let's bring in meteorologist jennifer delgado to explain all of this. good morning. >> good morning, zoraida. good morning, john. explain this? it's hard to explain. it's very cold for this time of the year. and what we're dealing with is a very strong storm system in the central part of the u.s. we're talking some of these locations a foot of snow for parts of south dakota, nebraska, even into colorado. i know where jim is right now you're thinking, doesn't look like a lot of snow but more of that is coming down. here is the proof as we show you on the radar, there's that band of snow moving through from colorado springs, into denver, as we move up towards the north we're looking at snow, there's that wintry mix. you can see moving through sioux falls. then a line of showers and thunderstorms moving through areas like nebraska, north of des moines, moving into wisconsin. and also that area including chicago looking at some lightning. that's starting to come to an end. but as we get throughout the day, we are going to see more activity out there, with winds right now anywhere between 25

and 40. we are going to see reduced visibility whenever you're seeing some of that snow. so make sure you're taking it slow on the roadways. the other thing that we're following today, and a big story, severe weather threat. anywhere in red. this is our greatest risk. moderate threat for storms to develop, potentially, produce tornadoes and for this time of the year you typically see about 155 on average for the month of april. want to point out to you a lot of big cities under the threat for severe weather. that includes dallas, st. louis, as well as kansas city. here's the setup for today. it's warm in the south and the east. high temperatures near 80 degrees. back over to you guys. >> near 80. >> 80. >> and you're not gloating. >> no, he's not gloating. >> thank you very much. nine minutes past the hour here. the search for two kidnapped florida boys taking a really dramatic turn here. the focus this morning is on cuba. law enforcement confirms 2-year-old chase hakken and 4-year-old cole have arrived safely on the island nation. they were allegedly abducted by

their father joshua, who sailed the whole family to cuba. victor blackwell is live in tampa for us. what's the latest here, victor? >> zoraida, this has elevated from a search here in hillsboro county, florida, to now an international incident. the state department confirmed to our liz labott that the u.s. officials in havana are aware and involved. they were not elaborate beyond that. the first we heard of their arrival in cuba came from the hillsboro county sheriff's office late yesterday when they say they received information that the hakken family had arrived there. they also would not elaborate. but we know that it was about five days ago, about this time, when authorities say that joshua hakken broke into the home of his mother-in-law, tied her up, and then took his children, her grandchildren, and escaped in a car. well they found the car, they searched for his truck, but later, there were reports that he had purchased a 25-foot boat,

the "salty" and set off into the wa waters. there are reports this morning that they have arrived in cuba. the question now, of course, will there be an extradition back to the u.s., zoraida? >> yeah, i mean, that is the big question. there is no treaty. no extradition treaty between cuba and the united states. the mom was also involved in this. she was picked up, also. do we know if, in fact, she was involved in this or was she taken against her will? do you know anything about that? >> well, that's the question that we have for hillsboro county. we know that there is a long list and growing list of charges for her husband, joshua hakken. but so far, no list of charges for sharon hakken. we're hoping to get that information. but there are several possibilities when it comes to extradition. obvious to whether cuba will extradite or not. but there is a third possible extradition policy or plan that may be the children will be allowed to be sent back. but the parents will not. we'll see what happens. so these are all possibilities.

but the legalities and the logistics of that still unknown. >> interesting. i know you're following all these developments for us. victor blackwell live in tampa. thank you. about 12 minutes after the hour. the louisville cardinals waking up as national champions. they probably never even went to sleep after that high-flying, heart-pounding 82-76 victory last night. over michigan. you know, both teams really just brought their "a" games. dunks, hitting threes, slugging it out to the final buzzer. in the end it may have been the inspiration provided by the injured kevin ware that made the difference there. joe carter is live from the georgia dome in atlanta this morning. joe, the finals are almost never this good. >> oh. you said it, john. this is one of the most thrilling first halves i've seen in a final game that i can remember. everything you want in a championship game. this building last night, 75,000 strong, epically rocking. you can coin that as a new phrase for the national championship game last night. of course we all followed the

story of kevin ware. but for a moment a freshman stole the show, gave michigan a big lead but then the game's mvp luke hancock got superhot and in the second half louisville did what they've done all season and closed the game. rick pitino cuts down the net because the first college basketball coach to win a championship with two different schools, he spoke with our rachel nichols after the big win. >> was there a moment as the clock is ticking down that it hit you, we're going to win this game, we're going to be national champions? >> i was trying to find the clock. when it was 16 seconds. i knew it. and then for the first moment, because when we prepared for after north carolina for colorado state i knew it could end with them. they were that good. then i knew it could end with oregon. then i knew it could end with duke. we were playing so many great teams. so many great coaches. but this is a special group of young men. >> congratulations, obviously, to louisville. the michigan guys should not

hang their heads. they played a great game and obviously with the number of freshmen and young players they have on that team they have a bright future ahead of them, guys. >> high expectations there. kevin ware, who didn't play obviously because of his broken leg, it's a really happy ending for him, as well. a lot of people are crediting him with the win! >> you know, millions. and i say millions, watched him break his leg. it was a gruesome injury a week ago. we followed the story all week long. and to see this kid be able to cut down the net last night when they lowered the basketball hoop for him to be able to cut down the net is an incredible ending to the story. for him to wake up a national champion this morning. you just hear in his voice when he spoke with our rachel nichols after the game. >> it was all worth it. this is a great, great game. and i really enjoyed every moment of it. >> and the reception you got from everyone around the country and the fans tonight? >> it was big. the support has really been keeping me in my good spirits. honestly that's what's getting me through right now. i just want to say thank you to

everybody. >> so the party continues for louisville. coach pitino saying last night they're going to pack up the bus and head to new orleans as the women, the women are playing in the championship game tonight against uconn. congratulations to louisville, rick pitino what a day of him the hall of fame a national championship and congratulations to you, john berman, for beating your colleague in the cnn bracket. i mean, by five? >> it is a big development, joe, and i do appreciate you pointing that out. joe carter, really thank you from atlanta this morning. >> all right. 15 minutes past the hour. looking for a taste of the great outdoors and she ended up eating dirt. fighting off wild animals. one teen's firsthand tale of getting lost in the wilderness. that's coming up. so let's break down this play. charles? uh, charles couldn't make it. his single miles card blacked him out

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welcome back, 19 minutes past the hour. major new developments this morning in the korean crisis. north korea warning the south to start making plans to evacuate foreigners should the two countries go to war. meantime, japan is preparing for the worst as the communist rhetoric reaches fever pitch now. batteries of patriot missiles have been deployed at three sites around tokyo, in case any missiles are launched. developing story in serbia, at least 13 people, including a child, reportedly killed in a shooting spree outside belgrade. the police chief saying a man in his 60s went into five different houses and started firing. other media report right now

that the gunman killed his own son and tried to kill himself and his wife. they're reported in serious condition right now. no word on motive. and we're hearing from the second of two hikers who survived after being lost in the southern california wilderness for days. 18-year-old kyndall jack is telling her story at least the part that she remembers. >> i only remember the first night and the last thing i remember the first night was fighting off some animal with nick. and then i just remember the last day scooting down a little hill -- actually, it wasn't little. it was a cliff. and then just resting on my little rock for the rest of the time being. i know i ate dirt, tried to eat dirt and rocks and i came to the hospital with a big mouthful of dirt. that's all i remember. >> so both teenagers were dehydrated when found in separate locations a day part. jack also suffered a hand injury and scrapes and bruises. >> lucky kid. 20 minutes after the hour right

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we are "minding your business" this morning. stock futures are mixed. 9 dow set for a lower open. the nasdaq and s&p looking higher. shares of alcoa better. >> also jcpenney. christine romans? >> this is a story that will be a business school textbook case study for years to come.

ron johnson, after 15 months as the ceo of jcpenney, one massive misunderstanding of penney customers, he is out. penney is not apple and he learned the hard way and lost his job. you know, what he did was he did away with sales and coupons, right? he redesigned the store experience. a new logo. he brought in ellen degeneres as a spokesperson. customers, jcpenney's loyal customers didn't get it. didn't get it at all. sales fell 28% last year, including a whopping 40% drop during christmas holiday season! jcpenney's board slashed his salary last week but it wasn't enough for some board members. ultimately they got their way, he lost his job. they're pushing the reset button at penney bringing in the old ceo mark ullman. wall street is not happy with that choice. i don't know what's worse, ron johnson is out stock rallies. then the old guy comes back, former leader comes back and the stock tanks. >> wall street saying really? >> here's something really interesting about the penney you know ron johnson took an apple

brain and a target brain you know looking at kind of niche, cool, hip ways to sell things and he applied it to penneys. he took away for example the cash registers. i went into a little reconnaissance at one of these stores and i saw people shoppers who didn't know where to put their purse while they were trying to dig for their credit card. you know, he tried to make an apple experience for jcpenney and jcpenney shoppers wanted their jcpenney experience. they wanted value and familiarity. he took all that away and the customers ran. this, i think, is going to be one of the leadership moves. he has got a stellar retailing career. this is going to be -- this is going to be like the new coke debacle. you know? trying to child an old, iconic brand and it backfired. >> what's the one other thing we need to know about our money? >> i'm still digging into the jobs report. a lot of people concerned about jobs. americans with college degrees still far outpace high school graduates when it comes to employment. want to show you some numbers. if you have a bachelor's degree or higher your unemployment rate is 3.8%.

and you're much more engaged in the economy. only a high school diploma, more than double the unemployment rate and look at that. only 58% participation in the economy. that number bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. go to school. don't believe this whole thing about a college degree isn't worth it. the numbers still prove that it's harder to get into the economy still, even with a degree, but if you don't have one you're completely left behind. >> christine romans, thanks so much. when you think spring it's probably about birds chirping and flowers blooming. sounds like a disney film. not hail falling and tornadoes churning. more on this crazy weather coming up. ♪

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new this morning, preparing for war. north korea telling the south to evacuate foreigners, and now nearby countries with missile launchers on the move. we have a tale of two seasons. winter storm warnings in the plains. while spring temperatures could crack 80 degrees in the east. you know what those are? cherry blossoms in washington, d.c. good morning to you. look how lovely you look this morning. >> and the louisville cardinals. the champions of college basketball on top of the world. their victory over michigan so emotional it brought coach rick pitino to tears.

and man what a week that guy is having. welcome back to "early start," everyone. i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. it is tuesday, april 9th. 13 minutes past the hour. and this morning, north korea is sounding more and more like it is ready for war. it is warning south korea to prepare to evacuate foreigners. the increasingly hostile rhetoric has japan deploying patriot missiles at three locations. they're forming a protective ring around tokyo. jim clancy is in seoul, south korea, with the very latest developments. >> shut it down. that was the message from north korea on kaesong, the industrial park that is the very symbol of cooperation that still survives between north and south. but it was interesting that the north koreans hedged their announcement saying that they were temporarily suspending the manufacturing operations at that facility. and they were going to withdraw their 53,000 workers. but tonight we know that they

have not yet pulled out those workers. and so the almost 500 south koreans are still inside the facility, as well. but it could come at any moment. now north korea blames seoul and washington for its actions. saying, that they were fomenting war on the korean peninsula, and that they had insulted the dignity of the north koreans by saying that one way or another, kim jong-un's regime needed the cash flow, the hard currency from kaesong, in order to fund the regime and keep it afloat. still, when they shut this down, if they lose those 53,000 jobs, some think it may make the larger community living in kaesong, in the northern side of the dmz, a bit unhappy with the north's decision. >> we talk about the low wages at kaesong. but actually considering the alternatives, it's a good job. it's desirable. and this source of hard currency, the investment that's

flowing in there. the wages that are going in there, it's raised the standard of living in kaesong and if this is suddenly shut down this is going to have an impact. i think the people in kaesong will not be very happy about it. >> 13 of the 123 companies were manufacturing there at kaesong have shut down operations because they ran out of goods to process. now, if the facility is shut all the way down, it's going to hurt south korean businesses. but really would only be a ripple in south korea's economy, which is, in fact, the fourth largest in asia. for the north koreans it would be the loss of those jobs, and a steady, dependable flow of hard currency. jim clancy, cnn, seoul. dramatic new developments overnight. two little boys from florida allegedly abducted from their grandparents' home by their father last week, reportedly safe in cuba this morning, along with their parents. 2-year-old chase hakken and his brother, 4-year-old cole, are in the custody of cuban immigration officials right now. that's according to the spanish

version of "the miami herald" it's believed their father joshua took them and his wife to the iemd nation by sailboat. the children were taken away from the couple last year and their parental rights were terminated last week by the state of louisiana. >> it may be spring, but happening right now, a blizzard is hammering a large part of the west from utah to the dakotas. fierce winds, freezing temperatures, snow, and look at this, hail, pelting parts of kansas. in northern colorado, tornadoes touching down, wreaking havoc, and rattling a lot of nerves, as well. jennifer delgado will give us the bad news of how long this will last in a minute. but first, let's go to jim spellman. he is right in the middle of it in golden, colorado. >> look at the hair. >> you are accumulating some snow on your head. >> there's a fire in the furnace, guys. this is golden, colorado right in the foothills. you can see the snow coming down here. it was in the 60s yesterday. but the ground is still warm.

not sticking so much on the streets. but they don't want to take any chances. they've got 400 snow plows in colorado ready to go. we just got word from the airport about 300 flights canceled. we know that's going to go up as the day goes on. this is going to be a day long snow event. good news for the kids, first snow day of the year in april. so spring on the calendar but it sure feels like winter here in colorado. >> i know the kids are going to be happy. i don't know about the parents with all those kids at home. jim spellman live for us. >> with the fire in the furnace. all right, jennifer delgado in atlanta who is going to get the worst of this storm? >> i think right now, jim spellman's getting the worst of it in his hair right now. it's growing by the hour. and on the radar the snow is coming down, and yes it's coming down through areas like colorado springs as well as into denver. but more even up towards the north. we're also looking at that wintry mix. we're talking freezing rain as well as sleet. anywhere in pink, sioux falls into central parts of nebraska, that's where the weather mixes, snow coming down pretty good through parts of south dakota

and then a line of showers and thunderstorms moving into areas like chicago. that's all being fueled by the low moving through wisconsin as well as into minnesota. what we're dealing with right now. warnings out there, watches, and of course some blizzard warnings still in place for colorado, as well as into utah. those are going to stay in place looks like through this evening, tomorrow. we'll see some wind gusts up to about 50 miles per hour. reducing visibility. and then when you add in about a foot of snow in some of these locations it is going to be tricky out there traveling. so make sure you're checking ahead if you're going to be flying out. now as we go through today, as well as tomorrow, we'll still be tracking this storm system. but we're also going to add in severe weather to the threat. today, as well as tomorrow, and now even thursday, but for today we do have our first moderate risk. purple through parts of kansas as well as into parts of oklahoma, we are going to see the chance for the possibility of some tornadoes out there. and this is all being fueled by the clash of the two air masses. look at this pocket of cool air.

jim spellman, 21 degrees there. the 80s to the south and the east. it's that boundary causing all this bad weather out there. send it back over to you. >> all right. thanks so much. it is a mess out there. >> college hoop fans still trying to catch their breath this morning after louisville's heart-pounding, rim-rocking 82-76 victory over michigan last night in college basketball's national championship. >> it was a war. >> the top seeded cardinals shrugging off a 12-point deficit in the first half with a stunning array, a thundering dunk, the nba-style three pointers to finally wear down. >> look at this. the wolverines. >> oh! >> and the injured kevin ware providing all the inspiration the cardinals needed following his devastating leg injury. his teammates bringing the rim down to him so that he could cut the net, as you saw there right after the game. >> such an incredible moment. such an incredible game. wow. congratulations to louisville. 38 minutes after the hour right now. so this might be the last thing

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christine romans joins us now with a look at what's ahead on "starting point." >> right now we're starting with north korea, warning foreigners in south korea to take shelter or evacuate over the possibility of all-out war. is this a sign they plan to take action? we're live in seoul. top of the hour. then, those two little boys, brothers, abducted by their father. they're reportedly in cuba this morning and there are reports they're in the custody now of cuban officials. could there be extradition issues between the u.s. and the island nation when will those little boys come home? we'll get reaction from congress members ileana ros-lehtinen and peter king. plus two candidates vying to become mayor in a cash-strapped small town. the catch? that's the mon. that's the son. they're running against each other. we're talking with the mom about this unusual race and what that means around the dinner table. and we told you about this brave 7-year-old boy battling brain cancer. he got to experience one of his

dreams. we're going to meet jack hoffman. we're going to talk to him. he scored the touchdown of the lifetime. that is one little husker fans. and husker fans love this kid almost as much -- >> he's adorable. >> so excited to meet him. >> can't wait. >> 42 minutes after the hour right now. it's been more than two years since former congresswoman gabby giffords was shot and nearly killed by a crazed gunman in tucson. today brain injuries do make speaking difficult, yet giffords has become a spokeswoman for new restrictions on guns. but she hasn't lost her preeshs for gun culture. dana bash spent some time with giffords and her husband mark kelly at their home in arizona and got really amazing, exclusive behind-the-scenes access. >> reporter: target practice is a form of entertainment at giffords' mother's house, deep in the arizona desert. >> he's aiming for my pot. whoa. >> reporter: husband mark kelly using planting pots and water

bottles as targets, while giffords watches from the patio with her mother, cheering him on. >> excellent! >> excellent! excellent. >> reporter: kelly isn't shooting with just any kind of gun. >> this is the same kind of gun gabby was shot with. a glock, a 9 millimeter glock but in that case it had a magazine that held 33 rounds. this when it's full holds 17. he shot 33 rounds. every round hit somebody, we think. >> how long have you had this gun? >> well, i gave this to gabby as a gift. >> reporter: when? >> a number of years ago. she's a gun owner. you know, she's from the west. >> reporter: still, we asked the question a lot of incredulous people seeing this scene would ask. really? this guy sort of still has -- gets his kicks or recreation for him is shooting a gun, after his wife was shot through the head? >> well, gabby used to like shooting a gun, too, occasionally. >> yes. >> really an interesting

interview. giffords and kelly argue because they appreciate and understand the gun culture they have more credibility in their fight to expand background checks for private gun sales. dana bash is going to have more on that on giffords recovery and bone-chilling experience of coming face-to-face with her shooter. that is tonight on "ac 360." >> 44 minutes past the hour. now to this week's "road warriors" report. we've all been there before, standing in a long line, trying to board a flight when someone in front of you takes ten agonizing minutes trying to squeeze that oversized piece of luggage into an overhead bin. i just experienced it. i was getting very angry about it. >> now american airlines is testing a system that allows passengers without carry-on bags to board first. that's interesting. it's set to announce in baltimore, austin, fort lauderdale and washington. if your bag fits under the seat in front of you you can board before everyone else. but elite frequent flyers and passengers in higher class, well they still get to board before you. >> american is not the first to

try this. alaska and frontier already give boarding priority to customers without carry-ons. it makes a lot of economic sense. airlines collected over a billion dollars in baggage fees and they're losing money when planes sit on the ground. if more people check their bags, revenues go up and the boarding process moves faster. >> american stresses for now this is just a test. >> all right. so they're probably still partying somewhere in louisville. everywhere in louisville. >> yes. >> check out the fans who took to the streets after last night's victory coming up we'll hear from coach pitino, kevin ware, and the game's mvp. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. omnipotent of opportunity. you know how to mix business...

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welcome back to "early start," everyone. people in the arkansas neighborhood where thousands of barrels of crude oil gurgled up from a pipeline are now suing exxon mobil. their class action suit demands more than $5 million. more than 20 people still can't go home. exxon has said it is paying for the cleanup and will honor legitimate claims. >> check out these pictures of a dramatic rescue above the frigid james river. this is virginia. firefighters plucking a terrified truck driver from the cab of her big rig. it dangled over the side of the monitor merrimack memorial bridge, 43-year-old lost control of her truck on i 664 yesterday morning. it actually caught fire for a few minutes after jumping the embankment. firefighters were able, as you see there, to use their truck's rescue bucket to bring that home

finally to safety. louisville cardinals waking up or staying up as the case may be. the ncaa men's champions were crowned last night as the louisville cardinals beat the michigan wolverines. this game was a nail biter. vince here with more in today's "bleacher report." >> after some ho-hum moments to the tournament this game wasn't just great. it was mesmerizing. 40 minutes of basket to basket drama and unlikely heroes in louisville's historic championship win. one of those heroes didn't even play. we're talking about kevin ware making his way to the floor on that shattered right leg inspiration. michigan racing out in front behind the freshman who blew up twitter and the georgia dome, 17 in the first half. louisville countered with the bearded one, luke hancock. who came off the bench, scored 14 consecutive points and rallied the cardinals. hancock 5 of 5 from three-point range. louisville and rick pitino on an historic win.

and, in a stirring post-game moment, kevin ware did, indeed, help cut down the net. he spoke with cnn's rachel nichols. >> it was all worth it. this is a great, great game and i really enjoyed every moment of it. >> and the reception you got from everyone around the country and the fans tonight? >> it was big. the support has been keeping me in my good spirits. honestly that's what's getting me through right now. i want to say thank you to everybody. >> as for rick pitino, what a day. officially named to the basketball hall of fame monday and then he becomes the first coach to lead two different schools to the ncaa championship. another rally for the top seed overall in the tournament. >> can't tell you how proud i am of the guys, of the moment. 16 straight games from a five overtime sharing a big east championship since last year, a tournament championship at madison square garden and then a run to the national championship. it's just for us, been an incredible run with just the most wonderful young men i've

had the pleasure to be around. so proud of them. >> what about the path to glory for the most outstanding player luke hancock? he's a george mason transfer, had the game of his life. five of six from the field. 22 points. three assists. two steals. and talked about it in post game. >> it's just an inbelievable feeling. i'm so happy for our team. those guys have worked so hard. you know, especially kevin ware not being able to play. we're happy for him. but there's so many people that went into the point and i'm just happy for everybody. >> the school isn't finished yet. word is rick pitino is making his way to new orleans to support the louisville women's team in the championship game tuesday against connecticut. uconn is shooting for an eighth consecutive ncaa title. the cardinals seeking an upset and a clean basketball sweep for the school. cnn has a preview of the game at bleacherreport.com. >> i can see you with that --

>> i was just talking about that. >> if i could hit threes like luke hancock, i'd do anything. >> vince selanne, great to see you. >> it is 53 minutes after the hour right now. former president bill clinton, he finally has a twitter account sort of. last night stephen colbert dedicated his entire show to an interview with clinton at a clinton global initiative event. at one point he surprised clinton by at theing him he set up an account in his name. >> now president clinton was taken. william jefferson clinton was taken. but prez billy jeff was available. would you like to break into the 21st century right now and send your first tweet?

i'll type -- >> you'll type it? >> i'll type it. 120 characters or less. >> just spent. -- >> just spent -- >> amazing time with colbert. >> like deep concern on bill clinton's face there. he is not at all sure about this twitter thing and in case you thought they were kidding, here was the full tweet. just spent amazing time with colbert. is he sane? he is cool. billy jeff clinton. another tweet posted a few hours ago says now that i'm no longer president i've been downgraded to air force seven. most of them with the hashtag not colbert pretending to be me. so far prez billy jeff has 29,000 followers. >> "early start" back right after the break. plus the perfecting color of a bb cream equal? introducing the newest beauty trend. total effects cc cream c for color. c for correction. [ female announcer ] fight 7 signs of aging

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well that's it for "early start." thanks for joining us, i'm zoraida sambolin. "starting point" begins right now. good morning, everyone, i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it's a busy tuesday morning. north korea is warning foreigners to evacuate over the possibility of all-out war. that as japan starts to place missiles for defense. then as iran announces a new nuclear effort the u.s. unveils this. this is a laser that can shoot planes and drones out of the sky. it is a developing story. we're following it. >> new this morning, wild weather from california wildfires to colorado tornadoes and blizzards in the midwest. we have live team coverage. >> two brothers abducted by their father, reportedly in cuba this morning. we're going to go live to havana with what's going to happen to them now. >> and in case you were sleeping, louisville is the new