verdict. until then, we'll always have the memories of the cold day in the ikea parking lot and one stylish little monkey. little darwin. that does it for us. "early start" begins right now. breaking news this morning. free just minutes ago, the american grandmother accused of smuggling drugs in mexico released from jail. this this is a huge development. we are live on the scene. tornadoes, wildfires and a sizzling heat wave across the country. what's in store for you today? and chilling new video this morning of the boston terror suspects just days before the bombs went off. and the king bee is crowned. the winning word that won it all for this very smart new york eighth grader. >> that's one way to put it. good morning, everyone. welcome to "early start". i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it's friday.

let's say it one more time, it's friday. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. breaking news. this has been unfolding all night before our eyes. the arizona mother of seven, the grandmother, in fact, who spent a week behind bars in mexico accused of smuggling drugs, she has been released. authorities in the area arrested maldonado after finding 12 pounds of drugs under her bus seat last week, but new evidence apparently convinced a judge to let this woman go free. now, we just heard from her in a statement made in after she was released. >> first, i have to thank god that now i'm free now. and i'm very grateful that i'm fr free, for my family, my children. and i really thank all of the people and you guys, the media,

who really, really, through you, was through my situation was extended to the whole world. and i thank you for that. >> the witnesses say exactly what's happening. the video was very important evidence because, while the witnesses say the declaration f of -- the extension of gary, it was tape recorded. and they're not lying. so exactly what happened in the station -- >> what you just heard was her attorney talking about the video that helped exonerate maldonado. this was video of her getting on the bus with nothing that could have been 12 pounds of pot. >> a purse, two blankets and a bottle of water.

the question it still raises now that she is free is what is going on that someone could just end up more than a week in jail on the word of someone who says they were smuggling drugs. it is still a very, very scary situation for travelers. >> it is terrifying. you can see on her face the relief. you can hear it in her voice, but i'm sure as these days pass, you know, the fury that she must feel will come to the surface. we'll hear much more about that and will be following this all morning. stay with us on this developing story. the other developing story is relentless, the wide swath of america bracing for flooding and tornadoes possible again today. >> one tore through arkansas yesterday ripping roofs away. there were four minor injuries there. our meteorologist is following this all for us. all week. >> it is so hard to believe it is literally the story through today and tomorrow the east coast is still the story, the remaining heat. turbulent tornadoes touching down in tulsa and curbing,

oklahoma, thursday night. >> look at that wall cloud, dude. that's coming straight at us. look at that mesocyclone. >> reporter: both just north of the city of moore devastated by a tornado last week. and over in arkansas, this tornado swirling into a waterspout over lake washita. further north in wichita, kansas, rain is the issue. floodwaters rising past the headlights of cars leaving some stranded and others just looking for a place to keep dry. >> well, the county fire responded very quickly. you can see the number of fire trucks out there. and then there's the heat out west. firefighters battling a raging wildfire near santa clarita, california, that has scorched at least 400 acres of land. >> this firefight still very, very active, and probably will be for some time. >> reporter: in the east, the first signs of summer in new

york's central park. from the splashes to the scoops to the first slathers of sunblock, the heat wave has officially arrived. >> i guess i wasn't so smart so i need to go get ice cream. it melted. >> melted ice cream, a welcomed sight after the late season memorial snowstorm had places like vermont measuring snow in feet. syracuse and binghamton weathered the late flurries and broke 40-year-old records. >> it was freezing like three days ago. >> all seasons in one week. >> unfortunately with all the wacky weather we have a clash of the systems right in the middle of the country. look at the instability still out there. severe thunderstorms, a lot of lightning and the threat will still be with us with the setup remaining. look at all the rainfall. tulsa is nearly escaping a large tornado, heavy rainfall right in their area. and today again, that threat sets up the same. we still have the moist air up against the dry air. a little bit of a difference,

the jet stream is not lining up perfectly today, but regardless, look at the swath. once again, bull's-eyeing near oklahoma city and moore with the swath today sending even farther to the east. so the great lakes region down through the texas panhandle will be affected. so what are we dealing with once again? here we are looking at temperatures in the east. definitely not as big of a story in the country. it is so hot and humid, what a change from a few days ago. there is a little bit of relief in sight, that's the good news. with the heat wave in the east, not temperatures in the upper 80s and 90s. to the west, look at the difference with the 70s and 60s. the cold air will eventually move in. what does that mean? we'll see a little bit of a chill going to the weekend and thunderstorms to the northeast by the end of the week. so a little bit of good news with a lot of tough weather out there. a beautiful weekend in chicago. i don't live in chicago. >> glass half full. nice for them. >> great for them. also developing this story, a possible break into the information into letters laced

with poison sent to president obama and most recently mayor michael bloomberg and his gun control lobbying group. cnn's ed lavendera is live with those details this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, christine. this could be an unlikely place for this story to kind of begin unfolding here, but fbi agents spent the night staked out at the house you see behind me here in this small town, population 4500, of new boston, texas, tucked away in the northeast corner of the state. law enforcement officials are questioning a man at this new boston, texas, oklahoma. about threatening letters believed to contain ricin sent to president obama, new york city mayor michael bloomberg and a gun control group. >> it kind of hits home more when it can be somebody right down the street. >> reporter: the three suspicious letters were post marked in shreveport, louisiana. the ones addressed to the

president and mayor bloomberg never reached them, both were intercepted where letters are screened. white house spokesman jay carney emphasized in the past when other threatening letters were september to the president. >> the mail is screamed. the mail sent here is screamed and these tests are taken at remote sites to mitigate the risk to them and the general population. >> reporter: the fbi is testing the letter sent to president obama and meanwhile the new york city department says the preliminary testing on the bloomberg letter came back positive for ricin, a potentially deadly poison made from beans. it was opened by its director, and that letter contained a whitish, orange substance. the letters contained an ominous message, you have to kill me and my family before you get my guns, it read. anyone who wants to come to my house will be shot in the face. the right to bear arms is my constitutional, god-given right

and i will exercise that right till the day i die. what's in this letter is nothing compared to what i've got planned for you. is the gun control group really behind these threats? >> it could be somebody on the other side blaming the people who believe in gun rights. >> reporter: this latest round of threats has many wondering if ricin is becoming the weapon of choice for intimidation. >> rice up is probably one of the worst ways to try and kill somebody. so i don't see it as a real threat in the sense of an actual capability to kill but rather to intimidate and attract publicity. >> so far, christine, the fbi has not made any official comments as to what it is doing currently this investigation, but several neighbors in this neighborhood say late yesterday they saw several fbi agents coming and going from the house and removing electronic equipment. and they continue to be staked out here today. this is a situation we'll continue to watch up fold

throughout the day today. >> ed, thank you so much. also, new this morning, chilling images. cnn's obtained a video that shows the boston bombing suspects working out at a gym, this is just 72 hours before the bombs went off. security cameras at the y crew mixed martial arts center show the tsarnaev brothers arriving with a friend before 2:45 p.m. on friday, april 12th. the manager says tamerlan seen wearing a hat there looked different. he shaved off his beard he had for a while. that could have been a sign of things to come. >> shaving the beard may be a way to blend in, not to attract scrutiny from security services in carrying out the boston attacks. we have seen, in part, terrorism cases, past plots, western middletons shave their beards off before plotting attacks. >> before they get started, tamerlan is seen in an argument

with the manager about taking off his shoes, which is a policy in the gym. then they begin their workout. we'll have much more on this later this hour on "early start." he's the king to be. this eighth grader won the scripps spelling national bee last night. he was cool, calm and collected throughout. >> his whipping world, knaidel, a yiddish word for dumpling. >> knaidel. k-n-a-i-d-e-l, knaidel. >> he is a national scripps beacon test tant. this was his final shot at the win, a pressure player, this man. he says he's happy to be retiring on a good note.

>> and this was german he derived words that tripped him up the last couple of times. so we wonder if he buckled down and studied those. >> everyone knows about the problems he's had with the german words the last few years. it was sort of like the curse of the bambino affecting this young champ. coming up, is this an international incident in the making. an american woman killed in syria. reports say she was fighting with the rebels. and new clues on the world's great mysteries. the disappearance of amelia earheart. is this image from the ocean, not this one, but what we are not showing you right now is a greater mystery, the greater image we are not showing you that could be the missing piece of the puzzle. it's not a candy bar. 130 calories 7 grams of protein the new fir one caramel nut protein bar.

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dave's flight school. go dave. when people talk, great things can happen. so start a conversation with an advisor who's fully invested in you. wells fargo advisors. together we'll go far. [growl] wells fargo advisors. we used to live with a bear. we'd always have to go everywhere with it. get in the front. we drive. it was so embarrasing that we just wanted to say, well, go away. shoo bear. but we can't really tell bears what to do. moooooommmmmm!!! then one day, it was just gone. mom! [announcer] you are how you sleep. tempur-pedic. welcome back. 15 minutes after the hour. new pictures from turkey where police used tear gas to clear up protesters staging a sit-in in the commercial district. they plan to build a new

shopping center and they tried to block bulldozers from taking down trees. thursday was the third consecutive night of protests. this informal referendum of sorts on recent turkish government policies. an american woman killed in syria in the midst of the civil war there. syrian tv reports a 33-year-old woman from flint, michigan, was killed by government forces. they claim she and two other westerners died fighting for the rebels there. nick walsh is tracking these developments and is joining us from beirut in nearby lebanon this morning. what do we know of this woman and why was this american woman from flint, michigan, doing in syria? >> reporter: that is a good question, john. certainly what syrian state tv is putting throughout with a series of pictures suggesting ammunitions found near her, they were driving and the identity passports and the passport, although appeared to be a british man, put out there by

them suggest that is the foreigners were somehow involved in rebel activity there. according to the media reports, none is confirmed, we just have to take syrian state media's word for it, but they call it an ambush. this ties in to the broader issue that the governments have been talking about, the incoming foreigners into the conflict, fighting on rebel sides. the area where they were reportedly killed, hotly contested in the city, some of it held by the rebels, some held by the regime. the major fear, western governments have is the radicalization of people who may start fighting with syrian rebels, potentially joining for humanitarian grounds. and the syrian state uses that as an example of the foreign-fueled group of terrorists rather than a domestic insurgency. >> they are trying to portray these people, this woman particularly, as an extremist. is there any evidence of that? >> reporter: at this point, no, we don't really know exactly why

she was there. we don't quite have any independent information about that at all. and we have to go on what syrian state media are saying, and that's intensely politicized. much more digging to be done. i'm sure american officials will want to know quite why if this turns out to be an american woman what she was doing in syria and the motivation for that journey. >> nick walsh on this story. a 33-year-old woman from flint, michigan, fight in syria and she was killed. and coming up, michael jackson's wrongful death trial. they testified wednesday that presley died of a drug overdose, but when his own lawyers questioned him, he said presley died of a heart ailment. jackson lawyers argue he should have been more aware of drug abuse by artists, including jackson. today queen elizabeth pays a visit to the bar racks in london where a british soldier was

murdered last week. the 25-year-old was killed and police are treating this as a terrorist attack. he was a member of the troop horse artillery that fires gun salutes during royal state ceremonies. intense rain leads to widespread flooding in parts of southern china. floodwaters raged in spots trapping locals. these bikers almost got away. fallen branches and debris blocked trains and made flooding in some areas worse. an asteroid nearly two miles wide will pass by planet earth today, which is where we live, and at the closest point the asteroid 1998 qe-2 will be 2 trillion mile ace way from earth just before 5:00 p.m., so brace yourself. >> i love this story. the next one. we are getting our first look at an image this morning that could provide clues into one of the most captivating

mysterying of all time. investigators believe this grainy sonar image taken last year in the south pacific, they think this could be a piece of amelia earhart's plane. this is a million feet below the ocean's surface. a member of the expedition team that took the image says it's the right size, it's the right shape, and it is in the right place. >> and you think of news stories my grandfather used to tell me in 1937 the world stopped. they all listened to the radio as the search began for her, where did she go? where had she been? when you think of the viral news events, that was the original viral news event of the 20th century. disappearance of amelia earhart. it may be france's most popular word, the french kiss. the one word galocher translates

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good morning. welcome back to "early start." futures are pointing to a lower start as stocks bounced back yesterday after so-so economic reports. unemployment in the eurozone climbed to 12.2% in april. that is a record high. meantime, here in this country, 7 million college students could soon be paying for loans, more for loans unless congress acts today. we are talking about student loans subsidized by the government, not private loans. those rates are set to double on july 1st to 6.8%. 7 million borrowers affected. the house recently passed a bill to prevent the july increase to link student interest rates to the ten-year treasury note, but they would vary from year to year. president obama wants a fixed rate and will veto the house plan if it crosses his desk.

student debt is second to loan mortgages. students who have debt how nearly $27,000 loans. >> that's a lot of money. >> it really is. it can be decades or well into my 30s to pay off my student loans. coming up, on the rampage. tornadoes tear up oklahoma and arkansas. today could be even worse. and were there clues to chilling new video of the boston bombing suspect days before the deadly attack. had keep my eye . but, i didn't always watch out for myself. with so much noise about health care... i tuned it all out. with unitedhealthcare, i get information that matters... my individual health profile. not random statistics. they even reward me for addressing my health risks. so i'm doing fine... but she's still going to give me a heart att we're more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. because all these whole grains

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i'm very grateful that i'm free. >> breaking news this morning, the nightmare is over.

just minutes ago the american grandmother locked up in mexico accused of smuggling drugs finally set free. we'll hear from her live in moments. and chilling, the new video of the boston bombing suspects in training. new images of the tsarnaev brothers just days before the bombs went off. and believe it or not, still more trouble for justin bieber accused of dangerous driving, partying all night. oh, no. so is this finally reason for alarm? welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. 30 minutes past the hour. breaking news, the american woman jailed in mexico accused of smuggling drugs is now free. overnight a mexican drug released maldonado. >> we'll go live to mexico where the family spokesperson is making a statement. let's listen. >> it takes effort and strong belief of right and wrong to go

through what they have experienced -- what they've experienced and remain faithful and steadfast again. thank you to all who join with us to bring yanira home and we thank you, our heavenly father, fonswe our prayers. and that is our statement. >> i'm not sure now whether we'll hear from the family, there we go, yanira is sitting down with her husband, gary maldonado. let's listen to what they have to say. >> we'll start with some questions, guys. fire away. >> all right. obviously, the questions and answers are in spanish.

we'll bring in rafael romo who is in mexico. what is the latest in this? we may stop if we begin to hear it translated to english. >> reporter: john, it has been an incredible night for the maldonados. something, it was a moment of such incredible emotion when we witnessed that first hug between yanira maldonado and her husband, gary. they gave each other a big bear hug. they separated and then they realized that they were together again. and then there was another big hug. it was a very emotional moment. and as you can imagine, it was very difficult for this couple who's only been married for one year. she got arrested a week ago on may 22nd, last wednesday, she was first taken to federal custody in the capital right

across the border here in arizona. then she was sent to a state prison. and she was told she was accused of trafficking drugs because bundles of marijuana, more than 12 pounds, were found under her seat. but she said last night that everybody was praying for her and that she was very grateful, not only to her family, the people who supported her, but also to the media. let's listen to what she had to say. >> i want to say thank you, first, to god, that i'm free now. and i'm very grateful that i'm free, for my family, for my children. and i really thank all the people and you guys, the media, who really, really, through you, was through my situation extended to the whole world. and i thank you for that. >> just after she was released

she's speaking right now and answering questions. let's just listen to what she's saying right now. >> -- other people going through their problems makes yours smaller, but, you know, so -- [ inaudible ] >> oh, they are so happy that i'm out. they can't wait to see me. >> reporter: what did they say to you? >> they told me that -- i don't know what time. 9:55, probably around 9:30 maybe, because i come here right after. someone came from the court to sign papers to give notifications, so i signed the paper and he said that i would be released. >> reporter: what was your reaction? >> i screamed.

yes. [ speaking spanish ] >> she said she learned she was going to be released at 9:00 p.m. last night, just several hours ago. her reaction, she screamed with excitement. rafael romo is covering this story for us. this bus surveillance video cleared her, video of her walking onto the bus? >> reporter: the video was introduced in court yesterday. and it essentially, i was one of a handful of reporters who had an opportunity to actually watch the video because they don't allow cameras inside the courtroom. what the video essentially shows is the couple boarding the bus in the city in mexico, and they only had a couple of blankets, a couple bottles of water and her

purse. so that was the basis for the defense's claim that it would have been impossible for the couple to smuggle packages of marijuana weighing more than 12 pounds. and it ended up being probably the crucial piece of evidence that the judge needed to see in order to release yanira from the prison across the border where she spent quite a few days. john? >> any possible pull-back to the authorities that detained her? >> reporter: i've been here for the last few days and what i sense is a tug-of-war between the state government and the federal government. the soldiers who originally detained the couple did not show up to testify in court on wednesday. and that was the beginning of the end for the prosecution's case. also, the governor of the state publicly expressed sympathy for

yanira, which was probably very uncomfortable for the federal government. there's a lot of traffic between the state of arizona and the state of -- a lot of americans who cross the border to go to the beaches and to go shopping, and the government was very worried this was going to create a lot of bad publicity for this part of mexico, christine. >> clearly this has been a lot of bad publicity and also a reminder that a great deal of illegal traffic is going across the border in commercial vehicles. and you've got a drug smuggling problem and a gun smuggling problem, too. those are all sorts of the bigger pictures here, she was just caught up in a small part of it. let's listen to a little bit more of her at a press conference. rafael, we'll listen to what she has to say. >> -- to get to where they wanted to get, the staff, but they should be more honest and

do things right. >> reporter: were you targeted or just unlucky to sit there? >> no, i don't think i was targeted. maybe i'm wrong. [ speaking spanish ] >> all right. yanira maldonado just released from prison a few minutes ago. now she's speaking to the prison when she was told she was going to be set free, she says she screamed. very nice to hear. very nice to see her out, finally. 38 minutes after the hour. also developing this morning, the threat of persistent severe weather across so much of the country. storm trackers say two tornadoes touched down in oklahoma yesterday and there could be more today. storms also dumped rain on the tulsa, oklahoma, metro area. >> in arkansas a tornado tore through the town of oden ripping

roofs away, snapping trees. a total of nine people injured because of bad storms in that state. and in california's angeles national forest, more than 500 firefighters try to get the upper hand on the 1,000-acre powerhouse fight. at one point, they dumped fire retardant when the flames threatened power line there is. that sounds dangerous. good news to tell you about right now, and let's go to our meteorologist who has all that going. good morning. the radar itself shows the story, typically in the overnight hours is when we start to see a break in the afternoon. that's when we see things firing up. and take a look at all the instability right now. a lot of thunderstorms already on the map, but unfortunately today it looks like this setup is still with us. it's a tough time of year to typically see tornadoes this time of the year. we see the warm, moist air moving up against the cold air. we'll switch the map here. there we go. we saw a lot of rain, in fact, in toledo we just saw them escape a large tornado

yesterday. heavy rain, four to six inches there yesterday. the conditions are the warm, moist air banking up against the cold, dry air. the jet streamlining up and the low, all of that producing the cold air. having a little trouble, there you can see, the severe risk area now is another bull's-eye. this is right over moore, oklahoma. oklahoma city, norman, typically this time of the year we do see this, and even joplin today, into the bull's-eye. a good 35 million of you seeing the slight risk. a little different than yesterday since we are looking at the threat going more to the great lakes regional way down through texas. again today, we see that severe map. that is the moderate risk today, just as powerful as yesterday. hard to believe i'm still saying this. i feel like a broken record, but everyone stay vigilant. thank you. also new this morning, chilling video of the boston terror suspects just days before the bombs went off. we'll have these new details straight ahead. hey, look! a shooting star!

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new this morning, chilling surry sw say lance video, surveillance video, of the tsarnaev brothers working out on friday, april 12th. the manager says tamerlan tsarnaev was so difficult he wanted to ban him from the gym. cnn's debra farrick has more. >> reporter: suspects and brothers, tsarnaev, worked out at the gym. tamerlan in the hat looked different. noticeably missing, tamerlan's full beard, which he had for about two years.

the manager describes tamerlan as extremely opinionated and outspoken about his muslim religion. he didn't want to engage in a long, heated debate. now he wondered if tamerlan shaving the beard was part of the islamic ritual purification prior to death. >> shedding the beard may be a way to blend in, not to attract scrutiny from security services in carrying out the boston attacks. >> reporter: tamerlan trained at y crew several times a month for free. professional courtesy to the nationally ranked golden gloves boxer. his brother rarely came with. almost immediately the manager off-screen to the right asked the men to follow posted gym

rules and take off their shoes. the younger brother complies right away. tamerlan does not, arguing and thought giving any ground. the manager later e-mails the man asking him to bantamer lan saying he's always the first one in the ring. his years of training are evident. watch how he handles the jump rope. look at dzhokhar who has more trouble. tamerlan remains focused, barely missing or breaking stride. it's right here that the brothers interact. they seem relaxed, dzhokhar resting at times. tamerlan, moving, moving, working out 72 hours before two bombs exploded near the finish line of the boston marathon.

debra fayerick, cnn, new york. >> it is weird to see them working out just 72 hours before the bombing. meanwhile, a man is waiting for a visa to come to the u.s. to bring his son's body back to chechnya. he doesn't understand why he died. he was unarmed and surrounded by four or five agents when he was shot seven times. >> he didn't pose any threat to them, but even if he threatened him with his fists, couldn't they shoot his leg? my son couldn't attack them because he's not crazy. i don't know how they could shoot him like that. >> the father also says his son was not close with the boston bombing suspect, tamerlan tsarnaev, only knowing him from training at the same gym. but the u.s. says both were involved in a previously unsolved triple murder. 47 minutes after the hour right now, up next, tv's

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good morning. nine minutes until the top of the hour. welcome back. the man who emerged as a hero in the kidnapping of three women in cleveland is taking his show on the road. he says people have been cashing in on his name without permission. he signed a contract to be a motivational speaker at $10,000 an appearance. >> he's so charismatic, i just totally adore him. his charisma just shines through. and i think he has a very touching and emotional message. he had the courage and the motivation to go and help somebody out when they were in a disastrous situation. and i really admire and respect that. >> ramsey says he hopes to inspire people with his message

and raise money for the kidnapping victims as well. the search is on this morning for a bad samaritan who scooped up more than $2,000 after it fell out of a man's truck. this video shows a man named john walking into a restaurant in california's central valley unaware that he's dropped the wad of cash in the parking lot. $2,000, not bad. a man runs over and scoops up the money. crazy. to make matters worse, this man, john, remembers running into the guy in the restaurant while he was searching for his cash. crime stoppers offering a ,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case. karma, not good in that situation. all right, the former owner of a monkey famously photographed in an ikea store in canada fighting in court to get his monkey back. she says she might have a good case. the animal sanctuary where darwin the monkey has been living is no longer pursuing charges that he was mistreated while in her care. the tsa says it has removed

all 250 body scanner that is critics once called virtual strip searches. the back scatter machines raised privacy and health concerns after over radiation exposure and revealing images, maybe toog them out of airports in february when congress voted to require all scanners have privacy protecting software. the contractor could not meet that demand. >> how much did we spend on those? i have to look that up. >> that's a strange expensive chapter in airport security. >> i think it is. coming up, take out half and add a woman? the intrigue swirls around "two and a half men." we'll tell you who is coming and who is going. few industries are changing more rapidly than healthcare. by earning your degree from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to advance your career while making a difference in the lives of patients. let's get started at capella.edu.

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good morning. welcome back. 57 minutes past the hour. trending this morning, lebron james is looking for an intern. but you need an mvp-level resumé. folks say the miami heat star is hiring. you have to be proficient in spanish, have experience in photoshop, journalism or marketing experience, and you must be from ohio, lebron's home state, new york or south florida. >> i'm from new york, sort of. >> i thought you were from boston. no word on whether you'll be paid or not either. >> again, that doesn't matter. "american idol" quickly running out of judges after weeks of rumors mariah carey and nicki minaj are one and done. neither will stick around for

another season. randy jackson is leaving also leaving just keith urban. it was an eventful 12th season with mariah carey and minaj sparring on and off the set. their feud did not translate into higher ratings for some reason. "idol" reported a record low audience for the season finale in may. no word on replacements. again, another job opportunity. >> you're funny and smart enough. a new female will soon be the half in "two and a half men." the actress hasn't been chosen yet, but she'll replace jake harper. charlie harper was played by former cast member charlie sheen. the new character will move into the home played by ashton kutcher. >> job opportunities everywhere. check it out on cnn.com/trends. >> "early start" continues right now. i'm very grateful that

free. >> finally free. this just happening overnight. the arizona grandmother falsely accused of smuggling drugs in mexico, she's out of jail and she just spoke moments ago. we'll tell you what she said. a brutal night leads to a dangerous morning. tornadoes, wildfires, and a sizzling heat wave. what you need to know about the severe weather assaulting so much of this country. and a developing story this morning. a man being questioned after a poison laced letter is sent to president obama and mayor bloomberg. i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman. >> let's begin with breaking news this morning. an american woman who spent a week in a mexican jail facing pot smuggling charges, she is free this morning. all of this developing overnight. authorities arrested yanira maldonado after they said they'd found 12 pounds of marijuana under they are bus seat last week. but new video evidence introduced yesterday in court apparently saent the

prosecution's case up in smoke. rafael romo live from arizona. what did she say now that she's finally released? >> reporter: more than anything, christina, it's a sense of gratitude, a sense of, even when she was in jail, there were many people sending her messages and praying for her, and the first words out of her mouth when she walked out of that prison, and when we had a chance to speak with her, it was that she was just very grateful, very glad to see her husband. she spent nine days in custody, and so as you can manage, she's just happy to be back with her family. let's listen to what she had to say, just a few moments ago. >> i'm free! i'm like, i'm free, i'm free, i'm free. i was innocent, so i was very, very happy to be out.

>> reporter: and now she is cross the border. she is on american soil, with her family, with her husband, and is suspected to travel tomorrow to the phoenix area, the city of goodyear, where she lives, christine. >> so going home to phoenix. did she say if she'll ever return to mexico? i mean, she said that she goes every year, she has family in mexico. this must be -- it will give her pause, no question. >> reporter: that's right. she's a native of mexico. she migrated to the united states when she was 17 years old. she still has a lot of family there. as a matter of fact, she was arrested after attending a funeral for her aunt. so it is a very bitter situation, what happened to her. but she was asked that specific question this morning, and this is what she had to say. >> i love mexico. my family is still there, so

mexico -- it's not mexico's fault. so it's a few people who, you know, did this to me and probably to other people, who knows? you know? so i probably will go back. >> reporter: something that she told me on wednesday, when i sat down for an interview, inside the prison, was that the reason why they were traveling by bus was because they thought it would be safer. and as it turns out, it ended up being a really bad choice, christina. >> could there be any blowback to the authorities who detained her? >> reporter: it is a possibility. first of all, the soldiers who arrested the maldonados, because her husband, gary, was also arrested originally, did not show up for testimony on wednesday. they were supposed to be the main part of the evidence, the strongest testimony for the prosecution, and they didn't

show up. and it is not known, exactly, where they're standing right now, but what i can tell you is there seems to be a lot of con flick between what the state government was doing for her and what the federal government did to her, christine. >> all right. high drama there and we're so glad that she's on her way home. thanks so much, rafael romo. mpls also developing this morning, a dangerous threat of tornadoes, it's moving east. oklahoma up to the great lakes, bracing for severe storms today. one tornado tore through odin, arkansas, yesterday, just ripping reviews away. severe weather now blamed for nine injuries in that state. >> our meteorologist is following all of the severe weather for us. good morning. >> it doesn't even seem real anymore. we just keep talking about day after day. today, another threat for that, and the story still on the east coast with the big heat wave. >> reporter: turbulent tornadoes touching down in tulsa and cushing, oklahoma, on thursday

night. >> there's your wall cloud right there. look at that wall cloud, dude. it's coming straight at us. look at that mesocyclone. >> reporter: both just north of the city of moore that was devastated by a devastating tornado last week. and over in arkansas, this tornado swirling into a waterspout over lake washta. further north in witchta, kansas, rain is the issue. floodwaters rising past the headlights of cars, leaving some stranded and others just looking for a place to keep dry. >> l.a. county fire responded very quickly. you can see the number of fire trucks out there. >> reporter: and then there's the heat. out west, firefighters battling a raging wildfire near santa clarita, california, that has scorched at least 400 acres of land. >> this firefight still very, very active and probably will be for some time. >> reporter: in the east, the first signs of summer in new york's central park. from the splashes to the scoops

to the first slathers of sun block, the heat wave has officially arrived. >> i guess it wasn't the smartest idea to go get some ice cream. it's melted. >> melted ice cream, a welcome sight after the late season memorial day snowstorm had places like vermont measuring snow in feet. upstate new york weathered the late flurries and broke 40-year-old records. >> it was freezing like three days ago. >> we've had all seasons in one week. >> definitely, this wild weather continues. and unfortunately, right in the middle of the country is where it all comes together and we see this unstable air and all these showers. look at the story just this morning. all of this stability, all this lightning. the severe weather threat is on again today. a moderate risk will be with us one more time. now, overnight yesterday, we saw a lot of rain, even a tornado scoot right by toledo. and unfortunately, it was so close, but really large amounts of rain were in the area, and unfortunately we're looking at that threat again today. look at the severe outlook for

you right now. we're talking about a huge swath there, large moisture banking up against the dry air. we've been doing this day after day, mainly because this has been the situation day after day. again, we're looking at that huge swath, anywhere from the great lakes all the way down to oklahoma city and notice where we're talking about a bull's-eye again, oklahoma, missouri, and also through arkansas. another tough day in store for us. >> i don't remember a threat lasting this long. every day, it has been relentless. >> just that time of year. >> indra, thanks so much. also dropping this morning, a trail of ricin-laced letters has brought fbi investigators to texas to question a person of interest there. they're looking at threatening letters sent to president obama and new york city mayor michael bloomgberg that are suspected of containing the poison riciricin. ed lavendera live with all these details. >> reporter: people never

expected this investigation to land on their front doorsteps here, but throughout the night we've seen two fbi agents staked out at the house you see behind me. law enforcement officials are questioning a man at this new boston, texas, home, about threatening letters believed to have contained ricin, sent to president obama, new york city michael bloomberg, and a gun control group. >> it kind of hits home a little bit more when it could be someone right down the street. >> reporter: the three suspicious letters were postmarked in shreveport, louisiana. the one addressed to president obama and mayor bloomberg never reached them. both were intercepted at off-site mail facilities where letters are scened. jay carney has emphasized this in the past when other threatening letters are sent to the president. >> the mail is screened to mitigate the risk both of recipients and to the general population. >> the fbi is now testing the letter sent to president obama.

meanwhile, the new york city police department says that preliminary testing on the bloomberg letter came back positive for ricin. the third letter sent to washington, d.c. office of mayors against illegal guns was opened by its director. a police report says that letter contained a whitish/orange substance. the letters contained an ominous message. "you will have to kill me and my family before you get my guns," it read. "anyone who wants to come to my house will be shot in the face. the right to bear arms is my constitutional god-given right and i will exercise that right 'til the day i die. what's in this letter is nothing compared to what i've got planned for you." >> it could also be somebody on the other side trying to make their point by blaming the people who believe in gun rights. >> this latest round of threats has many wondering if ricin is

becoming the weapon of choice for intimidation. >> ricin is the worst ways to try to kill somebody. i don't see it as a real threat as a capability to kill, but rather to intimidate and attract publicity. >> fbi officials have not made any official comment yet as to where this investigation is headed and what exactly they're doing here in this neighborhood. but several neighbors say late yesterday, they saw teams of fbi agents going in and out of this house, and taking away electronic equipment in many of their visits inside the house. >> thanks, ed, for being there in new boston. i want to get back to the breaking news this morning. the american woman jailed in mexico over charges of drug smuggling, she is now free and she is on the phone with us right now. yanira maldonado and her husband, gary, join us right now. guys, thank you so much for being with us. yanira, let me ask you right off the bat, how you doing?

>> i'm doing fine. i'm here with my husband and my in-laws. >> when are you going to go home? you want to go home soon, i hope, you want to see your kids? when will you be leaving the country? >> yes, we are hopefully going today to see the kids. >> yanira, i've been listening to you all morning speaking about your release. you say you screamed in excitement when you found out you were finally getting out of jail and you handled this with such poise and such grace, but i have to ask, were you just enraged and infuriated over the last week. i cannot imagine being put in jail for something like this when there's simply no connection to reality. >> yeah, i was very, i was -- >> we've got to go, sorry. >> i think we have lost gary and yanira on the phone right now. but it is nice to hear she's

doing well. even nice to hear her answer to your question. >> i don't think you've breathed a final sigh of relief until you're actually home in your living room with your kids, across the border, back home, trying to get back to normal. coming up, the king of pop and the king, such a bizarre twist. why the death of elvis is playing a major role in the michael jackson wrongful death trial. and a major clue in one of the world's most enduring mysteries. is this what's left of amelia earhart's plane? real this time. step seven point two one two. verify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one. standing by for capture. the most innovative software on the planet... dragon is captured. is connecting today's leading companies to places beyond it.

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good morning, welcome back. a developing story. an american woman killed in syria in the midst of its civil war. syrian tv reports that a 33-year-old woman from flynt, michigan, was killed by government forces. and they claimed she and two other westerners died fighting the rebels. nick paton walsh joins us with developments. what do we know about this woman and what she was doing in syria? >> syrian state tv acquire the clip within the ranks of the insurgency that they've been fighting. they've shown the identity card,

the passport of her and actually of what appears to be a british man alongside her, also killed, showing them the gruesome pictures of their bodies and also the volkswagen they appeared to have been ambushed in when they were in the city in the north called it idlib. the rebels are getting more and more control over it. they've also shown ammunition that was seized alongside, the allegation being that she was part of the foreign influence among the rebels that they've been fighting. they tried to betray that whole insurgency as some sort of foreign-feudal al qaeda-linked terrorist plot. >> is there any evidence of that? that's what state tv appears to be making out to her, as an extremist, possibly affiliated with al qaeda. any evidence? >> reporter: at this point, no. we're not naming the woman, there hasn't been 100% identification made by officials

and relatives. we're still right to piece together elements of that, but there is no obvious evidence at this point. it's simply allegations being made by syrian television. >> and in the meantime, president assad speaking out, talking about future talks with the opposition. what's he saying? >> reporter: well, he has said that they would attend the geneva 2 peace talks that the u.s. and russia have been pushing for potentially at some point next month. but there's a real hurdle here. they're notoriously divided. they at first came forward and said they wouldn't attend talks if assad himself was part of the political process. that's pretty much a fatal precondition, certainly in the eyes of moscow and assad. here's what assad had to say about the opposition. >> translator: we will have an official delegation to attend this conference, as legitimate representatives on behalf of the syrian people? who will they represent? when the conference is over for

us, we will return to syria and to our homes and to our people. when the conference is over for them, where they will return to, that you are five-star hotels? >> reporter: now, bizarrely, assad and some parts of the rebels reading off the same script. the rebels have been equally critical of their civilian opposition leadership in exile, saying it has to do with the revelation that they were fighting day to day on the ground. >> nick payt toton walsh. also new this morning, images of the boston bombing suspects together just days before the attack. cnn has obtained this video that shows the tsarnaev brothers working out at a gym, just 72 hours before those bombs went off. security cameras at the y crew mixed martial arts center in boston. it shows the tsarnaevs arriving with a friend just before 2:45 p.m. on friday, april 12th. the manager says tamerlan seen wearing a hat looked different than he was used to. he'd shaved off his beard that

he'd had for a while. this could have been a sign for things to come. >> shaving the beard could have been a way to blend, not to attract scrutiny from security services in carrying out the boston attacks. we've seen in past terrorism cases in the west, past plots, western militants actually shaving their beards off, in some cases before plotting attacks. >> before they even got started is with their workout, tamerlan is seen getting into an argument with the manager about taking the off his shoes, which apparently is a policy at the gym. and the brothers begin their workout. the manager says he was so annoyed with tamerlan tsarnaev, that he tried to have him banned from the gym. elvis' death coming up at michael jackson's wrongful death trial. aeg live co-ceo paul gangaware testified wednesday that presley died of a drug overdose, but when his own lawyers pressed him ain't, he said presley died of a

heart ailment. jackson's lawyers argue that he should have been more aware of drug abuse by artists including jackson. we're getting our first look at a new image this morning that could provide clues into one of the most enduring mysteries of all time. this is roman's favorite story of the day. this grainy sonar image, they believe this could be a piece of amelia earhart's plane. this is hundreds of feet below the ocean's surface. earhart vanished in 1937 while attempting an around-the-world flight. a member of the expedition that took that grainy image says it's the right size, it's the right shape, and it is in the right place. this is one of the most enduring mysteries really of the 20th century. we're minutes away from an asteroid passing by our planet. it's nearly two miles wide, but at its closest point, just before 5:00 p.m. eastern, it will be 3.6 million miles away.

hold on to your hat! but nasa says it will be more than 200 years before the asteroid gets this close to earth again. this is berman's favorite story of the day. >> i love when asteroids pass within millions of miles. >> no, this next one. the french finally have a word to describe the french kiss. the one-word verb that translates into "kiss with tongues" is among the new entries to the just released 2014 edition of the french dictionary, galocher. >> that's a petite galocher. coming up, losing weight while eating at mcdonald's. the company's ceo says, hey, it worked for him. i'm going to drm about that tiramisu. what a night, huh? but, um, can the test drive be over now? head back to the dealership?

[ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a passat. that's the power of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com today. [growl] on any new volkswagen. we used to live with a bear. we'd always have to go everywhere with it. get in the front. we drive. it was so embarrasing that we just wanted to say, well, go away. shoo bear. but we can't really tell bears what to do. moooooommmmmm!!! then one day, it was just gone. mom! [announcer] you are how you sleep. tempur-pedic.

good morning. welcome back to "early start." minding your business, new

numbers this morning showing unemployment in europe, record high. 12.2%. let's compare that with the u.s. the unemployment rate here, 7.5%. still going in the wrong direction in europe. stocks on wall street set to struggle, dow futures down 90 points right now. we'll continue to watch that for you. president obama will be surrounded by college students at the white house today to warn that they'll soon be paying a lot more for their student loans. interest rates on government-backed loans are set to double on july 1st unless congress acts. this will affect 7 million college students. the houns recently passed a bill that would prevent this increase and link the interest rates to the ten-year treasury note, which is way, way lower. but president obama wants a fixed rate and says he will veto that house plan. trying to find a checking account with clear rules and few overdraft fees? good luck. a new pew survey looked at the nation's 50 biggest banks. none of them got a perfect score. 14 of them were so bad about

making it count policies public, they couldn't even be ranked. which checking accounts do make the cut, alley bank, charles schwab, first republic, but even with those, there is room for improvement. is it possible to lose weight while eating mcdonald's every single day? the ceo of mcdonald says not only has he done it, but he's lost 20 pounds. don thompson says he's been eating mcdonald's every single day, but he also recently decided to, quote, get his butt up and working out. >> calories are calories. it's just what you take in. if you watch them, you can lose weight. the issue is vitamins and nutrients and things like that and balance and everything. >> my diet is watching every calorie as it goes right down the gullet. >> this is breakfast for christine romans. this weighs like 14 pounds. i've been doing bicep curls with

her breakfast. >> you want some of that. coming up, a night of devastating storms. tornadoes take arm at arkansas and oklahoma. homes and businesses damaged and the threat remains this morning. it starts with little things. tiny changes in the brain. little things anyone can do. it steals your memories. your independence. ensures support, a breakthrough. and sooner than you'd like. sooner than you'd think. you die from alzheimer's disease.

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out of jail. breaking news this morning, an american woman freed after being accused of smuggling drugs in mexico. hear from her, coming up.

this severe weather just keeps slamming the country. tornadoes in the heartland, wildfires out west, and a heat wave that is cooking the east coast. what you can expect today. >> and boston strong. a heartwarming tribute to the victims of the boston terror attack with some of the biggest names in music. >> what a concert there. welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman. >> and i'm christine romans. breaking news this morning, yanira maldonado is a free woman this morning. a mexican judge released her just hours ago, after a week in jail on charges of smuggling drugs. the key, surveillance video. rafael romo live from nogales, arizona. rafael, we just heard yanira speak. what did she reveal about her time in jail? >> well, it was a very difficult time, as you can imagine, but something that we learned about her, she's a mormon and what she told me on wednesday and repeated again today was that

during that difficult time in prison, when she didn't really know whether she was going to be released, as soon as she wanted, she relied on scripture, she relaid on prayer, and also the prayers of the people outside and the messages that she was receiving. let's listen to what she had to say about what the conditions were inside the prison in nogales, mexico. >> i was told that i would be, you know, sent to another prison, a federal prison and it really scared me, but it really got my faith and reading the scriptures, i found a book of mormon, and i was reading with some of the inspects in there and we did a fast on sunday and it just, talking to them and getting to know them, i really feel that there's other people

going through their own problems and makes yours smaller. >> reporter: both yanira maldonado and her husband, gary, are back on american soil, here in nogales, arizona. they're expected to head over to goodyear, arizona, in the phoenix area, where they live and where they will meet their seven children. christine? >> was it the best surveillance video that cleared her rafael? >> reporter: that's exactly right. what the prosecution, the federal government was saying was that she managed to smuggle almost -- or i should say, more than 12 pounds of marijuana on to the bus. this video introduced by the defense attorney showed that they only had two small blankets, two bottles of water, and her purse. so it would have been impossible. and the video clearly showed it, and i was one of the journalists who was able to see it, for them to smuggle that amount of drugs

on to the bus. and that was, perhaps, one of the main reasons why the federal judge decided to release her last night. >> and of course, her husband has surmised could be that these are trumped up charges. that someone was trying to bribe them, get a kickback or something. so could there be any kind of blowback for the people who detained her in the first place? >> reporter: it is definitely a possibility, christine, but at this point, what the mexican government, my sense is what they want to do is get it over with. because this case has brought a lot of really bad publicity to mexico, especially to this area, which is an area that is frequently visited by americans going to mexican beaches, coming here for shopping. there's a lot of interaction between the two states and that was definitely a very, very bad situation for mexico, christine. >> rafael romo in nogales,

arizona, for us. thank you. all right. just into cnn, i want you to take a look at these, just incredible images. we're told that this small plane ran out of fuel and crashed into an apartment complex in herndon, virginia. two people in the plane and one person in the building were taken to the hospital. just minor injuries. nine adults, seven children, and three passengers were evacuated from the building. sources say the plane was on its way to manassas airport from philadelphia, tried to land at dulles if d.c., did not make it. so crashed into this apartment building, seemingly on the roof, but just some injured suffered by some people in there. that is simply stunning. we're also following another developing story this morning, the threat of severe weather, relentless weather across so much of this country. storm trackers say at least two tornadoes touched down in oklahoma yesterday and conditions could produce even more of these storms today. also, dumped serious rain on the

tulsa metro area. >> in arkansas, a tornado tore through the town of odin, ripping roofs away, snapping trees. nine people were injured because of bad storms in that state. >> and in california's angeles national forest, more than 500 firefighters trying to get the upper hand on the 1,000 powerhouse fire. at one point, planes dumped fire retardant because the flames were threatening the power lines. but there is some good news. the hikers reported missing near the fire, those hikers have been followed safe. >> meteorologist ingrid peter watpeterson watching this. >> even these early hours, all the lightning, the thunderstorms really continuing through these overnight hours. today, another day with just not a slight risk for severe weather, but even a moderate risk. a little bit different today that it shifted to the east. the great lakes all the way down

through texas. but that moderate bull's-eye is once again over oklahoma city, moore, norman, the typical spots, and also today including even joplin into that moderate risk area. so as we go through the afternoon, we'll be lacking at this activity to pick up. the other story, the heat wave really in the northeast. look at these temperatures, 20 degrees above normal in new york, 13 degrees above normal in pittsburgh. this hot weather isn't going anywhere. so hot and humid and what a change from a few days ago, we were seeing cool temperatures, but there is good news. there is a cooldown in sight. it could take another day or so, but you can see the difference, all the 90s to the east coast. and going back a little bit towards chicago, we'll start to see a little bit of that cool air. in fact, we see some 60s and some 70s in the future. showers will actually pick up by about late saturday in towards sunday. a hint of good news somewhere across the country. >> congratulations, chicago. >> indrid peterson, thanks. and queen liz elizabeth

visiting the barracks where a soldier was killed. lee rigsby was a member of the battalion that celebrates state ceremonies. atika shubert joins us live from london. what's the latest? >> reporter: we're actually right in front of the royal artillery barracks and the queen is inside. she's meeting with the king's force royal artillery. and this is a pre-planned visit. this is something that had been months in the making. but she made a point, the buckingham palace made a point to say after the attack that this would be going ahead, despite that attack last week perhaps to show the resolve of the royal family, that they would go ahead undeterred. but clearly this visit has taken on much greater resonance and significance. in addition to meeting other members there and seeing the barracks here, she's going to be meeting with people who actually coordinated the response of the barracks to the incident.

so it will have a great meaning for people to see the queen here. >> atika, i understand just a few minutes ago, the family of lee rigby released a statement. what are they saying this morning? >> reporter: basically thanking their supporters, all the well wishers who have come out and put flowers here at the scene, for example. what they said in that statement is, basically, we're struggling to come to terms with this loss of, and we are truly grateful for everybody's support. but they also made an appeal and said, we would like to everyone stiz that lee would not want people to use his name as an excuse to carry out attacks against others. that seems the to be a reference to the anti-muslim protests we've seen over the last couple of days and in particular, attacks against mosques in some parts. of the country. the family clearly making an appeal for calm. >> even as they are mourning, they are trying to keep the peace. atika shubert in london, appreciate it. new questions from the father of a man shot dead by the

fbi. abdulbaki todashev is waiting for a visa so he can come to the u.s. and bring his son's body back to chechnya. he said his son was unarmed and didn't have to die. >> translator: he didn't pose any threat to them, but even if he threatened them with his fists, couldn't they shoot his leg? my son couldn't attack him, because he's not crazy. i don't know how they could shoot him like that. >> the father also says his son was not close with boston bombing suspect tamerlan tsarnaev, only knowing him from training at the same gym, but the u.s. says both were involved in a previously unsolved triple murder. >> so last night in boston, they were singing for their city. ♪ >> steven tyler and aerosmith sharing the stage with a host of other artists for a benefit to sport the boston marathon victims.

it was a labor of love for all of them including james taylor. >> a lot of my songs were written to make me feel better, and sometimes that resonates with other people too, so you write a piece of music or a song that sort of has the purpose of seeing you through a tough time or putting something out there that you feel internal. >> that's james taylor with brooke baldwin, who somehow drew the short straw, covering the best concert ever. proceeds from the concert go to one fund boston, the charity established to help the bombing victims. 40 minutes after the hour. and coming up, the mermaid shocker. we'll show you the broadcast that has thousands of people asking, did you just see that?

i wanted to ask you a couple questions.card. i've got nothing to hide. my bill's due today and i haven't paid yet. you can pay up 'til midnight online or by phone the day it's due. got a witness to verify that? just you. you called me. ok, that checks out. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card with payment flexibility. [growl] we used to live with a bear. we'd always have to go everywhere with it. get in the front. we drive. it was so embarrasing that we just wanted to say, well, go away. shoo bear. but we can't really tell bears what to do.

moooooommmmmm!!! then one day, it was just gone. mom! [announcer] you are how you sleep. tempur-pedic.

welcome back. new this morning, images of the boston bombing suspects together, only days before the attack.

video obtained by cnn shows the tsarnaev brothers working out at a gym, just 72 hours, 72 hours before the bombs went off. >> not a care in the world. >> no, just skipping rope, working out. surveillance cameras showed the brothers arriving with a friend around 2:45 p.m. on friday, april 12th. the manager says tamerlan tsarnaev, who was seen here wearing a hat looked different after shaving his beard. before they even start the workout, you can see tamerlan arguing with the manager about taking off his shoes. it's a policy at the gym. the manager says he was so annoyed at tamerlan tsarnaev that he tried to have him banned from the gym. is and also this morning, police in turkey using tear gas to clear up protesters staging a sit-in at the commercial district. they opposed the plan to build a new shopping center there. they tried to block bulldozers from entering a park to take down trees. the former owner of a monkey

who was famously photographed at an akikea store is fighting in court to get the monkey back. and he may have a good case. the animal sanctuary where darwin the monkey has been living are no longer pursuing charges that he was mistreated while in her care. new york eighth grader arvin won the scripps national spelling bee last night in style. he was school, he was calm, he was collective throughout. >> and his winning world was knaidle, a yiddish word for a dumpling. >> he's a national spelling advisory veteran, came in third the past two years, ninth in 2010. this was his final shot at the

big win. he says he's happy to be going out on a big note. >> going out like elway, on top of the world. and now your morning dose of news about mythical creatures. animal planet's "mermaids: the new evidence" had 2.6 million viewers. the show was so convincing that many viewers were left scratching their heads, wondering if mermaids are real. >> what is that? >> oh, my god! >> what is that! >> reporter: so what is that creature on top of a rock, supposedly captured on film by tourists? >> that is not a seal! >> oh, my god, oh, my god! >> many watching animal planet's "merma "merma "mermaids: the new evidence" saw it as a proof that mermaids do exist. the show presented as a documentary details close encounters with the mythical sea

creatures. >> dr. paul robertson, welcome. >> it even featured guests, reported to be scientists from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, or noaa, but it was all in the name of entertainment, and it turns out dr. robertson is not really a scientist. so many viewers were fooled, noaa, a federal agency, felt compelled to issue a statement. it said, neither noaa nor its sciences are involved with anything related to this topic. no one from noaa was involved in making the fictional show and the person identified as a noaa scientist was an actor. if you watched the show closely enough, animal planet did include this disclaimer during the closing credits. "certain events in this film are fictional." disappointed viewers took to twitter after discovering the show was fictional. animal planet, you are dead to me. you got me on your little mermaid hoax. what was the freaking point, one

said? the fascination with merpeople is not new. a wave of films like "splash," and "the little mermaid" as opened people's imagination as to life under the sea. that's apparently what the filmmaker, charlie foley, wanted. he told cnn that the show is based on real scientific and evolutionary theory and real-life phenomenon, rooting our story with facts encouraged a sense of intellectual possibility. >> what is that? >> oh, my god! >> what is that! >> what is that? >> it is a sea lion? >> one thing it's not. >> what? >> a mermaid. this is the second time people were duped. this is actually a sequel to the wildly successful "mermaid: the body found," which aired last year on animal planet. >> which percentage of the 3.6 million people who watched that do you think walked away thinking there really could be

mermaids like sasquatch? >> we can keep on hoping. marriage proposals go high-tech. with just five seconds to get the job done. wow, five seconds for a manger proposal. we explain right after this. la's known definitely for its traffic, congestion, for it's smog. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the busses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution to the earth. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment.

the miami heat are one win from heading back to the nba finals. lebron james took over last night's game in the third quarter, outscoring the pacers all by himself. >> joe carter has more in this morning's bleacher report. >> lebron james, you could say, may have actually saved this series for the miami heat last night, because he turned a potential loss into a defining win. players have certainly described this series as extremely

physical, and you could call this a boiling point last night. chris anderson, tyler hansbrough, each of them got into it. the officials slapped anderson with a flagrant fly and lee might come back later with a further punishment. you can see lebron giving his team a pep talk. james outscored the pacers in the third quarter by himself, 16-13, miami broke it open from there, they won by 11. they lead the series three games to two. game six is saturday night. the yankees' center fielder just donated $5 million to help his alma mater, to help pay for a new baseball stadium. see, in 2002, he graduated from the university of illinois at chicago. and this past february, the school decided to retire his jersey and he vowed to help them build a new ballpark. it's going to be an open air brick stadium and cost about $7 million. so certainly his $5 million will help a great deal. and it's expected to open in

about three years. this is some pretty interesting video. it's not from a window washer, it's actually from lsu football coach les miles. they call him the mad hatter and appropriately he strawberried on a helmet camera and recorded his ride down the side of a building. he repelled down a 24-story building in downtown, baton rouge, and supported the over the edge for adoption charity. well, right after a couple threw out the first pitch at the kansas city royal's game, the boyfriend dropped down on one name, travis, to boyfriend to the girlfriend, caysha. it was a great moment and he said it was a perfect moment to thank the person who saved his life and hopefully will have the rest of his life to thank. see, earlier this year, travis was given one of her kidneys and it happened just before valentine's day. travis was born with only 25% of a functioning kidney and his girlfriend, day girlfriend, taysha was a perfect

match. and the reason they decided to do it at the royals game is because that's where they had their first date. >> speaking of mangrriage -- >> a proposal in five seconds flat. one groom going high-tech to pop the question. >> kurt bethman asked his girlfriend, marcia collier to marry him. he sent his proposal as a five-second video on twitter. collier tweeted back her response, a resounding, yes? >> short too. that is all for "early start" this morning. >> "starting point" begins right after this break. efs for charity, to prove that with soft fabric and waistband, the best protection looks, fits, and feels just like underwear. get a free sample and try for yourself.

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breaking news this morning. freedom for the american mom jailed in mexico. her dramatic release, her emotional reunion with her family, and just moments ago, these words. >> i'm free! i shout, like, i'm free, i'm free! i was innocent, so i was very, very happy to be out. >> we talked to her this morning. person of interest. investigators now questioning a texas man possibly linked to those ricin-laced letters sent to the president and the new york mayor. what led these investigators to him? first on cnn, terror on tape. the two boston bombers just three days before they set off explosives, caught on video. what the video can tell investigators. >> chilling. and then, under the sea, and causing a stir. it is the documentary, fake documentary, about mermaids, yes, mermaids, thatad