our "starting point" this morning a tornado touches down as a monster storm system stretches across the united states. millions of americans now on alert for heavy flooding and dangerous hail as wildfires smother colorado in smoke and flames, forcing thousands to flee their homes. we are live on the ground. then the nsa chief defending his agency's controversial surveillance program on capitol hill claiming they saved lives. will the fbi director face a similar grilling today? and then today, the duchess of cambridge is making her final

solo appearance before the royal baby arrives. we have brand new video of the big ship christening. was it successful? all that coming up. man's best friend saving two people as a car barrels dangerously onto a sidewalk. that's not the only reason this dog is so special. good morning, i'm christine romans. >> and i'm john berman. welcome to "early start". we begin with what could be an epic day for ferocious severe weather. 74 million people in the path of possible tornadoes, powerful thunderstorms, high winds, hail. in northern iowa two tornado touches confirmed. extensive damage, downed power lines, lots of debris, two businesses seemed to take the brunt of the twister's path. the restaurant owner says she left just in time. >> it felt like it getting closer so we locked the door and

took off for town and probably hit about two minutes after that. >> to me it looked large and scary to see the debris. we wasn't sure if there were any injuries at that point in time. >> no injuries reported but there were power outages. check out this amazing starkly beautiful image of lightning hitting chicago's willis tower formerly known as the sears tower. if you look closely, you can see the bolt hit two buildings in downtown chicago, meteorologist indra petersons is tracking the weather for us. good morning. >> good morning, you said tornado tornadoes, wind, hail, add in a ridiculous amount of lightning, heavy rain and of course we have the threat for flooding, all of that still in the forecast today. here's the reports from yesterday, look at the tornados, we mentioned these wind and hail that spread across the area. lot of people were talking about this word derecho, throwing it around. what is a derecho. it's a long-lived fast-moving wind storm. the key is long-lived. we need 58-mile-per-hour winds past 240 miles, that's the length we want to see those go

across. we don't want to see them but in order to qualify as a derecho. here is the key we didn't see those 58-mile-per-hour winds low to the ground so it is not a derecho but the threat is out there. we've seen the low from the jet stream dip a little bit more, giving more strength to that low. we continue to have a moderate threat out there today. very easy to see, large swathe area about 70 million of you still under the gun today for the severe weather but that's not the only problem. once that low makes its way offshore you think the problem is done tomorrow. on the back side of the low we talk about the threat for heavy rain in addition to what we have today. most areas are six inches above over. >> no and nowhere to put the rain that's going to fall tomorrow. colorado, unpredictable wildfire is the big concern. at least five different fires are burning, two major infernos

charring more than 11,000 acres, dozens of homes gone. dan simon is in colorado springs with the latest and with darkness comes maybe some relief a little bit of relief, but it will be hot and dry again today. won't it, dan? >> reporter: that's exactly right. it does provide some temporary relief in the form of cooler temperatures and the winds are calmer. the winds are expected to pick up. this fire has become such a problem that federal authorities are planning to take over the operations. multiple wildfires burning out of control across colorado, forcing thousands more to flee their homes. hundreds of firefighters trying to gain control of the wind-whipped flames as the evacuation areas grow. >> we've had incredible wind shifting and the winds have remained pretty consistent and that has done a lot of things we were not really expecting. >> reporter: on wednesday the fires roared through thousands of acres in mere hours, fueled by hot temperatures, dry brush

and gusty winds. >> we watched the plumes of smoke as they were rolling, as the fire was rolling over our neighborhood. >> reporter: and there is no sign of slowing down. this boy scout camp heeding the warnings and heading out of harm's way. >> we do want to make sure they're going to be safe. >> this baby deer carried out by a firefighter as the out of control inferno puts everything and everybody in danger. >> get out, go! >> the sheriffs came down and said you're going now and this part, not knowing whether i have a house or don't is the worst. >> reporter: about 60 miles to the southwest, a smaller wildfire threatening the iconic royal gorge suspension bridge. its structural integrity now being evaluated, and this sobering image snapped at a local baseball game gives a glimpse of the incredible size of these unpredictable fires. things got so bad at one point the local evacuation shelter

itself had to be evacuated because the smoke was so thick. at this point this fire is zero percent contained. hopefully all those aircraft and all the firefighters on the ground will begin to make a dent but at this point zero percent containment. john and christine, back to you. >> thanks. looks like another tough day for firefighters in colorado. tough day for administration officials at capitol hill. robert mueller will meet with members of the house judicial committee, they're sure to fire tough questions about the nsa's once secret surveillance and data mining operations. dan lothian live at the white house. one republican is vowing to challenge these programs in court. >> reporter: that's right you're talking about senator rand paul an overspoken critic of this administration who also expressed some deep concerns about the nation's surveillance programs. he is expected to bring a court challenge arguing that these broad generalized warrants might

be unconstitutional. he's expected to hold a press conference later today joined by some privacy groups as a top intelligence official insisted these programs work. edwards snowden is hiding out with his secrets perhaps in a hong kong safehouse, now accusing the u.s. government of a global hacking operation. thousands of miles away on capitol hill, the director of the agency snowden once worked for argues the controversial surveillance programs work. >> it's dozens of terrorist events that these have helped prevent for both here and abroad. and disrupting or contributing to the disruption of terrorist attacks. >> out of those millions, dozens have been critical? >> that's correct. >> reporter: most of the details he says are classified but alexander was more than willing to admit this intelligence helped stop a plot to attack the

new york subway system leading to suspect najibul azazi, who was charged in 2010. >> it allowed us to know it was happening. >> reporter: but the target of the investigation contractor snowden remains defiant telling the "south china morning post" i would rather stay and fight the united states government in the courts. he accuses the u.s. of hacking network backbones like huge internet routers, targeting hong kong and china and proclaims he's neither traitor nor hero but what to call him is less of an issue than how a high school dropout ended up privy to the super secret surveillance programs. >> ask you if you're troubled that he was given that kind of opportunity to be so close to important information that was critical to the security of our nation? >> i have great concerns over that, the access that he had,

the process that we did and those are things that i have to look into and fix from my end and across the intel community. >> reporter: so later today alexander will hold an unusual classified briefing for all senators where he will provide more details about these programs. he's been coming under fire of late and says he'd rather be criticized rather than jeopardize the security of the country. >> another briefing later today but classified, what do you expect the tone to be there? >> reporter: well if only we could be behind those closed door briefings. we expect there will be some very sharp questions. lot of these lawmakers did know or at least have the opportunity to find out a lot of this information, but many of them have concerns that perhaps the government has gone too far, so we expect there will be some very sharp questions and perhaps he'll be able to give more details to those classified operations. >> thank you, dan lothian at the white house for us this morning. amid calls for his prosecution the reporter who told the world about edward

snowden and the wire tapping program is speaking out, glenn greenwald was on "ac 360" when anderson cooper asked him about republican congressman peter king's assertion that he should be prosecuted because he has names of cia names and assets around the world and threatening to expose that. greenwald says that is not true. >> the last thing i would try and do is read the mind and what goes on internally in the swamp of peter king's brain. i know he has a history of radical and extremist statements. he himself was a supporter of terrorism for several decades when it was done by the i.r.a. so i don't know if he decided to completely make that up or if he hallucinated or what, but i do know the claims he made on national television about me were utterly and completely false and they were very serious charges that i think he ought to be held accountable for. >> congressman king did not respond to a cnn request to clarify his comments. new this morning, president

obama is looking for a surgeon general because the current holder of the office, regina benjamin, announced she's stepping down from her post next month. benjamin has been surgeon general since 2009, a long time advocate for change in the system that foe you cans on wellness and prevention programs. nascar driver jason leffler was killed in an accident at bridgeport speedway in new jersey. he was 37 years old. in a statement nascar extends its thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies to the family of jason leffler. who passed away earlier this evening. for more than a decade jason was a fierce competitor in our sport and he will be missed." a jellyfish sting stopped mccardel from completing her

103-mile cuba to florida swim. it seems hard and dangerous. >> you think without a shark cage you think sharks are the biggest threat but it's jelly fish that are dangerous. a three overtime thriller at the mad house in a stanley cup final battle for nearly five hours, tied 3-3 in overtime, so close at the end of the skekd overtime the bruins, look at that shot barely, barely misses ringing off the post. midway through the third ot just around 1:00 a.m. here in the east a wicked deflection, andrew shaw wins it, hawks take the first time and play again saturday in chicago. >> let's go, boston strong. ahead on "starting point," a little girl with cystic fibrosis finally gets the lung transplant she desperately needed to have.

an update next. he was trapped underwater for two days trapped in a sunken ship and lived. >> no way. >> how was this man able to survive? you're watching "starting point."

today is an exciting new day for the murnaghan family of pennsylvania. 10-year-old sarah begins a brand new chapter of her life. >> yesterday she received lungs from an adult donor. doctors are pleased with her prognosis. jason carroll is in philadelphia. good morning. >> reporter: and good morning to you. sarah murnaghan at this point still resting, she is heavily sedated. her family, her parents at her side wanting to be there for when she wakes up president the surgery lasting about six hours yesterday. you can imagine how excited the family was when they got word on tuesday that donor lungs had become available. when i spoke to sarah's mother

last night she said literally they were jumping for joy when they got the news. now that the surgery is over basically at this point the family saying they really wanted to thank the donor family that made this possible, also at this point, they talked about what they're looking forward to as they move forward. >> we expect her to be doing some things within the next couple days and taking her first breaths so we can't wait for that and she really did well so we're very, very, very excited and we're very, very thankful. we're quite certain we were down to the last week so that wonderful family gave us the best gift ever, and we are really happy for that. we can't imagine their pain but we're thankful for what they did for us. >> reporter: do we know anything about the toner? >> they don't tell you anything but that donor is her hero, our hero of this story but she wouldn't have had access to that hero if it weren't for the

change. this is an adult donor, this is lungs she wouldn't have had the opportunity to have access to just two weeks ago. >> reporter: and that was an important point that her family wanted to get out. also, as you know, john, this was a delicate procedure. sarah has a long road ahead of her, risk of infection, a risk her body will reject the organ but sarah's been a fighter all along and her parents expect her to keep on fighting as she continues with her recovery. >> jason carroll in philadelphia, thanks very much. turkey's prime minister offering to hold a referendum to decide the fate of the istanbul park that's become the center of anti-government protests over the last two weeks. prime minister erdogan has ordered his interior minister to put a stop to the protests within 24 hours which could set the stage for more violence in istanbul and the capital ankara.

erdogan is giving the protesters one last warning to get out of that park. sounds ominous. for the first time we're hearing from the mother of gina dejesus had to say after her rescue last month. yesterday ariel castro pleaded not guilty to 329 charges. back on may 6th gina dejesus' family was just think being seeing her again. listen to what gina's mother said about ariel castro. >> i don't hate him. i forgive him. >> ariel castro's attorney says his client is taupe to a plea bargain if prosecutors drop the murder charges that eliminate him from receiving the death penalty. a hands on killer, that's how a federal prosecutor described boston's most famous

former fugitive, james "whitey" bulger. he's charged with 19 murders and other crimes. in their opening the defense said bulger was a criminal but not a killer. the 83-year-old was captured back in 2011 after 16 years in hiding on the run. his federal trial is expected to last about three months. all eyes on the supreme court, rulings on 23 high profile cases, some could come down at 10:00 eastern. same-sex marriage, voting rights and affirmative action, gigss are expected by the end of the current session later this month. brand new video of the duchess christens a princess, kate smashed the bottle against the new principle success cruise ship. this is her last official solo engagement and we'll get more from a royal inside per >> we'll talk about the dress or coat. >> i think it's a snow leopard.

it's certainly snow leopard and fashionable. >> she rocks the maternitywear. stock futures are down and the market showing serious volatility. should you be worried about your 401(k)? that's next. you're watching "starting point". i'm the next american success story. working for a company where over seventy-five percent of store management started as hourly associates. there's opportunity here. i can use walmart's education benefits to get a degree, maybe work in it, or be an engineer, helping walmart conserve energy. even today, when our store does well, i earn quarterly bonuses. when people look at me, i hope they see someone working their way up. vo: opportunity, that's the real walmart.

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good morning, welcome back to "starting point". minding your business a major sell-off overseas, japan's main stock market plummeting more than 6%. the nikkei in bear market territory, it's down 20% from its recent peak. investors worried about japan's long-term growth strategy and here in the u.s. wall street is worried about the federal

reserve tapering back its stimulus plan. lot of volatility and nervousness. the dow rose 100 points during yesterday's session but ended down 100 points. the vix, the fear gauge in the market jumping as well. the s&p 500 is up 13% this year, dow futures this morning are off about 25 points right now. yahoo! is giving a new lease on life to old e-mail accounts, beginning next month web surfers will be able to claim a new handle that had previously been used but became inactive. the move lights a fire under you guys who haven't logged in for a year. use your yahoo! e-mail account july 15th or you may lose it. one of the most recognizable features of social media coming to facebook, the twitter instagram. facebook had stiff competition in advertising and is looking for ways to stay competitive with the rapidly changing social

media space. ahead on "starting point" a mother fed up with a man sending lewd texts and pictures to her 11-year-old takes matters into her own hands, every parent needs to hear what she did to protect her child, coming up next. he survived a shipwreck in two days underwater, how he was able to do that, in moments. then this guy saves the lives of two people when a car ca careens wildly on the sidewalk. changing the world is exhausting business. with the innovating and the transforming and the revolutionizing. it's enough to make you forget that you're flying five hundred miles an hour on a chair that just became a bed. you see, we're doing some changing of our own. ah, we can talk about it later. we're putting the wonder back into air travel, one innovation at a time.

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welcome back to "starting point" everyone. i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. >> we're following the threat of tornadoes looming large again today from the midwest all the way up here to the northeast. >> quite a weather story. meteorologist indra peterson is

following the weather for us. >> it's unbelievable. we saw a good 24 hours of severe weather. we're seeing more building through today. as you look at the radar you can see some of the first bands making their way to the east coast. look how long of a line the storm has really lasted. all of the severe weather expected as we go through the afternoon today and you can notice this backwards c shape, we have the strong winds, strong downdraft and dry air. the speed of the winds gets added to the speed of the system itself. that's why we talk about the threat of winds being as strong as the tornadoes. the low that moved its way to the east has a little bit more energy so we're looking at the enhanced severe weather threat that lines up perfectly with the moderate risk area, we're talking about a good 70 million people extending from new york, new jersey, pennsylvania, down towards the gulf so all of you under the severe threat. we're still dealing with not only heavy rain but flooding and

the winds. we're about six inches of rain above average. add strong winds the trees get lifted like nothing. >> thanks, indra. a crusading parent who saved her 11-year-old daughter from a possible sexual predator. carolyn pretended to be her own daughter using social media to turn the tables against this alleged predator. here's john zarrella. >> reporter: carolyn could not believe what she was reading. "are you still a virgin" nor what she was seeing, nude pictures. >> i was overwhelmed, unbelievable. i couldn't believe it. i thought it happened to other people, not right here in my home. >> reporter: it started last month, late one night, carolyn, who we will only identify by her first name decided to check her 11-year-old daughter's phone. she found a bunch of facebook messages, no big deal if they were from other kids but they weren't. >> we see this guy and he's actually a grown man, so that's

what sent off the alarm in me. >> reporter: the man now charged with sending lewd texts and pictures is this man, 23-year-old michael jerome bradley but bradley might still be out there if not for carolyn's dogged pursuit. at first, police told carolyn they did not have enough to arrest him so pretending to be her daughter she gave bradley her phone number, he kept texting so she picked up the phone and called him. what do you say to him? >> i called him up and i say hey you know this girl that you're texting that you keep harassing on the phone she's only 11 years old. i'm like, if you don't stop calling her phone and texting her i'm going to call the police. >> reporter: carolyn says bradley still didn't know he was texting mom and mom was texting him back. >> all the while he's thinking it's her. >> reporter: "hey, you know it's my birthday just passed. i just made 12, i know i got a gift when i see you." response, "yeah, birthday sex"

and another allegedly from bradley. you want me to pick you up from school? let me know something. i know you don't have much freedom." finally carolyn had enough. bradley, she says, went on and on wanting a picture. >> i was looking into sunday's paper and i just boom, my eyes fell on the perfect picture so i sent it to him. >> reporter: a young woman from a target ad, after that, carolyn says is when bradley sent more explicit texts and the nude photos. now police had enough to pick him up on several obscenity charges and unlawful communication. >> the scariest part you're like oh my god what if, that's the biggest problem, the what if. >> reporter: we reached out to bradley's attorney but so far we have not gotten a response. as for carolyn's daughter, well, she no longer has a phone and mom says it's going to be quite

some time before she gets one back. christine? >> decades. >> i'll say. thanks, john zarrella. i think what this story tells me is you have to just watch what your kid is doing online. 11 years old is so young but oh my gosh. facebook page 11, how old are you supposed to be for facebook? >> 36. checking some of our top stories, fema denying a request for the city of west texas to be declared a major disaster area following the massive explosion at a fertilizer plant. they cannot get extra funds. the city says they need more than $100 million to repair the damage. texas state officials accuse president obama of helping them rebuild. when hillary clinton speaks or doesn't speak the rumor mill churns. she has a speech at the meeting of the clinton global initiative in chicago, likely to fall more speculation about a presidential

run in 12k3w4r0e6r78 week she debuted her twitter account which hinted with a tbd, to be determined. another controversial rape comment, arizona republican trent franks insists he was taken out of context while discussing his proposal to ban abortions after 20 weeks. here's the comment that landed him in hot water after asked about possible exceptions in cases of incest for rape. >> before when my friends on the left side of the aisle here tried to make rape and incest the subject because the incidents of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low. >> congressman franks insists he meant to say the number of abortions resulting from rape after the start of the sixth month of gestation would be low. he's now blaming democrats for distorting his words. is this a case of police

misconduct in texas? >> you're under arrest. >> for what? >> put your hands on the truck. you're under arrest. >> you just assaulted me. >> get ready to get tased. >> for what? >> oh [ bleep ]. >> the video captured from the officer's own body cam. on itty henshaw said what happened to him was unfair but what you don't see is what happened before the stop. police say he drove away from an accident scene, evaded the cops and then refused to pull over. henshaw denies that saying he will fight the charges. the police have received no complaints about the incident. after $115 million worth of renovations the carnival "triumph" is going back into service. the ship departs galveston, texas, on a sold out cruise to mexico. back in february "triumph" had to be towed back to port in mobile, alabama following an engine power. passengers spent five days in

what many describe as squalid conditions. after spending two and a half days, breathing from an underwater air bubble in a capsized tugboat late last month 29-year-old harrison o'keen said he was sure he would die but somehow divers found him alive. he spent another two and a half days in a decompression changer to let his body pressure return to normal. 10 of the 12 people on board tide and the remaining crew member has not been found. >> a guide dog in train something a life saver after alerting as the dog and two handlers barely escaped an out of control car that came barrelling down the street in reverse. >> i think the dog looked before i did, and i don't know what the dog would have done if i didn't grab danielle.

that's something you'll never know. >> in my mind it seemed forever. >> the driver was a 93-year-old woman. she accidentally put the car in reverse. the trainers walked away with no injuries. >> good dog. two maintenance workers left hanging 45 stories in new york after their scaffold snapped hundreds of feet above the ground. this type of scaffold is unique to the zigzagged shaped building. firefighters had to get creative. >> familiar site turned into a high-rise rescue. >> this drama first started to unfold on the 44th floor. >> reporter: this dramatic scene played out more than 550 feet above the new york city streets for 90 terrifying minutes two maintenance workers dangled outside the first tower, one of the city's most recognizable skyscrapers, stranded when their

scaffolding buckled and broke in the middle. firefighters determined it was safer to cut a hole in the double sided window on the 44th floor. this is what it looks like from the inside. watch as they carefully crawl through and enter the building. >> they're used to being out on the is afolding. they didn't have complaints. for being there for such a long time tensions were high. >> reporter: last october this washington, d.c., construction worker dangled from his safety rope in midair when one side of his sav folding failed. d.c. firefighters used a ladder to get him down. receipts cue workers inside that window. in this high-rise in yonkers, new york, where two men clung to the side of the building into the night their scaffolding hanging off the side of an apartment building. one man climbed through the window the other lowered to the ground. fortunately wednesday's right

nings afterdeal ended safely and paramedics that attended to the men after the rescue say they both smiled through it all. can you imagine smiling through that whole thing? neither of the men were injured and people say people below were never in danger. >> you think you have a harrowing job, their job or the firefighters, two tough jobs. ahead, major league history a first pitch thrown from more than 1,800 miles away. we'll explain how next. and a big day for the duchess of cambridge, her final solo appearance before she gives birth. you're watching "starting point" k

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. time still in a daze this morning because of hockey. what a way to start the stanley cup finals. it took nearly five hours to decide game one between the bruins and the blackhawks. andy scholes joins us with more. >> what a game this was. it began around 8:00 eastern and didn't come to an end until the wee hours of the morning. boston had a 3-1 lead in the third period, but that's when chicago would get two goals. the second coming when johnny oduya's shot deflects off a bruins skate t goes in and we're headed to overtime and they'd need three overtimes to settle this one, the blackhawks finally said enough is enough, this shot is redirected by david bolland

and andrew shaw, it goes in, and chicago wins 4-3 in triple overtime, it was the fifth longest game in stanley cup finals history. >> fans got their money's worth. >> they sure did. jason kidd is back less than two weeks after retiring from the nba, trading in his jersey for a clipboard. he was named head coach of the nets. he has never coached at any level but his knowledge of the game and relationship with darryn williams reportedly gave him the edge over other candidates. kidd will be introduced at a news conference. later tonight, game four of the nba finals, a must win for the heat, they trail 2-1 in the series. tip-off is at 9:00 eastern. the grounds crew at marion golf club has been working overtime trying to get ready for today's opening round of the u.s. open. more than six inches of rain has

fallen on the course since friday and more poor weather is predicted today. weather could delay the start of one of the anticipated opening threesomes top three players in the world, tiger woods, rory mcilroy and adam scott will be grouped together for the first two rounds of play, the first time that tiger and rory will be paired together in a major, scheduled to tee off at 1:14 eastern this afternoon. >> weather not looking good for that. >> definitely not looking good for play. for the first time in major league history a telerobotic pitching machine threw out the first pitch at a game. nick legrande is an a's fan, has a rare blood disorder and doesn't allow him to attend games so google built a replica baseball stadium from his home in kansas city and from 1,800 miles away nick threw the pitch and at the same time, the robot follows into a's reliever ryan cook behind the plate.

this is really cool. apparently an android device as nick threw it the robot threw it at the exact same time and a camera on the robot live screaming back to kansas city and nick was up on the big screen at the park. he got a standing ovation, cool to see how far technology has come we can do these things. it helps out kids like nick. >> nick has a great arm but the robot could use some work. ahead on "starting point" the last solo appearance in public for the duchess of cambridge before the royal baby arrives. did today's event lead to more diana comparisons? you're watching "starting point".

hey, thanks for stopping by. you know, i've followed your character since the first episode. i'm a big fan, big, big fan... thank you. listen, your storyline makes for incredible tv drama. thing is, your drug use is very adult content. too adult for the kids. so, i'm gonna have to block you. aw, man. yeahh... well. have a good one. you're a nice lady.

it is her last solo

ingaugement before the royal baby is due next month. christening a new princess cruise liner this morning. good morning, richard. >> good morning to you from southampton. this is where she did the deed. it is where she named the ship. i named the ship royal princess. may god bless her and all who stand on her. the new ship part of the princess cruises and it was from here, of course, that she then cut the rope. when she cut the rope, the bottle smashed out. have a look at the pictures as it actually happened. it was, of course, always a, champagne that they use for this sort of thing. the best part of 20 bottles of champagne and it smashed just on

cue. they did it the old-fashioned way. >> highly successful smashing and we're all relieved to see that. >> smashing success. is that where it comes from? >> it might. she is like a month away from giving birth, she looks strong to us. >> all right. she looked extremely real good health. first of all, she had to navigate those steps in six inch heels. she was wearing a dress, the dalmatian mack is about 104, $150 worth of mack. beautifully put together so although she is heavily pregnant you couldn't really tell. as well as for her demeanor. she laughed, she was engaged and enjoyed it. thoroughly part of the proceedings. this is the first time that she launched a ship and what a ship

she's launched. >> i don't know, heavily pregnant. having once been heavily pregnant. i don't like that phrase very much, richard. >> i think he meant it in the nicest possible way. richard quest, thank you so much. great to see you. >> let him defend himself. >> i don't think i can win on this one. i don't think i can win on this one. i'm quitting while i am ahead. >> i sit next to her every day. no way of winning on this one. >> victoria an expert on the royal family who grew up in windsor. can i start by asking the mack. i thought it was a snow leopard print. it's dalmatian. >> i liked your description. it retails in the uk for around 169 pounds, which is $264, but, reportedly, sold out. so, the kate effect is in full

force today. >> the last time we'll see kate alone until after the baby is born. what do you think this event means to her? >> this event was a lot of fun. the original princess was named by diana of wales and compared to her late mother-in-law, but this seem very fitting that she be there to launch the ship today. royal ladies have a long history of naming ships. aubrey hepburn, margaret thatcher. she is a godmother before becoming a mom in a few short weeks. >> she is making another public appearance with most of the royal family. >> yes, she will be this coming saturday, the queen's official birthday parade. prince philip will be missing and his absence will be felt. a lot of talk about whether or not the queen will ride alone in her carriage. the duke of kent had a stroke

recently and he would normally be riding. i think we'll see him sit alongside the queen. >> where do you think they'll live after they have the baby? >> kensington palle acpalace. the house they've been renovating is a large house, it will not be ready in time. they have a small two-bedroom apartment on the grounds. >> do you think they know the sex of the baby? >> i don't believe they do. traditionally british people don't find out. i think by not finding out it releases them from any potential slip-ups. >> a dalmatian mack sold out. don't even try to get it. it's unattainable. ahead on "starting point" 74 million americans in the path of hail, thunderstorms and the midwest already feeling mother nature's wrath. jaws in the flesh.

a group of fishermen get really, really close to a great white shark. way too close. you have to see this. oh, yeah. not sure i want to see that. you're watching "starting point." es related to mental hea. by earning a degree in the field of counseling or psychology from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to make a difference in the lives of others. let's get started at capella.edu.

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our "starting point" a tornado touches down as a monster storm system stretches across the u.s. as wildfires smother colorado and smoke and flames forcing thousands to flee their homes. we're live on the ground. lawmakers challenge the nsa over its leaked surveillance program. but is the spying keeping americans safe? and take a look at this, a group of fishermen get up close and personal to a great white shark off the coast of new jersey. we'll talk with one of the fishermen about this scary sight. >> way too close to here. >> good morning,i iu'm christin romans. >> i'm john berman, welcome to "starting point". an estimated 74 million people in the path of

thunderstorms, high winds and hail. in northern iowa two tornado touchdowns confirmed. the wright county sheriff's office reporting damage, downed power lines and lots of debris. a restaurant owner says she left just in time. >> kind of looked at it and kind of felt like it kept getting closer. we locked the door and jumped in and took off for a town and i can't of think it probably hit about two minutes after that. >> to me, it looked large and scary to see the debris. we weren't for sure what it was hitting or any injuries at that point in time. >> no injuries reported and there were power outages and look at this amazing, image of lightning hitting chicago's willis tower, formally the sears tower. you can see the bolt hit two buildings in downtown chicago. let's bring in meteorologist. >> good morning. unbelievable. we're still dealing with the same storm system. we can show you on the map what

started brewing yesterday. we saw showers and thunderstorms developing yesterday in iowa, that same system has traveled all this length and making its way to the east coast. you can tell some of the bands are pushing through new york and d.c. heavier rain pushing into your area. now, today, the weather just as severe as yesterday. we're looking at a low that made its way to the east coast. watching those the jet stream has dipped a little bit more. what that means to us in the weather world, we have a stronger low out there. the threat for severe weather will remain. in fact, where that low is you can tell where our moderate risk is. if you're in pennsylvania, d.c., all the way down to virginia. the huge swath includes 70 million for you for that severe weather. again, not just the tornado weather, but look at this heavy rain. one to three to five inches of rain in places that are already six inches above normal for this time of year. not a good situation between

strong winds and knocking power lines down. >> as the water out here, the fire in colorado. unpredictable wildfires a huge concern. at least five different fires burning this morning. two major infernoes charring more than 11,000 acres. dozens of homes simply gone. dan simon is in colorado springs with the latest. good morning, dan. >> good morning, john. this fire is still zero percent contained, which is pretty remarkable considering the number of aircraft, dozens of aircraft dropping water and dropping retardant and now you have 500 firefighters on the ground. just goes to show you that the weather still has the upper hand. multiple wildfires burning out of control across colorado. forcing thousands more to flee their homes. hundreds of firefighters trying to gain control of the wind whipped flames as the evacuation areas grow. >> we've had incredible wind shifting and the winds have remained pretty consistent and that has done a lot of things we

were not really expecting. >> reporter: on wednesday the fires roared through thousands of acres fueled by hot temperatures, dry brush and gusty winds. >> we watched the plumes of smoke as they were rolling, as the fire was rolling over our neighborhood. >> reporter: no sign of slowing down. this boy scout camp heeding the warnings and heading out of harm's way. >> we want to make sure that they're going to be safe. >> reporter: cows and horses taken to safety and this baby deer carried out by a firefighter as the out of control inferno puts everything and everybody in danger. >> get out! go! >> the sheriffs came down and said you're going now and this part, not knowing whether i have a house or don't is the worst. >> reporter: about 60 miles to the southwest, a smaller wildfire threatening the iconic royal gorge suspension bridge. its structural integrity being evaluated and this sobering image snapped at a local

baseball game gives a glimpse of the incredible size of these unpredictable fires. >> zero percent contained at this point. >> forced to grab belongings and evacuate their homes black forest residents could only wait and hope that a raging wildfire would miss their property. for the hinton family their home was 1 of the 92 homes under total loss. this is what it looked like before the fire. jack and his son, travis, join me now from colorado springs. we see, gentlemen, we see that picture of your house before the fire and now listed now as a total loss. i'm so sorry, must be difficult news for you guys to receive. how are you holding up? >> we're holding up good. just trying to figure out where we go from here. the rebuild and move forward. >> the listing of the home is what is called a total loss. what's it like to hear something

like that. did you ever really think that could happen to you? >> no, you don't ever think it is going to happen to you. but, you know, when you hear a total loss, you almost go numb. you just, you look at each other and we cried a little bit and we just try to decide what's next. >> travis, you and your friend sean really stepped up to the plate when you saw that fire coming. what happened when you saw that fire coming? what did you guys do? >> we saw it when it was like pretty little and we kind of, we went back to my house and my neighbor's house because we were babysitting their kids. and like her mom was just like, well, go ahead and take holly, one of the kids, to her swim lessons. so, we did that.

by the time we got there, we could see the fire off of powers and it started like getting black and getting a little bigger. so, we just hurried home and started pack aing up all the stuff. >> how were they have

looked at these documents but certainly yet to verify them, but, you know, christine, if true, this would only further complicate the relationship between china and the united states because the u.s. has been accusing china for months now of cyberhacking. so, really, it is tricky

territory that we're going into. >> we have to remember, too, we don't know his motives and we don't know whether he had access to that information. we don't know until we verify his claims anyway and as far as being part of the story, i mean, he has put himself front and center in the story. some would say he seems to be relishing his international notoriety now. he said he believes that the u.s. is trying to bully hong kong into extraditing him. any sense of what officials there are going to do? >> look, christine, people are not talking. no authorities are not talking. the hong kong, the u.s. consulate here, everyone just says, no comment. so, he has said in that article that he will fight any extradition order out of the united states. he will fight the u.s. government. that he believes in hong kong's rule of law to protect him. certainly the immigration lawyers that we have spoken to, christine, said if he applies

for asylum and fights the extradition process. this could drag on for months, if not years. >> anna, thank you. a shakeup to tell you about at the highest level of the cia this morning. michael moral announcing his retirement from the agency after 33 years. a move comes a month after he took the blame for editing the benghazi attack talking points. replaced by the top attorney at the national security council. she will be one of the first woman to hold one of the cia's top two jobs. jason leffler was killed last night in a crash while taking part in a 25-lap event. nascar released a statement condolences calling him a fierce competitor for more than a decade. she was nervous about sharks, but it turned out to be the jelly fish that.

the first person to complete the 103-mile jersey without a protective shark cage but a jelly fish sting that forced her out of the water after 11 hours. a fate she feared five months ago in our interview. >> i think the hardest thing for me is probably going to be the jelly fish because it has really come up against some really serious jelly fish. we're looking my team and i and researching it to combat these little guys. >> she will spend today recuperating in key west before deciding on her next challenge. a group of jersey shore fishermen could not believe their eyes when they came face-to-face with a great white shark last weekend. about 30 miles off the coast of atlantic city when a shark suddenly appeared. they're pulling their boat for ten minutes. they say the shark was massive, but seemed more curious than aggressive.

so, we have one of these fishermen and we'll have him on the line and talk to him in a few minutes. >> one sentence that will send chills down your spine. teeth marks on the boat. think about that. a little girl with cystic fibrosis gets the lung transplant that she desperately needed to live. we'll have an update on her progress, next. what would you do if a carl came hurdling towards you and your baby? how one mother's quick action saved her baby's life. later this hour, some very special guests. cnn has a new morning show, you may have heard of it. "new day." the new anchors chris cuomo and kate bauldwin will join us live. ♪

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( bull roar ) ...if you don't attend the running of the bulls. ole! welcome back to "starting point" suffers from cystic fibrosis has a new chance at

life. >> yesterday sarah received a new set of lungs, lungs that came from an adult donors. doctors are pleased so far with her prognosis. >> we're joined this morning by chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. great to see you. thanks for being with us. now that she has received this lung transplant, what is the situation for sarah? >> well, you know, sort of three phases to it. the recovery over the next couple of days. you heard she is going to have the breathing tube and breathing machine for at least 48 hours for the short-term. she is going to start the medications to prevent rejections. these immune suppressing drugs and sort of be in the hospital for a period of time. and then after that, it's sort of the longer term recovery. how she's functioning at home. hopefully the new lungs will allow her to function and do things that little 10-year-old girls do much more easily. i will tell you, a tough opaeration and a tough recovery overall. if you take all lung transplants, 50% of patients

survive around five years. so, a lot of work for her to be done. >> a long road ahead here. and she's not cured of cystic fibrosis. she still has that condition. could it attack these lungs? >> very good point. cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease. the lungs are one of the organs most affected by this. that's why she needed a transplant. the cystic fibrosis is not cured. it can still affect the new lungs and put people at risk for infections. she is on the drugs to suppress her immune system because of the transplant. it is not cured and still play a very important role for doctors to manage. >> sanjay, thank you so much. a long road ahead for sarah murnaghan but recovering this morning. ahead on "starting point" just when you thought it was safe to go in the water. not one bit safe there. we'll talk to one of the fishermen who took this jaw dropping video of a great white shark.

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. a group of jersey shore fisherm fishermen. >> that's a good video. >> those jersey shore fishermen. i have to say, some bleeps, but pretty calm when they came face-to-face with a great white shark last weekend. we're talking a 16-foot long shark that was circling their boat for ten minutes. honestly. look at this. this is crazy. so, the good news is they lived and how do i know that? because we have one of the guys

on the phone right now. rob is the man behind the camera of this scary video. rob, you can assure me you have all your fingers and toes and perfectly safe this morning. >> all three of us made it back in tact. 30 fingers, 30 toes. >> one big fish story. that is osam and you caught it on camera and you just started rolling right away. tell me, what was this beast doing and for how long? >> well, the video that you saw is actually probably about five minutes into it. we have probably four to five minutes of cell phone videos of just -- we were shooting it back. we were so nervous that we couldn't even aim the camera. not even so much nerves as it was excitement because we always heard them rumored at the jersey shore, but we never actually, i never dreamt i would actually see one in person, in the flesh. >> was he checking you out for

lunch? i mean, ten minutes. ten minutes he was circling the boat. >> well, we were trying to shark fishing. and that's exactly what it did. it came up, it knows it dropped back down under the boat and i circled around in a figure eight pattern and like i said, it just circled us curiously for a good 10 to 15 minutes. it felt like, believe me, it felt like a lot longer than that. a sense of 15 minutes. >> every part of this rob. >> everything that we see on national geographic ought of australia or south africa right here in south jersey. >> the great part about watching it on national geographic, it's on tv. the shark is two feet away from you and the part that is truly

terrifying to me, actually one of the 5,000 parts that are terrifying to me. there are teeth marks on your boat. this thing was coming after you. >> that's true. it wasn't coming. they always say that they don't have hands and they use their mouth as hands and that's exactly kind of what it did. it came up and grabbed the boat and i guess it sort of was hard and somebody could actually eat and let go and just continue to swim around the boat and it came up twice and i just said when it came up and grabbed the boat, its head was halfway out of the water. >> 16-foot shark, 28-foot boat. you had to feel a little vulnerable. >> a 16-foot shark, 28-foot boat, its head halfway out of the water, you must have felt a little vulnerable. >> at that point when its head was out of the water and, yeah, that was a little unnerving.

i felt a little uncomfortable. i would be lying if i said i didn didn't. >> it's understandable. you can be honest with us. rob, it's great to talk to you. we're so glad your boat doesn't taste good, apparently. the shark swam off and you all survived. thanks for being with us. >> rob, i'm going to think differently on my jersey shore vacation about going too far into the water. ahead on "starting point" republican congressman in hot water about comments. terrifying moments as a car barrels towards a mom and her baby. what the mother did to save her baby's life. this is not what you want to see in your backyard. no way. find out what happened when a nine-foot alligator turned up at this man's house. >> sharks, alligators. we have it all. >> day one, i said, good god almighty. you're watching "starting

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welcome back to "starting point" everyone i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. storms from the midwest even to d.c. >> a lot of people affected by this storm. >> meteorologist indra petersons following this for us. >> popping up around iowa but you can tell they're starting to make their way towards the east coast. what we're actually watching. the reason we talk about the strong winds, kind of backwards shape. we are seeing the strong down drop coming out of the storm itself and then to how fast the storm system is moving and then we know the winds upwards of 80, 90 miles per hour producing damage. that threat continues today. actually watch the low make its way all the way to the east coast and the jet stream taking

a dip and stronger system in place and enhancement there for the moderate threat today. take a look at your threat. moderate threat and very easy to see. maryland down to virginia. but notice the slight risk area is huge. remember talking about from pennsylvania all the way down to the gulf state. we're looking at 70 million of you with the threat of the severe weather today. not just the wind and the tornadoes, but we're talking the threat of large hail, lightning and then a lot of rain. way too much rain and notice we're adding an additional two to four inches of rain and many places five to six inches above average already. >> 70 million people in the path of this storm. thanks so much. another u.s. congressman in damage control this morning after a controversial comment made about rape. arizona republican trent franks insisting he was taken out of context while defending his proposal to ban abortions after 20 weeks. >> new controversy this morning after republican congressman

trent franks said this about rape. >> the incidents of rape and resulting in pregnancy are very low. >> reporter: his remarks came during a discussion in congress about a proposal to ban abortions after 20 weeks and brought an immediate challenge from a fellow house member. >> there's no scientific basis for that and the idea that the republican man on this committee think they can tell the women of america that they have to carry to term the product of a rape is outrageous. >> reporter: franks later tried to clarify his remarks saying that he meant to say the number of abortions due to rape after the sixth month of gestation will be low. he blamed democrats for taking his word out of congress. remember missouri republican todd aiken, here's what he said last fall. >> if it is a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that down. >> reporter: caused him and the

gop a senate seat. listen to this from billionaire hedge fund guru in april. >> you will never see as many great women investors or traders as men. >> reporter: tudor jones were explaining that children were the ultimate career killer for female traders. >> as soon as that baby's lips touch that girl's forget it. every single investment idea and every desire to understand every desire to understand what is going to make this going to go up or go down is going to be overwhelmed by the most beautiful experience, which a man will never share. a connection between that mother and that baby. >> reporter: tudor jones later said her comments were about global traders who were on call

all the time. but that did little to end the outrage or the feeling that some men are just out of touch. athena jones, cnn, washington. all right, turkey's prime minister is making an offer to demonstrators who is willing to hold a referendum over the parks. at the same time prime minister erdogan ordered a stop to the protests in 24 hours which could set the stage for more violence. he is giving the protesters one last warning to get out of the park. six months after the sandy hook school massacre members are back on capitol hill fighting for tougher gun laws. they plan to meet this morning with joe manchin. one of the architects of the failed background check bill. then they will sit down with the two most powerful republicans in the house. the speaker john boehner and majority leader eric cantor.

on friday the group plans to launch a bus tour from newtown called no more names. the national drive to reduce gun violence. riveting testimony at the michael jackson trial. described how michael jackson transformed himself into a superstar in a london press conference in 2009. he was drunk, despondent and emotionally paralyzed when it was time to meet with reporters so he slapped jackson and screamed at him so loud it shook the walls of his hotel room. when jackson got in front of the cameras, the singer rose to the occasion and delivered the go goods. a young mother in new york city nearly lost her 8-month-old daughter. she was pushing the child in a stroller tuesday afternoon when a cab jumped a curb and crashed into them on a sidewalk. this shocking scene was captured on the surveillance video you're looking at right now. mary snow walks us through what happened. >> reporter: it's terrifying to watch. a young mother and her baby

walking on the sidewalk and then in a split second, a car careens out of control and hits them both. 17-year-old is grateful for what is. that she's now safe at home with her daughter, pearla. but the nightmare of what could have been that keeps playing over and over in her mind. when the car headed towards them, she tried frantically to get her baby out of the way, but the stroller was swept under the car. with no time to think, she pulls herself up and rushes to get far enough underneath the car to bring her 8-month-old baby to safety. when you look at that videotape, what do you think? >> god help us. >> reporter: she says she screamed for help, but everything happened so fast, she had already rescued her daughter by the time people ran to her. >> we heard a big bang and all of a sudden i'm hearing a baby,

a baby and then the car hits in front of our store. >> reporter: the driver of the cab suffered a heart attack and lost consciousness behind the wheel and he later died. >> does this all feel like a bad dream? >> i don't want to remember it, but it keeps going through my mind. i'm scared to go outside by myself. >> reporter: you're scared to go outside. this is not the first time we witnessed close calls with babies in strollers. just last month a mom saved her 14-month-old in a stroller after it fell on to the train tracks in a west philadelphia train station. watch this video of an suv running over a stroller carrying a 4-year-old child in scottsdale, arizona. amazingly the girl was not hurt. she bounced underneath the suv. in this latest case, both mother and daughter escaped serious injury after spending the night in the hospital for observation, baby pearla is lucky to be home

safe after this frightening collision. mary snow, cnn, new york. that's the ruling from a new york district judge. he said two interns on the movie "the black swan" should have been compensated because they were basically employees answering phones and arranging travel plans. the internships weren't completely beneficial and fox benefitted from their work. a huge nine-foot long alligator made itself a hominid a georgia man's house. posey's neighbors alerted him it was in his backyard tuesday. he called to have it taken away. >> gentleman saying please help, there is a very large alligator in my backyard. he doesn't know where it came from because his yard was fenced in, but the front was open. >> when i look over to my left. there he was. i said, good god almighty.

>> the rescue crew took the alligator to a wild habitat and released it. >> i will keep that gate closed from now on. expected to be one of hollywood's hottest movie but does the new man of steel really soar? meet the anchors of cnn's new morning show. "new day." chris cuomo and kate bolduan join us to talk about monday's huge debut. michael, tell us why you used priceline express deals

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today is the fourth day of jury selection in george

zimmerman's trial. the former neighborhood watch volunteer charged with second degree murder in the death last year of 17-year-old trayvon martin. zimmerman claims he was attacked by martin and shot the teen in self-defense. smartphone takes place in new york city. government officials and industry representatives will discuss ways to crack down on the rising number of thefts of smartphones and other electronic devices. more than 1.5 million americans had their phones stolen last year. the wait is over. man of steel, which is the rebirth of the superhero franchise hits theaters at h midnight. the new superman looks ready to soar at the box office. more now from margaret connally. >> reporter: it's been seven years since super man last flewen to the big screen. while "superman returns" made a lot of money, beloved lead actor. now warner brothers studio owned

by the same studio that owns cnn hopes zach schneider will change that with a more human man of steel who packs a punch. >> throw a punch every now and then. some guy is threatening his mom, are you kidding me? >> reporter: known for his darker take on darker heroes snyder and producer nolan offer a more violent superman played by henry cavill. >> not just generally an american thing. >> reporter: industry estimates show the film tracking around $100 million opening weekend. what are you hearing from the fans? >> our fandango fans tell us this is one of the most anticipated movie of the whole year. 80% of people who bought tickets are excited by the darker tone. >> reporter: if fans are excited, the corporate partners are through the roof. companies are banking on the man of steel from licensing deals to

product placement but then there are the critics. rotten tomatoes has this rated in the mid-60s and low 60s. that's good, but not great. >> i don't think the reviews are as good as "star trek into darkness" but i think warner brother has a viable franchise on their hands. >> reporter: which at the end of the day is the super news this superman is looking for. margaret connelly, cnn. >> i'd go see it. >> oh, yeah. ahead, something else you're going to want to see. is some special guests, co-anchors of cnn's new morning show "new day" debuting monday. >> we have a look. there they are! live and unlive in the green room. back out here in just a moment.

welcome back, everyone. so, we are beginning a new day on cnn this monday morning at 6:00 eastern time. and we are thrilled to be joined by two-thirds of the anchor team. chris cuomo, kate bolduan. >> on assignment in chicago. she's working. that's the way this is going to go. what is it going to be? give us the essence of "new day." >> you guys are part of it. >> oh, yeah. >> you tell us. the main thing we're going to use on this show which i believe is new is puppets. instead of actual guests, puppets. >> they're easier to book, too. >> can't say no. it's going to be, it's going to be a three-hour show.

that's a little different instead of two hours previously. and it's going to be a very newsie program. very educational. hit a broad range of news. high story count. a broader definition of news. you guys are part of that broader definition of news. bring you some of those stories and we think there is an area that needs this. a niche in the morning news space and we're going to bring it. >> works better when you use your hands. >> everything is better when i start describing it. >> also odd to have the conversation with you because you're part of the team. >> we're coming into this with sheer ignorance. chris, we've been to a lot of places and done a lot of things together. we did boston, we were in oklahoma city. you know, back years before that, too. what kind of stories do you really like to cover? >> i think that the stories that impact people's lives day-to-day sounds like a cliche.

when you're in this business you deal with heavy tragedy. that's what happens in the world. when you're able to take on stories day after day. big reason i wanted to be on every day. you know over the course of the dialogue, you're able to make points and make changes that will actually help people. that's when i'm most satisfied. also if it's just an emotional connection. people need to feel. we often lose a sense of where we are in relationships to other people and people have trouble. i think we can make people remember that they're all part of an interconnected whole makes me feel like i am doing my job. >> always impressed by your passion for helping people and your passion for finding the bright spots sometimes in gloomy stories. >> kate, you have covered congress for the past few years. most recently co-anchoring with wolf blitzeri. and the first day you were on the air a, didn't you cover the minneapolis bridge collapse. >> it was like a welcome to cnn moment. welcome to cnn, go get on a

plane and cover this. there's wolf and i from the inauguration. >> look at that. that's nice. >> that is probably my first day of live shots. oh, i'm so grown up now. >> you look like a governor. >> yeah, you look like the governor. >> as you also know, chris compliments me a lot. yeah, the first day, basically, i mean basically the first day, i was meeting all the executives and everybody in atlanta and i was flying home and they're like, oh, this happened, here is your plane ticket, go. i didn't have a blackberry and they're like, here's pen and paper and mike, go. i think we did 47 live shots in the first day. kind of been like that since. >> chris, in one of the last places you worked they tried to kill you, you jumped off a building. >> yes, they did, john. what it was was face your fears. >> you told me about this. >> i don't like the heights. i didn't know what it was.

next thing i know, i'm falling. the woman next to me is a stunt person, obviously. she is dancing and moving and i did the bug the entire way down. they kept saying don't hold the vest. >> did you cry? >> i didn't cry. but i'm sitting on top of the building. 56 stories. the taj mahal. i stayed cleaned because it all happened too fast. they put david blaine on the phone and he was like, yeah, what you need to do is look out at the horizon. i'm looking out at the horizon and the horizon is another casino being built with construction workers. and i start to fall and the horizon starts to move and i'm going, the horizon is moving. but we raised 40 grand for the northern illinois university fund for the victims of the school shooting there which was the story i was covering which is why i wasn't paying attention i was jumping off of.

sam champion was the weather guy, he put on a suit, he was afraid of bees. he was like in this big suit. diane walked across hot coals. she like runs across the coals. robin was like afraid of angry people or something, and i jump off. >> what did you do about it? you came to cnn. >> i'm out. >> this is the first time we've been on live tv together. this is the first time we've been on live tv together. and, guess what, it is the same as when we're off camera. >> it's true. you guys have a fun repore as it develops live. we have a few surprises because we dug through the ara kiv arch you were a theater star in high school. is this true? >> what? what are you guys doing right now? >> is that you on the right? >> obviously. >> you can even see my biceps at age 3. now, what show is this?

>> that quasiwas "guys and doll" this is from my senior yearbook. >> where are you in that one? >> that is my sister. janna, courtney, kate, alyssa. we all look like the same even though it was ten years ago. >> what is your favorite show? >> apple tree or "guys and dolls." >> do you want to sing? i'm not doing this right now. we want to have some viewers when monday comes. >> chris, as we said, i've known you for a long time and one thing people might not know about you, you used to be extraordinarily sexy and i have the proof here. >> oh, yes, we did. >> it is. i am not making this up, because i frankly couldn't make it up. "people" magazine in 1997. one of america's sexiest people alive with the hair there.

>> why are you bare foot? you didn't need shoes. >> that was the look. >> the late '90s. >> i think he's blushing. >> rarely speechless. >> could you sign this so i could have this in my office. >> did you never think you would have to pay for that ever. >> i was in a different place in my life. >> when you sat in this chair and you looked at the camera, what were you thinking? >> i don't know what i was thinking. probably hung over. don't remember the shoot, don't remember how i got there or got home. >> we should read a little bit of this. your mother, was she proud? it talks about his idol. >> that's taken out of context. >> i don't think that's an overstatement. >> there you go, everyone. >> you will be a three-headed monster. where's mikayla? as we know, big shot in los angeles for nine years, anchor

of the number one -- this is a vibe we have going. huge range of personality, but i think what makes her break through is the soulfulness of her as a broadcaster. she believes what she says, strong convictions, big heart. very polished. >> beautiful voice. >> both of them have really good voices. >> it's interesting because the three of us and everyone part of the team, we all bring a different part of the country to the show. which i really love and also our perspective as we approach the news. michaela from the west coast and -- >> where are you from? >> queens, baby. 718. >> little bit country, little bit rock 'n' roll, folks. this is "new day." we could not be more excited. >> great karaoke parties. aren't we? >> yes. >> it's fine. >> i can play the drums. she can sing.

>> christine does a mean air guitar. >> i do. can you see the promo song? >> do you think i would try to embarrass alicia keys. >> embarrass her because you do a better job? why would she be embarrassed? >> i would not want to -- i am just simply trying to avoid -- please watch the show despite the fact that we're doing it. monday morning is when we launch. 6:00 to 9:00 eastern. it's going to be fun, everyone. it's a "new day." that is all for "starting point." almost really all for "starting point." >> i'm gone tomorrow. this is it for me for "starting point." but he will be on "new day" on monday. >> "cnn newsroom" starts right after the break.

happening now in "newsroom" breaking overnight colorado tinder box. >> i thought i had about an hour and it turned out to be about 20 minutes. residents literally running for their lives. the massive black forest fire living up to its name. >> we do have very dry conditions. the possibilities for this fire to continue to spread are extreme. also -- dollars denied. >> we needed about 50 more houses to blow up or five more firemen to die to make it a disaster. >> fema denying governor perry's request for money to rebuild