politics with women's lives but it's up for discussion today. "starting point" begins right now. ♪ that's right. >> it's friday. >> do you know about this? it's nice to have you, by the way. reuters thompson -- thompson reuters? >> thompson reuters. it's our name day. >> we just call it reuters, lovingly. i hear you've got a great book called "how to be black" no one gets, it's satire, but i love the book. it's awesome. will cain is back as well. i have to explain to our new panelists that we have an all request musical day, which means if you want something played, you have to e-mail our producer who will then eventually get on the air probably by 8:45, five minutes before 9:00. welcome. that was stevie wonder, "superstition." you knew that, though. >> i know all that, soledad. >> he lives it, yes, he does.

>> superstitious dude. >> we begin this northemorning iran. defense secretary leon panetta says there is a growing likelihood, quote, that israel will attack iran this spring and try to destroy its suspected nuclear program. israeli defense minister ehud barak said this, quoek, iran must be prevent fred becoming nuclear and no option should be taken off the table. let's get right to barbara starr this morning at the pentagon. good morning, barbara. >> good morning, soledad. a lot of chatter around here about what panetta said about all of this. it was first reported in the "washington post" by the very respected journalist david ignatius and confirmed to us by a pentagon official. panetta now believes there is a growing likelihood israel will strike iran sometime this spring. that israel believes iran has moved ahead. made the decision to go for a nuclear weapon is increasingly capable of making that happen. and that they have to stop it.

but is this rhetoric? is this panetta ratcheting up the rhetoric against iran? possibly putting israel at risk? is this a revelation of key intelligence? that's what we don't know. what's what the dilemma is right now and there are a lot of people who are concerned that all of this rhetoric on all three sides painting a lot of dangerous -- a lot of danger here that a lot of folks are being painted into a corner, soledad. >> i'm going to start with you because, of course, when they're talking about iran and israel, sort of unspoken name is america and sort of the correlation between if israel, in fact, does attack iran and now we're learing maybe the spring, what's america's role in that? >> exactly. and i'm very interested in coordination is there right now between america and israel and the impact of what's happening in syria right now because syria is such an important player in the region. it's incredibly volatile, too.

i think it's affecting it. >> overall a timetable. there's a sense that if, in fact, iran gets their nuclear weapons to a certain stage, then it becomes impossible to do a strike, which, i believe, barbara, is this april deadline. is that correct? >> that's what israel beliefs. you know, that's rally important right now. why are we talking about it? israel believes by this spring iran will be so far down the road that its weapons wouldn't be able to get to iraq's nuclear facilities that they would have to rely on the u.s. to do it. look, our position is they are still hope that sanctions will work. >> let he read to you what the ayatollah ali khamenei said. he says there. threatening iran and attacking iran will harm america. sanctions will not have any impact on our determination to continue our nuclear course. in response to threats of oil embargo and war, we have our own threats to impose at the right time. that's not even a shrouded threat. that's an out and out threat. >> temperatures are rising.

you have to look at also the history of war that's already been happening. the shutdown of their nuclear facilities with this virus a while back was sort of an act of war. you have assassinations going on constantly. aggressive behavior. as the temperature rises we get more nervous about all that. it's not that we are approaching more, in a state of some tension in what could be called war already. >> well, no, except there's a big difference. i mean, there's a big difference between this kind of jaw-jaw state that we're in and war-war. and, you know, things have been tense with iran for a while. so i do think that, you know, there's a line. i don't think it's been crossed. i think that now is probably a more dangerous situation now. >> by the way we see the line and we're happy to cross it is the way i read that. >> that's iran's statement. that is the whole process, where is the line? both sides trying to figure out where is the line? some of these cyber attacks, shutting down the straits of hormuz, bombing the facilities, would that be crossing the line?

i think there is an implied statement here that israel and the united states are one in the same. >> so let me go back to barbara starr because will and i were talking yesterday. every day this week, i think, it's fair to say we said, did leon panetta mean to say that and the next day, did leon panetta mean to say that? >> every day barbara's been oranges we say, new statement. >> give me the background. why this now that he is not backing away from it? it cannot be a stumble. >> you know, this is the question right now. you know, i made a little list, what has leon panetta been saying lately? he's been talking about this. he's been talking about the bin laden raid. he talked a couple weeks ago that he had an idea publicly about who was killing the iranian scientists. getting out of afghanistan. is throwing people for a loop. his closest aides that we talk

to are, you know, trying to spin it and say, well, we're told he's just being open and honest. but the question is, is h throwing the white house for a loop? you know, just this whole business the other day of him talking about getting out of combat in information, one key aid said to me, look, he handed romneyen an attack point on a platter. why would he do that? why would he put israel in this position of being vulnerable to iran? >> sorry for jumping in, barbara. >> no, i was just -- we don't know the answer. >> exactly. and every single day we have had a conversation where she sort of ends her report with, we don't really quite know what the answer is about. we're going to continue, of course, and talk about iran and israel this morning. got other headlines to get to though first. >> good morning, soledad. cancer charity susan g. komen for cure defending decision to cut off funding to planned parenthood. it says it will no financially support any group under

investigation. congress is currently investigating whether planned parenthood used federal money to fund abortions. critics say komen is playing politics with women's lives. the founder disagrees. >> we will never bow to political pressure. we will stand firm on our goal to end breast cancer forever. we will never turn our backs to women who need us the most. >> some say komen is caving to pressure to from pro life groups. mitt romney is heading to nevada, being dogged by what he said on this show after winning the florida primary. >> we have a safety net there. if it needs repair, i'll fix it. i said i'm not concerned about the very poor that has a safety net. focus on the very poor, that's not my focus. my focus is on middle income americans. >> romney now says he misspoke. >> america, the hope of the earth. thanks you guys. great to be with you. thank you.

what i said was that my focus, my primary focus is on helping people get in the middle class and grow the middle class. >> today president obama announces a new $5 billion jobs plan to help put thousands of unemployed veterans back to work. the administration is expected to propose a training program designed to help veterans who want to start their own small biggs. hunts of flights, many scheduled for this morning has been canceled at denver international airport. major snowstorm moving into colorado. 300 pieces of equipment, 500 employees on hand to try to keep the runways clear. and check out this musician sing for his supposer at a soni drive-thru. he has half a million hits on

youtube and counting. ♪ i can get a number eight with large chili cheese tater tots ♪ >> and what kind of drink? ♪ can i get a mello yello with that please ♪ >> the sonic cost about $34. he said it's money well spent to get publicity for his band. here comes the interstate life. >> i love it. he's got a nice voice. >> he does. >> when is his album coming out? what's his name? giorgio verara. >> interstate life is the band. >> or you can add him to the music mix this morning. >> here's how it works. we have to beg. it takes about 48 hours. so, yes, by tuesday, for sure. we're going to have interstate life. giorgio, call me. >> gets your rights right. christine, before i let you go, a couple other things. i know you will have the jobs

report out in 90 minutes. >> yes. >> tell me about that. >> looking to the number of jobs added in the month of january and we're expecting about 130,000 jobs added in an 8 1/2% unemployment rate. so you can see this is the year soledad. remember we were talking about double dip recession. clearly we avoid it. this is not going to be enough to absorb people entering into the the workforce. not enough to show robust labor market. wanted to give you, this soledad. this goes all the way back to the end of the bush administration and to when the president took office. brad can come in here and show you how horrible was right here you get these two competing views. one is that this is the obama jobs market. the other is obama inherited it. they both presided over a horrible time over the labor market. what is important now is where we have been going and where the trend has been. the trend has been slow but steady with some pullbacks.

130k. you like to see a lot more than that but it is going in the right direction, you guys. >> christine, thank you. we're going to look forward to that number coming out in a little bit, or 90 minutes or so. still ahead, chrysler jump-starting a state's struggling economy. can the rest of the country learn a lesson? we're going to talk to pat quinn straight ahead. plans to turn over gitmo detainees in taliban. critics say that is crossing a dangerous line. and we play this sound full, please? yes. ♪ bravo. i've been begging for this song. this is my personal theme song and i'm willing to share it. let's listen for a moment as we go to commercial break.

♪ >> that's jason aldean who is watching us this morning with "dirt road anthem." >> jason's watching? that is country rap, soledad. he's going to hit some rap in a second, right after the kor russ. >> i like that. that's nice. it's a little slow north morning, don't you think? >> maybe on a friday morning, though, a little more gentle. >> ease into the weekend. slow it down a little bit? >> yes. >> cool things we're watching this morning with job numbers coming out that christine was just telling us about. i'm curious to know what you think about politically what this is going to mean. if we see this slow decrease in joblessness bus that mean that president obama had a easier path to re-election or the republicans need to change their tune in how they're going to aim for the white house? >> obviously it's heading into the right direction. you have to be a partisan hack if you don't think so. >> we have those on. >> it's better to be adding jobs

than losing jobs. what i would say is don't get too caught up in what sometimes can be superficial numbers. there are undercurrents that are much deeper. when i'm talking about debt i'm talking about private debt. still high levels of debt. europe poses a big problem for the world economy. china is slowing down. these things could come to fruition before november and change this whole picture. >> my big worry is what you started the show with, iran. if you look at those jobs numbers, the big thing that knocked the u.s. question at the beginning of the european sovereign debt crisis. i agree with will, europe could be a big problem. iran could be a big problem. and not just in terms of foreign policy but i think the economy is going to play a huge role in the election. >> absolutely. unpredictable events are what

being pts is all about. sometimes you get one that help you and sometimes really damage and hurt you. i think from the political perspective the republicans have established and wrapped themselves around america is failing. so if the charts keep looking a little better, it's harder to hold that message and have it feel true. >> no matter what the charts look like the you know people who have lost their jobs, if you feel like your personal situation is sliding from middle class into less middle class, more poor, a chart that's going upward is not going to make you feel any better. >> i think it undermines the argument. what is actually happening in your life is more important but those charts do affect real people's lives. >> your point is well taken because -- >> i love when you say that. go on, will cain, have more time this morning. yes. >> now we see how the show is going. >> now the contrarian. focus on jobs is overdone. this is not going to turn into an economy show this morning but it's been called a balance sheet recession because so many people are in debt. mainly in their homes,

underwater in their homes. they feel poor. i don't spend what i used to. i don't have what i used to. truth is some 90% of us are employed but that doesn't make us feel any better. >> who does that help? >> i agree obviously about the house hold debt bag huge, huge issue. but i think that jobs matter. obviously they matter. if the jobs number are better you're going to know fewer people out of work. that means that your friends are actually getting jobs and it also means which i think is something that has really been weighing on the economy since the recession started. even if you have a job you're really anxious. shouldn't be secure, right? >> we're going to talk to hopefully the governor of the state of illinois about what they're doing on the jobs bringing manufacturing into that state but at what cost. it's not just a clear cut thing they're doing there. also ahead this morning on "starting point," breaking news. two americans kidnapped in

egypt. we got developments on that story straight ahead. a new name in the presidential race. here's a hint. she once got a lot of -- >> seriously, who is this if. >> that is a tease and you've got to wait. hello. deep tease to get us through the commercials. i'm going to teach you how tv works, will cain. >> thank you. also, here's an interesting point. cashing in on tornado tourism. trying to get people to visit job lynn, missouri, to see the devastation there has some people feeling anded a ee eed o and angry.

nts. i did not ask for a second play. you set me up. >> i feel terrible inside right now. >> they set me up. >> it's friday. >> why did you replay this? >> it's so slow. >> i so slow? >> this song is a beautiful song. this is willie nelson. >> it's a classic. >> thank you. >> "blue eyes." >> crying in the rang. >> beautiful song. but like everybody who was about to get out of bed to watch our show just went back to bed. >> ease in on the friday. >> don't defend your little friend will cain. on the countr side. moving on. jobs front. illinois governor pat quinn

announced that chrysler is going to bring 1800 new manufacturing jobs to its plant in bevel deer, illinois. the news couldn't come at a better time for the struggling state if unemployment rate, 8%. second highest in the country nationwide. so governor pat quinn joins us from chicago this morning. nice to see you, sir. thanks for being with us. we appreciate your time. when you look at the progress you've made in adding jobs, the state has added almost 100,000 jobs since january of last year. 12,000 though, only 12,000 have been in manufacturing. i'm going to assume that many of those jobs that have been added in food service. what is the strategy for more? more manufacturing jobs? >> actually 20,000 jobs are manufacturing since january of 2010. 1800 yesterday with the great news from chrysler. they're going to build a new dodge dart. 21st century dodge dart. you know, when i get more than three years ago chrysler had 200

workers in belvedere. this summer they're going to have 4,200. they're all united auto workers. great union. and we had the ceo from chrysler with us yesterday. we really look forward to a great car. it's family car. it's roomy. it's safe. >> you're already doing ads for the car, sir. i want one. i want to go -- suddenly i want to go buy one. listen, seriously, there is a cost to these 1800 jobs. you're giving tax credits over ten years. i think just over $53 million in tax credits, training funds, grants, incentives, things like that. how do you calculate it if that cost is worth it? it's like $60 million over ten years for 1800 jobs. >> well, it's a great investment that pays tremendous dividends. chrysler alone invested $700 million in refurbishing the plant. there was 700,000 hours of construction activity for our tradesmen. and then there are all these

suppliers. we had many, many auto suppliers in illinois not only for chrysler but we had a huge ford plant. when i became governor, one shift at ford and now three shifts at ford. there will be three shifts in chrysler. mitsubishi is also in our state and we're a great auto making state. and that's part of america. that's what our president did. he rescued the auto industry and now we're roaring back. >> governor, i'm from reuters. what does -- you've just been talking about the big auto rescue which was controversial at the time. mitt romney was publicly opposed to it. are you saying now that you think that was a good idea and that's sort of big government intervention in the economy has been proven to work? >> it was a rescue operation by president barack obama from the state of illinois. and he understands how important it is to have a job. i looked in the faces of all those auto worker yesterday when i was there. they're hardworking men and women.

they believe in hard work and they deserve a decent chance. and they're tremendously skilled in talking to the ceo of chrysler he said one of the reasons they picked illinois and our belvedere plant is because of the skill of the workers. and i think it's important not to lose track of the fact that it's made in america, made in illinois, those are my favorite words. >> good morning, governor. jack and jill politics. i want to know what the plan to sustain this job growth and see that jobs stay around. auto can be cyclical industry with furloughs and back off time. what is your plan and what is your hope at least to make sure that this keeps going in the right direction and congratulations on having that direction so far. >> well, thank you. but basically we have to understand that 70% of the american economy is consumer demand. we need to make sure that folks have the income in their pockets to buy cars. a lot of folks their cars may be five or six years old and buying

a new dodge dart, family car that's safe and sound really is a good place -- 40 miles to the gall gallon. >> chief marketing officer. >> i told him yesterday, we're going to sell 3 million of these vehicles. >> you've already sold a bunch of them. governor, you're out of time. i have to stop you there. we're going to keep talking about manufacturing. we would love to have you back. we appreciate your time this morning. thank you, sir. >> and your manufacturer, come to illinois. >> and buy the dodge dart, is what he's saying. >> i see him on that street corner. >> 20 miles per gallon is what he's saying. >> you have to love that. sell, right? he said chrysler came here, i'm going to help sell them. we've got to take a short break. up next, this breaking news. two americans kidnapped in egypt, according to the u.s. embassy in cairo. we'll bring you live from cairo with the latest developments in the story. plus, who could forget, especially not me, mitt romney's comments about the poor? listen. >> i'm in this race because i

care about americans. i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. >> well, now he's saying he misspoke. we're going to chat with our panel about that. plus, iran is reportedly turning loose al qaeda detainees and there are some fears that two major players in terror are teaming up. we're going to talk about those stories. e. but one is so clever that your skin looks better even after you take it off. neutrogena® healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% saw improved skin. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics.

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good morning. welcome, everybody. we've got updated information on those two american tourists who are believed to have been kidnapped in egypt. let's get right to christine romans who has headlines for us on that. >> good morning. soledad, we begin with that breaking news at of egypt. a group of armed gunmen kidnapped two american female tourists and their egyptian tour guide in the sinai peninsula. again, just getting word of that. a tour guide and two women seized by masked gunmen and we're following this closely. eye van watson is on the story. we'll have him later on in the

program. also in egypt. thousands of people gathering in and around cairo's tahrir square this morning in protests against police. protesters are angry about the lack of response from riot police during a soccer stampede that killed 79 people. u.s. officials are expressing concern about a link between iran and al qaeda. they say tehran recently freed as many as five top al qaeda operatives who had been under house arrests including members of bin laden's inner circle. officials say iran may have provided material aid to that terror group. the obama administration is considering the release of taliban prisoners as a way to promoting peace talks in afghanistan. comes after defense secretary leon panetta suggested u.s. troops would end their combat role in afghanistan by the middle of next year rather than in 2014. mitt romney stomping in nevada on the eve of the state's

caucuses. polls give romney a comfortable lead in nevada. he was just endorsed by donald trump. actress and comedian roseanne barr says it's no joke, she is running for the green party's presidential nomination. roseanne says she's a long-time green party supporter. the party's nominee will be chosen at a convention in baltimore in july. "minding your business" this morning, u.s. stock futures point to a higher open. economists surveyed by cnn money are forecasting 130,000 jobs were added to the economy in january. the cnn money survey shows that turn employment rate probably ticked up a bit, maybe 8.6%. stay tuned. we'll get you those numbers. quit check on the weather. meteorologist rob marciano joins us. >> good morning. tracking this blizzard that is heading east of denver. major snowstorm from denver with nine inches of snow and counting. visibility dropped and just now

put down parts of i-70 from about the airport eastward. about 60 mile stretch. blizzard warnings are up for eastern colorado. western parts of nebraska and kansas the. how much snow do we expect? over a foot in denver which doesn't sound like a lot but in the month of december or february that is a fair amount. so major snowstorm for these folks. heading into nebraska, darker colors we could see in some spots, up to 20 inches of snow. elsewhere not too shabby. east coast, 46 degrees in new york city. 53 in d.c. if you are traveling to either dallas or denver, those are going to be problem spots at the airports. christine? >> hundreds of flights are canceled in denver. soledad? let's move on. talk more politics. late last night mitt romney started backing down from the comments he made here on "starting point" the other day about the poor after he repeated his stance twice actually on our show. i'll play that to for you. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net dl.

if it needs repair, i'll fix it. focus on the very poor, that's not my focus. my focus is on middle new mexico inco -- middle income americans. >> and then he changed his mind and said this. >> john, it was a misstatement. i misspoke. if people are going to go after he when i make a mistake, slip up on a word even though i say i got it wrong, sorry, that's not what i meant. that's going to be part of the political process. i understand it and i accept the consequences. >> brownstein is the editorial director of "national journal." the new issue is on the newsstands today. there i am pitching "national journal." >> yes, yes. and i'm getting a dodge dart later this morning. >> pitch that, actually. >> yes. >> good morning to you. i thought it was really interesting to hear what i just said. when i slip up on a word. do you think -- what do you make of this strategy of characterizing what was a big giant brouhaha for his campaign when they should have been doing their victory lap after the win

in florida to a slip up on a word? >> well, if he slipped up on a word he slipped up 75, 100, 125 times? look, this is something that some version of which he has said repeatedly on the stump in debates. you know, that the phrasing of it was particularly explosive on the show wednesday morning. but the basic sentiment, the basic argument that in essence in this downturn, the very poor are sheltered by a safety net. the very rich are taking care of themselves and middle class is left out and getting a the shaft has been a central argument he's made all of the way through. as i said yesterday, the core of his argument against president obama is that he is turning us into what obama calls an entitlement associasociety, a kr state that we're coddling american's dependency. this is not -- the phrasing may have been a mistake but the sentiment is something he has said many times before and he really can't say that that was somehow a misstatement. >> ron, do you think -- when you talk about poor. mitt romney has been so often

accused of nothing having one. and kind of going with the wind to suit whatever audience he was speeging speaking to. is this him speaking more honestly than before? >> i think there is a political argument here that republicans and conservatives have made for many years that is reflected in this language. i mean, i think a core of conservative populousism and opposition to transfer parmts. government takes money from people working hard and giving it to people who doesn't deserve it. welfare reform signed by bill clinton and helped by newt gingrich. emerged in this recession. 15 million more americans in poverty today than when bill clinton left office. there are a lot of people, in fact, receiving government benefits, whether it's food stamps or medicaid or unemployment insurance. some would argue that's exactly how this safety net is supposed to function when people are basically thrown on their reown resources by the economy.

but the republicans are arguing this is a dangerous level of dependency. this is going to be a big argument. just to be clear, i think the core point is, when mitt romney said to soledad i'm going fix is safety net if there are holes in it, the essence of his agenda on these issues has been to retrench spending and to retrench the federal role on these issues, whether it's medicaid -- >> it looked contradictory. >> ron and i have had this debate several times about what the core message is with the parties. opposition to transfer payments is part of that but i think you're leaving out part of mitt romney's message h which was obviously inarticulate put across. newt gingrich and ran rick an store rum are guys that have voiced this ideology much better which is you provide opportunities. there is a tenor in our conversation that if you care about the poor, if you're concerned about it, you give to them. you give more, you give more. history doesn't suggest that's true. '60s to '90s, most robust pell wear and it's failed.

mitt romney was speaking to that message as well. >> i think there are two different categories. one is just from a pr stance you should never say i don't care about fill in the blank. just a bad thing to be quoted because people will take that chunk no matter what the context is and run it. >> absolutely. >> you might mean it. >> but we're talking politicians willing to say who knows what anybody really means. on the other side of this you also have to say, what it really mitt romney stance on certain issues? so when we talks about i'm going to repair that safety net. where does he stand on the things that we consider the safety net? i think we have a graphic of this. that's unemployment insurance. that's medicaid, that's food stamps, that's housing vouchers, that's welfare. if you are talking about people -- poverty is, what, $22,000 a year for a family of four? what is mitt romney's position on repair that safety net? >> certainly the welfare reform in 1996 did expand an opportunity for low-income peoplely moving them into a labor force at the time when it

was expanded. but, if you're looking at what mitt romney is talking about here, the core of his agenda is reducing the federal commitment to a lot of he's anti. poverty programs. most important one is medicaid, now an entitlement that provides health care for the poor and seniors. he wants to convert that into a block brand. he wants to reduce the growth of federal spending on it to half the level it is now. $100 billion a year. unless states find significant efficiencies that are eluded them before. that means fewer people being eligible and reduce benefits. >> i'm going to stop you there. at a time when the number of people in poverty is increasing, from 2007, 37 million, up to 46 million in poverty today, increase of just 25%. want to jump in on this? >> i wanted to say, ron, first of all, i totally agree with you on the misspeaking point. i think it's quite essential to point out that this was maybe

for the romney campaign an unfortunate way of phrasing it. it actually spoke to a core point they've been trying to make. i want to ask you about something a little bit different about how this is playing. what i wonder is, we've seen quite a few times that mitt romney has a hard time talking about money. >> why is that? >> that's ways that are comfortable for everybody else. this has caught fire so much because it reminds us that we talked about money -- >> his gaffes are always around money. why? >> i like to fire people. >> i think it's because he's very rich and he lives in a different world from the rest of us. >> ross perot was richer. ross perot was really, really, really rich. and so there are a lot of people who have been rich who do not make these gaffes. i find this very curious. ron, do you have a theory on this? >> i think that is a really good point. two aspects of it. first, the most dangerous thing in pol sticks is to play into a pre-existing story line.

so when dan quayle misspelled potato it was a much better deal than if al gore had misspelled potato. for romney there's accumulation going on here because he's made so many awkward comments relating to money, i'm unemployed, too, i like firing people. you know, each one might be misconstrued and certainly some of them have been stretched. but there is more sensitivity to it. i think the second thing is kind of, you know, i think he's kind of internalized a kind of unease about this. i mean, i think, you mow, the fact that republicans, as well as democrats, have been going after him on his financial background. has made him somewhat unsteady in this terrain. i think he probably doesn't feel as secure as he does on some other areas. so i think the combination of more sensitivity and kind of the audience and more sensitivity on the part of the performer explains part of what we're seeing. >> ron brownstein, we love having you in person. you might want to move to new york. >> do it, do it, ron.

the "national journal" is out now on newsstands. >> do they have ads for chrysler products in the magazine? >> the dodge dart which i'll be purchasing later? good thinking there. got a lot to get to this morning. susan g. komen, cancer charity. they are literally mid crisis after cutting off cash, payments, to planned parenthood. we'll examine whether this is policy or politics or maybe both. also, cashing in on tornado tourism. a plan to get people to ves it joplin, missouri, to see the damage. a lot of people are angry. -i love this card. -with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card,

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♪ this is a great song. h is a great song. i heard this, i was going off to college when this song first came out. dancing in the dorm room. >> i used to sing this. >> go ahead. >> when i was very tired. i have a much deeper -- >> new edition. >> go away. >> you will have to tweet about that, don't you? suddenly think this was a sexy voice. >> that was a little bit of a pathetic plea. >> dodge dart. 40 miles to the gallon. welcome back, everybody. i want to talk about fit nation which sanjay does every single year. a little while ago we talked about whether or not i should be part of this training in this tie athlon. you know that once in a blue moon i get on the treadmill and

train for it. sanjay gupta, though, is a maniac when it comes to training. he joins us from atlanta. sanjay, good morning. >> good morning. >> today is the challenge, right, kicking it off? >> kicking it off. we're thinking of you because we're delighted that you're going to be able to join us for this triathlon. you're going to be doing a classic distance triathlon. i told you a little bit about this. take you to malibu in september. half miami swim, 18-mile bike ride, 4-mile run. got some training between now and then, but not nearly as bad as you think. it's funny, soledad, because i was sort of kicked, i think in some ways dragging and screaming into this whole process as well. i remember i was on the plane and my producer called me, i was on the flown, flight attend can't was telling me to turn the phone off. he said, will you agree to do this triathlon, i said, yeah, sure, click. >> how has it changed your life? how do you fit in this training? i know it's only a four-mile run but you really have to run a six miles after you run a four-mile

run after the bike and swim. >> the run is the last part of the event so even if you're a runner it's often the most challenging. for me, change, obviously just healthwise it's been significant. i think counter intuitively, my time management skills have improved because i knew knew i every day. as a result i became much more efficient at other things i had to get done. one of these things, everyone responds to it differently. you and i have been talking about these fit nation events for years now. for the last two years we've had people who have never done t triathlo triathlons. we swam in the hudson river last year. her name is adrian. that's denise. she was a softball player. lost a leg. had to be amputated as a result of an injury she had. we have people who are trying to quit smoking. we have a truck driver who's a minister, jeff dahler, he's a d.j. >> you know what i'm thinking, they're all going to beat me in this triathlon.

sanjay, i am so happy. >> this is what you get to wear, by the way. >> i get to wear that? >> your viewers, all the soledad o'brien viewers. >> you know what, i'll be bringing up the rear in the triathlon. >> you're all going to be winners. >> we're all winners at the end. sanjay, i'm excited. you can follow us at cnn.com/fit nation. every time i have to work out i complain about it and tweet about it. >> i like that. it encourages me. >> joanne is joining us. we are following two big breaking news stories this morning. the first two americans who have reportedly been kidnapped in cairo. we have the very latest coming to you from egypt. also developing overnight iran's supreme leader has a warning for the united states. this is as defense secretary leon panetta warnings that israel could strike iran by spring. we're looking at all of these stories right after this commercial break.

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our take away this morning is that our viewers have better musical taste than most of our panelists. >> i'm not going to accept that. >> outsourcing works. >> i brought it in. >> late. i remember at 7:05 you were writing them down. >> i'm not a writer. i'm a tapper, typer. i live in the modern world. >> oh, my god. >> i use my hand to sign things. >> don't forget the sexy voice, soledad. >> all right. we're going to get real this morning. eight months after one of the deadliest tornadoes in history the city of joplin, missouri, is talking about an idea to raise money to get back on its feet. it's called tornado tourism. they would offer guided bus tours of the streets that were leveled by the twisters that killed 161 people. the tour is complete, believe it or not, with a smartphone app.

some people say it is an insult. it's not the busted up homes, they're trying to rebuild the city. hundreds of construction permits have been issued, but the question remains are disaster tours unseemly. i'm going to say this, i think they're a good idea. >> keep going. >> here's why. because as a reporter, right, the job is to get in and highlight what has happened. i thought it was a good idea in new orleans. it was also controversial. do you do a katrina tour? isn't that inappropriate? no. bring people in to see the devastation and to see the recovery. by the way, they can spend money and they can also sort of, you know, feel connected to a city that they'll root for and continue to follow. i say think about it, joplin, because it might actually be a good idea. >> we had this debate post september 11th. how long do you show the pictures of the twin towers falling? it's always a debate. when do you cross the line from exploitation and protecting people from emotional responses from reminding them. >> i would like to take it to a different part of the world.

in those cases overseas it wasn't the tourism. i don't know what other programs they had. they knew people were going to be visiting. their goal was to show people a different side of the city that you would miss. >> it's not a bad idea. >> if that's a part of it, that's really cool. >> can i be a conservative person? >> you can't because we have to go to commercial break. we're going to say, she says no. >> bad idea. don't do it. >> still ahead this morning, we're talking about two american tourist that is have been reportedly kidnapped. we'll bring you to cairo. then policy or just politics. susan g. komen foundation cuts funding for planned parenthood. plus what commercial will you be talking about come monday? the super bowl is really all about the commercials. maybe it'll be this one. >> hey, baby, i want that car. hey, baby, i really want that car. let's get that car.

>> that's my confidence. >> we're going to take a sneak peek at the super bowl ads straight ahead. you're watching "starting point", straight ahead. ♪ ♪ i lost my mind in hollywood its retinol formula visibly reduces wrinkles in just one week. why wait if you don't have to. neutrogena®. then lead a double life! with new blast flipstick from covergirl. creamy color on one end, shimmery color on the other. so you can flip your look from demure, to daring. new blast flipstick from covergirl.

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good morning. welcome to starting point. we are starting with two americans kidnapped in egypt reportedly by that same group that kidnapped two dozen people just last week. we're going to take you live to cairo with the latest on that story. plus could these be rumblings of war. ayatollah ali khamenei said they could have problems. will it show a boost to the economy or a drag. we'll crunch those numbers when they come out to you. they come out to you. starting point begins right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

♪ ♪ there's so much going on >> i love this girl so much. this is like an all ledacy day. >> all week. >> yes. pieces of me tour. amazing. amazing. let's get right to our panelists this morning. will cain joins us. >> ma'am. >> you texan, you. christ continue freedman is with us from right tons. from the onion, he's with us. let's talk about iran. some new developments overnight. iran's supreme leader warning israel and also the united states about attacking iran's nuclear installations. the defense secretary, leon panetta, saying that there is, quote, a growing likelihood that israel will attack iran this spring. the chatters growing louder in jerusal jerusalem. israel believes iran is approaching that zone of immunity. they have built so much of these nuclear weapons, it's impossible

to attack effectively. once that happens, that can sort of change the game. there's a new warning from the israeli defense minister saying iran must be prevented from becoming nuclear and no option should be taken off the table. all of this points to just racheting up of this conversation. barbara starr live for us at the pentagon to start our 8:00 hour. good morning, barbara. >> reporter: good morning to you, soledad. think of it as the triangle of rising rhetoric. iran, israel, the united states in the last 48 hours. leaders in all of these countries now stepping up the rhetoric at a very time when president obama is still determined that sanctions and economic pressure are the way to go to convince iran to give up its nuclear effort, that the sanctions are beginning to bite with the iranian economy and that the people will begin to react to that in iran. so why all the war rhetoric? at this point no one can really explain why leon panetta let it

be known that he feels publicly, that he feels this very sensitive piece of intelligence that israel might strike this spring was something he had to say, something that had to come out. is he trying to pressure iran? is he possibly putting israel at risk by revealing israeli intentions? hard to say. >> all right. defense secretary gates said this. i want to play a chunk. >> i think that the newest round of sanctions potentially do have the opportunity to get the iranians to change their minds, but this is a very, very difficult and dangerous set of choices, frankly, before us, because those who say we shouldn't attack i think underestimate the consequences of iran having a nuclear weapon and those who say we should underestimate the consequences of going to war. >> barbara, he's basically saying we're in between a rock and a hard place on this one.

>> reporter: you bet. bob gates is one of the most savvy operatives ever to hit washington, d.c. when he speaks people listen. i think essentially what gates is saying there is be careful before anybody gets backed into a corner they can't get out of. this kind of rhetoric can have a way of causing impacts and intentions that perhaps nobody means. gates is a man of extreme caution and is basically warning, be careful. don't put any of these three players in a position that you cannot deal with. >> this is scary tough when you hear from bob gates. as she points out, he does not sort of have these conversations lightly. >> i love barbara's rising triangle of rhetoric. that was a great line. and i think i'm actually very reassured to hear gates frame the issue that way. it's a scary issue, but i'm glad that someone who's very central to where u.s. decisions will be made understands that there are no easy solutions here and both

options carry very, very high risks and dangers. i think it's true. >> risks as could he main any has pointed out not just in any kind of response to israel. he said this. threatening iran and attacking iran will harm america. sanctions will not have an impact in response to threats of oil embargo. we have our own threats to impose at any time. that's scary stuff. >> really scary. >> politically, huge implications. if you're talking an april time line which is what leon panetta said. >> christian said, very scary. underestimating the effects of war. when we think about going to war with iran, we're talking about 600,000 troops in country. you're not going to be able to bomb this country's nuclear capabilities away. i think war is terrifying. i want to hear what a nuclear iran is. he says we also underestimate that effect. i need that explained to me. nuclear iran.

tell me how we're underestimating that. >> the other thing, we're in a different position than we were a decade ago where we know what war looks like in modern times. what it does to our health of our veterans, service men and women, economy. to not take that lightly. we've got the past decade tolike at and say what does the opportunity cost of that decision? >> not to mention, america has run out of money. when the war in iraq started, america felt really rich and felt that it could afford to do this stuff. it's a very different world. >> underestimating the problems of a nuclear round as well. that is a big problem. >> i feel like we're having a conversation where raising the questions. christine has breaking news. >> good morning, soledad. breaking news this morning out of egypt right now. a group of armed gunmen kidnapped two american female tourists and their egyptian tour guy guide. this is in the sinai peninsula.

god morning, ivan. >> reporter: good morning. that's right. the egyptian authorities confirming two american tourists were kidnapped in south sinai by what they say were unidentified bedouin kidnappers. the u.s. embassy has confirmed they've gotten that information from egyptian authorities and are working with them to make sure of the citizenship of these people who have been taken hostage. we've spoken with some of our trusted bedouin sources in the say sinai peninsula. they say they want the relies of some suspects from their tribe who were arrested by egyptian authorities last week in connection with the armed robbery of a foreign exchange office in the tourist resort of sharm el shake. in that robbery one person was killed. 25 chinese workers from a cement

factory were kidnapped for less than 24 hours earlier this week and released. also demands coming from another bedouin tribe asking for some of their tribesmen to be released from prison. this growing crime wave is affecting cairo as well. i talked to one man who was a witness of that awful soccer stage rampage that led to the deaths of 79 people on wednesday night that's shaken up this country terribly. he said he came back from that and found that two of his child cousins had been kidnapped for ransom, had to pay the ransom, and they were released within hours. a sign of real instability growing in egypt. back to you. >> all right. ivan watson, thank you. the united nations scrambling to pass a proposed peace resolution for syria. russia opposing a call for regime change in syria. drafters of the proposal have made revisions and hope to put it to a vote as soon as possible.

the u.s. senate overwhelmingly approved an insider trading bill. it bans congress members and their staff from financially profiting from nonpublic information. attorney general eric holder says firings and charges are underway for people who ran the fast and furious program. he's in the hot seat yesterday in congress. congressman darryl issa demanding he release documents on the gun running operation or face content of court. >> this committee has lost its patience to wait longer. we will not wait until next ground hog day to get answers for the american people. the department of justice stands ready to work with you. not only to correct the mistakes of the past, but also to strengthen our law enforcement capacity in the future. >> fast and furious, as you know, put guns in the hands of mexican drug cartels. >> the fbi's no fly list has more than doubled in the past year. counter terror officials say

there are now about 21,000 people on the rolls with around 500 americans. minding your business this morning, u.s. stock futures trading slightly higher now. the big jobs report for january comes out in about 20 minutes. that could direct trading. we'll get you knows numbers as soon as they are reported. a material girl playing hurt this weekend. madonna says she's excited and nervous about performing during the halftime show of the super bowl. even though she suffered a hamstring injury during rehearsals, she's got her game face on. great attention to detail has been paid to my wardrobe. there will be no wardrobe malfunctions. promise. >> wow. there you go. >> they could raise ratings. say what you want, that's what happened. christine, thank you. speaking of the super bowl, we're going to take a lack at the hottest ads this yeerks including have you seen this preview of bu ler. matthew broderick is back. it's so funny. it's cute. mitt romney commenting on

the very poor, then he gets an endorsement from the donald. donald trump. >> oh, boy. >> why are we -- >> is that a -- >> we just mentioned zblsh is that a bad day or a good day? >> we're all very poor. >> does that hurt his rich guy image or does it help him? will cain is just laughing. that's a tease, people. we leave you with carlo carlos santanna and "smooth." ♪ people really love snapshot from progressive, but don't just listen to me. listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. i was worried it would be hard to install. but it's really easy. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. yeah. you're not... filming this, are you?

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welcome back, everybody. mitt romney is campaigning in nevada ahead of tomorrow's caucuses there. he is still being dogged by what he said in the state of florida on "starting point." listen. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repair, i'll fix it. you can focus on the very poor. that's not my focus. my focus is on middle income americans. >> romney now says that that

comment was a mistake and here is what he told nevada's political reporter, john rolston. >> john, it was a misstatement. i misspoke. if people are going to go after me when i make a mistake, even when i slip up on a word, when i say i got it wrong, sorry, that's not what i meant, that's got to be part of the political process. i understand it and understand. >> grover nor quist is here. it's nice to have you with us. you've heard a little bit of the back and forth. i know you've read it everywhere. grover, i'm going to start with you. outside of the fact it's always unwise if you're running for political office to say that you don't care about anything, fill in the blank, what do you make of the greater point that he is trying to make, which is i'm going to focus on the middle class and i really am not going to worry at this moment about the plight of the poor. >> that doesn't make any sense. what he's been doing in the campaign up until statement is saying we need to create more

jobs. we need to get the government out of the way of creating more jobs and opportunities. that's important for middle class people who have a job, who want a better job, who want a better paying job. but it's even more important to someone who has no job yet. so the solution for poor people and middle income people and upper income people to do better is to have stronger economic growth and more job creation and why would you get away from that message? job creation is good for everybody. why play the game that obama plays with dividing people into different groups and mugging one or making fun of the other? that's not where the republican party's historically been, certainly not where reagan was. i think he really messed up in the approach. his policies of lower taxes, less regulation, fewer court abuses and getting rid of all this tax and spend stuff, that would be good for the poorest person who doesn't have a job at all and for middle income people trying to do better next year than last year. >> so robert cutner, when we

talked to ron brownstein earlier, he said if this was a misstatement or if he misspoke, slipped up on a word, that's all quoting the governor, he's really been keeping this message across the entire campaign trail that that sounds like that is just not completely true. do you think that, in fact, this is against the policies that he believes in or what? >> well, here's romney's problem. temperamentally, characterologically. he comes across as a guy who would eat pizza with a knife and fork. not one of us. he's a private equity guy. because he has to do so many contortions to reconcile his current positions with his past positions, he stays on script and so when he goes off script, he tends to mess up. whereas, somebody like reagan or obama or roosevelt, these were

politicians who were comfortable in their own skin. they could trust themselves to ad lib. they could trust themselves to speak off the cuff. romney can't trust himself to speak off the cuff because everything is scripted. he's such a tightly wound guy. when he goes off script he blurts out things that you need romney himself, grover norquist to explain afterwards what he meant. this is why the republicans are going to have a problem with him. >> when you look at the statistics of poverty, people in poverty the standard measurement is family of four making under $22,000 a year. 2007 you had 37 million people in poverty. now in 2010 that number's gone up just under 25% to 46 million. large number of those people are actually children. one in five children are living in poverty. 42% of boys born into the bottom fifth of the population are going to stay there. what is the fix? he talked about the safety net and what he was going to do was

repair the safety net if there is a problem. some people would look at these numbers and say, well, clearly it's a problem. it's going the wrong way at the very least. what's the repair, grover? >> one of the advantages that the republicans have is their solution on safety net, means tested, welfare programs, food stamps, medicaid, housing programs, the 77 programs that are means tested, larger ones, are to do exactly what bill clinton and the democrats did back in the '90s, which is to block grant them to the states, eliminate a lot of the strings that were attached to them, and that ended up with a lot more flexibility, a lot of good ideas, a lot fewer people stuck in welfare. more people with opportunities. so the republican solution to fixing the welfare programs, and they're 77, not one, aid to families with dependent children is to do what clinton did. it's going to be a little difficult for the democrats to get up and explain how awful

that is since it's kind of the one success that clinton had in eight years. >> well, you know what, i'm going to give you a moment, robert, to counter that because i know you want to. then i have to take a commercial break. go ahead. >> sure. well, welfare reform worked fine when there was full employment, but when you block grant programs to the states at a time when the states are constrained to cut hundreds of billions of dollars, that money comes out of the mouths of the poor. the republicans have been for more and more cuts. they haven't been the party that's been in favor of repairing the safety net so i don't think romney has much credibility when he talks about if there's a problem with the safety net, i'm the guy to fix. >> robert and grover joining us this morning. thanks. appreciate it. still ahead on "starting point", the susan g. komen foundation cuts off funding for plant parenthood. then $3.5 million for 30 seconds. you better dazzle me. super bowl ads getting a lot of

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♪ star light, star brooit first star i see tonight ♪ >> bringing back my whole high school experience growing up on long island. >> robust weekend. >> it's all request play list on "starting point." advertisers, of course, are bringing their a game to the super bowl. some of the sneak peek are getting some buzz. we have abbey with us. $3.5 million for 30 seconds? >> it's expensive.

100,000. >> it must work. >> it has to. that's a lot of money. >> wow. dazzle me. >> let's go to the expert for that. >> you know, it works for certain strategies. so i think really smart strategy is if you're launching a product the super bowl is a great place to be. it has mass appeal. we're talking about the highest rated event on television. >> outside of this show of course. >> but, you know, the thing about the super bowl, not only is it the highest rated event, people also tune in to watc the ads. >> sometimes that's all you tune in for. >> it's the only thing on television that can boast that. >> let's go to the ads. a lot of people doing the hark jeping back to nostalgia. first this is the honda ad. the ferris bueller ad. >> i'm not sure what it is. i guess i'll be okay. >> i'm calling the studio, matthew. you're not shooting today. >> no. people are depending on me. movies bring so much -- >> i love this ad.

speaking of throwbacks, right? it's so funny to see ferris bueller as like a middle aged man. >> what does that say about us though? >> we, too, are middle aged is what it says. >> i'm disappointed that he's not playing ferris bueller in this ad. he's actually playing matthew broderick. i would have loved to see more of the characters from the movie. instead, it's just him. he's playing himself in real life. >> it's very cute, but do you think it's going to work? >> i don't know. >> it's selling a car, the crv. >> what is he selling? >> when you have to ask that though, that's a problem. >> they do mention the car. there's a lot of shots of the car. i think one of the things that worked for them here was releasing it early. they were the first super bowl advertiser to release this. they had a brilliant ten second teaser. >> we're all talking about it. >> they get paid $3.5 million. >> not yet. >> will is not talking about it. >> not at all. this is my favorite ad. this is called the chevrolet, the happy grad. let this play for a long time,

guys. this is shis terk call. >> a blindfold, mom, really? is this necessary. >> happy graduation, sweetie? ahhhh! whew! >> i can't believe you got me this car! amazing. status update, best day of my life! i'm calling grandma. >> this commercial goes on and on. obviously not his car. some guy at some point gets in and drives the car aw waaway. he brings his friends in it. this is funny. it's always about the car. >> it's about the car, and, by the way, the punch line here is his parents got him a mini fridge instead of a car. can you imagine? >> that's so cute. >> this is an amateur ad. it wasn't created by a professional ad agency. independent film maker from long island. >> i think that's going to be very, very successful. the third one, this is so odd. this is the volkswagen dog ad.

i can't even set it up. here. ♪ >> all the way through we have the dropped ball. ♪ get up and you can do better ♪ get up off of that thing and do things ♪ get up off of that thing and dance, you'll feel better ♪ ♪ okay. so it goes on and on. i'll keep the ad playing. the dog gets in great shape. now the dog is going to jump through. and then there's a really odd turn. >> a very odd ending to this ad. >> i hope it's not -- >> watch. weird. here we go. weird. suddenly it's about darth vader. >> really? >> yeah. explain.

>> i know the darth vader ad was very successful in the past year. >> yeah. i think this is a little farce. >> a turn from a dog to darth vader? yeah. >> they had the successful ad playing darth vader. his dad tricks him with the remote control and the car. the car turns on he thinks it's his own farce. it's an awkward turn. they're forcing that theme. they want to remind people of the adorable ad. >> i didn't think it worked. >> it doesn't work. >> abbey, it's nice to have you. we should run the last one. >> i want to see that one again. i love that ad. >> thank you for being with us. we certainly appreciate it. still ahead on "starting point." we're just minutes away from that release of jobs report. we'll bring you those numbers after this short break. plus a cancer charity really now trying to diffuse a crisis after they cut off cash to planned parenthood. uh oh.

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this is cnn breaking news. welcome back. as we've been promising all morning we've got breaking news. we're talking about the january jobs report that is now out. it gives us a look at the recovery of the economy, how the labor market is doing. christine romans has been watching that for us. good news, the number was 8.5, down to 8.3%. >> 243,000 jobs created in january. that's a surprise. people had expected it to be more like 140. you come in more like up here, soledad. it was 243,000 jobs created. we had positive revisions to december and november. more jobs created in december, november than we thought. also, widespread jobs growth except for the information sector. so along a lot of categories. professional business services up 70,000.

leisure and hospitality were higher. health care, no surprise. we've been growing jobs in health care for a couple of years. trade, retail, manufacturing. manufacturing up 50,000 jobs, which is interesting. you've been hearing a lot of people talking about how manufacturing is slowly trickling back. 8.3% is the unemployment rate. 243,000 jobs created overall. i want to show you how that factors out because these numbers for this year are going to be so political. now you've got this. you've even got a couple of months back here that are better than we thought, too. some strong jobs growth here. there are also new population assumptions in here. later on today, soledad, i'm sure you're going to be hearing a lot of people trying to tear these numbers apart and look at how they're different. headline figure here is very strong. it shows the economy was growing and creating jobs in january, soledad. >> that's a big number. >> yeah, that's a really big number, christine. that's a lot higher than everyone was expecting. do we know yet how many jobs -- how many government jobs were lost? how much private sector growth

there was? >> versus government? >> versus jobs that are lost by government? >> yeah. i can't see yet how the government jobs faired from last year, but we do see the white house is going to spin this. this is like the 22nd or 23rd month of private sector jobs growth. there will be government jobs closed for months and months. the government will continue losing jobs, but the private sector seems to be holding in here. >> in a way when you look at it that way, the private sector growth is probably stronger even than those numbers show. >> it's interesting. >> christine, we'll thank you and continue to crunch those numbers. christine doing double duty because she has the rest of the headlines. she won't crunch those numbers until she's done updating you on the headlines. >> following this breaking news out of egypt, group of armed gunmen kidnapped two american female tourists and their egyptian tour guide in the sinai

peninsula. the deadly soccer riot that killed 79 people, thousands gathering in tahrir square. they're blaming inadequate security and calling for an end of military rule. u.s. officials fear iran is helping al qaeda. they've freed a group of high level al qaeda terrorists who have been under house arrest since 2003. they fear they're giving material aid to al qaeda. president obama unveils a new jobs plan for veterans today. he says the veterans job corps initiative will put vets to work. the plan will cost at least $5 billion. the administration will award $166 million in grant money to communities who hire post 9/11 vets. they'll give another $320 million grants to fire departments who hire grants. the president plans to ask for more. an additional $4 billion to expand the program. talking about the other big contest happening this weekend. gop candidates getting ready for saturday's kickoff of the nevada

caucuses. will it be a blowout? right now mitt romney enjoys a double digit lead in the polls. rick santorum has already left that state for missouri. recent gaffs could cut romney's edge and both ron paul and newt gingrich are campaigning across nevada today. and to recap that jobs report, 243,000 jobs created. 8.3% the unemployment rate. stronger jobs creation in january than expected. soledad? >> i'm going to go out on a limb and say we're going to be hearing about that on the campaign trail this morning. >> i think you're right. >> i think i'm right, too. the controversy is intensifying over the susan g. komen foundation pulling its funding for plant parent hood. there is an explanation. they say they have a new policy that doesn't allow financing for a company that is under investigation. they are under investigation. the critics say komen is playing politics. the founder disagrees. this is nancy brinker. >> we will never bow to

political pressure. we will always stand firm in our goal to end breast cancer forever. we will never turn our backs on the women who need us the most. >> cecile richards is the president of planned parenthood federation. nice to see you. thanks for talking to us. nancy brinker has said several times in a couple of different interviews that this is not political. do you think she's lying? >> well, i know that the komen foundation, unfortunately, has been under a lot of political pressure from the far right to distance themselves and end the relationship with planned parenthood. look, the important thing is the komen foundation and planned parenthood, we share the same goal. we want women to have access to breast cancer screening and care. it's my sincere hope that we can put this behind us and that we can work with them and they'll reconsider their decision to end grants to planned parenthood clinics. >> i see that you made that really sharp turn to say i hope we can work this out. let's go back to the political part.

do you think this is political? if so, is there any way to bring both sides together if in fact you think there's political motivation going on in the blocking of the grants? >> i think that's up to the komen foundation. i feel like what's important to me and what we're focused on at planned parenthood is the women we serve. we see more than 700,000 women eacher for breast exams. that's what we're focused on is making sure that regardless of the decisions of the komen foundation that there's not a woman in america who misses her breast cancer screening. i really feel like we've had an outpouring of support from folks all across the country. >> like mayor bloomberg. he sent out a tweet and it said, we must continue to help women access life saving #breast cancer screenings. have you been able to krrecoup some of that money? >> yes. we were very thankful for his support. he hit it on the head. we can't put politics ahead of women's health care access. we've had -- we see one in five

women in america have been to planned parenthood. in the last 28, 48 hours i've seen many of them. >> nothing like a crisis to feel like everyone's reaching out to you. part of the rationale is that planned parenthood is under investigation by lawmakers and the policy they say, this is komen foundation, says, listen we don't give money if someone is under investigation. doesn't she have a point there? >> well, there is a political investigation on the hill that's really has been politically motivated. i don't think that's what this is about. i think others have reported there are many, many things under investigation that komen funds. i think the important thing, again, is we've had a great long standing relationship with the komen foundation. as of very recently they praised our work. i think unfortunately what you've seen happen to the komen foundation is the same far right groups that have been attacking komen have been attacking planned parenthood, have been attacking birth control access in america.

i think it's time, we can't let bullies prevent women from getting health care access in america, whether it's breast cancer screening, a family planning services, and the like. >> it's kind of sad that you have two women's groups that are the best known and very powerful and they're fighting. it's like cat fighting. >> we're not fighting. soledad, i think your boint is exactly right. >> you're not fighting? >> no. i think, look -- >> really? come on. >> the komen foundation has been attacked by the right wing for working with planned parenthood. i think what we're seeing and what we've seen across the country is komen employees, planned parenthood supporters standing up and saying, you know, we can't let politics get in the way of women's cancer screening. and i really do hope seeing what's happening, that the komen foundation will rethink its position and work again with us to do what we've got to do. we know early detection saves lives. that's what we should be focused on. >> she's the president of planned parenthood federation of america. thanks for talking with us this morning. >> nice to see you. >> thank you. we'll be following how this goes

because i think they actually are fighting with each other. we've got to take a short break. ahead on "starting point", have you heard this story, woman sues honda. she takes them to small claims court. >> no. >> no class action lawsuit for this lady. she goes to small claims court and she wins, $10,000 because she says they are lying about the gas mileage for the honda. we're going to tell you what happened straight ahead on "starting point."

♪ won't get fooled again. this song is a request for our tape 18, lesli tucker. the who. >> it's good. >> are you kidding? the who in the morning is actually a really good idea. we should only play the who on

monday. >> you essentially like audio coffee. >> yes, i do. >> and a good lyric for journalists. won't get fooled again. >> lesli, we should talk. what? what? what does that mean? lesli, it's only been five weeks that we've been on the air. moving on. a rare victory. this case is so strange. california woman took the auto giant honda to small claims court and then she won. it's because her hybrid honda wasn't getting the 50 miles per gallon that she had promised she had seen advertised. her name is heather peters. she's the honda owner. nice to see you. so you've been seeing advertisements. >> thanks for having me. >> you're seeing an advertisement that said your honda was supposed to be getting 50 miles per the gallon. what were you actually getting? >> well, you know, average mileage may vary. i never got more than 41, 42 on my best day. i wasn't going to sue over that. >> what did you sue over? >> the real problem was their batteries were dying. they were getting big warranty claims at 3 grand a pop and so

they reprogrammed the software so that the car used the battery less, and that was like siphoning gas out of my tank. and i got, you know, 28, 29 according to their own dashboard display. that was -- you know, even that i was waiting for the class action to figure it out. then i got a thing saying, we'll give you 200 bucks and a coupon towards your next honda. >> this always happens. people don't make a good enough offer. that makes people mad. heather got mad and you decided to go to small claims court. why not try to get in on or create a class action lawsuit? >> you know, life is too short. i just wanted to get them to treat me fairly. it was not a big deal to me. i thought they were just going to settle and move on, but they didn't. it's not just me. don't settle with honda.org is my website. hundreds and hundreds of honda people have contacted me and said, they're doing the same thing to me.

they're trying to make me think i'm crazy. we're not crazy. the judge agreed. $10,000 is not insignificant. >> so you won. and now does that pave the path for other people to say, i can take them to court too? what happens next? >> absolutely. don't settle with honda.org. there's a click there. can you go to all 50 states websites. you can do it yourself. you don't need a lawyer. and i'm going to have my evidence available to everyone. so they don't have to do all the leg work i did. >> are you a lawyer? oo i was ten years ago. never thought i would be in the courtroom again, but i just re-activated my law license because so many people have contacted zblee what did you do with the $10,000. >> i'm not going to get it any time soon. they're appealing. i have even better evidence now that the evidence has brought me a whistle-blower. >> a lawyer again. a lawyer again. heather, thanks very much. appreciate it. short break.

we'll come on the other side. i'm going to tell you why i'm wearing red today. for a good cause, will cain. you've been wondering. >> exactly. >> back in just a moment.

welcome back, everybody. it is now time for today's reveal. i'm going to tell you the reason why i'm wearing red. in fact, the reason why most of the women who are on tv today are wearing red. we were asked to to raise awareness for something that kills one woman every minute in this country. something that actually claims more female victims than all cancer combined, and that is heart disease. it is the number one killer of women. so today is national wear red day. it's an effort to educate women about heart disease. women are also more likely than men to have other signs of heart attacks, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, back and jaw pain. the pain in the arm that men have, that's not what women have. so often it is missed in women. today is go red day. join the cause. you can kick off the national heart month and take care of your heart. >> i will wear the cnn mug for the rest of the day. >> the sisterhood appreciates you. >> healthier hearts for women. i support that.

>> we support your support. >> good. >> "end point" with the panelists up next. stay with us. congratulations, how do you feel? >> full of gratitude. >> did you feel like you had a chance for winning? >> of course not. we've helped so many people since 2005. almost 113,000 people got free medical care and medicine. >> what does that feel like to start with one person and then slowly start to build the organization? >> i found that if you have a good idea and you do it with love, a lot of people want to help you. >> it was a very personal loss that got you involved in this? >> my sister died. she was pregnant. this was 21 years ago. >> what was your sister's name. >> her name is christine. i feel like she really helps me. >> you carry her with you still?

>> yeah. and i think i carry her baby too. >> what kind of an impact do you think this will have? >> the clinic we have in the tsunami zone, that one is really safe. the clinic in balani is falling apart. >> you're hoping to rebuild the clinic? >> we've been saving money for years. we did get a piece of land right in our village so we're ready to build. now we have money to begin. >> you have 250,000 plus $50,000, so you have $300,000? >> yes. that keeps you going in indonesia. >> what keeps you going in those dark days when you don't have money and support? >> some days i don't have money but i always have support. just when you think, well, how are we going to pay the electric bill? there's always an e-mail that says, we're sending money. it's a miracle every day, just like birth. >> congratulations. i'm so happy for the work you do and the lives you're going save. thank you. >> thank you.

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what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ?

ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. in our last moments let's go to our "end point." >> i want to talk about this plant parenthood situation with komen. i think they have made a terrible mistake. >> komen? >> komen has. crafted a policy which has singled out only planned parenthood. they've been on the ropes for trying to provide health care access to women who don't have it geographically or financially. they made a gun that was pink but they have an issue with an organization that screens women for breast care exams. >> you're for planned parenthood? >> for women's health. >> i'm with him there. well done. the poor. the thing that your great