>> from cnn center, this is weekend early start. march 18th. good morning. i'm randy kay. we know his name. we know where he lives, and now we know his pain. we're talking about u.s. army staff sergeant robert bails who allegedly murdered 16 afghan civilians a week ago today. we'll bring you revelation from his wife, carolyn's, blog. ♪ >> it's primary day in puerto rico. most eyes are on the contest in illinois. we'll tell you why. take a look at this, would you? now, all right. i can't snowboard, but apparently this pos sum can. we'll have more of the best video of the morning later on

this hour. >> level-headed and experienced. words that an attorney for staff sergeantent robert bales say accurately describe the soldier, and now those closest to bales are sharing their thoughts about the rampage that killed 16 afghan civilians and the man accused of committing the act. a statement reads in part, "sergeant bales' family is stunned in the face of this tragedy, but they stand behind the man they know as a devoted husband, father, and dedicated member of the armed services." bales is currently being held in kansas at fort leavenworth. his attorneys say they will meet with him next week. susan canned eon they will have more later. >> the outrage sparked by the shooting is being felt in the streets of afghanistan and also back here in the united states. >> we want peace! we want peace! >> that was the scene near san francisco where more than 100 afghans and their supporters held a vigil for those killed. some of those gathered calling not only for peace, but also for justice for the victims.

an american teacher has been killed in yemen. it happened in the city of taez. two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on the victim as he was driving to work to a language school. no one has claimed responsibility. violence has escalated in yemen. thursday tribes have abducted a swiss woman on the red sea coast. turning now to iraq where digging for answers into a military mystery. the united nations says an american believed by some to have been held captive for nine months has been turned over to the u.s. embassy in baghdad. that embassy is now working to verify his story. he is identified as ran michael holtz. holtz wearing a military uniform, speaking about his experience. >> i was taken inside baghdad and had been kept in and around different locations within the city. it was explained to me that my release has been for more of humanitarian reasons and that there was no exchange involved. >> a pentagon official says that

while the defense department is reviewing the reports, there is no knowledge of any active duty military member missing in iraq. >> chants of "free, free syria" ringing out in the nation's capital. protesters are urging president obama to stop the bloodshed in syria. hundreds of demonstrators rallied outside the white house yesterday. they want increased u.s. pressure on the syrian regime and more aid for civilians. it is primary day in puerto rico, and both mitt romney and rick santorum are hoping for victory. the polls open in just two hours. there are 20 delegates up for grabs in the u.s. territory. a key campaign issue? puerto rico's statehood status. romney santorum, and gingrich support puerto rico becoming the 51st state if their voters do as well. sdmrirchgts the man who turned red bull into a global phenomenon and became a bill yore air in the process has

died. he and a business partner transformed a sweet drink that was popular with truckers in europe and asia into a brand sold in now 164 countries. he died of natural causes. he was in his 80s. let's say good morning to meteorologist reynolds wolf. how is it looking for today? >> you know, it's going to be okay for parts of the country. the eastern one-third of the country should be okay. very mild conditions. plenty of sunshine. when you get to the central plains and then certainly i'm going to get to the west coast, things really do change. a chance of severe weather in some spots. possibly some heavy snow in the rockies and looks like the rain is going to continue for parts of central and southern california. we'll give you more on that coming up. >> all right, reynolds. thank you. >> you bet. >> here's a rundown now of what's still to come. the wife of the u.s. soldier accused of killing innocent afghans opens up about life as an army wife. see what was on her mind even before last weekend's deadly rampage. plus, if israel does decide to strike iran, why experts in and outside of israel envision a much more complicated attack.

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back to our top story now. a man who is known afghan shooting suspect sergeant robert bales all his life says nothing adds up. he says the soldier accused in last sunday's house to house rampage is not the young man who has done so much for his family since he was a kid. suzy candiotti has this exclusive report. >> reporter: robert durrer remembers his last conversation

with sergeant robert bales who called him from afghanistan. >> said i love you, poppy, you know? take care of yourself. >> that was in december. shortly after he was redeployed to the region for a fourth time. >> a real caring, real understanding individual. even from a real young age. >> durham has known bales all his life. they lived next door to each other in norwood, ohio. he still calls him bobby. >> bobby and my son were best friends. >> an uncommonly kind friends because durham's son wade, two years older than bales is severely disabled. >> bobby was just a very understanding, very accepting kid. he didn't at one time point out a kid's disability. it was what they could do. >> bobby took wade swimming, too school parties, to the zoo. bobby made sure wade was never left out no matter what anyone

thought. >> and with bobby around, there was never a question. all of bobby's friends accepted wade because bobby accepted him. >> at norwood high school outside cincinnati bales was a football captain. year book photos show him typing and a playful side. after attending two colleges and working in finance, a fateful day, 9/11. >> 9/11 really affected bobby. >> within two months he joined the army. >> he was like a lot of young men and women who decided that not on our watch. you don't do this to our country. >> when they talked about the war, durham says bales empathized with civilians. >> people are people to him. people are people. i never heard him say that he hated anyone. >> like most, durham was horrified to hear about an american soldier who allegedly fwuned down 16 afghan villagers door to door. >> how did you react when you

heard the news? >> they're saying bobby did that, and i couldn't believe it. i still can't believe it. durham suspects his friend may have snapped and is worried. >> i don't think he can live with it. he will never be the same, and that -- he is such a great person. that just -- that crushes me. i don't know. >> what questions do you have? >> i think everyone has the same question because everyone knew the same bobby. what happened? what happened? >> questions with few answers. >> i don't know what happened to my friend, bob bales. i hope somebody figures it out. >> and gets him help. susan candiotti, cnn, norwood, ohio. >> hmm.

reynolds is back now with a forecast for you. reynolds, what do you have in store for us? >> we have a lot going on. it's one of those days where you just have -- you just take your pick of weather im's around the country. when you think of ski season, ski season was very slow starting this year, and especially in central rockies. many resorts were building on snow, creating their own stuff. now they're finishing up the season and n a pretty strong way, anden only in parts of the rockies, but even in the sierra nevada where we have all the moisture coming in from the pacific crossing over the coastal range into the san walk even valley, and being boom, into higher elevations it's turning into snow that you can see plain as day. same story in southern california. you can see light snow especially up towards big bear, but then when you get over towards phoenix and flagstaff, you see the transformation of the rain. farther to the south and then when you get higher elevations in near staff, it's switching over to snow. same story in salt lake city. in the valleys things are fine. up towards snow bird, it's totally a snow event. it's great news for anyone who hopes to get a few more runs, few more turns in before the ski season ends up.

the problem is on the other side of the system, it's a different story. very dry conditions. strong winds. you have a fire threat that will be in effect for the day. when you get into the central and southern plains, chansz of severe storms. not much on radar for the time being, but as we get to the late afternoon and then you have the daytime heating, the high humidity, that's where things get interesting. we might have some strong storms that could develop. tornadoes are possible. yes. unfortunately. we might see some isolated tornadoes that could develop, but the primary thing ewe going to see is going to be the chances of small hail and some heavy rain and with that maybe strong winds. warm conditions across the ohio valley. very muggy. you're going to feel the humidity in cincinnati today. no question about it. warm conditions are going to be felt all over the eastern one-third, and even the center of the u.s. 84 in memphis. 84 in atlanta. 64 degrees in new york. 71 in boston, and as we wrap things up, 61 in albuquerque, and 56 in los angeles. anyone flying out to los angeles, maybe slight delays due to low clouds. the big problem is in phoenix with wind and a few thunder boomers that might keep you

grounded for a bit on the tarmac. >> i have a question for you. how many times were you on the road where you see people texting or talking on their phone? >> every single day. >> crazy, right? >> it really is. no question. >> i want to just grab their blackberry or iphone our their hands. a lot of people do it. a lot of people text while driving. it's not only a distraction, but we also know that it can be dangerous. a colorado father of triplets is already thinking about what it will be like for his kids when they start driving, and that's why he has created an app to make driving safer. here's our affiliate with kusa. >> i don't want them on the road dogg this. >> troy of littleton says his triplets have grown up so fast. before he knows it, all three will be asking for the car keys. >> the thought of them driving in today's world, you know, they're 8, so they're eight years away from driving, and there are so many dust rackses and meaningless deaths on the roads caused by people texting.

>> that's why two years ago troy began working on a cell phone app to block calls and texts who'll driving. he hired a california company to develop the life before text app that's just hit the market. >> it was kind of a shock that it finally came together. >> as distracted driving claims more lives and makes more headlines, more and more safe driving apps are vaebl to drivers. bloo so if you are driving down the road and i want to text somebody, this will come up. >> we took troy's app for a test drive going 10 miles per hour. parents have a few options for speed. the app is supposed to block calls, texts, and emails. >> there it is right there. it says missed call from my cell phone. it didn't ring. didn't bother you. >> no. i got my eyes on the road. making sure i don't hit anybody or get in a wreck. >> got your twitter here. no cell phone use. >> emergency calls can be made, but if a teenage driver disables the app, the parents will get an

e-mail. if the app is deleted, an e-mail can be sent to an insurance agent who may be giving the teen driver a discount for having the app installed. troy spent $20,000 creating the app. consumers can buy it for a one-time fee of $3.98. troy says it's not about the money. it's about his kids' safety and other drivers. >> even if i don't make any money off of this, it's worth the investment that i made just to put on my children's phones. >> when their spouses are sent off to war, they are the ones left to pick up the pieces. up next, inside the diary of the wife of the soldier accused in last weekend's afghan shooting rampage. us. how can we save these young people's lives? as a police chief i have an opportunity to affect what happens in a major city. i learned early on if you want to make a difference you have to have the right education. university of phoenix opened the door. my name is james craig,

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she the woman sergeant robert bales left behind when he went to iraq and afghanistan. today we're getting her thoughts on his service and how it impacted the life she they shared. in a series of blog posts carolyn bales writes about several events, including the disappointment felt when her husband was passed over for promotion last year saying, quote, "after all of the work bob has done and all the sacrifices he has made for his love have his country, family, and friends." mrs. bales also described her pregnancy with their daughter, quincy, and the anticipation of her husband's return saying, "i only want the days to go by fast when it comes to bob coming back home." she wrote this about her unborn child of whom she shared a certain physical condition and how it reminded her of her husband. she wrote, "i get the hiccups all the time these days. i always think that bob is thinking about me. i guess bob was thinking about her too." bales' family has reportedly been moved due to safety concerns.

their home according to public records was put up for sale just this week. rising tensions between israel and iran are fueling speculation of a looming war. we watched iran flex its military muscle practicing war games m strait of hormuz. in a meeting with president obama this month israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said his country reserves the right to attack iran to defend itself. he also said that israel has been patient. >> this room has waited, patiently waited, for the international community to resolve this issue. we've waited for diplomacy to work. we've waited for sanctions to work. none of us can afford to wait much longer. >> an air strike by israel it's not going to be so easy to pull off. that's what experts both missed and outside israel tell cnn's richard green. he is joining us live now from london this morning.

richard, welcome to you. how would israel go about attempting to destroy iran's nuclear site? would this be done by air or by sea? >> well, iran has a number of targets spread around different locations, and so although israel has submarines and we don't know exactly what's on those submarines. we assume they have cruise missiles or something like that. because there are a number of different targets and because you would need very, very precise bombing, i think the assumption of all experts is this will happen by air. that the israeli air force will fly either over saudi arabia, over turkey, or straight across jordan and into iraq and then from there into iran to bomb from the israeli air force bombers themselves. >> it sounds like quite a complicated mission. you have been told that this will be a lot more difficult than when israel attacked iraq decades ago, and a suspected one in syria. what are the biggest challenges here in terms of the military assault? >> well, randy, in syria and in

iraq, the previous case, as you mentioned, there was one target in each place. now, iran has at least four different nuclear sites that we assume the israelis would want to bomb, if we thought they were going to destroy the entire program. we're talking about something like 25 israeli fighter bombers because it's so far they're going to need midair refueling, so that's air refueling tankers in the air as well. plus, whatever, you know, fighter support you want to have to protect the planes that are doing the bombing. it's going to be -- if it happens, it's going to be an absolutely enormous air operation. >> yeah. not to mention that some of the sites there are hidden in concrete and mountains and can be really difficult. would it be a surprise assault, do you think? >> well, the israelis would certainly want it to be. now, it's tricky. if you fly low over the ground, that's going to protect the israeli planes from the iranian radar. the lower the planes are, the harder it will be for the iranians to see them coming, but if they're flying over a hostile country like iraq or saudi arabia, then what you are doing

is you are opening yourself up to the air defenses of those countries. now, iraq after ten years of war they can't really defend its airspace all that well, but the lower you are, the more you run the risk of alerting the people on the way to the target. the higher you are, the quicker the iranians will see them coming. >> the former director of israel's massad believes abbing din jawed is a rationale person. if that's the case, could this be more of a game of chicken? could this be a cold war all over again? >> well, i think there are a lot of people who hope so. you know, certainly i think everybody's preference would be that we not go into a full-on shooting war between israel and iran. netanyahu has been a tough negotiator. he is pressing the americans, and he is making tough statements as far as iran is concerned. i think there are a lot of people who hope this is tough talk instead of a war rather than tough talk leading to a war. >> and just very quickly, when would this happen by if this were to happen?

do you think it would have to happen before the u.s. elections in november? >> the israelis have been talking about a point of no return where iran's nuclear program will be so far along that they can't stop it by bombing. there's debate about where exactly that is. president obama addressed apaic last week. the pro israeli lobbying committee. he said, look, we have been watching iran very closely. we know they do not have nuclear weapons yet. israel agree with this on that. obama for his part is certainly sending a very clear signal to slow down, let's not rush into anything here. randy. >> richard green, thank you very much. appreciate that. nice to see you. we're going to take you inside a police department that has started its own daily newscasts. plus, they haven't committed a crime, but these children are locked away behind bars. up next, you'll meet the cnn hero who is working to provide them with life's necessities. ♪

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community, suspect description from the night before. >> reporter: officials believe they're the first to do it. in los angeles an investigation is underway after a metro train collided with a car in downtown. according to police, the car ran a red light. the metro train was on a test run on the not yet opened expo line. fortunately, only minor injuries were reported. >> the cardboard box derby in pittsburgh turned ugly when a vehicle carrying 14 people flew off course. some of the passengers were ejected. the extent of the injuries is not known. the cause of the accident is under investigation. right now in nepal about 80 children are growing up behind bars. not because of anything they did, but because of their parents' crimes. this week cmn hero is trying to give them a better life, sacrificing her future for theirs. meet pushpa. >> in nepal when parents have

been arrested by police and the children don't have local guardian, some children go to prison with the parents. i visited the jail. i was -- i saw small girl who just grabbed my shawl, and she just just gave me a smile. it was really hard for me to forget that. my name is pushpa, and my mission is to make sure no child grows up behind broken walls. in 2005 i started a daycare where the children can come out from the jail at morning and can go back to the jail in the afternoon. we have children who are from 2 to 4. they coloring, reading, starting five days a week. we started in 2007. currently we have 40 children living out here. mostly about 6 years old. i don't get a day off, but i

mefr get tired. the children all call me ma'am. it's a big family with lots and lots of love. ♪ >> when i started this organization, i was 21 years old. people thought i was crazy. but this is what imented in my life. i am giving them what a normal child should have. i want to fulfill all their dreams. >> and, remember, cnn heroes are all chosen from people that you tell us about, so go to cnn heroes.com to nominate someone you think is making a difference in the community. vice president biden blasting the gop presidential candidates calling each one of them out by nay name. what the obama camp hopes to accomplish by putting him out on the trail. your political gut check moments away.

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vo: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. welcome back. more now on u.s. staff sergeant robert bales. he is currently being held at fort eleven worth in kansas for allegedly killing 16 civilians in afghanistan last sunday. though he hasn't been charged, he here is his lawyer brown. >> it's of interest that we have a soldier who has an exemplary record. he was damaged in iraq to his brain and his body and then despite that was sent back. i think that's an issue. i think it's a concern. >> and in an interview this past week with chmn brown spoke more about the affect on brain injuries on all soldiers, not

just his client. >> there's been a big problem with soldiers who have been previously deployed to both iraq and afghanistan with concussive head injuries and post dramatic stress disorder. i know there's been a lot of controversy about this particular base in washington not treating those illnesses. we do know he had a concussive head injury. >> as you have heard, bales was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury in 2010 and from his lawyer's comments, it would appear that the ground work is already being laid for a potential defense based on mental incapacity. yesterday i spoke with chad battles, an iraq war veteran, who is currently undergoing treatment tore traumatic brain injury. >> one of the main problems that i have noticed many having this pretreatment, post-treatment is that with the tbi and including the ptsd, sometimes while i'm having an event or if i would be triggered, it's like driving a

car with no brakes. you see the wall ahead of you. you want to stop. you push the brakes, but they're not working. you know what's happening, but it's like you are just stuck in the reaction because your body is reacting and you're not able to say, whoa, let's stop this. >> checking a few other top stories now. the u.s. embassy is investigating the killing of an american teacher in yemen. a country's defense ministry says gunmen shot the victim as he was driving to work today in the southern city of taoz. this comes three days after tribesmen ab ducked a swiss female teacher north. protesters are demanding justice for the shooting rampage in afghanistan. demonstrators rallied yesterday m san francisco bay area. u.s. army staff sergeant robert bales is accused of killing 16 afghans one week ago. the protesters say they want a change in the u.s. afghanistan strategy and an apology to the

u.s. people. check this little guy out. it is a previously unknown frog species. it was discovered, get this, in new york city. scientists say the frog's peculiar croak tipped them off that they were on to something big. the species is so new, kind of cute, though? it doesn't even have a name yet. that's how new this species from new york city is. time for your cnn political gut check. we'll take you beyond the speeches and break down what's really going on in politics. vice president joe biden came out swinging this past week marking a new offensive by president obama's re-election team. biden called out mitt romney and other gop rivals as being "dead wrong" on the auto bailout and pretty much everything else. take a listen. >> mitt romney, rick santorum, and newt gingrich, these guys have a fundamentally different economic philosophy than we do. governor romney was more direct. let detroit go bankrupt. you know, it's kind of amazing.

gingrich and romney and santorum, they don't let the facts get in their way. >> so has the battle for blue collar america officially begun? i asked our political director mark preston. >> who better to send the message for the obama campaign than joe biden who really xemp fiz the blue collar background. that's why barack obama chose him to be his running mate, and, of course, we saw him on the campaign trail this week. he was very critical of the republican presidential candidates, named them by name, went directly after them. of course, joe biden right now is the top surrogate on the obama campaign. >> i want to talk about illinois. certainly the primary coming up on tuesday. mitt romney, i mean, he has a lot of money, and he likes to pour it into these states and use it to attack his opponents. illinois in this case is no exception. how important is illinois and how are the candidates doing

there? >> it's extremely important. you know, mitt romney needs to win illinois. he needs to change the narrative of rick santorum sweeping in at the last minute and winning these states. we saw rick santorum through that in mississippi and alabama. now we're heading off to illinois on tuesday. today there's also a puerto rico, and mitt romney needs to win puerto rico because part of his argument is that he is in the hunt for delegates, and delegates is what is going to win the nomination. they need 1,144. he needs to win puerto rico today, and from there he needs that to go into illinois and do well. >> let's go to this week in washington. there's some other campaigning taking place there besides the main gop candidates, isn't there? >> well, randy, you and i have talked about the vice presidential sweepstakes, and, of course, that's going to be more and more come to the forefront. well, three potential names are going to be in washington giving speeches this week, all very interesting speeches. let's talk first with nicki haley. she's good-bying to headlining the fundraiser for the national

committee. that's the fundraising arm for house republicans. house republicans obviously want to maintain control of the house of representatives. nicki haley will be their big star. we're going to see mitch daniels come and speak to a banking group as well. he is going to be talking about monetary policy which, of course, is a very, very big deal, and then, of course, you have paul ryan, who a lot of people wanted to run for president as well. he is also going to be speaking about his vision for the budget at an event this week. start expecting a lot of folks to be focussing on who potentially could be romney's vp and who would be could be rick santorum's vp. we'll start really paying attention to these appearances. >> they might as well wear t-shirts saying pick me, pick me. >> even chris christie has not ruled it out as have others. it's an interesting game. >> we are heading to the next level. mark preston, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> and you can read more gut

check every day on cnn politics.com. better yet, let us send them to you. send an e-mail to gut check@cnn.com, and we'll get them to you. >> later on, cnn sunday morning, newt gingrich's daughter will join me live. i'll ask her if there is any chance of her father dropping out of the race and what it would take for that to happen. that live interview coming up at 8:10 eastern time for you. >> an unruly crowd forced a republican caucus in missouri to shut down. the caucus in st. charles county adjourned before delegates were selected when a man with a video camera refused to put it away. some of the crowd began shouting at the organizers. police arrested two people. david cole, chairman of the missouri republican party, released the following statement saying given the importance of this election cycle, we understand that emotions run high, but it is important that these caucuses are conducted in a fair, open, and honest matter. he went on to say that the meeting was adjourned to protect the safety of all participants. getting kind of ugly.

>> and disney wants to make some dreams come true for america's men and women on frontlines. it's launching a new initiative called heroes work here to hire, train, and support returning veterans and their families. disney says it will provide at least 1,000 jobs for veterans over the next three years. it also plans to launch a public awareness campaign to encourage other employers to do the same. you can find out more on-line. go to disney careers.com. new details about those controversial pardons in mississippi. now we're learning two inmates may have been given preferential treatment by former governor barber and his wife. cnn investigates next. you? that'll be $973.42. ya know, your rates and fees aren't exactly competitive. who do you think i am, quicken loans? [ spokesman ] when you refinance your mortgage with quicken loans, you'll find that our rates and fees are extremely competitive. because the last thing you want is to spend too much on your mortgage.

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those controversial pardons grant bid haley barbour has left office. his wildfire and his security chief granted special favors to two inmates. favors that one legislature brands as appalling saying they were treated "like kings." here's ed lavendara. >> reporter: just days before these two mississippi killers were pardoned by haley barber, cnn has learned that they were

issued brand new driver's licenses even though they were still technically incarcerated working as trustees at the governor's mansion, which begs the question, how do two inmates get driver's licenses while they're still in custody of the prison system? >> well, haley barber's chief security officer tells cmn that he personally drove both men from the governor's mansion here over to the driver's license office himself. the security chief suggests the licenses would help them find jobs, but why else would either of these men need a driver's license? to drive their newly purchased cars, of course. cnn has obtained these investigators reports from the mississippi attorney general's office, which detail how gatlin and hooker also had cars ready for them the day they were pardoned. according to the report, haley barber's wife called a salesman at this car dealership and says marcia barber contacted them about the purchase of vehicles for hooker and gatlin. the salesman allegedly told investigators that the inmates had been brought to the dealership on january 6, 2012,

in a black ford crown victoria to complete paperwork for the sale. january 6th is the very day that their pardons were signed, but two days before the men were officially released. the salesman also stated that he delivered both vehicles to the governor's mansion. >> the state department of public service says to its knowledge no policies were broken, and the mississippi supreme court has ruled they are legal. when you think of new orleans, mardi gras and bourbon street are usually what comes to mind. i went to new orleans to find out why the mayor is talking about murder. you're watching "weekend early start" where the news doesn't take a weekend off. [ man ] hmm. a lot can happen in two hundred thousand miles... ♪

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the mayor new orleans says it is the most important issue facing his city. murder. last year 14% surge in homicides made the city's murder rate the highest in the nation. a staggering 12 times the national rate. i went to new orleans to see what is really happening on the streets there and talked to those impacted by the violence and those trying to stop it. ♪ >> reporter: her name was kiera holmes gordon, and this is her funeral. of the 199 people murdered in new orleans last year, she was one of the last.

caught in the crossfire by a stray bullet, shot in the head just days before her second birthday. the violence is bleeding into 2012, too. in the 18 hours that preceded our interview with new orleans mayor mitch landrew, 17 people had been shot. six killed. an elementary school locked down, and police headquarters evacuated after grenades were found in a suspect's car. >> babies were in between two guys having a fight. >> reporter: there are so many victims, but too few police officers to figure out who killed them. the steady stream of homicides here has created a backlog for the cold case unit with just a handful of officers playing catch up. some investigations haven't progressed as quickly as victims' families would like. helen hill, a young mother, was

murdered in this neighborhood five years ago. still no suspects. >> we first shared helen's story with you in 2007. the filmmaker and her family had returned to new orleans after katrina. on january 4th, 2007, helen was gunned down by an intruder in her own home. helen tried to stop him and yelled to her husband to call 911. >> she had such fear in the last moments of her life, but that she also saved our lives by waking us and calling for us to take care of ourselves. >> reporter: the suspect shot paul three times. he played dead and covered their young son. after the intruder left, paul found helen on the living room floor. she had been shot in the neck. >> it feels line there's no justice, and it feels like there's a sense of fear and anxiety. >> this is my life. i work with cold case

defectives. >> helen's brother, jake hill, is hardly surprised police haven't solved his sister's case. >> the fact that i still see a homicide division that is under resourced and i think ill equipped with good people still is shocking to me. >> morals police chief ronald told us he is working to fick the problem. they're recruiting new officers and the city has also started a cease-fire program that recruits people from violent neighborhoods to serve as mediators, and the cold case unit now has four full-time officers. >> is there a message that you're trying to send to those who are committing all these crimes? >> we're coming after you like a dog and a bone. >> with all due respect, you're not the first mayor to tell me things are going to improve, we're going to fix this, we're going to change this. why should i believe you or even the people of new orleans -- why should we think this is going to be different? >> listen, i may not be the person that can solve the problem. if i knew the answer to it, you know, i would have told people what it is. i can tell you this, though. i'm not going to turn my eyes

away prosecute from it. we're trying to completely retro fit this plane while we're flying at 30,000 feet in the air, and we're trying to do it on the front end and back end, and it's very complicated and hard. >> just before christmas, suspects were arrested in the death of kiera holmes gordon, but even with those men off the street, the killing goes on. if there was ever a doubt, new orleans is the murder capital of america, just listen to this from the city's mayor. >> you are more at risk of getting shot in the city of new orleans than you do on the fields of afghanistan, and that is statistically correct. >> isn't that alarming to you? >> that ought to scare the hell out of people. >> it sure does scare a lot of people there. new orleans had almost one murder a day during the month of january. the latest figures suggest that pace slowed last month. on a much lighter note, the caped crusader hired to fight crime. no, this is not a movie. where batman will be battling the bad guys. i'll explain mechanics. this greek yogurt. g i like yoplait. it is yoplait. but you said it was greek.

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welcome back. here on the east coast, reynolds and i are looking at some of the best pictures, best video of the day that we've -- that we've taken notice of. have you seen chicago's river?

>> it's pretty amazing, isn't it? >> yeah. >> it's really incredible. take a look at that video. september it just -- it's breathtaking. >> i guess this is a tradition of more than 50 years. >> they've been doing this for a long time. they use 40 pounds of vegetable dye, so in case you are concerned and wondering, oh, my gosh, is this terrible for fish and bad for the people? it's actually safe. it's a vegetable dye. they've been use it for many years. it's used to see if they can see leaks. >> it's actually pretty myself. kids must love it. it looks like it's glowing, doesn't it? >> it's very florescent. i mean, i wouldn't want to swim in it, safe or not. still kind of weird. >> yeah. >> there you go. nice tradition. >> well, guess what, it's not just in chicago. take a look. it's actually in tampa too. tampa turned its river green. see, i don't know. it's not especially pretty, but it's interesting. >> it's contagious, though. >> yeah, sure. nice way to celebrate. >> they use 70 pounds of vegetable dye in tampa, and what's interesting is michelle obama who calls chicago her home, loves the tradition so were that she actually had them

use the same green dye in some of the fountains at the white house. go figure. go to the white house. let's see. we have chicago, tampa, we'll have the white house. it just keeps going. >> all right. swimping -- we don't have any more green rivers to show you, but we do want to show you batman. yes. that's right. from the comic book to real life, brazilian police actually have hired batman to help them battle crime in the violent streets there in brazil. there he is. he looks pretty good. >> it's creepy. he is a 50-year-old guy wearing a batman costume. i mean, you wouldn't want to obey the law or disobey the law. you would be off the street completely. >> he is inspiring the kids to be crime fighters. >> i guess so. if the kids like him and it keeps crime -- then -- >> i guess it's going to give kids an idea good from bad and give them a clear idea of that. >> you have to love that. >> absolutely. >> pretty nice. >> all right. i want to next can we talk about this one? this is probably the favorite video of the day. look at this little guy.

that is an oopossum. if you have seen the film ratatouille with the mouse that could cook, that's his name. he is snowboarding in his little sweater. >> i know. you look at this. you have to -- it looks cute, but where i'm from in alabama, that's not cute. that's food. that is food. you actually eat -- you eat possums in alabama. it's nice to see him taking advantage of the ski season. >> he is totally mugging for the camera too. >> he is doing a great job. snowboarding possum. i'm amused. >> not sure about that shot. >> one little fun fact from our producer, harrison, he really did the research on this because we're going the research on this between possum and o possum. there are 50 different species of opossum. the signature bear tail, the

opossum is north america's only known marsupial. >> the more you know. wow. that's interesting. >> we're just making you smarter on" weekend early start" in case you didn't know it already. thank you for that tidbit. >> still ahead, attorneys for the u.s. soldier accused of shooting afghan civilians say they will meet with him this week, but they are speaking out now and we'll have their comments. fe with the prius c! ♪ oh, my maltipoo's depressed. but my affordable prius c means i can pay for his acupuncture. whew. i love my pooch. oh no! my homemade sushi... turned p-ushi! use estimated 53 mpg to find a gluten-free alternative. look, this means i'm a chef. [ male announcer ] be a winner with the all-new prius c from toyota. ♪ my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers.

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