good morning, welcome to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> it is so nice to have you with us this morning. i'm zoraida sambolin. it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. george zimmerman speaking out from his hiding spot. the man who shot 17-year-old trayvon martin has just launched a website to plead his innocence and ask for donations for his defense. ♪ >> well, i walk around to make sure everybody else is working so i don't have to do anything. >> that's another embarrassing moment for the agency in charge of saving the government money. the white house is in full damage control after this one and republicans are in full investigation mode. >> wildfires raging from maine to miami. flames threatening homes. thick smoke stopping traffic after one of the warmest and driest marches -- march ever. >> you don't just come to miami and say the things this guy said. ozzie guillen, manager of the

marlin, boy, is he getting off on the wrong foot with the fans. he said something about fidel castro that not too many people like. george zimmerman speaks. well, sort of. the man who alleshot trayvon ma launched a website that solicits donations from supporters. it contains a personal message, the first time we're hearing from him since the sohooting. it case "it led me to become the subject of intense media coverage. as a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, i have been forced to leave my home, my family and ultimately my entire life." its sole purpose is to ensure my supporters, they are receiving my full attention without any intermediary ya intermediaries.

they have decided against sending it to a grand jury and will decide whether to charge zimmerman on her own. martin savidge is live in florida. i want to start with family reaction. how are they reacting to the special prosecutor's decision? >> reporter: right, you know, there's a lot of reaction down here. the family of trayvon martin has basically taken the attitude of wait and see. they are somewhat encouraged by the fact that an will curry says she will make the decision on her own. they don't believe anyone could blame a grand jury if the decision does not go their way. ben crump, the attorney who represents robin meade trayvon's family was speaking to cnn last night. here's how he reacted. >> we've always believed that convening a grand jury was really passing the buck. we thought from day one as we've always believed there was enough evidence there to simply arrest george zimmerman. we were not asking that he be convicted, but a simple arrest and over the last 42 days as evidence has unfolded, we think

there is a plethora of evidence to simply effect probable cause to arrest george zimmerman. >> i had a conversation also with hal uric. he sort of defined the ruling by the state attorney as courageous. what we don't know, though, is really does this give us any indication as to how angela curry could rule and when will angela curry will rule and that's what everybody is waiting on. we do know a couple of things. we won't charge george zimmerman with first degree murder. what could she charge him with? probably manslaughter because the fact that robin meade trayvon was a juvenile george zimmerman, the max would be up to 30 years but we're putting the cart before the horse here because we still have not heard if there will be charges at all, zoraida. >> i want to get back to zimmerman's website. how much money has he raised there, do we know.

>> we don't know exactly. we do know there was at least one group out of texas that donated early on $10,000 towards his defense and supposedly those operating that website have told us he is getting interest, at least, and donations from all around the world but we don't have an exact figure for you. we'll try to get it. >> martin, in sanford, florida, thank you very much. coming up at 5:30 we'll talk to brad conway about the trayvon martin case. it is four minutes now past 5:00 and the brother of one of the tulsa shooting suspects is speaking out saying that his brother is not racist. 33-year-old watts is accused of killing three black people and wounding two others and charged with multiple counts of murder and now prosecutors are deciding whether to charge hate crimes charges. jake england is also charged and wa

watts' brother is blaming him for being a bad influence. he said when he moved in with him, things changed. >> my brother was raised in the middle of what you would call the hood. he was raised in the middle of black schools. he went to black schools. i did too. it was a machismo thing. it was i don't want to be a punk. he's 5'2". he weighs 110 pounds and has a bad little guy's complex. >> england posted a facebook message that used a racial slur to describe a black man would killed his father. authorities ruled that a justifiable homicide. >> it is five minutes past the hour. the scandal involving wasteful spending at the gsa is growing. more embarrassing videos have come to light and another top level government employee has been disciplined. >> alina cho has been following all the latest on this. this would be something where

the republicans would want to dig pretty deep. >> that's right. the democrats are quick to point out this has been going on since the bush administration, nonetheless none is good. good morning, everybody. you're right. not just one investigation, we're talking about three. republicans have scheduled three hearings to look at spending at the general services administration. remember, that's the government agency in charge of buying big signature items. all of this is coming after an inspector general blew the lid on this. this was a four-day gathering back in 2010. the gsa spent nearly a million dollars for $4 shrimp, a clown and mind reader. the most damaging this video made by government employees brags about spending taxpayer money. now, it was all meant to be a joke. it was part of a contest among different gsa offices at the conference, but now that it's

out, it all looks really, really bad and what's worse, there's more videos that have come to light. watch. >> well, i walk around and make sure everybody else is working so i don't have to do anything. >> you know, whatever it takes, dan. ♪ push it to the limit ♪ no one left to stand in your way and you'll never be safe ♪ ♪ >> karen, that was amazing. was there anybody in region 7 that wasn't in that thing? >> if they worked -- if they didn't work on friday chances are they weren't in the video. >> house investigators have also uncovered an employee awards

program that violated gsa rules. now, under that program, government workers were given gifts like ipads and portable dvd players and, of course, that is well over the $99 limit that the agency allows. >> so a lot of people's heads have started to roll. >> not one, two or three but eight, ashleigh. eight have been either fired or suspended. the latest is david folly, the man you're about to see there, the deputy commissioner of the agency's public building services and on monday, he was placed on administrative leave. last week the head of the agency, remember this woman, martha johnson, she was appointed by president obama. she was also forced to resign and that came only after she fired two top deputies and put four regional commissioners on administrative leave. but, of course, those videos, remember, they were meant to be a joke, all part of a contest internally, never meant to be

released but now that it's out and now that we know that they spent $823,000 on that four-day conference. >> pesky video. it tends to live in infamy. that crazy thing. >> pictures live forever, i like to say. >> thank you for that. at 6:30 we'll learn more about the fallout from the gsa scandal. we are talking to jeff denham, chair of a house subcommittee leading hearings on gsa over spending? >> nine minutes past five. dry and wind yi weather fueling wildfires up and down the east coast. they're popping up as far north as new england and as far south as florida. the worst in florida. thousands of acres are burning, one of the warmest and driest springs on records continue. look at the pictures. oh, how awful. in new jersey, the pine lands are glowing. flames have burned about a thousand acre, threatened two dozen home, so far, only good news to come out of that, no

evacuations have been ordered at lesion yet. >> rob marciano is in atlanta following wertather conditions. >> it's not only been dry but dry in the northeast and across the great lakes. this fire video out of milford, connecticut, also fires in long island, but milford seeing flames whip up because of the winds there, service was suspended across metro north there for a time as they had to put out these flames and businesses evacuated. at one point people asked to leave their homes and smoke could be seen as far away as bridgeport connecticut as those whipped up. the threat today will be farther south. still dry, the radar is showing most of it up across northern new england and upstate new york. killington is seeing a foot of wet snow. new york back through raleigh where the red flag warnings will be up, dry conditions and gusty,

gusty wind, unseasonably strong trough across the northeast will continue to whip those up. also will be pouring in is some cooler weather. temperatures tonight will be in the 20s and 30s in some spots. freeze and warnings and advisories for ohio river valley and western great lakes. severe weather over western oklahoma. a couple of tornadoes touching down and big hail. across parts of northern louisiana today and the winds continue in a little storm coming into the west coast if you're heading out to california. >> i almost missed it but i think you said something about snow. where was that. >> killington, vermont so a little moisture up across parts of vermont. so with the wind came some snow. >> fires all the way around the east coast and then snow in vermont. >> thank you for that, rob. >> yes. this just in, we like to do it at this time.

gas prices dropping for the fourth day in a row, national price, average at least for a gal of unleaded is $3.92 per gall gallon. fourth time in a row. 12 minute past the hour. a savage st. patrick's day beating and robbery. he was stripped of his clothes, belongings and his dignity as several people record this. now the search for who did it. and you might say ozzy being ozzy, guillen, really ticking off his new fan base for a compliment of one fidel castro and i'm not kidding. [ game announcer ] popped up towards the stands.

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15 minutes past the hour. news this morning. christine? >> george zimmerman will not face a first degree murder charge in the shooting death of trayvon martin. that possibility was eliminated when the special prosecutor decided against taking the case to a grand jury. meantime, zimmerman's making his first public comments on a newly created website telling supporters he's experienced a life altering event and promising the facts will come to light. a shocking viral video shows a tourist being beaten, stripped and robbed on st. patrick's day in baltimore. police identified one suspect although he's not in custody yet. they're asking for the public's help to i.d. the other attackers. facebook has a new friend, the photo sharing app maker instagram, facebook snapped it up for a billion dollar. it's been around less than two years with 13 employees, still hasn't made any money. instagram does have more than 30

million users. that's what counts when you talk about social immediate? >> kodak goes under. instagram makes it. >> it's a new world. 17 minutes past 5:00 and we like to get an early read of things. we get them delivered early so we can talk about them with you. a big controversy in miami surrounding the new miami marlins manager, ozzie guillen. have you heard of him? talk about hot water. ooh, he made some comments to "time" magazine about fidel castro. >> here's what he said "i love fidel castro. i respect castro. you know why? a lot of people have wanted to kill him for the last 60 years but that expletive is still here. guillen apologized and will again in a press conference he scheduled for today but many fans are still angry. some elected officials say they want him fired. >> you think? phil rogers in the "chicago

tribune" is reporting this isn't the first time he made offensive remarks. when he was the chicago white sox manager, he used a gay slur to describe a reporter and rogers is now saying that the time has finally come to hold him accountable by saying this "a time magazine reporter simply didn't do guillen the favor that so many of us have done on an almost daily basis around the ballpark, letting his stream of consciousness rambling go in one year and other. >> ray mcnulty says it should be good enough and says, doesn't it matter that guillen doesn't endorse castro or his politics or his practices. or that guillen deeply regrets that his remarks upset the community. it should. the man made a mistake. i've done some events with him. he is famous for opening his mouth and inserting his foot. at the end of the day, you know,

i think miami knew what they were getting out there. >> i don't know if they did. >> oh, yes, they d there is a lot out there he has said throughout the years. here's what surprises me. he knows miami really well. he knows the cuban community really well and even if he does feel that way, respect the community you serve now. >> well, yeah, because it might come back to bite you. turns out that the chairman of the city of miami commission is now saying that we've been overly generous to the marlins and cannot allow them to continue to treat us, the residents of miami with disdain or be dismissive of our concerns and i'm calling for rereal action to be taken and the removal of mr. guillen. >> or at least disciplinary action. >> they've called for removal. >> some say disciplinary action we want to see. >> there is a cuban-american organization boycotting -- >> consequences.

consequenc consequences. the buffett rule being bu pushed. is it just a political play, though. we are minding your business coming up next. power consumption in china,en impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. ♪ you make me happy [ female announcer ] choose the same brand your mom trusted for you. children's tylenol, the #1 brand of pain and fever relief recommended by pediatricians and used by moms decade after decade. but my smile wasn't.

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you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. i'm going b-i-g. [ male announcer ] good choice business pro. good choice. go national. go like a pro. it's 23 minutes past 5:00 in the morning. futures are pointing upwards after last week's lackluster jobs report sent the markets downward yesterday so maybe just a one-day wonder. dow, nasdaq and s&p were all down 1% yesterday. >> president obama is pushing the so-called buffett rule, his proposed tax on millionaires and billion theirs. will it pass or just campaigning on an election year. christine romans is minding your business and breaking it down for us. >> no and yes. >> what say you? >> no, it won't pass, and, yes,

it's campaigning but a lot of people say it's politics wrapped up in good policy. others say it's just a president trying to, you know, appeal to democrats and progressives on the campaign trail who think rich people aren't paying their share. it works in this election year when you're talking about disparity and inequality. what do people think point buffett rule? it is a po% minimum income tax for people making a million dollars or more a year making sure they pay 30%, their tax rate. this is something that might be good for the president when you look at your polling because 64% of people polled in a cnn/orc pole favor the buffett rule. that their minimum tax rate is 30%. 64% favor it. 30% oppose it. the support was strongest in our polling among democrats, 76% of democrats say they support it. and 49% of republicans, almost half, support it.

here's where it gets tricky. the people who study tax policy say, well, a lot of millionaires are paying a 30% tax, in fact, and when you look at a tax rate from millionaires and billionaires compared with average joe middle class americans, their tax rate in many cases is already higher than middle class americans because of all the income tax deductions and write-offs we get in the middle class. how much would that raise? a couple of different researchers an cnn money has great research and a fact about th this saying it would raise 5 billion in new taxes a year. not enough to close much so this is where it's definitely politics. if it appeals to those thinking the rich skates by it works on the campaign trail. >> is it just on their salary? >> most people who are really rich, they're paying capital gains taxes and that's a 15% tax rate. if you're making money in --

with money, if you're making money with money you don't pay that. that's part of what it is. >> would it incorporate -- >> yeah. >> more than 30%. >> yeah, you have to take a look. look -- >> got a lot mad. >> 64% of people approve of it. want to do it. pay 30%. >> it's interesting when you share the information, sometimes we don't know. we appreciate it. 26 minutes past 5:00. george zimmerman is speaking out finally yet still remaining in hiding. there is a new website asking for money to pay for living and legal fees and it is real. incredible video. a kid grabs the wheel after a school bus driver passes out. we're going to tell you the full story here. truly is amazing. you are watching "early start." ♪ [ sighs ] [ bird chirps ] [ bird squawks ] ♪ [ bird screeching ]

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welcome back. 30 minutes past the hour. time to check stories making news this morning. george zimmerman, the man would shot an unarmed teenager, trayvon martin, has just launched a website to plead his innocence and ask for donations for his defense. wildfires burning thousands of acres across nine states this morning from maine all the way to miami. the smoke is threatening homes in some of the areas and creating hazardous driving conditions in parts of the southeast. a kid steering his school bus and fellow students to safety after the bus driver collapses behind the wheel. we have the video. you are not going to want to miss it, quick thinking, kid. >> no rival can bring out the

best in you and bring out the best of you, larry bird did that for me. >> the legendary rivalry on broadway. i sat down with one of the besters. what larry bird still means to him and how it feels to be a baseball owner now. ashleigh? >> 31 minutes past 5:00 and after months of hiding from the media spotlight, george zimmerman is finally resurfaced online. anyway. the suspect in the trayvon martin case has launched a website and on the website he's asking for visitors to help pay for his legal defense. the site includes a statement that reads, "as a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage i have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately my entire life." at the same time all eyes now are on the special prosecutor in this case, angela cory. miss cory announced she would not be convening a grand jury in order to look at the shooting

death of trayvon martin. cory said that for weeks the grand jury wasn't needed in this case against george zimmerman and in a statement miss cory said "the decision should not be considered a factor in the final determination of the case." brad conway is a defense attorney in florida and joins us live this morning. brad, thanks for being with us. we should state off the bat that george zimmerman is not off the hook by any stretch. this just means that the special prosecutor in the case plans to handle this on her own so give me a bit of a feel for what mr. zimmerman actually could be facing if he's charged. what kinds of charges could he face in this incident? >> sure, ashleigh. historically jacksonville has made this decision in-house, in other words, they haven't gone to grand juries so this should be no surprise. what i would expect to see charged if the special prosecutor it charges anything, what i would expect to see is manslaughter charges.

>> any other kind of charges, aggravated charge for the use of a weapon? >> no, you know, manslaughter would cover it because he did cause the death with a firearm so that would be covered under that statute. >> talk to me a little about -- again, this is -- we're really sort of playing parlor games when we talk about charges at all because the devil is in the detail. i like to repeat often there are so many facts we don't know, critical facts at the moment that the actual shooting happened. but if, in fact, there are charges in the case, if george zimmerman used to stand your ground defense what happens in terms of a special hearing? >> he's entitled to a preliminary hearing, ashleigh, where the judge looks at the facts of the case and determines by a preponderance of evidence whether zimmerman was justified in using that force. if the judge determines and this is the court, not a jury, but if the judge determines that by a

preponderance of evidence, that force was justified, the case goes away. so it's very low standard, very easy case to defend on zimmerman's side. >> that preponderance of evidence, most people remember that because it was talked about so often after the o.j. simpson case but those two standards are very, very different beyond reasonable doubt is extraordinarily high in terms of its bar but the preponderance of evidence is just a little tilted scale so it's not that tough a bar to pass, is it? >> no, it's actually very low, the lowest standard. there's beyond reasonable doubt, clear and convincing evidence and preponderance of the evidence so as you said, the scales tip slightly in zimmerman's favor, he wins. >> so i guess i need you to sort of round this out for me and that is to say this, if we don't have charges yet and we are beyond six weeks in this case, there's clearly not enough evidence right now just to charge him. does that indicate to you as a

defense attorney that there may not be enough evidence to push beyond that standard of a preponderance of evidence in that initial preliminary hearing that might happen. >> no, ashleigh, i don't think i would draw that conclusion right now because the special prosecutor got into the case, i think three or four weeks after it occurred so they've had to start their investigation over from the beginning. remember, they want to make sure they do it by the numbers. that everything this they do can be supported by the evidence and the facts that they ferret out in their investigation so i think miss corey is being cautious and cognizant of the fact it's a very tense situation she needs to handle well. >> here's the other big question, if there is going to be a case, if this is going to actually be litigated, people who have been watching this process and again no one has all the facts but what we know now looks to be possibly quite a significant circumstantial case. does that mean easy case, tough

case or none of the above? >> it means tough case, ashleigh, because what this will come down to is a judge initially making a factual determination and what the judge is going to be looking at is both of these individuals under florida's justifiable use of force statute have the right to stand their ground. the judge will be looking at that and if it goes beyond that, it's going to depend on what side of the facts you believe, whether zimmerman was justified because he was attacked or whether trayvon martin was innocently attacked, innocent and attacked by zimmerman. >> right, the operative word there being facts, brad. facts. >> absolutely. >> which is why all of us need to be so careful in analyzing the case and speaking out about what should happen in this case. there are only a few people who know a lot more than we do and they're guarded. brad, good to see you as always. thanks for doing this. >> thank you, ashleigh.

you're welcome. >> zoraida? >> all right, it is 37 minutes past the hour. dramatic video from inside a school bus in washington state. a student taking the wheel after the bus driver passes out. take a look at this. the footage from the bus's surveillance camera shows the driver starts shaking, gasping for air and throwing his hands up in the air. the bus was swerving out of control and apparently it was heading towards a church. that's when 13-year-old jeremy ran down the aisle and grabbed the wheel. >> i just want to stop the truck because i don't want to crash and i don't want to know what it feels like so, yeah, i just don't want to die. >> it was scary and exhilarating. >> because? >> because i mean you want to know if he's okay but then again it's just happening so fast your heart is pumping. it's breathtaking and breath giving. >> wow. listen to that little boy. so he steered the bus to the

side of the road and took the keys out of the ignition. the school's former principal drove by and saw all this, jumped on the bus to give the driver cpr, the bus driver who suffered an apparent heart attack was hospitalized but not identified. one of the little boys on the bus started cpr on the bus driver. an amazing -- they kept their calm, cool, collected and, look, everybody is safe. >> how about a child that age knowing cpr. >> yeah. >> then being able to jump into action. s that a good story. i hope the best for that bus driver, preliminary reports he's in grave condition. >> oh, yeah. >> i hope he can pull through. 38 minutes past 5:00. still ahead, another story involving a bus but this time it is the bus driver that saves the day. we're going to show you what happened here and why you're looking at that car right there. ♪ [ female announcer ] introducing new nature valley protein bars.

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it's now 42 minutes past the hour on the east coast. that would be the 5:00 a.m. hour. time to check the news this hour. >> george zimmerman is breaking his size. he launched a website talking about the, quote, life altering event and soliciting donations. a florida prosecutor says she won't bring this case to a grand jury. syrian troops are apparently ignoring today's deadline to withdraw from cities. the u.n. says syria's governme agreed to a peace plan that called for the pullout but syrian's foreign minister denied it. troops have launched new shelling attacks this morning. wildfires burning thousands of acres at least across nine states. as many as 7 aseparate fires burning across florida alone. parts of the east coast facing extreme fire danger. the u.s., by the way, seeing the warmest march in recorded

history. a bus driver in bethlehem, pennsylvania, witnesses a scary hit and run accident and puts the brakes on the getaway. moments after a car aggressively swerving hit a man on a bicycle. it takes off until a bus blocked the road. another car boxed him in until police came and the biker, i'm happy to tell you, will be okay and the teen driver apprehended. >> that's amazing. >> yeah, quick thinking of the driver of the bus and that car. >> you would think -- i think the bus driver would have had to be looking in his rearview. >> must have seen it and known what was going on. >> nice move. very nice move. >> thanks. >> 43 past the hour. i go one-on-one with magic johnson. not like that. he could definitely take me. a new broadway play capturing the drama on the court between him and larry bird. with the capital one cash rewards card

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it was one of the biggest rivalries in sports history that started in college and went on to the pro court. magic johnson versus larry "legend" bird. they won eight nba titles and six mvps between the two of them. it produced a tear-jerking

documentary. "magic bird" opens tomorrow. they went from being each other's biggest competitors to best friends. i sat down with magic to talk about the play and his off-court battle with hiv. the play, have you seen it? >> yes, i've been at rehearsals and really working with kevin and the other actors, you know, and it's been great. you know, just working with him to make sure he gets my personality and my smile, make sure that, you know, he comes out, larry's the drier guy. >> oh, yeah. >> and i'm the personality guy, so -- but i would have to say this, i am very, very impressed and very happy. >> when i saw magic come out of the locker room, head hanging low, i knew he would die inside because he had lost. that made me so happy. >> you hear that intense rivalry a lot from him, i thought.

that he really needed to compete with you. i didn't feel that that came across as much from your perspective. is that true, do you think. >> no, i hated him too. and i still hate him today really, you know, if we ever played against each other. you have to -- when a guy, look, this is what happens in sports. your rival can bring out the best in you and can also make you a better player. larry bird did that for me. i would hope and i would think that i did that for him. >> you talk point intense rivalry you had but there was a moment of truth, right, when the two of you at least tried to be a little friendly and that was the ad, the infamous ad. tell me about that. >> made a pair of bird shoes for last year's mvp. >> yep. >> they made a pair of magic shoes for this year's m vice

president p. >> okay, magic, show me what you got. >> converse said, get on a plane and you're going to shoot a commercial and larry bird's hometown. i said, what? wait a minute. i won the mvp. why am i going to french lick. he should be coming to michigan or l.a. and so i'm like so upset. so i said, okay, fine, i'll go and i get there. and we only said, hey, hey, you know, and the director and everybody is -- feels the tension on this commercial shoot because we had just played each other in the championship so, you know, i'm not really -- he's not feeling me, i'm not feeling him, right? and so long story short, we get to -- we shot about three hours, now it's lunch time so i'm going to my trailer to the green room, i'm going to have lunch there, i thought. he says, no, no. magic, you coming up to my house.

i hope they're not trying to get me by coming up to larry's house. we ride up to his house and his mom is waiting for us and she had cooked this incredible meal and she hugged me as soon as i got in the door, welcome, thank you for coming. and she gave me such a big hug, she reminded me of my own mother then she told me, you know, you're my favorite player and i said, oh. now i'm sitting back now. rhyme real comfortable now. but it was his mom who actually helped bring us together and become friends and that's what happened. >> because of the hiv virus that i have attained, i will have to retire from the lakers. >> you've been living for a very long time now looking healthy. feeling healthy. >> feeling healthy. work out five days a week and i give a lot to the drug. when i first announced there was only one drug, azt, now you got

over 30 drugs now? a real problem in the add less sent community, the numbers were growing of kids being infected. >> yeah. >> what kind of message would you give to those add less sents? >> okay, for 20 years i've been living with this. a lot have died this those 20 years. millions of people have died from finding out they had hiv. i have just been blessed. i was blessed to find out early, doing everything i was supposed to do. just because i'm living well don't mean the next person is going to live well because it acts different in all of us so it's still a death sentence, no question bit and so i hope that we don't become relaxed like that thinking that, oh, if i get it, i will be like magic because it's not okay. >> much more with my talk with magic johnson next hour including his take on the trayvon martin case and a message to kids like trayvon

across the country as well. >> powerful stuff that man said. such a great smile. >> oh my gosh. that's what he's known for. >> the magic smile. 52 minutes past the hour. a chance for us to take a look at what's trending on the web. fun fact about the masters winner, bubba watson. take a peek. ♪ >> oh, yeah. do you know what that is? that is a general lee, baby. turns out bubba watson owns the general lee. look at him. this video is going viral after he won his first green jacket. i'm not kidding here. >> i'm looking. really. is that him in there. >> turns out he is a huge "dukes of hazzard fan." who isn't? apparently he was at that barrett jackson automobile auction and spotted it and laid down 110,000 to pick him up one of these joan lees. there are a couple of them, plenty used on the show but this

one, this one is for the good old boys. >> and he drives it around. honks the horn and everything. his general lee is the important one, it's the one that jumped the police car in this opening sequence of the program and it's called me won. i love it. that takes you back, doesn't it, just the opening show. >> that is so cool. >> i think they call it the title sequence. i watch "phineas and ferb." >> a florida family swoops in to save a beached dolphin sailing off jacksonville when he spotted it on a sandbar. the calf was waiting in deeper water waiting for mom. 72-year-old man and his daughter pulled the struggling 300-pound animal to safety as the woman's 11-year-old son recorded the entire thing. >> oh. >> they said it was really, really difficult because there wasn't enough water initially and then some more water came

in, they were able to do that. >> difficult because it's 300 pounds. >> it's huge. and the dolphin was fighting for awhile and eventually the dolphin seemed to give up and understand that or perhaps you're trying to save my life, right? >> yeah, probably exhausted. this morning's episode of late night laughs is all about easter. jon stewart's faith-off. have a look. >> bad news for the governor of new jersey, chris christie celebrating easter. did you hear? they rushed him to the hospital early sunday morning with an impacted peep. >> big weekend for what we call judeo-christians. two major religious festivals at the same time and president obama celebrated both of them in what i believe is an attempt to convince people he hadn't muslim. nice try. nice try. >> and today was the annual white house easter egg roll.

republicans call it president obama's socialist egg redrkz program. it is a -- >> did you see what the christians booked as their special guest star. >> on this easter sunday a familiar face helping to deliver the sunday sermon. quarterback tim tebow. >> they got tebow! tim tebow, superstar nfl quarterback helping them draw 20,000 to texas. guess who we have, elijah. he can't even show. >> i love jon stewart, the faith-off. it's great. >> it is pretty funny. >> tim tebow. we had that story before jon stewart by the way. >> yes, we did. >> i'm just saying, stuart, game on. up ahead, they're popping up everywhere. in fact, this is the scene that is becoming all too familiar right now and close to a dozen states from one end of the country to the other, we'll give you a read on which states are

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good morning to you and welcome to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. wow, it's already 6:00 on the east coast. i'm zoraida sambolin. we're bringing you the news from "a" to "z." >> okay, so topping our news, george zimmerman speaking out from his hiding spot. the man who shot 17-year-old trayvon martin at the center of a news storm has just launched a website to plead news storm jus asked for a donation to his

defense fund. >> i walk around to see everybody else is working so i don't have to do anything. >> whatever it takes. >> clowning around on taxpayers dime. another embarrassment for the agency in charge of saving the government money, bragging about boozing and goofing off on the job. wildfires are raging from maine to miami. after one of the warmest and driest months of march on record. a bus driver collapses right behind the wheel and a kid steers to safety. video you do not want to miss. george zimmerman in his own words, the first public comments from him since his deadly confrontation with trayvon martin about six weeks ago. this comes just after a newly created website,

therealgeorgezimmerman.com. he's soliciting donations for his living and legal expenses and telling his supporters this, "on sunday february 26th i was involved in a life altering event which led me to become the subject of intense media coverage. as a result, i have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately my entire life. this website's sole purpose is to ensure my supporters they are receiving my full attention without any intermediaries." a prosecutor has decided against taking the trayvon martin shooting incident to a grand jury, the special prosecutor in the case, and cnn's martin savidge is live in sanford, florida, with the latest. lot of developments and a lot to talk about. we are no closer that we know of to any resolution here, are we,

martin? >> reporter: no, and that's the big question many people asked after it was announced by the special prosecutor angela corey, she wasn't going to use the grand jury. does that tell us the potential for any charge against george zimmerman and most especially does it give us any insight when there will be a charge? the short answer to both is no. however there is no shortage of reaction. ben crump, attorney for trayvon martin's family, here is his position. >> convening a grand jury we felt was passing the buck. we felt from day one as we always believed there was enough evidence to simply arrest george zimmerman. we were not asking that he be convicted but a simple arrest, and over the last 42 days as evidence has unfolded we think there is a plethora of evidence to simply affect probable cause

to arrest george zimmerman. >> reporter: and i had a conversation with hal urich, who represented george zimmerman, he described the decision as courageous. number of people used that because she really is putting her political neck out there, basically saying look, i'm going to make the decision in this highly contentious, racially charged case. the question is what could she charge? some suggested manslaughter which could get zimmerman up to potentially 30 years. the other is aggravated battery with a gun under florida's 10/20 life law. so those are the possible charges they're talking about, ashleigh. >> let's talk about the money. i know a lot of people have been critical of this. both sides have websites soliciting money for either a defense fund or just help in trying to get by so what do we know about george zimmerman's website and the kind of money

it's been able to raise? >> reporter: well it was started with the cooperation of a friend of his, who is web-savvy, and we do know that you can make a donation via paypal. there was a single donation that reportedly came out of texas for up to $10,000 and the operator of the website said they have receiving donations from around the world but we don't have a single figure as of yet. >> the plot thickens. martin savidge, thanks for that. the brother of one of the tulsa shooting suspects is speaking out saying his brother is not racist. 33-year-old alan watts is accused of killing three black people and wounding two others, charged with multiple counts of murder and now prosecutors are deciding whether to file hate crime charges. 19-year-old jake england is also accused and watts' brother is blaming england for being a bad influence. he said alvin watts is not a racist but when he moved in with

england, he changed. >> my brother was raised in the middle of what you would call the hood. he was raised in the middle of black schools, went to black schools, i did, too. it was a machismo thing, trying to keep up, i don't want to be weak, i'm not a punk. he's 5'2", weighs 110 pounds and got a bad little guy's complex. >> england posted a facebook message the day before the message to describe a black man who killed his father. authorities ruled that death a justifiable homicide. five minutes past 6:00 on the east coast. wasteful spending at the government general services administration is not going away. more embarrassing videos have come to light and another top level government employee has been disciplined. >> alina cho has been following the latest developments on this.

republican members of congress say they are going to investigate. as i understand it, they're part of the problem >> this is an election year, a lot of back and forth and you're right, democrats are quick to point out this is not just this administration. it's been going on since the bush administration in 2002007. nonetheless whenever videos like this come out it's never good. >> great for tv. >> great for us, but it's not just one investigation, zoraida. republicans scheduled three meetings to look at the gsa, that's the government agency in charge of buying big ticket items an isn't that ironic given the news now all of this after inspector-general's report blew the lid off extravagant spending at the gsa's western conference. it's been widely reported a four-day gathering in vegas in 2010, the gsa spent nearly $1

million for things like $4 shrimp, a clown, commemorative coins and a mind reader. most damaging? the video. it was made by government employees, bragging about spending taxpayer money. that's exactly what they were doing. it was all meant to be a joke, though, part of a contest among different gsa offices at the conference but now that it's out, all of it looks really, really bad and what's worse, now even more videos have come to light. watch. >> well i walk around and make sure everybody else is working so i don't have to do anything. >> whatever is takes -- ♪ push it to the limit, no one left to stand in your way ♪ ♪ you might get careless but you'll never be safe ♪

♪ >> that was amazing. was there anybody in region seven that wasn't in that thing? >> if they didn't work on friday, chances are they weren't in the video. >> yeah, it was funny back then. not so much now, and if that's not bad enough, house investigators have also uncovered an employee awards program that apparently violated gsa rules. under that program, government workers were given gifts like ipods and portable dvd players and of course, that was well over the $99 limit that was given to each employee. in some cases they spent $3,000 per employee. >> wow. >> holy moly. >> a lot of heads are rolling because of this, alina. >> that's right, and we're talking today because there's one more. not talking one, two, three, four, talking a total eight

members of the gsa are fired. david foley, the deputy commissioner of the agency's public building services and on monday he was placed on administrative lead. last week martha johnson, the head of the agency, who by the way was appointed by president obama was forced to resign, that came after she fired two top deputies and put four regional commissioners on administrative leave, and remember, lots of heads rolling, lots of investigations, three of them in total and the first hearings start next week. >> we'll hear a lot more on this. >> yes, we will. >> alina, thank you for that. it's nine minutes past 6:00. at 6:30, more on the fallout, we'll talk to republican congressman jeff denham who happens to be the chair of the house subcommittee leading the hearings on the spending. dry and windy weather

fueling fires across the entire east coast. the flames are popping up as far north as new england, as far south as florida. the worst of the flames are in florida, thousands of acres are burning as one of the warmest and driest springs on record continues in the southeast. in new jersey, the pinelands are glowing, look at this, flames have burned about 1,000 acres and threatened two dozen homes. no evacuations have been ordered so far. >> man, it's hard to believe there's no evacuations with pictures like that. >> i know. >> rob marciano joining us, i don't know that we often are able to say these fires stretch all the way from florida up to new england but they really be plaguing the east coast. >> they are and the threat continues today. this video out of milford, connecticut, from yesterday, this was a scary fire that occurred yesterday afternoon and at one point there you see some of the railroad tracks, metro north service was suspended, some businesses did have to evacuate and some folks asked to

leave their home until they got a handle on these things. smoke seen as far away as bridgeport and fires on long island and folks in connecticut could see that smoke across the sound. so a scary day across the northeast. as you mentioned we'll start with this tidbit, march the warmest record across the u.s., over 15,000 warm temperature records during the month of march. january and february warm as well, one of the warmest starts of the year in u.s. history. couple that with the 60-mile-an-hour winds in new jersey, sandy hooks, 54-mile-an-hour winds, and the dry weather in march, that's the combination. red flag warning up from new york city through the carolinas, windy conditions and spots that have seen dry weather 20, 30, in some cases 40-mile-an-hour gusts. not quite as windy but windy for sure.

here comes the cold, 20s and 30s expected tonight, could see severe weather again across the texas panhandle and across northern parts of louisiana and southern arkansas later on today. guys back up to you. >> rob marciano thank you for that. 12 minutes past 6:00. coming up, a seventh grader steers a school bus to safety after the driver passes out at the wheel, and it's all caught on video. take a look at the action and watch what this little hero did in just a moment. you're watching "early start." [ sighs ] [ announcer ] all work and no play... will make brady miss his favorite part of the day. ♪ [ upbeat ] [ barking ] [ whines ] that's why there's beneful playful life, made with energy-packed wholesome grains... and real beef and egg. to help you put more play in your day. beneful. play. it's good for you.

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welcome back to "early start." time to check our headlines with christine romans. >> good morning, we're hearing from the gunman in the trayvon martin shooting for the first time since that deadly confrontation in february. george zimmerman has launched a website, assuring supporters of

his innocence, and soliciting donations. meantime a special prosecutor will make the call on whether to charge george zimmerman after deciding not to send that case to a grand jury. two firefighters killed, three others injured after a building collapse in philadelphia. the crew was working to put out a five alarm fire when a wall fell down. city officials say they've been after the building's owner for numerous safety violations. president obama travels to florida today to campaign for the buffett rule, his tax proposal targeting millionaires and billionaires, require the wealthiest earnings to pay at least 30% of their income in taxes. the president will make his case at a speech at florida atlantic university, ladies. >> thank you very much. 16 minutes past the hour. dramatic video from a school bus in washington state, a student taking the wheel after the bus driver passes out. >> unbelievable. >> footage shows the driver start shaking, he is gasping for

air and throwing his hands up in the air. the bus was swerving out of control and apparently headed towards a church. that little boy there, 13-year-old jeremy woodchik ran down the aisle, grabbed the wheel. >> i was thinking i want to stop the truck, don't want to crash. i just don't want to die. >> it was scary and exhilarating. >> reporter: because? >> because i mean, you want to know if he's okay but then again it's just happening so fast, your heart's pumping. it's breath-taking and breath-giving. >> did you hear him, breath-taking and breath-giving. this little 14-year-old steered the bus to the side of the road and took the keys out of the ignition. another child performed cpr on the driver. the former principal saw all

this, jumped on the bus and took over the cpr. the bus driver who suffered an apparently heart attack has been hospital ooised n grave condition. we wish him well. the kids on the bus smart, quick thinkers. >> absolute heroes this morning. imagine knowing cpr at that age, putting the rest of us to shame. it's 18 minutes past 6:00 on the east coast. coming up the mobile sharing app so hot facebook just plunked down $1 billion for it, that's billion with a "b." christine romans has been watching this like a hawk. i'm tommy davidson, i'm a road comedian. you see cliff hanger? i was in the room, not you. i think i'm on the road about three-quarters of the year. most people recognize me from "in living color." >> i finally made to the

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we'll soon find out. 23 minutes past 6:00. it's like a coffee clats hess hn the morning, we're minding your business, after last week's lackluster jobs report the nasdaq, s&p and dow were all down 1%. >> have you heard of a instagram? facebook is buying the mobile app for $1 billion. what is that? >> it has 30 million users. you can put borders around photos, you take it with your phone, make sepia tones, change the shading. it's retro. >> can you make me look younger. >> younger, richer, thinner, taller, anything you want. i'm kidding. >> can you work with my caparis?

>> facebook has bought it for $1 billion. isn't this your appmaker dream? there are all of the apps that are worthless and then there's the one that is the billion-dollar app and that's this one, instagram, facebook wants it because it makes it very easy, eliminates the steps to upload pictures that you take with your phone. until now, it was just available on the iphone but they've released an android app as well. apple named it their app of the year for 2011. facebook has a mobile problem, it's not easy to upload a photo to facebook. it's easy on instagram so this allows facebook to have something it needs. immediately instagram connoisseurs were like it's ruined. now my dprand grandma is going able to do this so it's not cool anymore. $1 billion for an app. >> last time i heard a major

purchase groupon, yeah, not so much. >> "the wall street journal" says it's the billion-dollar snapshot, laughing all the way to the bank. it is what app developers dream of, finding the thing that resonates with people. >> i want to see, because it can be complicated. >> it's got 30 million viewers -- users. there you go. >> thank you, christine. >> you're welcome. still ahead on "early start" new fallout from the spending at the general services administration. we'll talk with the california congressman chairing one of the two house committees that will investigate. a cruise ship setting sail in the atlantic to retrace the tragic route of the "titanic." it's really fascinating what's on board. you'll find out on "early start." [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient

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29 minutes past the hour. welcome back to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm ashleigh banfield. nice to have you here with us and time to check the stories making top billing in the news this morning. take a look. >> well i walk around and see, make sure everybody else is working so i don't have to do anything. >> uh-oh, that's what you call another embarrassing moment for the agency in charge of saving the government money. better known as the gsa, and another official is out because of this embarrassment, we're talking to one lawmaker investigating all of this goofing off. also in the news, wildfires burning thousands of acres across at least nine states this morning from maine all the way down to miami. the smoke threatening homes in some areas and creating hazardous driving conditions in parts of the southeast. marlins manager ozzie

guillen leaving his team in philadelphia and headed back to miami trying to explain comments he made about fidel castro that have a lot of his teammates steamed. >> a lot of us have sons, sons who wear hoodies, you know, caps turned backwards and they're not doing anything. >> and zoraida goes one on one with magic, the lakers legend talking about the trayvon martin case and why it really hits home with the nba players. zoraida? >> thank you, ashleigh. more video from the gsa's 2010 las vegas conference that cost taxpayers over $800,000. in this clip, employees mock the gsa's environmental sustainability initiative, a conference room full of gsa employees hold up a portrait of president obama while making fun of the president. take a look at this. ♪

that video was submitted by one regional office of the gsa and played during the las vegas conference at an awards ceremony that came complete with a red carpet. it is clear the video was shot during the taxpayer funded work day. >> that was amazing. was there anybody in region seven that wasn't in that? thing? >> if they worked, if they didn't work on friday chances are they weren't in the video. >> so the gsa has announced an eighth official, david foaly who appeared at the ceremony in las vegas and employee-produced video mocking government spending has been placed on administrative leave. joining me is the chair of the transportation and infrastructure subcommittee that will be one of three congressional committees opening hearings on the gsa's spending

next week. republican congressman definite denham from california. thank you for waking up so early for us. we appreciate it. for viewers who don't know, could you explain the purpose of gsa? >> well, one of its main jobs is to create efficiencies for government which obviously this is a blatant abuse in this circumstance. but gsa also manages all of our properties across the nation, so part of the problem here is that all of the billions of dollars in rent they receive on all the federally owned properties across the nation go into this slush fund that government, congress doesn't have a chance to see how much they're spending, what they're spending it on which provides them a tremendous opportunity to have a slush fund for vegas vacations or the $500,000 that they spent on all these various ipods and different things they gave away to employees. >> we'll talk about those details in a moment. we've been watching the videos for the last couple of weeks. what was your initial reaction to the video? >> i was outraged.

i'm back in my district. we've got double-digit unemployment. we're tce the national average. people are hitting potholes because our roads are falling apart and people are just frustrated and to see this type of outrageous spending, and then bragging about it, i think has people outraged across the country. >> besides the 2010 conference in las vegas, and we understand that cost taxpayers over $800,000, your subcommittee is talking about another employee rewards program you mentioned earlier, called hats off. what have you found out about that program? >> well they spent nearly $500,000 already on different things from ipods to a number of different things like mouse pads, i mean the list goes on and on of what they're spending the money on but they have no accountability for it, who the prizes go to and how they're given away. it's a rewards system where employees are basically giving them to one another and we found out about it because a lot of

these items were just stolen and misplaced. but it's been an abuse that has gone on in one agency. we want to find out how many other agencies are not only having this hats off program but how many others are doing these same types of trips we found out with vegas. >> your investigation will include a lot of different agencies, not just this one? >> absolutely. it starts with this one, and certainly this was one region out of 11 that did this party. we want to know if all 11 are to be doing that, what happened to the public money, whether or not we're able to use that for selling the properties we don't need but goes beyond gsa how many other agencies have the slush funds and what are they doing with them. >> we have some history here, it is not the first time there's a problem with the gsa. in 2006, former gsa chief of staff found guilty of four felonies related to abramoff.

2006, lorito doan, and 2007, she had to resign back then. this was during the bush administration so this was something started during that administration, the problems? >> look, there's been a number of different departments under both administrations have had problems. gsa is one of the most blatant, but regardless of who the president is, we need to fix the problem. we need to have greater oversight and transparency over gsa because these abuses continue on. >> and do you think that this agency -- you mentioned earlier the investigation will include other agencies as well. what is the need for the specific agency? do you think that it's something that should stand, the organization itself? >> well, i actually have a bill that's over in the senate now that will take all of our properties out of the hands of gsa and put them over to a commission like we have with the

brc commission, the base realignment closure. if it's signed into law we could do away with gsa and take this out of the hands of congress all together. >> congressman, thank you for your time. i'm sure we'll talk about this much more and invite you back on your show. >> thank you. >> back to you. coming up, cruising the north atlantic, conthis ship, heading to a site where 100 years ago one of the worst sea disasters happened. it's the site of the "titanic." why are folks going? we'll let you know. your finances can't manage themselves.

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oh, good morning, new york city. the sun coming up. >> ooh, that looks beautiful. >> a great place to live, work, breathe, believe it or not. 49. i love this city. >> everywhere is a good place to breathe, ashleigh. >> 49 degrees currently in new york, we're heading up to 61 degrees. i miss that. looks like rain showers unfortunately but it's a loving morning over central park. if you're doing the math we're a couple of days away from the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the "titanic." today there is a cruise liner azamara journey" is going to begin an eight-night voyage

headed to halifax. chris welch is live from pier 88 in new york city where "azamara journey" is getting ready to set sail. give me a feel for everything they're planning to do. >> reporter: it really is. good morning. hundreds of people are getting set for what will be a big day for them. this is april 10th, the day "titanic" left the port in southampton on its maiden voyage. this is the "azamara journey." several hundred people will be getting on this, it will head up to halifax, november scioscia, there's a cemetery where several hundred victims of "titanic" are buried and will make its way to the site where "titanic" sank and it will meet up with another ship tracing the steps from southampt southampton. both ships will include a lot of descendants of "titanic" victims and survivors.

lot of stories and i imagine a lot of tears shared as well. i've spoken to folks said we're going on this trip to memorialize our relatives, our ancestors. i want to introduce to you one man who is very, very special as far as this ship goes, ale he be the man behind the wheel of the "azamara journey." captain ikiatis. >> good morning. >> reporter: tell us what this trip, journey means to you, someone who has grown up near southampton? >> it means a huge deal, southampton is voe closely connected to the ship. there are still buildings around at the time and those who served on the ship and doing my education in the uk it's a subject we grew up with so it means a great deal to us. >> reporter: "titanic" is a story people were familiar with. captain behind the wheel when it hit an iceberg.

do you feel a certain sense of responsibility? a lot of people say it's an eerie trip to be retracing the steps. what does that responsibility mean to you today? >> in a sense, responsibility is not going to change too much for me because i'm always looking after guests no matter where we go but there is that sense of eeriness, lots of lectures about the ship and ships in general. i'm sure once we get over the top of the "titanic site" there will be a few moments of reflecti reflection. >> reporter: i'm sure there will be. we will be on the ship for the next eight days bringing you video, live pictures if we can from this once in a lifetime opportunity. ashleigh? >> that's amazing. before you let the captain go, how long will the ship stay over the site where the "titanic" went down? >> reporter: ashleigh is wondering how long will the ship be over the site where the "titanic" sank? >> six to eight hours over the site. >> that's a long time. >> i can't wait to see this.

i'm absolutely fascinated by it. i know there's no icebergs probably out there now but everybody will be very solemn as they make that journey. chris thank you and thank the captain for us. say thanks for us. >> it's nice we can be taken along on the ride. >> the period costumes are odd when you see people on the side of the ship wearing 1912 vestitures it's a little odd. >> soledad o'brien joins us with a look at what is ahead on "starting point." >> good morning to you. coming up on "starting point," a savage beating and robbery caught on tape back on st. patrick's day, a man is stripped of his clothes and belongings, people stand around laughing and do nothing to help, we'll tell you where the story stands today. also a marine faces a less than honorable discharge for criticizing president obama and his facebook posting, we'll talk exclusive with marine sergeant gary stein. and ride out the apocalypse in style, $2 million nuclear

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it is now 48 minutes past 6:00 on the east coast, and it's time to check some stories making top billing on the news this morning. >> he is still in hiding but george zimmerman is breaking his silence. the man who shot trayvon martin has launched a website talking about the life altering event and soliciting donations for his legal defense fund. meantime a florida prosecutors says she will not bring the case to a grand jury. wildfires burning thousands of acres across at least nine states, as many as 75 separate fires are burning across florida alone. parts of the east coast facing extreme fire danger with the u.s. seeing the warmest march in recorded history. miami marlins manager ozzie guillen is in trouble for telling "time" magazine or having a little compliment of castro in there. "i respect fidel castro. you know why. lot of people have wanted to kill him for the last 60 years but that [ expletive ] is still there." angry fans are calling for

guillen to be punished. guillen has apologized and will apologize again today at a press conference. a bus driver in bethlehem witnesses a scary accident and puts on the brakes to stop the driver. hits a man on a bicycle, bus driver says no way, blocks the whole road and another car boxes had imin until the police came. happy to report the cyclist on the bottom right of your screen is going to be okay. z>> glad to hear that. next i go one on one with magic johnson, not like that, he's in a new play capturing the drama on the court with larry bird. there were some basketball hoops there. he weighs in on trayvon martin as well and why so many basketball stars have spoken out.

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well he's a lakers legend, kind of a legend everywhere now who is part owner of the los angeles dodgers as well. i sat down with magic johnson about a new play about his new rivalry with larry bird. we talked about the delicate state of race in this country. i have to ask about the dodgers, a done deal or a long way to go? >> not a long way. we don't take over until about may 1st so i'm excited. >> why baseball? >> well i love baseball. i grew up a tigers fan.

i love going to dodgers stadium. i love the dodgers, and dusty baker, steve garvey, all those guys, tommy lasorda. who would think magic johnson would own the dodgers? it blows my mine but stan caster and mark walters at guggenheim group we made a bid, this he accepted it. >> a lot of money. >> but the value is there so i'm excited about it. >> current day with race and the trayvon martin case. >> um-hum. >> there's a lot of tension, here we are 30 years later and it seems like we haven't progressed very much. >> yeah. >> a lot of nba players are rallying around trayvon martin. how do you feel about that? >> the nba players, if they felt good about speaking about it, and they wanted to say something, i'm glad they did it, because we're still, all of us

are still wondering okay, what's going to happen, and so, and here in america, we're still dealing with situations like this, and it's very unfortunate, because also a lot of us have sons, sons who wear hoodies, caps turned backwards and they're not doing anything. that's the fashion of today. and so it could really happen to our sons. that's what the nba players i'm sure are thinking. that's what i'm thinking. i hope that justice is served. i who enthat they get down to making sure they have a thorough investigation, and then take it from there. >> today the special prosecutor said she's not going to give this to the grand jury and so what do you think, first of all, how do you feel about that? and secondly is, is there a teachable moment, a learning opportunity here for our black and latino young boys? >> first of all we have to

understand that you know, black and brown community got to work for the better together anyway, and it's going to be tough no matter which way it goes, right? but the black community has seen days like this so many times, unfortunately, and we thought that this case would be different in terms of they're going to really investigate, get behind, really find out what happened, get to the bottom line, and it's unfortunate that we may not see the real justice to this, and so you got a family who is grieving, who lost their son, and while you think about we don't know all the circumstances, but you know, and he can't come back, so they want justice, and whichever way that

is, they want to see this young man, make sure that we find out the truth on what happened. >> i really enjoy talking to him. he's an incredible businessman and he's so committed to the community still. >> how does the show look? did you get a chance to see a sneak preview? >> i didn't. i'm going to see it but i will say the hbo documentary had come out recently and i did watch that. i was riveted. i could not turn it off. it was incredible. the story of magic and larry bird is just an incredible story. and larry bird who never talks very much, talked quite a bit. >> really? >> his story is something. i said to magic earlier, with he aired this earlier, it seemed like larry needed you more than you needed him to push himself. he just fed off of magic johnson. it was an incredible story so i'm glad that everybody gets to enjoy it and another generation gets to see it as well. >> i'm not a baseball fan but i no he that story that tells you how it's transcending. >> you mean basketball. >> basketball, pardon me,

hockey, they make goals and baskets. that's sports. bubba watson, the winner of the masters, that's golf, take a look. >> you know that sound. it's general lee but look who is driving. yes, that was bubba watson, the video is going viral, since he won the masters and got the green jacket on sunday he is a huge dukes of hazzard fan, he bought the general lee, when he spotted it at the ferret jackson automobile auction this year. cost him 110 big ones that, would be thousand dollars, and in case you're wondering, you've probably heard before, other people have bought the general lee but this general lee seen in that opening sequence, that is the actual car that bubba bought. he bought the jumping car. turns out there's a couple hundred general lees used over the process of production and destroyed many of them but several of them for sale.

bubba watson has them for sale. hello, barbara bach. that's the "early start" news from a to z. i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. "starting point" starts right now. george zimmerman speaking out from his hiding spot, he is of course the man who shot and killed 17-year-old trayvon martin. he's launching a website to ask for financial support. >> well i walk around and see, make sure everybody else is working so i don't have to do anything. >> that's the angry clown, no joke, bragging about drinking and also bragging about wasting your money, maybe ins respect it wasn't so smart. it is another embarrassment for the agency, was a goal of efficiency and to save taxpayer dollars. now there's another official at the gsa who is paying the price for that. >> office space. >> i know, we'll talk about that straight ahead. a savage st. patrick's day beating and