unitedhealthcare offered us a specially trained rn who helped us weigh and understand all our options. for me cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids. but my coach had hit that pitch before. turning data into useful answers. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. it is about half past the hour. welcome back, herb. i'm randi kaye. thanks for starting your morning with us. the rebel uprising in syria approaching the government's front door. gunfights erupts in the capital city of damascus, long

considered a stronghold for the president, bashar assad. saying this is less than 200 yards from his home. aura damon on the phone from beirut, lebanon. looking at pictures coming in this morning from damascus, new video. does the assad regime sense trouble? >> reporter: well, they certainly are going to be sensing it, feeling it, seeing and hearing it for themselves at this stage. now, this is not the first time that we've seen demonstrations in this particular part of the capital, but it is the first time we've seen them in these numbers. we've received such a widespread simultaneous clashes taking place and one of the central damascus neighborhoods, people were actually able to go out and demonstrate in the thousands. unheard of in the past. i think to be able to rally around 100 people, demonstrate for around maybe five minutes

before security forces arrived. now we're hearing in this and other neighborhoods and in the heart of the capital itself. it certainly, that government, relaunching an effort to try to regain control over these particular areas, because, remember, it cannot afford to lose damascus or aleppo. it cannot afford to lose the capital, if the capital falls, the argument is, so will the regime. can you certainly believe the government will do all that it can in the clashes, we're seeing evidence of that to ctry to regain control. >> arwa damon, thank you. and eric holder, attorney general, assigned attorneys to help in the investigation of

security leaks. president obama says his administration has zero tolerance for lyrics. and a manhunt underway for an alabama man suspected of killing 9-year-old twins and their baby-sitter. take a look at this picture. he is considered armed and dangerous. federal marshals now offering a $5,000 reward for information that will lead to his arrest. the body of the twins and their elderly baby-sitter were found on a dirt road in haneville, alabama. investigators have not released a motive. federal health experts are scrambling now to trace the source of a mysterious e. coli outbreak. 14 people in six states have now been sickened by the same deadly strain of e. coli in just the past couple of months. at least one child died in louisiana, several other hospitalized. the cdc is looking at food and non-food as a possible source, but louisiana health officials suspect food is to blame.

prince philip was released from a british hospital today after being hospitalized monday just in time to spend his 91st birthday which is tomorrow, at home. he was forced to miss part of the queen's diamond jubilee after getting a bladder infection. bake seam seams aren't jus kids. scientists are doling out cupcakes and cookies for nasa. party of a series of demonstrations against president obama's budget proposal cutting nasa's funding by $300 million. well if you watch "america's got talent" you might have seen this guy. soldier timothy poe who wowed the judges on the nbc program after stuttering when he spoke but singing without a hitch. he said the stutter was caused by a grenade attack. the minnesota national army guard has no record of this. his records do not indicate he was injureed by a grenade in combat while serving in

afghanistan in 2009 as he reports. the minnesota national guard can also confirm he was not awarded the purple heart medal for wounds sustained in combat. he is apologizing now for all this but says he didn't lie. >> i didn't ever admit to hurt anyone. i really don't know what's reality and what's not reality. >> do you feel like you've lied about something? >> no. i don't -- i don't feel like i've lied. that's what's driving me crazy, it's because i -- i truly thought this happened to me. >> as florida stand your ground law faces scrutiny following trayvon martin's death, a similar law in texas is also raising questions. a retired firefighter says he was just standing his ground against his neighbor over a very loud party. what his own recording shows. the video, in just 90 seconds.

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welcome back. the trayvon martin case raised a lot of questions about florida's stand your ground law. there's a case in texas doing the same. raoul rodriguez, a retired firefighter is on trial for murdering his neighbor. rodriguez claim hess was defending himself under the

texas stand your ground law. came armed with a gun to complain about loud party, with 911 operate owners the other end of the line. he records the confrontation. rodriguez is the only one armed, but what he says is now key to his defense. >> it's to get out of hand, sir. please, help me. he's going to go in the house, come out, do more han equal with me. now i'm standing my ground here and now these people are going to try to kill me. look, i'm not looking at these people -- i'm just going to tell them -- they're drunk. [ gunshot ] >> heard the buzz records there. right? st stand your ground. three shot, two survive except the neighbor, a young father, host of the party next door.

texas law is lining the florida stand your ground law. no duty to retreat if you feel your life is threatened. we asked you to tweet. carlos wrote, i believe it's abused. people using it to relieve their twigger-happy phases. stephen tweeted, he should have returned home and waited for the flo police to arrive and address his kearns. every tweeting me says he's guilty. i want to know what you think. was raoul rodriguez just acting in self-defense or was this murder? we're getting so many responses. send your thoughts t to @randikaye. and i'll have another --

won't run for the triple crown.

the triple crown, on this company that 1973, secretariat claimed the title after winning the belmont stakes. dubbed the horse of the century, secretariat raced six more times before retiring later that year. in 1999, espn ranked secretariat at 95 on the list of the top athletes of the 20th century. the only non-human to make that

list. dreams dashed for i'll have another. out of the belmont stakes forced to scratch because of a tendon injury. here's what was said about the heartbreaking decision to pull i'll have another from the race. >> horse racing is a very tough game. horses are delicate creatures and things can happen to them and unfortunately they decided today was the day for i'll have another to end his career. >>catherine callaway is live with a veterinarian who has seen this before. how severe is this injury? certain bad for i'll have another. >> reporter: joining me is megan, a veterinarian. come over here. we're going to talk about that injury. believe it or not, this thoroughbred racing horse has the same issue, tendinitis.

more severe than what i'll have another has. megan, you have to wonder with such a mild case of i'll have another, why did they pull him from the race? >> the type of injury i'll have another has is mild. he's not lame. potentially, he could race on it, but for a horse at the top of his game, he's just won the derby, the preakness. it is more advantageous for them to retire him as a champion and let him go stud than to risk potentially worsening his injury or worse case, ending catastrophic. >> the racing horse that has tendinitis. this is a normal tendon and this is a bowed tendon which could have happened if i'll have another had pulled it. talk a little about what that trainer said. called it a freakish injury. he said he means it's unexpected. not something you can foresee happenening but certainly something you see a lot in performance horses and racing horses.

tendon issues, right? >> sure. all types of soft tish you injuries are common. we're asking them to perform at really high levels and they get injured fairly frequently, but we take really good care of them. their owners are considerationoconsideration o conscientious to pull him at this point. >> his case is so mild, in a few months, he could have been back on the track and running without a problem at all? still has time to heal? >> correct. yes. if the race wasn't today, i think he would probably go for it. if the race were in a few months. >> thank you. beautiful farm here. beautiful horses. a lot of disappointed people. and not even here today, so many disappointed racing fans that want to see that triple crown winner. it's been 30 years. hopefully next year, 2013, may be the year, for the next round

of 3-year-olds. >> we'll see. our thanks to catherine and thank you to the folk there's at the farm as well. and that beautiful horse. wow. gorgeous. well, the little people are america are downright irate with "snow white and the huntsman" demanding to know high they weren't asked to play the seven dwarfs. tight say about this one. stick around. thanks for babysitting the kids, brittany.

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seems like every time you get on an airplane you're slapped with a new fee. fees for a blanket, to sit by the exit door. the latest fee, these are your regular window and aisle seats. let me bring in someone who flies quite often. comedian huffington post blogger. good morning. you travel around the country for your comedy tours quite a bit. tell me what you think about

paying extra for an aisle seat and being hit with these new fees? >> unbelievable that they can get away with this. why pay more for an aisle why d aisle seat? and they want to charge more more the windows now because of the view, apparently. but if you actually want to look out the window, that's an extra charge. but what kills me is they're charging for extra leg room. i don't need extra leg room, i only need room for my legs. >> let me talk to you about this, this los angeles dwarf theater group is irate that snow white and the hunts man hired

big people for the seven dwarfs. >> any midget role that comes up, you have to be at least this tall to make that kind of a kplampbt. i can understand where they're coming from, at least they don't have to pay for extra leg room when they fly. >> another person who is angry besides this los angeles dwarf theater group is john mayer. he said the taylor shift song "dear john j has humiliated him. ♪ you'll add your name to a long

list of traitors who don't understand ♪ ♪ and i'll look back and regretd how i ignored when they said run as you can ♪ ♪ dear john >> so bill, what do you think? does he have a right to be angry there? >> it's amazing how sensitive a jerk can be. i don't think he should be angry. he got off easy. she's known for writing a song for everyone that she breaks up with. i would date her just to hear what kind of a song she would write about me. ♪ you thought you were such a

pill ♪ ♪ but i didn't think it was funny ♪ >> i think you should stick to comedy. maybe not your singing career. >> it's not my forte, you're right. >> please don't give taylor any more material. >> big santiago, always fun to see you. >> it's a pleasure, we'll do it again next time. hopefully not on skype. a dog puts his nose where it probably should not have been, we'll tell you about a facing book posting that led to this guy's rescue. on the status of our relationship. who do you think i am, tim? quicken loans? at quicken loans, we provide you with proactive updates on the status of your home loan. and our innovative online tools ensure that you're always in the loop.

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welcome back, if you know

me, you know that i love animal stories, happy animal stories, that is. so of course i wanted to share this one from our jeanne moos. >> we have seen a squirrel driven squirrely by a cup on his head. but when this photo went out over face book, animal lovers in memphis knew they had to act. >> we have to get her, she doesn't have a whole lot of time with that over her head. >> a friend spotted the pit bull mix in a wooded area off interstate 41, the frightened dog went back into the woods. plastic containers stuck over this baby's head, cannot eat or drink. 10 to 20 people at a time went out searching. >> i seen him coming down the pathway with the jug on his head. >> justin burns said he had to

corner the dog against a fence with his jeep. obviously any dog that's getting her 15 minutes of fame is going to get a name. people suggested pickle, astro and the first dog the soviets sent into space, not to mention the movie space dogs, but rather than a floating astronaut, her temporary owner says they named her miracle. jessie sidal, an animal hospital vet tech says she ate ravenously where the moment they got the jug off. >> she was 27.7 pounds and she should be afternoon 45 pounds. >> x rays showed a broken pelvis and fractured jaw, she may have been hit by a car. >> she's been shot by a beebee

gun here. >> reporter: she may no longer be stuck in the jar, but she got stuck doing her first skype interview. here miracle, does she answer to her name? >> not yet. >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. thank you for starting your morning with us, we have got much more ahead on cnn saturday morning which starts right now. a triple crown shocker before any horse even reaches the belmont starting gate, "i'll have another" is out and will never run again. an investigation underway that's targeting the highest levels of government. the fbi looking into state secrets possibly being leaked to the public.

>> it's frustrated because i have never had a problem finding work before. >> 5 million, that's the number of americans who have been out of work for more than six months. for millions, jobless benefits are running out. we have some tips on how you can get back to work. bobby's back, sue ellen is running for office and j.r. is as conniving as ever. we're not talking about the old dallas, this is the next generation, and they're still battling over control of south fork. wait until you hear what the cast told me in our sitdown interview. good morning, everyone, i'm randi kaye we start with a story about eric holder who says that his