some dove. >> are you from texas? >> if you don't like lonesome dove, you're in trouble. >> you might have to switch spots today. >> i was going to say lethal weapon but everybody says that, right? >> our "starting point" this morning, breaking news, hazmat crews are on the scene. a spectacular fire, taking place in ohio. a train was pulling several tankers derailed just before 2:00 this morning. the accident happened in the north end of columbus, which is near ohio state university and the ohio state fairgrounds, the explosion and flames could be seen and felt for miles. everyone within a mile of that scene has been ordered to leave their homes because police believe some of those tankers are hauling sulphur. they are worried what could happen to the people and residences nearby. it's a dangerous situation there right now. other big story is on

capitol hill. health care reform is front and center as republicans are voting today to try to repeal, try being the operative word there because anybody can tell you it's not going to happen. the vote is mostly symbolic. one lawmaker likens the battle to lunchmeat. >> this is your new health care system. more than 150 new government agencies and programs. >> here we are debating for the 31st time to repeal health care reform but again, repeal would be a tragedy for america. >> you can contort and distort and torture statistics long enough and eventually they'll confess, that's what happened here. in reality i have no doubt that this will be a budget buster. >> this is baloney. the arguments are baloney, so baloney, baloney, baloney. >> hence my lunch meat

reference. you had to kind of stay with me on that. dan lothian is live this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. as you've heard the 33rd vote by house republicans to either repeal the law or have it thrown out or undermine parts of the law. this is more as you've heard about making a point here because with democrats controlling the senate, this is most likely going to die. and even if it doesn't, beyond that the white house has made it clear that the president would veto the pressure if it came to it. nonetheless, republicans spent yesterday in committee hearings, debating this issue. they still argue that this health care law is more about government intrusion in the lives of americans and in the long term does very little to control the growing cost of health care. even beyond that, they also see this as a way to energize supporters, voters, against this law and against president obama

in the upcoming november election. so you're seeing these strong attacks from both sides. democrats say that this is all about political posturing, bordering on an obsession. one democratic lawmaker comparing that obsession to the glenn close character in the movie "fatal attraction." i should point out this is the first vote taking place since the supreme court upheld the ruling and democrats thought that that ruling would have essentially put an end to this entire debate. >> no, no, they hoped. i believe you mean they hoped it would put an end to the entire debate. they didn't think it was going to. dan lothian this morning at the white house, thank you. we appreciate that update. it's interesting, energized supporters is what dan is talking about, trying to see if this can energize supporters. when you look at polling, it's kind of split down the middle. is there a risk in having a

debate about something that the supreme court has said it law? >> risk for a public -- >> i guess so, yeah. >> i don't think so. because the polls do suggest the law remains unpopular and this is a way -- >> barely, down the middle, it's fair to say, the biggest poll difference is something like 51% to 43%. >> till split though. >> this is a way for legislators to check the box and register where they stand on this law. >> look, in this election we'll talk about this all year, little bit more of a base election than an independent swing vote election, right? the number of people in the middle who genuinely swing between the two parties has been declining. the democrats and republicans are going to concentrate on getting out the hard core supporters so issues like this are important in doing that. i don't think there'sny risk for the republicans in pushing this. they have a slight advantage on the issue according to some polling. but more importantly it energized the conservative

supporters that didn't love romney during the primaries. i wauxed the proceedings last night on c-span. >> a man with not enough to do. >> there was an all-star game last night. >> i know. one of the things you realize watching that, there's a great difference between the -- really good congressman with good arguments and really bad ones as well. >> not everybody has read the entire thing is my sense. >> yeah. >> one of the things that i think we have to consider about this health plan, health care plan, while not perfect it sets the stage for something that could be much better. i mean, we've been talking and there's been some conversations about a universal health care plan ever since the end of world war ii. yet we don't realize how fundamentally broken the health care system is in this country. you know, we're often seduced by the information we have in terms

of just the pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies, but there's a real crisis in terms of health care, 50 million people without health care. you have children without health care. this is going to provide a mechanism, people will not perfect, people at the lowest edges of the economy can have health care. >> i think that's the reality that some people pushing. some people dismiss. i think that government's responsibility is one, to go beyond what the harris poll says and act what is basic fundamental basic human right itself. >> one of the amazing things to me in the republican talking points in debating this, they kept coming back to defending medicare and talking about how this bill takes money from medicare to fund obama's plan. now, of course, when medicare was passed republicans opposed that similarly to how they are

opposing obamacare. you can imagine decades from now, once this is implemented and becomes popular, that there's a consensus just like there is now on medicare, that this universal health care system, if it's successful is supported by both parties. >> we're going to have lots of opportunities we'll talk about it until the election and all morning too. in a few moments we'll be joined from chris van hollen from maryland. and we'll talk to jeb han hensarling and in the next hour, jim demint will join us again, the co-founder of the senate tea party caucus. first though, we want to get to christine romans with an update on the top stories. good morning. >> good morning, soledad, also developing this morning, investigators trying to find out what caused a mystery odor that made a flight crew sick and forced an emergency landing last night. the u.s. airways flight from charlotte to rome was diverted to philadelphia. attendants told the captain they

were feeling sick and smelled something strange. an airline spokesperson says five crew members were taken to the hospital and released. passengers were eye vak waited and put on another flight. none of the passengers got sick. a woman who abandoned her 19-year-old special needs daughter outside a bar will not be charged. police say eva cameron left her daughter lynn outside a bar in tennessee then drove home to illinois. our affiliate wvlt spoke to eva who says she has the best intention. >> i didn't get the help i needed from illinois, somebody at the church said why don't you go down to tennessee. they have a good health care system. then her i.d. card got lost and she became a jane doe. >> her daughter has visual impairment and nonverbal. because lynn is older than 18 she cannot be charged. the reporter who interviewed her

will join us live on "starting point" this morning. they want their mtv, directtv dropped viacom channels, comedy central, bet, nickelode nickelodeon. they have been add odds for months over carriage fees. at the all-star game, the nl powered by san francisco giants player pab loss san do val's and scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back, shutting out the american league, 8-0. cabrera awarded mvp. of course, all of you were watching the republican health care debate so you missed those all-star highlights. >> not all of us. >> i believe that was ryan and that's it. >> that was for you, ryan.

>> thanks, christine. >> we caught you up to speed on that. for people not watching c-span last night. the vote to repeal health care, let's get right to chris van hollen, he represents maryland. he's the ranking democrat on the budget committee. thanks for being with us. >> good morning, soledad. >> thank you. i know you're about to say great to be with you, soledad. >> yes. >> i appreciate that. how many democrats are you expected to cross over and vote? this is the 33rd vote on all or parts of this particular bill. last time i believe the number was three democrats who sort of went over to the other side. what number do you think it's going to be now? >> i don't know the answer to that. it will be very few, just like the first round. and as you indicated this is the 33rd time this session of congress that we've voted to repeal this piece of legislation. it is an empty political gesture. i was listening to the earlier

conversation, there's no doubt it helps to energize the tea party base but i think it ali alienates independent voters when they see congress wasting taxpayer resources doing this yet again when we haven't voted once, not once on the president's jobs initiative he presented last september. so zero opportunity in the house of representatives to vote on the president's jobs plan now we're 33 times voting to overturn obamacare which is not going anywhere in which the supreme court just upheld. >> if you have three democrats who cross over, i'm guessing at that, the number you had last time around, what does that signal? what does that do to your cause if there's no democratic unity on this? >> i think when you have three or very few democrats voting with the republicans, i don't think that's an example of lack of unity. you're going to have an overwhelming support from democrats and of course the democratic senate will not take this up. the president has said he would

veto any effort to overturn this law. and the irony here soledad is you have republican colleagues working so hard to eliminate patient protections that are in place right now that they themselves enjoy as members of congress. they have insurance policies that make sure that when their kids have diabetes or asthma or other preexisting conditions, they are covered and yet now they are voting to deny those same protections to millions of americans. >> the polls kind of are all over the place on this. when the "washington post" asked, how's obama handling het care? only 41% approved, 52% disapprove, among independents, 43%, 53% disapprove. about the supreme court decision, a little more closely split i think, 47% approve, 43% disapprove and 10% don't know. do you worry that in fact that

the poll numbers are not supporting the position that people really feel strongly about the health care law, that maybe the american people in polling support what the republicans are doing today? >> i think the polls show there's growing support for the health care law as more and more people realize what's in it and benefit from it. we know that right now there are millions of people already benefitting for example from the provision that let's them keep their kids on health insurance until they are age 26. look, we all know this law was demagogued. there was lots of misinformation. the republicaned called it a government takeover of health care. the independent fact checker politifact said it was the lie of the year in 2010 and create death panels. i think the american people are beginning to set aside all of the demagoguery and beginning to focus on what the bill actually does. this provides much greater security to middle class americans who when this law is

fully in place, will not have to worry about losing their health care when they lose their job. they'll still be able to have that security for their families in addition to the patient protections that they'll have that as i said members of congress have for themselves and their families. >> chris van hollen, a democrat from maryland, thanks for being with us. >> over the course of this morning, i expect mr. danny glover and i might have disagreements. we started with an agreement, is this health care bill sets the stage for something more. he said it's not going anywhere. i would beg to differ with that. with six states opting out of the medicare provision and the fact that the penalty tax, penalty, tax, is so paultre xpared to the cost of insurance, you'll see numerous, thousands of people opting to pay the penalty. it can't exist the way it's written. it won't work. one of two things would happen. repeal or a massive evolution of the law as we know it now.

>> the penalty rachets up over time. >> 2% of your income. if i make $100,000 a year, that's $2,000 a year. i have a family of four, i pay $15,000 in new york for insurance. i'll pay the penalty and jump in when i get sick. >> you're not going to buy insurance? >> the chief justice supreme court said that is a valid economic choice for me to make. >> they can rachet it up to whatever they want -- >> i think you just illustrated my point. it will massively evolve over time or be repealed. >> i doubt it will be repealed even if romney is president. it would be as difficult as to put it in place, 60 votes in the senate and he would going to spend his first year trying to fix health care? >> if they are going to rachet up the tax -- >> not massively rachet it up, but it can be adjusted over time. >> i'll let you work out over the commercial break.

you disagree. >> he's always got more. >> then we'll carry on. guess what, we're discussing it all morning. -- all year, you're right. a new scandal is bubbling to the surface in this economic crisis, a trading firm going under. the founder attempts suicide. $215 million is missing. we're going to explain what's happening there. plus, aa controversial decision is coming that could effectively end abortions in the state of mississippi. the cdc is offering tips to survive the plague of bride zil las. we'll give you the wedding season survival guide. >> not the most ridiculous thing they have done this year. >> ryan's play list the troggs -- >> if they play your song, that means you won the debate. >> not at all.

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welcome back, i'm christine romans mindsing your business this morning. the futures industry still reeling from. mf global scandal, a brokerage firm trying to track down money. accused of losing $2 million in customer funds, the trading commission filed a lawsuit against the group and referred to as pfg best. the founder is in a coma after trying to commit suicide. the company trades for farmers and individual investors, all of those accounts have been frozen. san bernard dean no, the third to seek bankruptcy protection, facing a $46 million shortfall and may not be able to pay its employees, despite getting $10 million in concessions from its workers and slashing the workforce by 20% over the past four years. soledad? >> christine, thanks for that update. a hearing in mississippi today will decide the fate of the state's last remaining abortion clinic. in effect decide the fate of

abortion in the state of mississippi all together. a new law requires that physicians at the jackson women's health organization be certified ob-gny and have admitting privileges. supporters say it's a safety measure. the clinic said it can't get its out of state doctors hospital privileges. the law was suspended by a federal judge on july 1st. the same judge will preside over today's hearing, which will determine whether or not to lift that suspension. ahead in joemt, we'll hear from planned parenthood southeast. first we're joined by sam mihms, the state congressman. why do you think this law is a good thing? >> good morning. >> good morning to you. >> we believe health care is very important here in mississippi. we do believe this is a health care issue for women. so the legislation is quite simple. it mandates that every ob-gyn at

this one facility has been certified and more importantly anybody that's performing abortions at this sole facility clinic, must have privileges at a local hospital. we really believe this is a health care issue for women. >> ultimately though, what you're doing, since the state has wone abortion clinic and you're creating this additional requirement, you're going to shut down this particular clinic with that requirement, right, of having admitting privileges which are -- everybody would admit very hard to get for an out of state doctor, correct? >> not necessarily. we do -- you're ending abortion? >> not at all. wuf one abortion clinic in mississippi, they had 75 days to become compliant with the legislation, they still have the opportunity to have a physician receive admitting privileges at the local hospital. we are not banning abortion in mississippi but simply don't have that ability. this is intended for health care

for women and we believe this is what's best for mississippi. >> so i'll get to the health care thing in just a moment. there's a state rep, lester carpenter said this recently. we've literally stopped abortion in the state of mississippi. three blocks from the capital sits the only abortion clinic in the state of mississippi, this is the one we're talking about, a bill was drafted and said if you would perform an abortion in the state you must be certified ob-gyn with admitting privileges to the hospital. this guy is a para medic. anybody here in the medical field knows how hard it is to get admitting privileges to a hospital because many of these hospitals have religious affiliations so there's no way you'll get someone who is going to have admitting privileges at a certain hospital if they are a doctor who performs abortions, which effectively bans abortions in the state. >> well, i'm chairman of the public health committee in the mississippi house and this bill came through night committee.

intent of this legislation is for health care for women. we believe this is a very serious procedure, we believe that the physicians ought to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. we hope and pray that nothing goes wrong during this procedure but things do go wrong. they've gone wrong in other states. this will allow that physician to follow that patient to a local hospital. i will tell you, there's probably about nine or ten other states that have this type of legislation. i look at this as a license you're and regulation on this one facility clinic. this is a license sur issue. >> there are other procedures done, level ii and iii procedures done in other hospitals and people don't have to be admitting privileges, they can get written privileges, written admissions with a doctor who would coordinate with them. other medical procedures where you could die on the table or be severely injured, they don't

have to have a doctor with admitting privileges, why do they get an exception where someone who's going to have an abortion does not get that exception? >> this legislation passed deals with this one solo abortion clinic -- >> this is the only one. >> that's correct, this is the only facility in mississippi and passed by bipartisan support in the house and senate. it's a health care issue. one issue is too many for us. if we have one case something goes wrong in this clinic, to me, that's one too many, a woman receiving abortions -- the woman who receiving abortions, we want them to get best care possible and be able to have that physician follow that patient at a local hospital. >> it's much more risky to have a baby full term than it is to have an abortion, studies have been done on that. >> i can tell you as a father of three, i can tell you it is a very serious procedure when a woman chooses life and has that baby. but we believe that's important

and we also think there's other options if a person wants to not care for this newborn baby, there's positions -- adoptions and there are other ways to not have that child besides an abortion. again, this is a health care issue and we feel strong about this piece of legislation. >> leola reese for planned parenthood. you heard him say it's a health care issue. does he have have a point? >> it's so disingenuous, if the policy makers really cared about health care, they wouldn't have spent so much time regulating abortion services. there's health care crises and disparities in mississippi that policy makers have not begun to address. they spent time regulating what is a very safe procedure. >> he has said basically that there are doctors who are

ob-gyns and having admitting privileges at the local hospital are the rules. i think for many that seems reasonable in case there's some type of emergency and did doctors can bring them to the hospital? >> it's just not medically necessary. the most important thing is the women of mississippi have access to all reproductive health care including abortion. it's safe and highly regulated and it's time for lawmakers to do what planned parenthood does every day, to be sure there's reproductive health care for all women, except for mississippi where they have the highest levels of unintended pregnancy, teen pregnancies, high hiv and std rates and work on addressing better health care for women and not putting so much time and effort in regulating what is a highly regulated but safe procedure. >> nine other states have a similar provision he points out. >> just because there's other

states that have them doesn't make them medically necessary. these are board certified physicians, it's a common and safe procedure. again, it's about regulating something that is common, that is safe and putting a lot of effort into making abortion inaccessible for women in mississippi when it's important that they focus on health care and providing preventative services that are missing for so many women in mississippi. >> the hearing is this afternoon in mississippi so i guess we'll see what the judge decides there. i thank you both for being with me this morning. appreciate your time. still ahead, what's killing dozens of children in cambodia, the mystery is apparently solved. dr. sanjay gupta has that report. if you're trying to prepare for your we hdding, it's brough to you by the cdc. it's our get real. we're back in just a moment. [ female announcer ] the coffee house.

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welcome back. in just a few minutes we're going to talk to texas congressman jeb hensarling, will tell us why he thinks repealing the health care law is a good idea. we don't call anybody a panel anymore, mr. danny glover, a e humanitarian and actor will join us. we'll talk about your film

"shenandoah", a tremendous documentary. >> triumphant for the community. it's become something that has changed the community as well. >> we're also just really thinking about the number of twitter follows. what did you say? >> 1.4 million. >> how many tweets? >> very impressive ratio. this morning ryan lizza with the washington new yorker office and let's get right to sanjay gupta talking about what we have learned, that the world health organization will announce they know what killed those more than 60 children in cambodia. their conclusion is that it's a combination of pathogens including enterovirus 71 and the use of steroids on these children made the illness worse in many of the victims. it brings us right to sanjay, live in phnom penh for us.

good morning. what do we know and what can be done to prevent this disease? >> reporter: well, what we know is that there was different pathogens, enterovirus 71 was one we've been discussing now, but also streptococcus and then danghi, something indemic in this part of the world. the question they were trying to answer, these pathogens, we know they exist and can make people sick. but to be this deadly and to act this quickly, remember these kids were dying within 24 hours of getting to the hospital. what was tipping them over the edge? and the steroid use seems to be a common culprit here. steroids as you know can be a very effective medication a potent anti-inflammatory but it can suppress the immune system and take an otherwise bad bug and turn it into something deadly. that was i think sort of the important thing that came out of

the world health organization, sort of piecing these pieces of puzzle together. in terms of prevention, the one piece of good news in all of this, while some of the organisms can be contagious and spread within households, that does not appear to be happening. it could be some people are getting the infection but not getting very sick and therefore not even seeking treatment or knowing that they have it. the prevention is the same. after all of this reporting soledad, it comes down to basic advice you and i have talked about a lot. this is transmitted hand to mouth. so washing the hands as much as you can no matter where you are in the world, whether at home or traveling through cambodia is your best means of prevention and not using steroids if you have a diagnosed infection. >> so good they were able to figure out what it is. that was a brutal story. thank you for the update this morning. we appreciate it. the rest of the top storys, let's get to christine romans. >> hazmat crews on the scene of a huge fire in ohio, a train

pulling several tankers derails just before 2:00 a.m. this accident happened in the north end of columbus near ohio state university and the state fairgrounds, the explosion and flames could be felt and seen for miles. everyone within a mile has been ordered to leave their homes because police believe some tankers were pulling denatured alcohol and styrene. chemical fire there. the son of one of the world's richest men arrested after his wife was found dead in their london home. hans christian rausing is picked up by police on suspicion of drug possession, when police went to his home, they found his wife there, eva, 48 years old, dead. he's now being held in connection with her death. incredible video to show you this morning after leading police on a high speed chase, a unified school teacher launched his truck over a hill in a

suspected suicide attempt. he's been under surveillance by authorities. he was taken to the hospital for evaluation. the district attorney will review this case and determine what charges will be filed. a gator bit off his arm and lived to tell about it. a 17-year-old was swimming with his friends monday when he suddenly came face to face -- face to snout with a 10-foot gator. >> well, he started pulling me down and i knew it's either this bone -- i've got to lose this arm or i'm going to die. >> wildlife officials were able to track down the gator and killed it. they retrieved caleb's arm but it was too mangled to be saved. >> lucky kid. >> wow. coming up next, jeb hensarling

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welcome back. the house is voting on the afford act care act which was upheld by the supreme court two weeks ago. many are critical of today's vote saying there have been 32 prior attempts to repeal the law, none so far have survived the democratically controlled senate. if the repeal passes the house today, it's also unlikely to survive in the senate. brings us to congressman jeb hensarling, from texas who supports repealing the health care law and also the chairman of the house republican congress. it's nice -- conference, it's nice to see you, sir. >> good morning, thanks for having me. >> my pleasure. good morning to you. republicans continue to try to repeal the law, attempt never 33. it's fair to ask, what's the point in this? >> well, number one, this

happens to be the seminal issue of our time, those of us who want patient centered health care have had two years to repeal it. it's unreasonable to think we're going to go away. second of all, i believe it's the will of the american people. i certainly know in the fifth congressional district of texas the district i represent it's the will of those people. and soledad, the third point is after the supreme court ruling, this is a different law. it is now the law of the land that the individual mandate is a tax. many people who voted for obamacare if the first place said they would never raise taxes on those who made below $200,000. according to the supreme court, that's what the law does. second of all, the supreme court found the forced medicaid expansions to the states unconstitutional. that fundamentally changes the law and drives up the cost for the taxpayer. last but not least, we had yet

again a terrible dismal jobs report for the last month, 41 straight months of 8% plus unemployment. you ask any business person what's the main i am pediment to creating jobs, government red tape and the top is the president's health care plan. >> the same people could say, so congress should be working on that and not circling around health care, which has already been passed by -- approved -- >> health care is all about jobs and the economy. again, you talk to any small business person who has 47, 48 employees, like the guy who runs my favorite restaurant in texas, he's never going to go beyond 50 employees because of the president's health care law. i have a tool and die manufacturing who serves the medical device industry and says the medical device tax doesn't go away, he'll have to layoff to a quarter to third of the

workforce -- >> when you look at the polling -- >> i have other people, if i could -- >> you've got multipart answers today. i get you on that. but when you look at the overall polling, best approach to health care reform law among people who do not support the health care law, they do not support the law itself, repeal it. only 33% say they should repeal it. 30% repeal some of it, wait and see, 34%. it's divided down the middle. are you worried there could be repercussions to spending this time and energy and 30 -- 33 attempts at repealing all or some of it, to -- an election year and election season where people will look at that you're not really doing what you're essentially there to do. >> soledad, i tried to do what's right and listen to my constituents. i don't worship at the altar of public opinion polls, but the vast majority of polls i've seen show a majority of americans

want the law repeeled. the longer it's out there the numbers grow to repeal it. we pick up democrat votes to repeal. there's bipartisan support for repeal -- >> how many votes do you think you're going to get? >> i haven't counted the votes. >> give me a guess. >> welfare reform, civil rights, a lot of great laws in america had to be voted on many, many times and you build the vote each time you vote on it. but again, health care, this obama care with $800 billion in new taxes, $1.7 trillion cost which soon is to increase, is one of the great inhibiters of job growth. it is job number one of the house republican conference to work on jobs and frankly there's a lot of reasons to repeal obama care but creating jobs and improving the economy is a significant one. that's why we need to revote it. >> nice to see you, sir, as always. we appreciate your time. >> when you hear congressman

hensarling talk about connecting the health care act to jobs. do you think that's a connection that the voters make as well or no? >> i think some voters may connect it but i would point out that with all due respect to the congressman, that it's not true that what is harming the american economy right now is a law that hasn't been implemented yet or even the fear on the part of employers of that law. >> he's talking more about fear than the actual -- >> find me a serious group -- overwhelming opinion of economists is that the health care law has almost nothing to do what's wrong with the economy right now. this is a demand led problem. there's lack of demand. it is not regulations. it is not -- >> you're speaking from on the high mount of economics and i would suggest you need to incorporate a tad more humility. there are those that suggest that it has inserted uncertainty in the economy and uncertainty

is very integ ral to the future -- >> that's simply not true. that's simply false. >> stop. go ahead, mr. glover. >> i mean, the health care law, let's just make it blank. it has nothing to do with the dismal -- >> now that you two have made the distinction. >> it has nothing to do with that. certainly when we talk about the economy, we have to talk about reintroduce -- reenergize the economy. how do we get people working again and all of that. if we get people to working again, they pay taxes, one. they are also able to deal with or the health care is out there as well. so the economy itself, i mean, i think that's about the most disingenuous assumption i have seen to date. >> look, fellows, i never said that the economy is solely at the whim of the affordable care act. but we can just sit here and

trade falsehoods back and forth. to say it has contributed nothing, i'm sorry, guys, that's false. >> if you watched the debate and the interview right now, republicans are arguing that the affordable care act is at the heart of what's wrong with the economy right now. that's just not true. it's not a partisan debate. it's just not true. coming up, we'll talk to senator jim demint from south carolina. co-founder of the senate tea party caucus. and still ahead on "starting point," if you're planning a wedding, there's a new guide to help you, funded by your tax dollars and written by the cdc. it's our get real this morning. s for a fraction of the cost of the coffee house. add your flavor, with coffee-mate, from nestle.

time to get real this morning. if you're going to a wedding this summer, just remember it's also hurricane season. there's a group that's helping us all prepare for mother nature, the cdc, the centers for disease control. our tax dollars hard at work. the cdc has put out a list of ways to prepare for your wedding on its blog. it realized that planning for a wedding is kind of like planning for a disaster. they say this. build an emergency kit. safety pins, makeup, sedatives. sedatives? repeat that one.

sedatives if are the bride. have a first aid kit ready in case there are accidents when the bouquet is thrown. extra documents. make a plan. be ready to contact guests in case of emergency. have emergency telephone numbers handy. umbrellas for rain. have someone stay on top of things. that would be the maid of honor, i'm told. stay informed. pay attention to the weather. know which family members are fighting. keep an eye on the bridezilla's mood. that is the most important thing. the cdc says all of this. and this blog is actually a public health matters blog. it's pretty funny, and what they are doing is really weaving in wedding season with pretty humorous attempt at -- >> it's an attempt to make it funny. >> it is. >> all right, all right. >> my delivery wasn't good. >> the cdc has better things to do. >> well, the question is, why? they also put out a zombie guide survival. why does the cdc do this? >> they weave in all of the other sort of websites that they

have said already, get a kit, make a plan, be informed so they are ready.gov, where you can search for information. >> it's what every website does these days. >> good a good headline. >> link bait. >> i thought it was very funny. danny glover was not impressed, but i thought it was funny. >> come for the wedding survival kit. stay for the other things. >> yes. come for the wedding survival, but now you know how to prepare for a hurricane. >> we need a "starting point" survival kit for this morning. sedatives. >> i was going to say something, but i'll wait until the commercial break for that. i'm sure i can't say that on tv. still ahead on "starting point," it's the economy, stupid. that 1990 campaign slogan worked wonderfully for bill clinton. democrats are tweaking it, hoping it will work for them now. and can you say awkward?

joe biden makes people squirm as he tells a story about how he was raised. and republicans preparing for a meaningless vote trying to repeal the health care law today. and here is jim demint's play list, safari's "wipeout." he played this song in his high school band. you're watching "starting point." we're back in just a moment. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've been years in the making.

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breaking news. fire and fear after a freight train carrying chemicals crashes and derails in columbus, ohio. refighting the battle over health care. congress is set to vote again on repealing president obama's health care law, even though really it's not going to make a difference at all. and race and the race. mitt romney addressing the naacp convention today, with a steep uphill battle to try to win the black vote. and the man who coined "it's the economy, stupid," is updating that phrase for 2012. james carville will join us to talk about his new book, called

"it's the middle class, stupid." we have a packed show this morning. senator jim demint will be our guest. dan lothian, roland martin, james carville. all joining us this morning. "starting point" begins right now. ♪ darling, don't you go and cut your hair ♪ ♪ do you think it's going to -- >> that's ryan lizza's play list this morning, the pavement, "cut your hair." >> i like a lot of his contemporary music. >> nothing i listen to is being played this morning. we'll have to work on that a little. my team with me this morning, danny glover. oscar nominated actor and the executive producer of a documentary we'll discuss this morning called "shenandoah" about a killing that took place in pennsylvania. ryan lizza, washington correspondent for the new yorker. and will cain a columnist for

theblaze.com joining us. i have to separate you two after the fighting last segment. >> it's all good. a bit of a dog and pony show about to unfold on capitol hill. the republican-controlled house is preparing to vote this afternoon to repeal president obama's health care overhaul. it's mostly symbolic. but it's an election year, and because of that, it's all about the talking points. listen. >> it's time for washington to see its job as encouraging small business, not crushing it. and so i look at obamacare, for instance, i'd get rid of it. turn back to a setting where the states can care for their own people in the way they think best. >> that brings us to dan lothian, live at the white house for us. dan, everyone would admit that this is going nowhere. so what are republicans hoping to accomplish with this vote today, the 33rd? >> reporter: well, you know, they are essentially making a point here, essentially rallying some of the support against this health care law.

and against president obama, which will be crucial in the upcoming election. but i should point out that while they've had more than 30 votes, house republicans have either had to repeal health care reform or undermine parts of it. this is the first one since the supreme court upheld the law. it was something that democrats had hoped would have put an end to this entire debate, but of course as you can see it has not. and there was a very spirited debate yesterday up on capitol hill finger pointing from both sides. republicans saying that this health care law is an intrusion in the lives of americans. that it does very little long-term to lower the growing costs of health care. and, again, also i see this as a way to push support against this health care law, of course crucial in the upcoming elections. democrats, though, say this is just more political posturing by republicans, and this of course is going absolutely nowhere because the senate obviously controlled by democrats, and even got beyond that, the white house has made it clear that president obama would veto the

measure. >> dan lothian for us this morning with an update. thank you, dan. appreciate it. he is at the white house. let's bring in senator jim demint, republican from south carolina. he is the co-founder of the senate tea party caucus, one of 12 senators and 61 representatives who sent a letter to the national governors' association asking them to oppose implementation of the affordable care act. it's nice to see you, sir. thank you for talking with us. you heard dan a moment ago saying that democrats are positioning this as basically political posturing. do you think that's true? >> not at all. it's an important vote, soledad, because as we've had a better chance over the last couple of years to look at this bill, we know that millions of americans are going to lose their health insurance if it's implemented next year. we know many states are going to be bankrupted by this whole process. we know it's going to cost a whole lot more than they said it would cost. so what is important now to see what republicans and democrats are willing to do. we want to know if the democrats who came in in the last term in the house are still going to

support a bill despite the facts that are now on the table. so it's an important part of the process. we have to repeal this bill. and begin to replace it with common sense ideas that are going to help more americans get health insurance instead of lose it. which apparently they are. >> as you well know, those facts that you talk about, i say like facts because there are people that would dispute those very facts, but what would you replace it with. republicans talked about repeal and replace. what's the replace? >> soledad, we need to go back to what you just said. the facts are there. we have seen survey after survey of employers who are going to drop the insurance they have now. a number of states have come to washington saying this will bankrupt their states. this is not political posturing. these are real facts. and what we're going to replace it with is what you've heard mitt romney talking about. we need to give the states more flexibility to help individuals own their own health insurance, policies that they can keep from

job to job, and hopefully into retirement. and a lot of states have begun that process. so there are ways to get people insured without a huge federal program that's too big to succeed. >> you are asking states to not implement those exchanges. first of all, now that it's law under the supreme court and they have approved it, why would do you that? >> well, it's terribly expensive. it starts a process that we believe has to be repealed because we can't afford it. i don't think states are going to move ahead with it for the fact that they can't move all these people onto medicaid. this promise of everyone having health insurance, soledad, americans are going to soon figure out that all they're going to do is push them into a medicaid program where it's hard to find a doctor. so i think the more americans find out about this, the more they don't like it. and they haven't seen the worst of it yet because the 20 or so taxes that are part of this program cut in next year and the year after. so americans have seen some of the benefits but none of the

real costs. but the bottom line is, our country is broke. this is going to cost trillions of dollars. it's going to diminish the quality and access to health care. so all of the promises that have been made, soledad, about this program are not true. they are not going to happen. >> the competing argument would be, our country is broke, and by having a number of people who are not insured, a huge -- millions and millions of people who are not insured who are going to get health care anyway, right? they are going to show up, but probably late stage when they need it, meaning emergency room care which is already more expensive. you are already bearing those costs. i'm bearing those costs every time i pay for my health insurance, another $1,000 of that cost is added onto what i'm already paying, which is a lot of money for my health insurance. >> the best way to solve that is closer to the patient, closer to the doctor. the local and state level. and we need to have states competing for the best health care plans in the country.

we have just seen these federal programs that were supposed to help create jobs and lower costs, they're not doing it. and so again we know the facts at this point. the program is not going to work. we appreciate some of the goals of the president. we need every american to have access to affordable health insurance. the best way to do that is at the federal -- excuse me, at the state level that respects the relationship between the patient and the doctor. >> senator jim demint joining us this morning. thank you, sir. nice to see you as always. >> thank you, soledad. >> he says the best way to do it is at the state level, not the federal level. >> well, the exchanges are state-run exchanges. and one of the things watching this debate, you're seeing a gap between the romney campaign and republicans in the house of representatives. let's be think whoest. mitt romney and not want to continue debating obama's health care law, because -- >> why not? >> it immediately brings up the fact that the health care law was based on the massachusetts law.

if you watched the debate last night by the house members, some of the republican house members actually pointed to massachusetts and talked about how the law in massachusetts and the exchange set up in massachusetts is not working. mitt romney doesn't want to get into a discussion about that anymore. he wants to move back to the economy. so i think you're seeing a gap between republicans on the hill and the romney campaign. >> now to christine romans with an update for us on the day's top stories. good morning. >> an update on the breaking news we have been following this morning. hazmat crews on the scene of a chemical fire in ohio where a train pulling several tankers derailed just before 2:00 a.m. near columbus, ohio. the fire and explosion could think felt and seen for years. it's burning near the ohio state university and the ohio state fair grounds. everyone within a mile of the scene has been ordered to leave their homes. new this hour, a major air scare on an american airlines flight from aruba to miami. the plane hitting a freak pocket

of major turbulence 30 minutes before landing. turbulence that injured 12 people, and sent five of them to the hospital last night. passengers say people were flying out of their seats, and they were sure they weren't making it back alive. >> the plane just felt like a huge drop. i was watching the movie, and heads just popped up. the entire plane. >> i thought we were going to die. it was scary. >> of course. i was sure that i was going to die. >> 185 passengers onboard, six crew members, safe on the ground now in miami. the airline says there was simply no indication they were headed for such a bumpy ride. also developing this morning, investigators trying to find out what caused a mystery odor that made a flight crew sick and forced an emergency landing last night. the u.s. airways flight from charlotte, north carolina, to rome was diverted to philadelphia. attendants told the captain they were feeling sick and they smelled something strange. an airline spokesperson says that five crew members were taken to the hospital and released.

passengers were evacuated and put on another flight, but none of them got sick. what's wrong with illinois congressman jesse jackson jr.? he's been on a medical leave of absence now for a month, but he not disclosed what the condition is. and now several lawmakers, including senator dick durbin, are calling on jackson to go public with his condition. meantime, jackson's father, reverend jesse jackson sr., is slamming rumors his son attempted suicide but would not give any details on his condition. new developments in the race for the white house. it's a virtual dead heat according to the latest cnn poll of polls. the president getting 46% of the vote if the election were held today. mitt romney just one point back at 45%. the cnn poll of polls averages the results of three major national polls conducted in the last 10 days. and another one for the joe biden gag reel. he cracked this joke.

>> my mother said -- it was wonderful for children, having your great aunt, your great uncle live with you. those walls are often thin. i wonder how the hell my parents did it. but that's a different story. i know you don't know anything about that. >> you're on tv. >> really? the sex joke? really? really? >> i don't know. >> what event was he at? >> you've got to love the guy. come on. >> maybe he was just talking about they couldn't talk about their family finances. >> clearly. christine going for the financial. >> maybe. >> those unpleasant financial conversations that happen at night in the bedroom. >> there is real value to men with a faulty filter. >> absolutely, absolutely. christine, thank you for that update, most of it at least. still ahead on "starting point," going to get to roland martin. he is not with us today, because he is live at the naacp

convention as mitt romney will be making his pitch to black voters. some people say it's mission impossible for the candidate. we'll talk to roland about that. tough call today. a city is banning giving food to the homeless in parks. the mayor says that ban is not only good for the homeless people, it's good for the city. what do you think? we'll talk about that. here is "grazing the grass" from christine romans' play list. can we get some gospel this morning? do i have to beg? >> i like this song. >> i like it too. check out our play list every morning at cnn.com/startingpoint. everything is so poppy this morning. ♪

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the blue skies are right there over capitol hill. we were showing those pictures just a second ago. that's kirk franklin off of roland martin's play list. i love that song. can't go wrong with that ever. he not only sing, he kind of talks and his background singers do the singing. roland is at the naacp convention in houston. today, mitt romney will be speaking before the group. one person who won't be there is the president. vice president biden has been sent in his place. that will happen tomorrow. let's talk about the reception potentially for mitt romney. what's the tone of what people are expecting? >> well, obviously, he'll get a colder reception. remember, senator john mccain spoke here in 2008 when then governor george w. bush was

running. he also spoke to the naacp during the campaign. i think people are asking for is what is he going to say in terms of specifics. that is, he likely is going to talk about the economy. when you look at the plaque unemployment rate, over 14%. among the youth, 20%. housing. 53% of black wealth has been wiped out because of the housing crisis. so what will he do to change that, to fix that. not broad issues, specifics. that's what folks are looking for. >> one columnist basically wrote a draft speech. here, if i were, mr. romney, here's what i would say. he says he should say, today, i serve notice that we intend to do something we've not done for more than 50 years, compete for your votes. for far too long, the democratic party has been allowed to depend on your support while offering you little in return. for far too long, it's gotten away with taking you for granted. do you think that that is true?

>> i think he should -- i think those are things he should say. the republican party bottom line is, even our former colleague ed rollins would say it, they are largely a party of white older voters. and so as this nation is becoming more of a minority country, they are going to have to figure out how do you pull in african-americans and hispanics. first and foremost, you can't be afraid of them. you have to be willing to go and talk to them and then say where do we have common ground. there will be disagreement, but where do we agree? and i think too often, republicans haven't done that. so i say for mitt romney, go beyond just today. then what's the next step? there's evidence. mike huckabee when he ran for governor in arkansas, 48% of the black vote. he worked with african-americans on the issues where they had common ground. >> roland, this is will. so what is that issue that republicans can push on that they largely agree with

african-americans? set aside the broad issues like the economy. give me one like education. >> african-american women, one of the fastest-growing groups when it comes to small business owners. if you're a republican, you should be touting what will you do when it comes to helping small business owners. those women are there. when you talk about education. how will you improve it? but not just the issue i believe in vouchers, which i do, but also i believe in public private home schooling online, every form of education, but what else is there? the other pc is what are you going to do on the issue of social justice. will you have republican candidates be willing to speak out when it comes to police misconduct? police brutality? those are crucial issues for african-americans. also, will mitt romney speak to voter suppression. the voter i.d. law. >> i was going to ask danny glover about that. he is speaking in houston.

voter suppression is a huge topic of conversation. does he have to address it and what should he say? >> certainly, he has to address it. we all have to address the whole issue around what is happening with voter suppression. and the laws and regulations that are being passed in terms of voter i.d. and when we look at the statistics we saw in 2008, we saw an increase of 15% of african-americans going to the polls. almost 30% of hispanic americans going to the polls and voting. those are real numbers right now. but that's the basic question around the whole apparatus of voting itself. but the idea of how do we reinvigorate the idea of participating in democracy in this country is a critical point. you have a country that has less than and barely 50% of its people voting as registered voters or eligible voters you're in trouble then. so the question becomes that. if you have participatory

democracy, then you can talk about the issues of education in a different way. you're talking about the issues around incarceration. the incarceration in the african-american community, police brutality in the african-american community. when you have those kind of dynamics happening within the constituency, those are real questions. >> it changes the conversation. roland, let me ask you this last question. i mentioned joe biden is coming tomorrow. is there a discussion about the lack of president obama showing up? >> i have heard from a number of people who were disappointed that president obama is not speaking to the naacp. he did speak in 2008 when he was running as senator. he spoke in 2009 but did not speak here in 2010 or 2011. and so i have also heard from naacp board members who are not happy that he's not speaking. real quick, soledad, to danny's point about incarceration, there have been efforts, different parts of the country, where republicans have aligned themselves with different african-american groups when it comes to addressing the issue of

the high school dropout rate and also the incarceration of african-americans and some of the different cities. will, to your point that, is one of those issues that republicans should be dealing with, mandatory minimums, incarceration rate that impacts the economy. and that's another area if republicans want to step up, have the discussion, make it substantive and not simply a broad general discussion. >> i would have to stop you there because we're going to hit our commercial break. roland martin is a cnn contributor and the host of "washington watch with roland martin" and was nice enough to play a little kirk franklin for me this morning. >> i got your back. >> i appreciate that. still ahead on "starting point," a city is banning feeding the homeless in public parks as part of an effort to get the homeless indoors. critics say it's more about the image of the city than any kind of public service. who's right? it's our tough call coming up next. great shot.

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welcome back to "starting point." an elder statesman of futures trading is in a coma this morning after a suicide attempt. and the firm he founded is now in bankruptcy. regulators accuse peregrine financial group's founder of fraud and i are looking for more than $200 million brokerage funds. the assets have been frozen. the collapse comes nine months after the collapse of ms global. new scrutiny after that scandal uncovered this problem. millions of direct tv customers won't be getting their daily fix of jon stewart or "spongebob" because they failed to resolve a contract dispute. as a result, more than a dozen channels went dark at midnight on direct tv. u.s. stock futures are higher. companies reporting their corporate earnings this week.

and investors will be looking for any signs that the slowing global growth is holding back profits. and, soledad, when profits are held back, you have less chance of hiring. so all goes together. >> thank you, christine. our tough call this morning is about a new law that takes place in philly. it's banning feeding homeless people on city parkland. its constitutionality is being challenged in the courts. critics say it really is at the end of it an effort to clear homeless people from land near tourist attractions. especially this one particular new museum. they'd like to remove the homeless people to make it nicer for the tourists. but the mayor who testified for roughly 90 minutes on the stand before a federal judge says that is not the case. he says it's part of a plan to take care of the poor and the homeless. he said that he's concerned about food-borne illnesses for people who are handling the food improperly. and he says the homeless people need more than food. they need special services to help with substance abuse

problems and mental health problems as well. >> you know, i think -- >> what do you think, cain? >> what do i think? >> i know what i think, but i'll let you all start. >> i don't like taking charity out of the private sphere. >> he has banned it in the parks and moved it. >> and made it therefore more burdensome. essentially you try to coopt for the public charity. i think it's something that private citizens should be encouraged to do. >> i think it's tough to believe when people say i am worried about food-borne illnesses. the homeless are struggling with substance abuse issues and mental health issues. this is their only food of the day. to say, i would hate for you to get a stomach bug because the food hasn't been warmed up properly. >> that sounds like an excuse. >> yes.

>> but if philadelphia has centers for the homeless where they can get a full range of services, i don't think there's anything wrong with the city regulating where those services are going to be provided. and not having them in the park. >> what do you think, danny? >> well, the difficult issue is the question of homelessness anyway. i mean, we know one of the reasons for homelessness. let's talk about the real issues, you know, and how do we begin to solve those issues. basically, talk to us and say to us, what is it -- who are we? how do we grease thoaddress tho of who are we? when we talk about the middle class, we often talk about the middle class -- >> but they don't vote. >> the homeless don't vote. that's one thing. and also we have to design systems in which we include those people, the poor, the homeless, the people who are marginalized, if we're not doing that and talking about that, and

i know we may disagree on how we do this, we have to begin to put that and allow that to be our focus in terms of reenergizing this whole process of democracy in this country. we're not doing that, then certainly we could -- this right here, this is -- the mayor, obviously, tourism is a part, a very important part -- >> a symptom, you're saying. >> it is. >> that's what makes it our tough call. all right. we have to take a break. still ahead this morning, a tennessee woman allowed to walk free by police after she abandoned her special needs daughter in the bathroom of a bar. we're going to talk to the reporter who spoke to that mom. and then it worked for bill clinton, but can a catchy phrase put barack obama over the top in november? james carville and steen greenville, pollster, will talk about their new book, "it's the middle class, stupid."

welcome back to "starting point." let's get right to headlines with christine romans. >> the world health organization says it now knows what caused the mysterious illness that killed over 60 children in cambodia. it's the enterovius 61 as well as steroids that were used to treat the victims that worsened the symptoms in many cases. the son of the one of the world's wealthiest men has been arrested after police found his wife dead in their home. hans christian rausing was

picked up monday on suspicion of drug possession and now is being held in connection with his wife's death. no word on how she died. police are not saying rausing had anything to do with her death but they are investigating. seasonal firefighters who risk their lives battling fires across the country will now be able to get federal health insurance coverage. the white house says president obama made the decision after visiting fire crews on the frontlines in colorado springs. meantime, the most destructive wildfire in colorado history, the waldo canyon fire, is now fully contained. the fire burned 29,000 square miles, destroyed 350 homes. the cause of the fire is still under investigation. the ring leader of a teacher test taking scheme has been busted. the feds say clarence mumford was charging teachers money and in return finding other people to pose as them to take their teacher certification exams. the teachers paid $1,500 to $3,000 per test. investigators say more than 50 people in tennessee, mississippi, and arkansas were

involved in this scheme from 1995 to 2010. and this will be in your head all day long. cookie monster getting in on the latest viral craze offering his own version of "call me maybe." >> this is crazy ♪ ♪ but if you got cookie, share it maybe ♪ >> there you go. another one for will cain to put on his play list. >> i like that version. i might like it better than the real version. he's got the voice for it. so many of you probably remember this famous phrase from bill clinton's winning 1992 presidential campaign. listen. >> it's the economy, stupid. >> well, the two men who coined that expression, james carville and clinton's top pollster, stan greenberg, now have an update to that phrase. it's the middle class, stupid. it's also the title of their new book. cnn contributor james carville and pollster stan greenberg with me this morning. back in 1992, you said it was the economy, stupid. 20 years later, i think there

are people who would argue it is the economy. you say it's the middle class. >> well, they are kind related to each other. we were just talking about homeless people. you can't pick up a paper without reading a story about former middle class people living in parking lots. the best way to get out of poverty is to get to the middle class. that's the next place up the ladder. in a sense as the middle class is being destroyed across this country, as we are losing people to the middle class, it's having a real effect throughout the country, not just on people in the middle class. so, yeah, we think this is a -- and people understand what's happening in their lives. they want long-term solutions to how the country is going to fix that and get back on track. and we think this is a very, very important thing to talk about. >> you say social mobility and looking at other nation social mobility is really key here. >> it's a wake-up call. what we did in 1992, it's the economy, stupid, we didn't realize, and president clinton didn't realize, that this was going to be a three-decade

phenomenon, that america really had changed. we thought we would come back, you know, from that, and we did, you know, and the 1990s were good. but we have three decades of income decline, struggle, struggle, struggle, jobs being exported, the country in debt, people this debt, and people are in pain. but they know it's a long-term problem. so they want to see long-term solutions. >> here is something from the book. virtually every developed country except great britain and italy has greater social mobility than the united states. in denmark, there's a 15% correlation between parents' income and that of a child. in the united states, it's nearly 50%. income is now destiny in this new period. what do you mean? >> well, like dan and i. you know, in america, if you work hard, and you do what you are supposed to do and play by the rules, you're going to have a good life. you'll be able to buy a car, educate your children, but you have to work hard. you still can do it but it's a lot harder than it used to be. if we don't have the mobility that we used to have.

and when you don't have that, when you don't have that, in the middle class that is shrinking, and incomes are going up only at one level and not another level, then there's something else in the country that you want to be. you're losing something that is central to what it is to be the united states. and that's what we think. >> and people know it. 3/4 -- 10 years ago, 3/4 of the country said i'm satisfied with my chance to get ahead. it's now half. that's a dramatic drop. people know the country has changed. that's why we wrote the book because that's what happened to us. that's what happened to a lot of other people here. >> take the example of young kids coming out of college now saddled with unpayable loans, student loans and everything else. what chance do they have to achieve this whole idea of the middle class? >> we talk about this a lot. last night, this is actually true. yesterday. it used to be that the federal government gave money to the banks who then loaned the money

to the students. and they guaranteed the loan if the student didn't pay and the bank got the interest rate. the president very intelligently said we're just going to cut the middle man out, $60 billion. well, the banks hated this, so romney said, no, no, we're going to make the bank the middle man again. little things like this are the kinds of things that drive you crazy. you look at the for profit colleges, and veterans coming out with debt, after debt after debt. and the state of louisiana, i talk about it at length, how lsu has lost like 40% of its funding from the state. and the answer to that is that they have to take in more out of state students, raise fees more and more, and you get less and less access to higher education that you need. >> you have been frustrated that the president doesn't seem to wrap his arms around this message. >> i am much less frustrated now than i have been. he's done pretty good here. >> the time for the book, you

know, with the middle class family yesterday talking about dealing with their taxes, he's embraced the middle class message and embraced the middle class future. >> he never seems to embrace it with any kind of consistency. there say one-off speech here and a week where they drive the message. it doesn't seem like he has fully taken your advice. >> but we have hope. we're on the right course now. we have kind of been critical of the president and his campaign in the past. i think the last three or four weeks have been very encouraging. >> romney is neck and neck with president obama. in a lot of polling. >> well, across all of them, i think he -- obama has about a three-point lead. it's a very, very close race. >> do you think this can make a difference in this race, whatever embraces this message? >> well, on the economy, he was falling behind. now he has moved the talk to the middle class and the future, he has moved ahead. and the more this moves to the future, the more it's the president. >> it's the economy, stupid. it's not working for president

obama. you can't make that argument. so you have to divide it up into sections. >> no. i think that the more that romney focuses on the last four years and the more that the president focuses on the next four, he'll do better. if the president focuses on the last four and romney focuses on the next four, then romney will do better. people know where they are. they know what happened. they cut the president the slack. they know what he had. but they don't want him to talk about that. they want to know how are you going to get me out of this. how is my life going to be better over a long period of time. >> it's the middle class, stupid. james and dan, nice to have you guys. we appreciate it. we have to take a short break. still ahead, we'll tell you the story of a woman in tennessee who's been allowed to walk free by lis after shepolice after sh her special needs daughter in a bar. because the network finds it and tailors it across all the right points,

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now the story of a woman who left her mentally disabled daughter outside of a bar and then took off. the woman will not be charged. police say eva cameron left her daughter, lynn, outside the bar in tennessee and drove home to illinois. lynn cameron has cerebral palsy,

vision impairment, and did not know her own name. our affiliate talked to the mom, eva, who said she had the best intentions. listen. >> when i didn't get the help i needed from illinois, somebody at the church said why don't you go down to tennessee. they have the best system. then her i.d. card got lost, and it wasn't supposed to happen that way. >> because lynn is over 18 years old, and is a legal adult even though she has the mental capacity of a 2-year-old, her mother did not commit a crime and will not be charged even though she left her in this bathroom at a bar. john trainer is a reporter who interviewed the mom, eva cameron, and he is joining us now. nice to see you. she didn't sound particularly sorrowful in that interview. what was her reaction when you were interviewing her? >> reporter: well, the most shocking part about that was how calm she was. she even laughed a little

remembering the day she left lynn at the bar. she said her plan was to drop her off in tennessee. originally she told police she was going to drop her off and someone was going to pick her up at a waffle house down the street. police called that center in johnson city, tennessee. they never heard of her. then they got curious, and she admitted she let her out to go to the bathroom and then just took off. >> so the plan all along was to abandon her. maybe abandon her with i.d. so she could get health care, but really just abandon her daughter who i believe has the mental capacity of a 2-year-old. is that right? >> reporter: yeah. the plan was to leave her in tennessee where hopefully she could get health care. but when she talked to the police, and very calm and really didn't sound too broken up about it, she said she just couldn't handle her anymore. couldn't take care of her. so she just kind of left her in tennessee, far from illinois and really not a city center in tennessee either. >> in so many ways, such a terrible tragedy. it sounds like the mom in some ways is completely overwhelmed caring for her adult daughter a. the same time, you can't just

leave people behind somewhere at a bar. but i guess legally she is not in any jeopardy, is she, the mom? >> well, and that's the question we had. why isn't she facing any legal consequences at least in tennessee? we heard there's an investigation in illinois. but if they have the same statutes in tennessee, she really is just not going to be in legal trouble. again, lynn is over 18. and beyond that, there was no physical harm. and when we talk about statutes, at least in the state of tennessee, even if you leave a 6-year-old at a bar, as long as she's not physically harmed and the police can intervene where she gets home, there's nothing criminally that the parents can be faulted for. >> that seems a little crazy to me. that you could leave somebody. >> reporter: that's the reaction we had. >> yeah. >> reporter: when we talked to the district attorney. and really there's no legal ground. and that might be where the problem lies. people in kerriville, the original plan was to tell the mom to pick her up at the police station at 10:00 in the morning and then they planned to arrest

her. say they there's something wrong with the law and maybe they should relook at that. >> john trainer, thank you for the update. we appreciate your reporting on that. still ahead, we'll talk about danny glover's new film, a documentary called "shenandoah." fascinating story about an immigrant who was killed by some teenagers, white teenagers, and the tragic events that follow in shenandoah, pennsylvania. we'll discuss that right after the short break. >> they tried to cover it up. the police tried to save us. and that's how we felt. we felt like they were going to save us. ♪ pop goes the world ♪ it goes something like this ♪ everybody here is a friend of mine ♪ ♪ everybody, tell me, have you heard? ♪ [ female announcer ] pop in a whole new kind of clean with new tide pods... a powerful three-in-one detergent that cleans, brightens, and fights stains. just one removes more stains than the 6 next leading pacs combined. pop in. stand out.

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welcome back to "starting point." it has been four years since the small, and i mean very small, community of shenandoah, pennsylvania, was rocked by a horrible act of violence that caught the nation's attention. a group of white football players beat an illegal mexican immigrant to death, and the police helped cover it up. two of the teenagers were convicted of hate crimes but acquitted of murder. now a new document called "shenandoah" revisits the case. take a look. >> the phone rang. 10 after 9:00. and that's when our lives changed.

>> they tried to cover it up. the police tried to save us. and that's how we felt, we felt like they were going to save us. but this was just too big to save. and i was scared. >> danny glover is one of the executive producers of the film. and also joining us this morning, executive producer billy peterson and pulitzer prize-winning photographer who spent two years working on this film. david, tell us about the town of shenandoah. when i said small, it's literally like a square mile. >> this came about in 2008, after barack obama said that the working class in pennsylvania. i had really been proud of the diverse heritages of the people in this country, and i thought, gosh, it's time to look at a coal mining town in pennsylvania. i drove over and landed in this town literally just after this incident had occurred. you drive into town, and it's an

interesting place. you drive from the mountains and you land in this hamlet. you see church steeples. you feel sort of like you're in a european village. and it literally is a town going back to the 1820s, 1830s. every imaginable wave of immigration until today. >> when it came to mexican immigrants, though, this is where they have had a real culture clash. and this is what happened with maurice ramirez, the undocumented worker who was beaten literally to death by white football stars in some cases. what was the tone -- what did you want to explore in this documentary? >> i think we wanted to explore the community. we wanted to explore the motivation of why this occurred. and also we wanted to explore the conflict, you know. it's not unusual that this is -- the story is not unusual. i mean, the country is made up of immigrants. we came to a small town to really help understand why there

is such conflict. >> i want to play a little chunk of a rally that happened in support -- the town literally got divided. people who supported the young men, people who supported the mexican immigrant and his white girlfriend who was a local as well. who had his child. let's take a look. >> these kids did not intend to kill mr. ramirez. i'm sure of that. and i just don't believe that these teens intended to kill. >> they are saying, ok, it's not a racist issue, but look at what they're saying and the signs that they are holding. tell me it's not a racist issue. >> ultimately, is this what you wanted to explore, sort of the small community and how race and class and loss in some ways of economic security played a role in how this all went down? >> well, one thing, we thought it was a great story. and one of the major stories in the 21st century here. and not only in this country, but the world itself, dealing

with the issue of immigration, dealing with the issue of border. dealing with the issues of security. all of the issues are important. here we have a town which had been deindustrialized. a town that had been in hard times. a town where people were angry and frustrated themselves, you know. and i want to believe that there is some outcome that beyond that takes us beyond the particulars of the sensitive right here. >> let's talk about that. >> there's a level of tolerance that -- >> do you see that? >> and it comes from the young people. >> we know that two of the young men who were most involved ended up charged with a federal hate crime and are spending fairly long sentences in prison. but danny sounded hopeful when we were talking earlier. did you feel that? >> i do. and first of all, i'd like to say that the people of shenandoah were incredibly generous to let me into their lives and i think we can all learn from them. three years after i arrived in shenandoah, pennsylvania, in the

spring, i was -- i arrived in town, and came upon on martin luther king day a march that had been organized by some of the football players that were friends of these guys that marched through town. and it was a small group, and then it sort of accumulated. and before long there were several hundred people from town matching through the streets of shenandoah against racism. >> the tone of optimism, you know. >> that's nice to see. >> and seeing that come full circle was really amazing. >> where can people see this documentary? >> well, the film is just completed. and we are looking forward to premiering it hopefully this fall at a major festival. and you can go on facebook to shenandoah film or to www.shenandoah-film which is the website. >> it looks amazing. appreciate it. back in just a moment. stay with us. because we only do hotels. wow. i like that. nice

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and a big thank you to danny glover for joining our team today. we certainly appreciate it. >> thank you. >> it's time to send it over to c "cnn newsroom" and carol costello. good morning. happening right now in the newsroom, houston pitch. mitt romney houston bound to address the naacp after eric holder called the texas i.d. law a poll tax. what will mitt romney say to the nation's oldest civil rights organization? station break. if you're one of the 20 million direct tv customers, you are waking up with more than two

dozen fewer channels this morning. comedy central, bet, and the list goes on. overnight, negotiations falling through, big time. painkiller prescription. oxcontrin makers planning to test their drug on children as young as 6 years old. the cash behind the candidate as big corporations give millions to obama and romney. cnn digs into who's raking in the most green. will the election be decided by wall street and not main street? and home of the beret. the u.s. olympic team in french hats and blue blazers. do these guys look ready for the olympics or a croquet match in the hamptons? good morning to you. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining us. we begin this morning with a terrifying airline flight into miami.