us? >> sure, zoraida. i think we'll expect the horse race all the way up to november to stay this close. this is going to be one of those real, real tight presidential elections p. but, of course, there are certain bullet points that we focus on when we're looking at these numbers. let's look at this number on the economy. the economy, issue number one in this election. what most voters will likely vote on come november. mitt romney has a six-point advantage over president obama right now when asked who has a better idea to improve the economy. very good news for the romney campaign up in boston when they see that number. however, out in chicago, you can see that the obama campaign can take solace in this number on likability. a 20-point gap, zoraida. president obama, 60% of americans like president obama while only 47% like romney. now, the reason why that's important for president obama and how you all tie it together regarding the economy, president

obama has been making the argument that he needs another four years to turn around the economy and that he was handed a very tough hand to deal with. so that likability question could come into play. >> it's been playing a lot. repeatedly playing. this week the focus has been on foreign policy. romney's in london today, the first stop on his international tour. but before he left romney had this criticism about obama's approach to foreign policy. let's listen to that. >> the president's policies have made it harder to recover from the deepest recession in 70 years. exposed the military to cuts that no one can justify. compromised our national security secrets. [ applause ] and in dealings with other nations, he has given trust where it is not earned, insult where was not deserved and

apology where it is not due. >> mark, we all know that foreign policy does not poll high on the list of issues that are important to people's votes. but you wrote yesterday that it is, in fact, important. why is that? >> well, it is important. you're right. only a quarter of voters right now say that foreign policy is extremely important to their vote come november. but it's important for these reasons and these reasons alone. president obama can point to certain foreign policy decisions he has made, zoraida, including the killing of osama bin laden and ending the iraq war, two major accomplishments during his term. meanwhile, mitt romney as we just heard during his speech at the veterans of foreign wars is using foreign policy to criticize the white house, specifically criticize president obama on leaks from his administration as well as being critical of some of the remarks that president obama has made about our allies as well as these pending massive cuts to defense. you know, zoraida, probably the most important thing that came out of that speech yesterday was

mitt romney's criticism of the leaks. and he used senator dianne feinstein's words, a california democrat who was critical of president obama's white house for the leaks. she has since recanted. it will be an issue all throughout today, perhaps for the next week. >> yeah. she was not happy about that. mark preston live in washington for us, thank you very much. now five minutes past the hour. taking a look at other news now, one lifetime in prison not enough for william balfour. jennifer hudson's former brother-in-law was sentenced yesterday for murdering the singer's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew back in 2008. a chicago judge gave him three life sentences plus 120 years. prosecutors say bealfour committed the murders in a jealous fit of rage. in delivers the sentence the judge could barely contain his anger telling balfour, quote, your soul is as barren as dark space. we are following new twomts in the aurora movie theater massacre. there will be no cameras in the

courtroom when the accused shooter faces formal charges, that's on monday. the judge granted a defense request to keep cameras in the courtroom for the appearance. so much was made of how he appeared on monday. meantime, the star of "the dark knight rises," batman himself, paid a visit to pay his respects. christian bale laid a bouquet of flowers and spent over two hours at the medical center of aurora and visited with police officers and those emergency room technicians who were on the scene after last friday's early morning mass shooting. warner brothers, the studio behind the new batman film has also made a donation to the victims and aurora. the studio didn't say how much it is giving. warner bro eer brothers is ownee warner, parent company of cnn.

a woman named katie medley gave birth to a boy as her husband, caleb, a victim of the aurora sheet etheater shooting, the same hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. hugo jackson medley was born at 7:00 a.m. yesterday at the university of colorado hospital. caleb's brother spoke on behalf of the family. >> that's the way we describe it, as bittersweet. we were all looking forward to this. we were all excited about this. it is. it is a silver lining to a very dark cloud. but -- but we all know caleb. we know he's a fighter. we know he's not going to stay out of that child's life for any length of time. if he can avoid it. >> the face on that baby, such an amazing silver lining to the story. the medley family is said to be without health insurance and could face millions of dollars in medical bills. a fundraising website has been set up for the family at

calebmedley.com. it's already raised more than $200,000. >> there seems to be a recuring theme. a lot of people do not have medical insurance. hopefully folks will be generous and kind. seven minutes past the hour here. syrian forces fighting back hard overnight to regain control of the country's largest city. helicopters and fighter jets attacking rebel targets. this is aleppo. we're getting reports thousands of government troops are being sent in. violent clashes across syria claimed at least 133 lives yesterday, 21 of them in aleppo. big news in entertainment. actor sherman hemsley who starred in "the jeffersons" has died. hemsley's turn as george jefferson made him famous. originally created for another landmark show, "all in the family." the spin-off became one of television's longest running and most successful sitcoms. no word on what caused his death at his home in el paso, texas.

sherman hemsley, an indelible mark. he was 74. >> always wondered what was going to come out of his mouth. eight minutes past the hour. the senate votes this afternoon on competing plans to extend the bush era tax cuts. we keep on talking about this. the democratic plan would extend the cuts for couples making less than $250,000 a year. individuals making under $200,000. republicans want to extend the tax cuts for all taxpayers, including the wealthiest americans. neither proposal is expected to pass. >> so nothing will happen. at the end of the day, nothing changes. >> nothing changes. >> welcome to washington, everyone. you have to look at this video. because it looks like something sinister. see for yourself. surveillance video from a supermarket showing a man, it looks like a man putting a woman into the trunk of a car. coming up, we're going to tell you what police say is really happening in this video. [ female announcer ] imagine skin so healthy, it never gets dry again. can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve,

so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. only from aveeno. the wife. hey, babe. got the jetta. i wiped the floor with the guy! not really. i would've been fine with 0% for 36 months, but i demanded 60. no...i didn't do that. it was like taking candy from a baby. you're a grown man. alright, see you at home. [ male announcer ] the volkswagen autobahn for all event. we good? we're good. [ male announcer ] at 0% apr for 60 months, no one needs to know how easy it was to get your new volkswagen. that's the power of german engineering. to get your new volkswagen. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge.

well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha! ♪ homicide of young people in america has an impact on all of us. how can we save these young people's lives? as a police chief, i have an opportunity to affect what happens in a major city. if you want to make a difference, you have to have the right education. university of phoenix opened the door. my name is james craig, i am committed to making a difference, and i am a phoenix.

visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now. ♪ atmix of energies.ve the world needs a broader that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go. every communications provider is different but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company.

♪ we link people and fortune 500 companies nationwide and around the world. and we will continue to free you to do more and focus on what matters. welcome back to "early start." it is 13 minutes past the hour. i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john berman. we want to take a look at the morning papers, especially where you are around the country. in new orleans the federal government along with the city has stepped in to really rewrite the rules for the entire police force. in a complete overhaul they have a new manual, new rules for interrogations, new rums for how often they fire their weapons. this is a long time coming.

this police force has been plagued by scandal, especially since katrina but really goes back since almost the beginning of time. >> i was shocked to hear eric holder was involved here. >> they asked the federal government to step in and sort of help rewrite the rules for this entire police department. they really have. it's part of a four-year plan to get this thing right. the mayor asked for it and they got it. >> yeah. he's got to pay for it, too. >> $11 million in the first year. this is so incredible. it looked too real. but it turns out that an abduction was a hoax. you've got to look very carefully here. it's really hard to see. teenagers were involved. we get this one from the sere kus post standard. this is the disturbing surveillance video that alerted police that something could be wrong here. a woman who appears to be unconscious is being placed in the trunk of a car in the parking lot of a supermarket in syracuse, new york. it turns out the whole thing was a hoax. police say that three people, a 17-year-old boy and two female juveniles came forward to admit

that they staged this incident. apparently when they put the surveillance video out, parents noticed that those were their kids and told them to tell the police what they had done. >> i like what the parents did. they made their kids go to the cops and own up to it. >> but the police department was very angry. because they had a homicide overnight. they had other places where they could have sent the police officers. instead they were looking at this as a total hoax. >> they have every right to be ticked off. i don't get the joke. that's the thing. why would you do that? it's not funny by any stretch of the imagination. >> the kids said they were recreating something. it's teenagers. they think a little bit differently. >> i have a few years before my kids -- >> i'm wondering what the consequences are going to be. right now there aren't any. we'll see. in mississippi. how many times have you heard this one before? brett favre returning to football. >> i love this story. >> this time it's coaching. coaching at his local high school in hattiesburg, mississippi. oak grove high school. worked as a volunteer last year. this year he's getting an

official title. no word yet on exactly what that title will be. we suspect mr. favre will be the offensive coordinator, perhaps even calling the plays. he knows a little bit about calling plays. >> can you imagine, hey, mom, guess who my coach is? >> guess what coach brett favre told me to do today. >> this is uncommon. >> most hall of fame quarterbacks don't go back and coach high school football. >> i'd love to talk to him about it. for an expanded look at our stories, head to our blog. it is quarter past the hour. let's get you updated on all the headlines. christine romans is here with this morning's top stories. brand-new poll numbers out this morning. the nbc news/"wall street journal" survey showing president obama leading mitt romney 49% to 43%. that's a three percentage point increase from just last month. but polls also showing both candidates are taking a beating from negative campaign ads. the highest ranking catholic church official convicted in the sex abuse scandal is going to prison for protecting pedophile

priests. 61-year-old monosenior william lynn was sentenced yesterday in philadelphia for three to six years for child endangerment. the police said he enabled monsters in clerical garb and that the church leader knew full well what was right but chose wrong. ghana has a new president. the west african nation is morning the death of john evans atta mills. he died suddenly at a military hospital yesterday. he was 68 years old. police investigating an alleged anti-gay beating in d.c. a couple claims they were jumped late at night by three men who were hurling punches, kicks, gay slurs. one of the victims, a 29-year-old yoga instructor, suffered shattered bones in his face. a woman who witnessed the attack came running from her home, started shouting and broke it up. >> glad she was there. >> thank you, christine.

17 minutes past the hour here. here's two words you don't hear in the same sentence very often on wall street. apple and disappointing. >> no way. >> christine romans, way. she's back to explain, coming up. male spirit present.trong it's the priceline negotiator. >>what? >>sorry. he wants you to know about priceline's new express deals. it's a faster way to get a great hotel deal without bidding. pick one with a pool, a gym, a great guest rating. >>and save big. >>thanks negotiator. wherever you are. ya, no. he's over here. >>in the refrigerator?

[ female announcer ] weak, damaged hair needs new aveeno nourish+ strengthen. active naturals wheat formulas restore strength for up to 90% less breakage in three washes. for strong, healthy hair with life, new aveeno nourish+ strengthen. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

take the steps to reach yours, everyowith usgoals. with real advice, for real goals. the us bank wealth management advisor can help you. every step of the way. from big steps, to little steps. since 1863 we've helped guide our clients,

so they can take the steps to help grow, preserve, and pass along their wealth. so their footsteps can help the next generation find their own path. all of us serving you. us bank who are these guys? oh, that's just my buds. bacon, donuts. -my taste buds. -[ taste buds ] waffles. how about we try this new kind of fiber one cereal? you think you're going to slip some fiber by us? rookie. okay. ♪ nutty clusters and almonds, ♪ ♪ almonds. ♪ fiber one is gonna make you smile. ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing new fiber one nutty clusters and almonds. with 43% daily value of fiber for you. crunchy nutty clusters and real almond slices for your taste buds. 21 minutes past the hour. we are minding your business this morning. u.s. stock futures trading mix.

dow, s&p 500 up. nasdaq trading futures lower. >> markets in the red again yesterday. three days in a row of triple digit losses now. the other day, christine, monday, i said it looks like it's going to be a messy week. >> that's right. >> you made a little bit of fun of me for the word messy. i think it's been pretty messy. >> i saw the tarot cards in your office. you were looking into the future. it has been messy. we have treasury yields at record lows. and that means that people are plowing money into treasuries. that's the safety of treasuries and out of the stock market. three days in a row. the front page of "new york times," "wall street journal" today, people in the markets, everybody is talking about the fed and whether the fed is going to keep pushing more stimulus, more measures, new measures maybe to keep what has been a slowing economy going. a lot of talk about the fed. also a lot of talk about earnings. it is earnings season. we have a rare disappointment from apple. it is so rare for me to say that apple disappointed. because this is kaa company

quarter after quarter doing so hot. i'll tell you, ipad sales were awesome. i mean, they were awesome. people are buying these things like crazy. 186,816 ipads sold every single day. >> oh, my gosh. >> that's 7,000 an hour. 129 a minute. two every second. >> that's 15 in the time it took you to say that. >> it opportunity matter. iphone sales are slowing. something like 26 million iphone sales in the quarter. there were 35 million in the same period -- the same quarter before. that means people are buying fewer iphones waiting for the new one this fall. >> they're vikt ctims of their success. they want to wait till the new one comes out. >> it's rare for apple not to blow it out of the water. they tend to have conservative guidance for the street. that stock down about 5% for the premarket. i'm suspecting a pullback in apple shares this morning. i will point out stocks are still higher on the year. it's been a really rough summer, messy as john would say. >> she laughs at me.

>> stocks are still higher. higher on the year. with so much going on. the fiscal cliff, with the europe and concerns about europe, now earnings season, a big focus on apple today. and all this talk about the fed. you know, the reason i tell you about treasury yields and the reason why i talk so much about some of the big things that are happening, there's a lot of strings in the overall market. i think it's really important for people to understand, when you have treasury yields that are this low, the th low, record low treasury yields, it's telling you there's something sort of amiss in the market overall. third thing i want to talk about. changing banks. do you want to dump your bank? good luck. because it's a pain. you'll likely be hit with a lot of fees. a lot of people say they want to dump their bank. changing banks is hard to do. new consumer union survey says one in five bank customers consider banking making a switch. less than half actually do it because it is such a pain. >> just like a bad relationship. >> you hate your bank. you get all fired up about it. you go and you see all the things that you have to do.

you just say -- one of the solutions of a survey was having a portable bank account. one kind of standardized bank account you could just take. banks would have to accept your account very easily. that's something consumer groups have been proposing. >> portable bank. 25 minutes after the hour now. down in dallas, a pressure cooker on the streets. riot police struggled to contain an ugly confrontation. the story behind all this anger, coming up. if you're leaving the house right now, you can watch us any time on your desktop or your mobile phone. go to cnn.com/tv. bored with your one trick lipstick? then lead a double life! with blast flipstick from covergirl. creamy color on one end, shimmery color on the other. so you can flip your look from demure, to daring. blast flipstick from covergirl.

mornings are a special time for the two of you...) and now you can make them even more special... with new fancy feast mornings. mornings are delicious protein rich entrées... with garden veggies and egg. each one perfectly designed... to start her day with a little love. new fancy feast mornings gourmet cat food. the best ingredient is love. with two times the points onake lunch dining in restaurants,ch? you may find yourself asking why not, a lot. chase sapphire preferred. there's more to enjoy.

energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy development comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing generations of cleaner-burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self-contained well systems. and, using state-of-the-art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment. we're america's natural gas.

president obama with a slight lead in the latest poll. also a bit of controversy over his latest political ads sfwlnchts plus, how one man says a procedure meant to treat his cancer appears to have cured him of hiv as well. >> it's remarkable. also an accused shoplifter and mother caught on tape doing something that is shocking even by criminal standards. we're going to share so much more with you. welcome back to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john berman. 29 minutes past the hour now. in political news, president obama is looking at a lead in at least one poll this morning. the new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll puts him ahead of mitt romney 49% to 43%. today the president is heading to new orleans to speak to the national urban league and turnout among black voters could make or break his chances in this re-election campaign. cnn's athena jones is live in washington. athena, the president skipped

the naacp convention. he's here at the national urban league obviously, maybe, trying to make amends? >> reporter: the white house probably said this was all a long plan. there was that criticism they came under by sending vice president biden to houston to speak to the naacp. so it's going to be the president himself there in new orleans. as you said, of course the black turnout is is going to be very important this election. especially if they want to hold on to states like virginia where blacks make up nearly 20%. and north carolina where they make up 22%, according to the latest census figures. i should mention, though, that the president isn't just going to be speaking at this civil rights and social justice organization. he's also raising money in new orleans. he has two fundraisers. one in a private residence and one at the house of blues. we know that louisiana went heavily for mccain in the last election and that it's a red state. but, of course, money isn't red or blue, john. >> it's green. he needs the green. he's actually trailing mitt romney pretty badly by some counts in the money race right

now. athena, you were certainly on the twitters and the facebooks yesterday afternoon and evening. there was a big controversy, it seems, about two of the latest ads from the obama campaign. both shot by the president himself in the west wing. ethics fwrgroups say it's not illegal but it isn't exactly embraced, now, is it? >> it's interesting that there's this controversy. the white house would say there's none there. they point to several examples of past presidents who've used the west wing in television ads including a 4 1/2 minute ad president reagan shot. also an ad president clinton shot. they say it's a distraction. the rnc says, fine, this may not be illegal. it's only illegal if they're asking specifically for campaign donations from official offices. but they say that this shows that the president is, quote, out of touch. you've probably heard that out of touch phrase coming from both sides a lot. they're trying to lob it at each

other. but, of course, it's not surprising the white house says, you know, there's ample precedent for this and that this is really just a distraction. we'll see what comes out of it as it goes through time. >> it is true. george w. bush filmed all kinds of ads. it has happened before. athena jones, thanks. 32 minutes past the hour p celebrities cutting a lot of checks in the 2012 race. more for the democrats. but it's not all one sided. cnn compiled a list of celebs who donated to the campaigns or political committees in may and june. we have a list. they include robert downy jr., billy crystal and eddie murphy who each gave $40,000 to the obama effort. morgan freeman who topped the list with a $1 million donation. that's to a pro-obama super pack. on romney's side, john rich. scott baio and his wife, $12,500. producer jerry bruckheimer and

his wife, $25,000. world wrestling entertainment chairman vince mcmahon and his wife, linda, $150,000. >> these reports are fascinating to read. you see big names giving to both sides. i love looking at them. >> full disclosure. 33 minutes past the hour right now. other news, the hits keep coming at penn state. a big name sponsor is pulling its television ads in the wake of the school's child sex abuse coverup. another corporate giant may be following suit. state farm has decided it will no longer advertise on tv during penn state's home football broadcasts. and general motors, gm, says it's reviewing its sponsorships with the school but they haven't made their decision yet. no word on the dollar value of either of those deals. three big sponsors have announced they are standing by penn state. nike, pittsburgh based pnc bank and the state's largest health ensurer, highmark.

they're keeping their commitments. a very brave 13-year-old girl is trying hard to cope after surviving the aurora, colorado, theater massacre. this is kaylan. she was at the theater with six other people including 6-year-old veronica moser-sullivan when the little girl and her mother were shot. kaylan was veronica's babysitter. she tried to perform cpr on the child but couldn't reach her because her wounded mother had fallen on top of her. veroni veronica, we all know, did not survive. kaylan is clearly struggling with that really painful reality. >> she liked to draw. and she liked to look at the -- i had a bunny -- well, i have a bunny in my room. and she always liked to look at the bunny. >> little veronica had just learned to swim days before she

was kimmed. she was pretty excited about that. the child's mother is expected to survive. >> that's heartbreaking. >> it really is. it's just so wrong and so unfair and so sad. other news, a new federal report says bp and drilling rig owner transocean failed to learn critical lessons from two near disasters before the 2010 deepwater horizon explosion in the gulf of mexico. the government's chemical safety board says the two companies focused more on reducing worker injuries rather than preventing disastrous well blowouts. even though bp vowed to implement new safety systems after 15 workers were culled in a refinery explosion in texas back in 2005. a lot of anger on the streets. almost boiling over in dallas. an officer firing warning shots into the ground. riot police were called in. neighbors screaming and

demanding to know what led to a dallas police officer shooting a 31-year-old man minutes earlier. police say an officer opened fire fearing for his life after they approached four men in a suspected drug house. the victim's mother says that her son was shot in the back. thousands of the world's leading scientists have been gathering this week in washington for a global aids conference. we're hearing a lot of cautious optimism about finding a cure. french researchers reporting on 12 hiv positive patients who were treated immediately after being exposed to the virus. they've had very promising results. there's this man. this guy is known as the berlin patient. his name is timothy brown. five years ago he was living in germany, battling leukemia and hiv. he had a bone marrow transplant. it not only cures leukemia, it seems to have cured his hiv as well. cnn's chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta spoke to him. >> my blood's been tested by many, many agencies.

i've had two colonoscopies. they've tested to see if they can find hiv in my colon. they haven't been able to find any. >> so many reasons for hope. even with all the encouraging breakthroughs, researchers predict it will be at least a decade before a cure is found. >> the fact you're saying "cure" is just fantastic. >> it's not a word you associate with hiv. >> no. that would be fantastic. 37 minutes past the hour. if you already have issues paying airline fees, wait till you hear this. according to a new study 50 airlines worldwide collected $22.6 billion. >> with a "b." >> from fees passengers pay to check bags, change reservations, upgrade seats and pay for food and drinks. >> that's a lot of money.

a lot of bags. yikes. >> unbelievable. they charge for everything. there you have it. you played badminton growing up. >> i did. >> there's the badminton you played. not that you weren't good. nen there's this badminton. 200 mile per hour action. this is olympic style badminton. rob marciano takes on team usa and this unusual sport, coming up. >> he's pretty good, actually. [ female announcer ] imagine skin so healthy, it never gets dry again. can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. only from aveeno. olaf's pizza palace gets the most rewards of any small business credit card!

pizza!!!!! [ garth ] olaf's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! put it on my spark card! [ high-pitched ] nice doin' business with you! [ garth ] why settle for less? great businesses deserve the most rewards! awesome!!! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? ♪ ♪ i want to go ♪ i want to win ♪ this is where the dream begins ♪ ♪ i want to grow ♪ i want to try ♪ i can almost touch the sky [ breathes deeply ] ♪ so clear, so bright ♪ not a cloud in sight ♪ so gold and sweet ♪ this dream ♪

♪ [ knocking ] ♪ [ male announcer ] even the planet has an olympic dream. dow is proud to support that dream by helping provide greener, more sustainable solutions from the olympic village to the stadium. solutionism. the new optimism.™ ♪ this dream wanted to provide better employee benefits while balancing the company's bottom line, their very first word was... [ to the tune of "lullaby and good night" ] ♪ af-lac ♪ aflac [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. [ yawning sound ] did you know honey nut cheerios is america's favorite cereal? oh, you're good! hey, did you know that honey nut cheerios is... oh you too! ooh, hey america's favorite cereal is... honey nut cheerios ok then off to iceland!

and there it is. set to music. the olympic stadium there in london. we are getting, oh, so very close to the games. >> it's really exciting. >> it is exciting. yeah. there she is. the stadium. we have so many good reports to bring you, too, over the next few days from there. welcome back to "early start." it's 42 minutes past the hour. i'm john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. we're taking a look at some of the sports and olympic athletes on team usa you may not be very familiar with. they may be a household name in a couple of weeks. they're really fwoogood, very competitive. today we watch the birdie. >> rob marciano. he introduces us to a duo. they're competing in the

heralded sport of badminton. >> we talk so much about swim k swimming, diving, gymnastics. this one outside of the u.s. is the second most played sport in the world. but these two athletes take it to a whole nother level. outside of the united states, the second most played sport in the world is, believe it or not, badminton. but state side it hasn't caught on yet. in fact, the u.s. has never medaled in an olympic badminton. men's doubles team howard bach and tony hope to change that. >> we want to change history. get our first medal. gold color is the best one. i'm not goipg to complain if we get a silver or bronze. >> gunawin is now a u.s. citizen. he realizes the impact he could have on the future of the sport.

>> it's our last shot for doing something for badminton in u.s. and, you know, for young players, our next generation to look up for us. >> reporter: and they have the chops to do it. after all, they won a world championship together in 2005. what are some of his best qualities? >> he's a big brother on the court. there are times when i need leadership and he's able to provide that. and then when he needs energy, i can provide that, too. that's kind of how we mix well together. >> reporter: olympic badminton. more than a backyard beer sport for sure. this thing can go 200, 250 miles an hour? >> yep. this is just normal when you turn. the racket follows. just like a baseball pitch. >> reporter: okay. now you're talking my language. >> there you go. >> reporter: okay. >> nice! >> reporter: badminton. it's not what you think it is. >> don't try this at home.

trained professionals only. >> if you are going to try it at home -- by the way, i think we should start a new tradition, john and zoraida. the newest anchor to any cnn show should host a badminton tournament at his house. >> you're too good. you nailed that return. zoraida is here, cheering, look at rob in that return. that was really good. >> that was pure protection on my next father's day. if you want to compete, you have to lower the net. a lot of time we just go outside with a beverage in hand. you hit the birdie over the volleyball net. no. badminton has to be five feet. actually, a competition it's inside. because the wind as you might expect can affect that. >> you cannot have the wind. you simply can't have the wind to play good badminton. >> i'm putting you on the spot again here. another name for birdie? >> you know this, zoraida. say it. >> it's shuttlecock, right? >> yes. ding, ding, ding. that's the official term. >> that's the official name,

right? >> yes. it's a rubber thingamajoob. 16 feathers on it. it can go 250 miles an hour after the rocket. >> rob learned a lot. rubber thingamajoob. keep it up, man. >> saturday at 4:00 i think is when you can watch the first round of the badminton competition. >> you know, i may. because it actually looks really exciting. i never knew. thank you. thank you for that. 46 minutes past the hour here. let's get you up to date. here's christine romans with this morning's top stories. good morning again. brand-new poll numbers out this morn ing. the nbc news/"wall street journal" survey showing president obama leading mitt romney 49% to 43%. that's a three percentage point increase from just last month. shock over a fake facebook fan page for the accused aurora shooter. someone set this up pretending to be james holmes. one posted photo has been edited to show him holding a joker

playing card. hundreds have clicked "like" so far. jury selection is complete in the murder trial of former illinois police officer drew peterson. attorneys will present their opening statements on tuesday. peterson is charged in the 2004 bathtub drowning of his third wife, kathleen savio. his fourth wife, stacy peterson, vanished you recall in 2007. peterson is considered the prime suspect in her disappearance, but he has not been charged and her body has never been found. take the clothes, leave the baby. surveillance video from a walmart parking lot in ocala, florida, showing a 19-year-old woman on the run after she allegedly was caught shoplifting. police say she ditched her baby in a shopping cart before she took off. they found the woman and her sister partying in a nightclub the next night. the baby was taken in by authorities and police say the woman denied he was her son. >> oh, my goodness.

>> class. meet the new diva. according to "us weekly" mariah carey will get paid $18 million to be a judge on "american idol." $18 million. that makes her the highest paid judge on me music competition show. mariah is replacing jennifer lopez at the judge's table for the 12th season of "idol." j lo was pulling in 12 mil. i thought that was a lot. maria gets 18. >> it doesn't look that hard. >> it's a demanding schedule. you have to put all your other video making, music making to the side. >> i will do it for a fraction of the price. 18 million bucks. that's crazy. >> 18 million bucks. a lot of eyeballs watch that show. >> congratulations, mariah carey. i know you need the cash. 48 minutes past the hour right now. the jackson family feud is coming to a head. coming up, what appears to be a confrontation caught on camera between janet and one of michael's children.

if you're leaving the house right now you can watch us any time on your mobile phone or your desktop. go to cnn.com/tv. so... [ gasps ] these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business.

find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. so what i'm saying is, people like options. when you take geico, you can call them anytime you feel like saving money. it don't matter, day or night. use your computer, your smartphone, your tablet, whatever. the point is, you have options. oh, how convenient. hey. crab cakes, what are you looking at? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

welcome back. it is 52 minutes past the hour. i'm zoraida sambolin along with john berman. we're going to take a look at what is trending on the web this morning. a jackson family scuffle caught on tape. this has been going on for at least a week now. so apparently security camera video obtained by cnn is showing a scuffle there. this is on the jackson estate. apparently it's janet jackson and paris there. the police received a call from the jackson home about a family disturbance on monday. so it shows a bit of tension between jackson family members. and this is a really public dispute that has been happening about the whereabouts of kathine jackson. you know, a lot of people -- actually it was paris initially who said that she was missing. but family members, janet,

jermaine and randy jackson, who were seen there in the driveway as well, say that she is perfectly fine. the video, though, shows janet jackson trying to take a cell phone away from paris. that is michael's daughter. that's what you're taking a look at right there. somebody else intervenes. you know, there's still that confusion about where is katherine jackson, the matriarch of the jackson family. she's also the legal guardian of michael's children. sheriffs have investigated. they found her safe in arizona. although there were reports they tried to talk to her and were unable to. >> this looks troubled. it look like they have some family issues there they've got to work out. i want to introduce you to a man who will no doubt be sleeping on the couch soon. a husband whose sense of humor may be called into question. take a look at what might be the meanest prank ever. >> there's a truck getting towed. it looks like it's coming at us. my wife's asleep. i'm going to see if i can scare her. babe, wake up, there's a truck!

[ screaming ] >> i would kill that guy is what she's thinking right there. the wife didn't like that. manny perez. on youtube everyone's saying how did you film that while you were driving. he says he was being completely safe. just looks mean. i don't know. >> oh, my gosh. that's awful. >> you don't approve? >> no, i do not approve. that is terrible! shame on him. >> you just lost one more fan, manny. sorry about that, man. >> this is a guy thing. totally a guy thing. >> i'm too afraid to do something like that. >> unbelievable. take a look at this. a japanese company selling a sushi bazooka. pack rice, fish, whatever you want into a tube. it'll squish the rice and fish into sushi rolls.

you want one? 25 bucks. >> it looks so appetizing. >> oh, my gosh. the ad says make perfect sushi rolls. quick, easy, hilarious. >> yeah. >> yes? no? >> i don't know. it's awesome. >> the guys in here are nodding no. they want us to show the video again of the guy -- >> the guy in the car? >> that's what they want to see. >> maybe we'll show it again in the next hour. coming up, more of this morning's top stories including the brand-new poll we're talking about in the race for the white house. it shows it close overall, but there are big differences when you dig deeper. and we will be digging. you're watching "early start." t. the lines, the cost, the hassle. ♪ express yourself [ female announcer ] why not try coffee-mate? with over 25 delicious flavors for a fraction of the cost of the coffee house. add your flavor, with coffee-mate, from nestle. the wife. hey, babe. got the jetta. i wiped the floor with the guy! not really. i would've been fine with 0% for 36 months,

but i demanded 60. no...i didn't do that. it was like taking candy from a baby. you're a grown man. alright, see you at home. [ male announcer ] the volkswagen autobahn for all event. we good? we're good. [ male announcer ] at 0% apr for 60 months, no one needs to know how easy it was to get your new volkswagen. that's the power of german engineering.

mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

it's still a horse race for the white house. but a brand-new poll now shows one candidate with a slight lead. a street battle in syria. assad's regime sending in more troops as it struggles to hold the country's largest city. death at niagara falls. a police foot chase leads to a fatal plunge. good morning to you. welcome to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john berman. glad you're with us. it is 6:00 a.m. in the east. also this hour, how the fiscal cliff could impact the middle class. christine romans has been talking all about this. she's been running the numbers and she'll have the latest on it for us. plus, david beckham and brangelina. we go live to london for that and more pre-olympic buzz a little later in this hour. >> i can't wait for that. sounds awesome. first we're talking about politics and polling. the latest presidential poll numbers out this morning. they show that president obama has a slight lead over mitt romney. six points. that's from the brand-new nbc

news/"wall street journal" poll. it shows the president at 49% to mitt president with 49% and mitt romney's 43%, a 3-point difference from the poll last month. mark preston joins us now from washington. this poll shows the race close, which i'm sure both campaigns wish they were hoping up a lead. but both sides can see something in here that gives them some hope. >> they certainly can. we're still 100 plus days away from election day and we expect this race to be this close heading into november. but both campaigns are watching this poll and both have good things and bad things to say about it. mitt romney, we always talk about issue number one being the economy. when nbc wall street journal asked the question, who has the best idea to improve the economy? mitt romney has a six-point advantage over president obama on that issue.

but president obama's campaign can take a step back. on the issue of likability, look at this huge gap right now. more americans like president obama than they like mitt romney by 20 points. why this is important, as you know, people tend to vote on their gut and also tend to vote on whether they like somebody or whether they don't like somebody. as president obama continues to make the argument that he needs another four years to try to turn this economy around, this likability question, this gap could help him in november. >> it also explains why you've been seeing ads from president obama, they are trying to capitalize on this likability and of course on the romney side, if they could pick one issue to be ahead on, it would no doubt be the economy. governor romney heading to london, arrives there today. we don't talk foreign policy in the campaign because it is not the major issue but mitt romney

leashed a wave of new attacks on the president in his speech yesterday. let's listen. >> the president's policies made it harder to recover from the deepest recession in 70 years, expose the military to cuts that no one can justify. compromised our national security secrets. and in dealings with other nations, he has given trust where it is not earned, insult where it was not deserved and apology where it is not due. >> i thought this was interesting yesterday, because romney seemed to be going after the president on what is seen as one of his strengths, which is foreign policy. >> only about a quarter of the voters right now are looking at foreign policy as an issue that they say it extremely important to the vote come november.

this is an extremely important issue when you look at it through this lens. for president obama, john, who has the lead right now, he can talk about his accomplishments, killing osama bin laden and ending the iraq war among many others. mitt romney is using foreign policy specifically what he did in that speech to criticize president obama's administration for the national security leaks we've heard so much about in the past week or so. as well as chas tiesing president obama more not being well aligned with our allies as he thinks we should be, specifically israel, john. >> i know you were up late watching the red sox pull one out in the game. thanks for getting up with us. >> thanks. >> i knew he was watching, i felt safe being in his hands. >> three minutes past the hour. we'll go back live to washington and we'll get an address that's happening there. and jennifer hudson's brother-in-law getting life and

then some. a chicago judge sentencing william balfour to three life terms. this was back in 2008. prosecutors say balfour committed the murders in a fit of jealous rage. hudson was in court for the sentencing. syrian forces are ramping up attacks to regain control of the largest city, targeting rebel strong holds and we're getting reports thousands of government troops are being sent in, violent clashes claimed 123 lives yesterday. ontario special investigations unit working on the case involving a death of a man who went over the wall and fell into niagara falls. a police officer was chasing a man when both fell about 100 feet into the gorge. the officer was rescued, he's recovering from a broken leg.

the man he was chasing did not make it out alive. police are not offering any other details this morning. a huge loss for anyone who loves television. and we all love television, sherman hemsley, known as george jefferson, the role was originally created by norm an leer for "all in the family." there is no word what caused his death. he was 74 years old. an agreement has been reached for a sweeping haul of the new orleans police department. hundreds of new policies on the use of force, searches and seizures and arrests and interrogations and also deals with recruitment and training and performance evaluations and lucrative offduty work assignments that have been a source of corruption. last march investigators they

reported on corruption throughout the department as well as evidence of excessive force being used on the public. the senate will vote on the bush era tax cuts. the democratic plan would extend it for individuals making under $200,000. and republicans wants to extend the tax cuts for everyone, including the wealthiest americans. now, neither proposal is expected to pass so if you miss it today, don't worry about it. nothing is going to happen. >> during the worst of times a welcome surprise for the people of aurora still reeling from the massacre. what i was telling you at 6:30 eastern, we'll go back live to washington where the president is preparing to head to new orleans to address the national urban league as well. [ annie ] this is the story of a girl named annie

who dreamed she could fly. there were the doubters... the non-believers, the "no-way you can do it'ers." ♪ but like others that braved the sky before her, it took a mighty machine, brilliant ingenuity... ♪ ...and plain old stubbornness to go where no fifth grader had gone before. ♪ ♪ and she flew and she soared above the school yard,

and even over that eliza jones, and beyond. my name is annie and i'm the girl who dreamed she could fly. powered by intel core processors. ♪ powered by intel core processors. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state.

one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. according to ford, the works fuel saver package could terally pay for itself. jim twitchel is this true? yes it's true. how is this possible? proper tire inflation, by using proper grades of oil, your car runs more efficiently, saves gas. you could be doing this right now? yes i could, mike. i'm slowing you down? yes you are. my bad. the works fuel saver package. just $29.95 or less after rebate. only at your ford dealer. so, to sum up, you take care of that, you take care of these, you save a bunch of this. that works. i tell mike what i can spend. i do my best to make that work. we're driving safely. and sue saved money on brakes. now that's personal pricing.

welcome back, it is nine minutes past the hour, i'm john berman. >> families of the colorado shooting victims are prepared to lay their loved ones to rest. several memorials and visitations are scheduled for this week. this afternoon a memorial service will take place for 51-year-old gordon cowden, he took his two teenagers to see the midnight movie, both of his children survived. also today, a visitation is scheduled for 23-year-old micayla medek. jim, everybody said this is going to be the tough part but there was good news to report as well, some life.

>> reporter: yeah, well so many families are marking a solemn occasion at least one family has a joyous occasion. they went to the movies for a final date before their baby was born. the husband was shot in the attack and still in critical condition. but yesterday katie had their baby hugo jackson medley. they were scheduled to have the baby is the another hospital and they moved it so she was one floor from caleb. he is in critical condition but still able to squeeze people's hands. they are hoping he'll make a recovery and the family will be whole again and have a happy life down the road. >> that is such good news, squeezing people's hands. they were able to tell him he had a baby boy. that's great. i understand some of the victims are still recovering in the hospital and they got a very special surprise visit. tell us about that.

>> reporter: yeah, this was so exciting for these people. yesterday christian bale, the actor who played batman in three movies showed up here. nobody knew he was coming. he showed up at the hospital and visited patient aegs bedside. he wanted no publicity. the only photos were people put on facebook. after he left the hospital he came to the makeshift memorial across from the theater and showed up and people didn't recognize him and he joined a prayer circle. they have been going on down there on and off all day. people in the prayer circle with him didn't know who he was until afterwards. our great affiliate caught it on tape but he didn't want any publicity. it was something here a lot of people were excited about. it exploded on twitter and facebook when he was here. people were really appreciative that he would take the time out of his schedule to come here and visit these people and especially what i'm hearing the way he did it in a low key

manner meant a lot to people here. >> i'm sure it did. jim spellman, thank you very much for that. >> probably meant a lot to him too. >> the most anticipated movie, who would have expected. for him to do that it was a big deal. >> it is 13 minutes past the hour. we want to get you up to date on all of the headlines, christine romans is here. >> brand-new poll numbers to tell you about, the nbc news/wall street journal survey showing president obama leading mitt romney 49% to 43%, that's a three percentage point increase from last month. but polls showing both candidates are taking a beating from negative campaign ads. william lynn of the philadelphia archdiocese gets a three to six-year prison sentence for covering up child sex abuse claims against catholic priests. he was convicted last month of felony child endangerment. in delivering the sentence, the judge said lynn enabled monsters

in clerical garb to destroy the souls of children. a person putting a woman in the trunk of a car outside a supermarket in syracuse, new york. police say this suspicious incident was a hoax. teenagers told police they were trying to copy something they saw on tv. >> not funny. >> and diverted police from other important crimes. sales up 24%, profits up 21%, a great quarter for most companies but a dispoilt for apple. the earns per share and iphone sales badly missing analysts estimates yesterday. they did sell a record 17 million ipads. that part of the company doing great. shares of apple down more than 5% in after hours trading. the big apple reaping the economic benefits of same-sex marriage. one year after enacting the act,

new york issued 8200 same-sex marriage licenses generating an economic impact of $259 million, including $16 million in city revenues. the city clerk's office says more than 200,000 guests travel to the big apple for same-sex marriage events accounting for 235,000 hotel room bookings alone. >> that's big money. >> that's big money. new york needed it. >> i was staring at the pictures of the happy people, it's nice to watch. >> she sees happy people, we see dollar signs. >> they may not get their big 16-ounce soda soon. how's that for a transition? new yorkers are getting a chance to sound off for the plan to ban sugary drinks bigger than 16 ounces. there was a public hearing and opponents liken the mayor to big brother, insisting everyone is capable of how much to drink for themselves and supporters see a

potentially huge health benefit. >> what would the government be telling me next? what time to go to bed? how many potato chips we can have. >> as we go to funeral homes and hospitals and visit people who suffer from diabetes and obesity, this major issue in our community it needs to be redressed. medical experts techd they believe the soft drink industry is guilty of the same lobbying tactics and marketing strategies employed by the tobacco companies. >> the fiscal cliff and how it can affect your kids and their schools. head to our blog, cnn.com/early start. [ female announcer ] quaker yogurt granola bars.

they're whole grain good... and yummy good. real fruit pieces. 12 grams of whole grains and a creamy yogurt flavored coating. quaker yogurt granola bars. treat yourself good. wouldn't it be nice if there was an easier, less-expensive option than using a traditional lawyer? well, legalzoom came up with a better way. we took the best of the old and combined it with modern technology. together you get quality services on your terms, with total customer support.

legalzoom documents have been accepted in all 50 states, and they're backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. so go to legalzoom.com today and see for yourself. it's law that just makes sense.

minding your business, we're the fiscal cliff is a mean nasty jump, if congress doesn't avoid it we'll find our sfrls in a nasty recession. >> christine romans says there's still a lot of confusion about what it really means. >> people keep asking what is the fiscal cliff? it is something the congress created a onset of huge budget cuts and tax increases at the same time and it would certainly

jar the economy. you've heard about the tax increases, what you're seeing on your screen, raise taxes for everyone starting at the beginning of the year. here's the spending cuts part of it when gets less attention. it's a trillion dollars in spending cuts over nine years, half comes from defense, half from nondefense. if you are a contractor in any of these big towns where there are defense contracts there will be jobs lost. there are a lot of companies the defense contractors are already trying to figure out how their going to weather the big cuts they are going to see there. when we talk about nondefense, that's everything. that could be -- it could be hypothetically a 12% budget cut for every agency. so think if you were trying to cut 12%, some agencies are starting to plan maybe an 8% budget cut. 8% in one year, think of your own budget, running a small business, in one year, that is a huge quick cut overall. i want to talk specifically about education, we'll zero in on education, the national

education association says they are expecting 8.4% to be slashed from the spending levels for education programs dropping back to pre-2003 program levels for education. they are figuring in maybe 80,500 jobs lost as there are more children now in school, way more children in school than there were in 2003. >> what does congress have to do to keep this from happening? >> congress has to do its job to keep this from happening. congress has to figure out -- here's the thing, we can't continue in 2013 in our baseline right now anyway because we're blowing out deficits. we can't continue on just like randomly slashing budgets. congress is supposed to figure out a signal to the world where it's going to cut, how it's going to set tax policy and it's got to start to prioritize, slashing across the board will be jarring and difficult. the cbo said it would cause a recession. are you seeing any sign they are

moving towards using a scalpel not an axe? >> no. >> >> not at all, it's all about the presidential election season. what about the lame duck season, any appetite or any signal that a lake duck congress would do somethi something? no. there's some conservatives who have told me this is exactly what we need. we need to just slash spending. they don't like the tax increases but slash spending. we need to shrink all of the spending, we've got too much waste fraud and abuse. it needs to be done more carefully. >> you focus on education, the one area that most would agree you can't afford to cut, right? >> there are conservatives who say we spend too much in education and don't spend it smartly and we get a hit there. middle class and pt fiscal cliff, i'll have more on my show saturday at 9:30 a.m. eastern. we're just doing fiscal cliff and how it affects main street. the one thing you need to know about your money, markets could

break this three-day losing streak so we're going -- i'm going to put my optimism hat on and hope the one thing about stocks today is they are not down again. >> that would be a good one thing to know. >> christine romans, thanks very much. for penn state the hits keep coming, a big name sponsor is pulling his television ads in the wake of the child sex abuse cover-up and another corporate giant may follow suit. state farm will not advertise on the home broadcast s gm hasn't made the decision yet. three big sponsors have announcing they are standing by penn state, nike, pnc and highmark, keeping their sponsorship commitments with the school. >> 24 minutes past the hour. crisis in a texas town. coming up, how a crack in the ground could affect the very

lifeblood of the community. >> if you're leaving the house right now, you can watch us any tibl on your mobile phone, your desk top, cnn.com/tv. ♪ you want to save money on car insurance? no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up!

aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance.

sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve the most rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? here's your invoice.

president obama with a slight lead in the polls.

>> memorials for those lost in the shooting massacre. thousands waking up without power after a sudden storm sweeps through the windy city. i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. 29 minutes past the hour. brand-new this morning, a super pac just released an attack ad against mitt romney and uses the olympics to mock him. take a look. >> olympics, tlsz mitt romney who ran the salt lake city games waving to china, home to a billion people, thousands of their jobs to mitt romney's companies. india, which also gained jobs thanks to romney an outsourcing company and burma. >> also new this morning, the latest presidential poll shows

obama ahead of romney 49% to 43%. today the president is heading to new orleans to speak to the national urban league. cnn's athena jones is live in washington, not just to speak but delivering the opening address. this is an important audience for him. why? >> certainly it is, the black voters are going to be important blocs that supported obama in the past and he'll need them to hold onto the key states he won in the last election. in virginia, blacks make up nearly 20% of the population and in north carolina it's 22%. those are two states that turn blue last time around that the obama campaign is hoping to keep in the blue column. it's a big deal he's going to speak at this civil rights organization's conversation. as you'll remember earlier this month, the white house came under a little bit of criticism because they sent vice president biden to the naacp convention in

houston and there was some talk about whether the president was taking the black vote for granted. this is a chance for him to come out and speak to this audience and really energize a very, very important base, zoraida. >> athena, obama is facing new controversy over the latest political ads, we looked at them yesterday and talked about them. what struck us was how simple it was and there is more controversy surrounding it this morning. >> two ads were filmed in the west wing. the rnc says fine, it may not be illegal, it's only inlegal if you're soliciting campaign donations from these offices. these ads don't do that but the rnc argues it shows the president is out of touch. this is a label both sides are trying to place on the other person. the white house says there's nothing there, this is a distraction, they say there is

a.m. many precedent for filming ads in the west wing. they provided links, including one of a ronald reagan ad in 1984 where the president used the oval office for four minutes and clinton ad and point out even bush, george w. bush's ethics folks didn't have a problem with this. they think this is really just a distraction, it's not going to amount to anything. >> athena jones, live in washington, thank you very much. >> still on politics, celebrities are cutting a lot of checks in the race, more for the democrats but it's not all one sided. here's a list of celebrities that donated in may and june and include billy crystal, eddie murphy and morganfreeman with a $1 million donation. john rich, with $2500 and jerry bruk himer and wife with 25,000,

scott baio, chachi and his wife with 12,000 and vince mcmahon with a $150,000 donation. bp and drilling rig owner tra transocean failed to learn critical lessons before the deepwater horizon explosion in the gulf of mexico that is according to the chemical safety board, the two companies focused on reducing worker injuries rather than preventer disastrous well blowouts even though they vowed to implement new safety systems after 15 workers were killed in a refinery explosion in texas in 2005. the water supply in a texas town is being threatened by a massive crack in the ground that's growing by the day. you have to look at the pictures. experts believe this crack is

caused by two different types of soil that heat up and separate. while they are searching for a solution, the crevices are spreading and crisscrossing through railroad tracks and roads and two-thirds of the water line. people in chicago drying out and cleaning up after a round of stormy weather. apparently this was sudden. was it unexpected, rob? >> we saw it coming yesterday morning around this time, going through chicago and boom, knocked power out to 180,000 people. 2,000 still without power. around 6:00 a.m. yesterday morning at sunrise, the dark clouds coming in, lowering thickening then boom, it just hit with a vengeance and had winds gusting over 60 miles per hour in downtown. and this derecho lasted a few hundred miles to the atlantic

seaboard, a lot of people got into the action with this with some damage. severe thunderstorm watch out for northern wisconsin and minnesota. chicago, a couple more storms but not nearly what you saw yesterday, leftovers from yesterday heading to charlotte. these look to be weakening, humid conditions south of that and storms expected to be severe across the great lakes and down through nebraska. hopefully they'll get rain. they desperately need it. heat continues, st. louis, over 105 yesterday, the tenth time this year, that ties a record. they'll probably do it again today. heat indexes at dangerous levels once again. northeast looking cooler and drier today. so cal sunny but you have a shake-up this morning. a 3.8 magnitude quake hit marina delray so los angeles, the most part the epicenter and a lot of people felt it down the line into the valley.

just enough to kind of wake you up early out there or keep you up later for some folks. >> thank you. the people of aurora, colorado didn't expect this in their worst hour. the celebrity who showed up to comfort the wounded and lend his support to the community in a very low key way. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. the wife. hey, babe. got the jetta. i wiped the floor with the guy! not really. i would've been fine with 0% for 36 months, but i demanded 60.

no...i didn't do that. it was like taking candy from a baby. you're a grown man. alright, see you at home. [ male announcer ] the volkswagen autobahn for all event. we good? we're good. [ male announcer ] at 0% apr for 60 months, no one needs to know how easy it was to get your new volkswagen. that's the power of german engineering. [romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, to get your new volkswagen. i'm barack obama and i approve this message. for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america

and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now.

welcome back, it is 39 minutes past the hour. >> families of the colorado shootings are preparing to lay their loved ones to rest. several mem orials are schedule for this week. gordon cowden took two teenagers

to see the midnight movie, both children survived. also a visitation is scheduled for 23-year-old micayla medek working towards her college degree. jim, there is something bright, a bright spot to talk about this morning. >> reporter: so many families are marking sad occasions, john, at least one very happy occasion going on. check this out, caleb and katie go to see the movie and caleb shot and still in critical condition but yesterday katie gave birth to their son hugo jackson medley. very exciting. they moved it so she could be in the same hospital with him. caleb is still in critical condition, his brother says he's improving and able to squeeze people's hands and has a little more recognition of events. everybody hoping and praying that he'll recover and katie and

hugo and caleb could have a happy light to have. he was an aspiring comedian. >> yesterday afternoon and evening, what everyone was talking about the surprise visit from christian bale. >> reporter: actually, a campaign sort of started on facebook and twitter a few days ago for him to come here. he showed up out of nowhere, visited people at bedside, did make make it a dog and pony show. the only pictures from the hospital are cell phone pictures from facebook. he came to this makeshift memorial popped up across from the theater. he joined a prayer circle and people praying with him didn't know who he was until afterwards, didn't want to make a big deal, he just showed up. our affiliate kdvr happened to be there and managed to capture him there. it meant a lot to people here.

nothing but praise for him locally and on facebook and twitter and he was thoughtful enough here to take the time out. little bits of brightness in this very sad event here, john. >> it was a nice thing to do and it made people smile and that's important this week. thanks a lot, jim. >> that is very true. you need to smile sometimes, a little bit of something. soledad o'brien joins us with what is ahead on "starting point." >> let's going on this morning, talking about the election, voters say the 2012 election is becoming too negative. might already be there. we'll show you those polls but we know both mitt romney and president obama are not letting up. we'll talk with democratic representative and randy forbes of virginia discussing the campaign on both fronts. crisis in syria is also a topic of conversation, it's intensifying, some reports of al

qaeda infiltrating the country, this as the assad regime continues to kill syrians every day while sitting on a stock pile of chemical weapons. we'll talk about the chemical weapons with a former syrian general. also, how do you get kids to eat more vegetables? this young lady is an actress and one of stars from icarly, my kids obsessed. >> my daughter would die to be here. >> yes, she would. >> she is a veggie loving a.m. bo bass dor and using her show to teach kids to eat more vegetables. you can watch us live on your computer or mobile phone, cnn.com/tv. >> the ambassador of broccoli, love that. >> she could be very effective, kids love her. >> i would pay cash for that if it works. >> good luck with that, everybody. >> where can you find all of the biggest stars?

forget hollywood because in the weeks ahead, this is going to be the hottest spot in the sworld, you're looking at the live picture of the stadium right now. we'll ahead there for an informative report. you won't want to miss it. >> you're excited about the celebrity buzz there. mid grade dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs g of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover.

mornings are a special time for the two of you...) and now you can make them even more special... with new fancy feast mornings. mornings are delicious protein rich entrées... with garden veggies and egg. each one perfectly designed... to start her day with a little love. new fancy feast mornings gourmet cat food. the best ingredient is love. with the fidelity stock screener, you can try strategies from independent experts and see what criteria they use. such as a 5% yield on dividend-paying stocks. then you can customize the strategies

and narrow down to exactly those stocks you want to follow. i'm mark allen of fidelity investments. the expert strategies feature is one more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. now get 200 free trades when you open an account.

top of the morning to you, washington, d.c., 73 degrees, look at the beautiful blue skies and later on it's going to stay beautiful, 89 degrees and sunny. so quite pleasant there, right? >> very nice for them. >> welcome back to "early start." 47 minutes past the hour.

we're glad you're with us, i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. a new nbc news wall street journal survey showing president obama leading mitt romney 49% to 43%. that's a three percentage point increase from just last month. a bloody battle for control of syria's largest city intensifying overnight. government forces using fighter jets and attack helicopters to pound rebel strong holds in aleppo, thousands are being sent in to beat back opposition forces, fighting across syria taking 133 lives yesterday, 21 them in aleppo. the violence growing so out of control, turkey is closing the border gates with syria. there are reports syrian rebels are trying to seize control of those crossings. three life terms plus 120 years, that's the sentence given to jennifer hudson's former

brother for triple murder. balfour kaz convicted in may for the shooting death of hudson's mother and nephew. attorneys will present their opening statements on tuesday, pete erson is charged in the 20 bathtub drowning of his third wife, kathleen salvio, his fourth wife is still missing. he is considered the prime suspect in her disappearance but has not been charged. october ee eer -- actor she hemsley has died. best known for his role as george jefferson, one of the longest running shows on tv, one of the most successful sitcom. it was originally created for "all in the family." no word on what caused his

death. police do not suspect foul play. sherman hemsley was 74 years old. >> so young. >> the senate votes on competing plans to extend the bush era tax cuts. the democratic plan would extend the cuts for couples making less than $250,000 a year and individuals making under 200,000. republicans want to extend the tax cuts for all taxpayers including the wealthiest americans, nothing will happen because neither proposal is expected to pass. 50 minutes past the hour. the excitement is building, we're two days away from the opening ceremonies for the 2012 summer alimb pick olympics. we know david beckham will be a part of it. we don't know who's going to carry the flag. zain is live in london. we heard there are farm animals involved, nurses, the queen. what else is leaking out? we are dying to know.

>> >> reporter: good morning, british officials have said save the surprise so i'm going to ruin it for you. so just block your ears, but here's what's leaked out. the whole theme is going to be along william shakepeare's play and the island of wonder where people were ship wrecked. 007 may show up, may be para chuting into the stadium. to the important point, the livestock, yes. i'll tell you about this. the idea is britain's past, its present and its future. for some reason they've identified livestock as an important part of this and this is going to be aerial photographs and see farmers plowing in the field and see a cricket match. and -- >> between the farm animals. >> reporter: developments here in east london. there's also going to be alice in wonder land and peter pan and

this is quite cool, harry potter versus lord valdemort. >> we hear there are a-listers that have been partying up at the olympics? >> reporter: yeah, you know, those are really the places to be. some of the tickets are hotter than the opening ceremony. brangelina are having a huge blast, a charity event for sports and peace, anyone who is anyone who wants to see and be seen is dying to get invited to this party. >> i didn't get invited. >> reporter: kate will be there -- what did you expect there, john. i didn't get invited either. i'm trying very hard. they are going to have this huge bash. it's a charity thing, like $60,000 a table. all of the hollywood a-listers will have this big private party for the uber popular where they are going to be having a great

old time drinking, it's the olympic theme there. they have been invited brangelina to the men's 100 meter final. >> do the royals rank higher than brangelina? >> reporter: brangelina, i would put them at a. i think the royals because it's london and it's them, i would rank them maybe a plus. but because brangelina throwing the bash, everyone wants to be there. they are excited to meet the royals too. >> i would imagine they are up there with the a-listers as well. how about the excitement for the people there has it been building? >> reporter: it has been. a lot of people around the world are excited about it. a lot of people i've spoken to that live here are looking forward to it. but there are many in the country, the british like to complain and moan a lot about a lot of things. they tend to focus on the negative first then the

positive, right? some people have left town, don't want to deal with the traffic. some negative nancies around but overall i think the atmosphere in london is one of excitement and people are looking forward to being in that stadium and watching some of the best athletes in the world. >> i have to tell you, zain, we are delighted you joined us this morning because you were good about sharing all of the details that most people haven't wanted to share. thank you for that. >> keep those negative nancies at bay, zain. thanks for being here. we can tell you today's best advice comes from an olympian, i'll give you a hint. if you don't take it, she'll flip you. stay with us.

every communications provider is different but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company. ♪ we link people and fortune 500 companies nationwide and around the world. and we will continue to free you to do more and focus on what matters.

to experience the lexus performance line... including the gs and is. [ engines revving ] because control is the ultimate expression of power. [ revving continues ] ♪ during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values on some of our newest models. this is the pursuit of perfection. get great values on some of our newest models. and it feels like your lifeate revolves around your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira adalimumab. humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira

saw significant symptom relief, and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. get headed in a new direction. with humira, remission is possible.

"starting point" with soledad o'brien is on deck. >> today's advice comes from an olympian, world judo champion kayla harrison. >> the best advice i've received is to advise you'llize my goals, whether i want to ace a test or win an olympic gold medal, i visualize myself doing it every night and it will happen. >> crushing your opponent. >> i will crush you. i visualize that every day. >> she is very olympians, their ability to advivisualize and on see gold. >> what if you don't get there? >> then you visualize trying

again. i have four more years. >> i thought, man sometimes it doesn't happen even if you visualize it. >> i'll take it, at least. that's quts early start, i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin, "starting point" with soledad o'brien srts right now. >> welcome, everybody, our starting point this morning, it's getting ugly early. and new polls this morning show both candidates are paying for it. voters turned off by the ugly campaign ads, plus a frightening scenario developing in syria, al qaeda is moving in as a country with chemical weapons is falling apart. stocks are deep in the red, another 100-point plunge, our savings are shrinking as the nation heads for that so call fiscal cliff. will congress avoid another blow to the economy? miracle on main street usa. disney tells us santa look alike, could you tone it down on pt christmas stuff.

it's our get real this morning. it's wednesday, july 25th, and "starting point" begins right now. welcome, our starting point this morning, new developments to tell you about in the aurora movie theater massacre. there will be no cameras allowed in the courtroom when the accused shooter faces formal charges today. the judge granted a defense request that keeps the cameras out this after so much was made out of the way the defendant looked when he appeared dazed and sleepy. jim spellman is live for us in aurora with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, soledad, the defense actually placed that motion in that same hearing where we first saw him but clearly his appearance was something they must have known was going to be shocking to people. judge granted that and also granted a motion for a gag order. so the police authorities in this case are no longer able to speak publicly about any of this. the information we've been getting is going to slow to more

of a trickle as the hearings go on. people here got a bit of a surprise when christian bale, the actor who plays batman showed up here. it was a surprise to just about everybody. he visited patients in the hospital at the bedside. after that he came to this make shift memorial here and joined a prayer circle and prayed with people. it was all unannounced, they had no cameras with him and didn't want media coverage. our affiliate happened to be there and caught him. and it exploded on twitter and facebook, people pretty excited he took the time to come and visit. >> i'll bet that helped folks trying to recoup rate in the hospital. thanks, jim. the rest of the day's top stories, let's get right to christine romans. good morning. >> good morning, soledad, syrian forces stepping up attacks to regain control of aleppo, targeting rebel strong holds in syria's largest city overnight. there are reports thousands of troo a