. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. we're bringing you the news from "a" to "z." 5:00 in the east. >> is it ever. >> let's get started here. >>> jon huntsman is going to drop out of the gop race today. he says he will endorse romney. we'll get more details on that. >> also if you've been looking, there are pictures that are mind boggling. a cruise ship much, much bigger than the "titanic" on its side. there are reports of six dead now. two americans among the missing and harrowing tales from those who tur vived and the captain has got some explaining to do. he is being asked by authorities there why did you leave that ship? >>> and the first chance for overseas markets to react to the mass downgrade of european nations. will you pay for the mess in europe later this week? will it affect us at all. >> i always wonder, europe, schmeurope. were you watching, golden glo globes. you go to bed at 6:00, don't you? >> i try to. it didn't work out that way. >> if you haven't seen the artist by now, have you seen it. >> i have no

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm ashleigh banfield.s 29 minutes past the hour so we thought this was a good time as are most times to get you caught up on the headlines. top stories, that fiasco in mississippi. well, it's having reverberations in other states because lawmakers in oklahoma are taking up a bill that would strip away parole power from that governor. the state senator who is introducing the measure says the situation in mississippi just highlights the drawbacks of having a governor with that kind of power. >> so many questions there. >>> the u.s. reportedly warning iran not to cross the red line. "the new york times" says the obama administration signaled iranian lead that's close iing vital stripping lines would very volk a u.s. response. i read that the chief of naval operations is saying that the strait of hormuz and business going on in the arabian golf is what keeps him awake at night. >> it keeps me awake at night. it does. >>> also, this keeps folks awake at night if you're a police officer married to one or have on

. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. >>> jon huntsman getting a big endorsement in the battle for new hampshire. being called the best prepared to be president. >> and also, you probably heard the story about a 15-year-old girl who got booted out of this country without her parents knowing. there's a big story behind it. but a bigger story coming. and ha is, she's going to be coming home. we'll te you why and how it's happening. >>> and the big jobs report for december is coming out today. christine romans calling it the big granddaddy of them all. it's probably good news for the democrats and she'll share details. >>> and there's this thing that climbers like to do. seven peaks, it's a big deal for anybody. but if you're 15 years old. it's a huge deal. we'll tell you about this kid. who happened to just globe-trot the world and climb the seven highest peaks. >> and we're going to add in an eighth one. >> which one's that? >> you'll see. >> quite a little wonder that we're going to see this morning i'm looking forward to it. >> learn something every day. >>> we begin this morning with the criti

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin.etting nasty in south carolina. >> not the weather. >> no, no, no, it's the candidates. they are saying get ready for armageddon. >> boy, i'll say. look at them, look at all the cameras. you can imagine tv in that state, right? >>> also, this is something you might not have heard of for quite a while. swine flu. it's back, apparently. 12 people seem to have been infecting with something they're calling a new strain of swine flu. >> apparently if you got the flu vaccine it's not going to work against this. >> do they even have shots for this? >> i don't think so, not yet. 29 minutes past the hour here. >> should we acknowledge we're not dressed the same. i'm in glue and she's in gray. we didn't plan this. it does look the same. >> it's different on the collar. if you pay attention. >> now it's time to check the stories making news this morning. mississippi's attorney general says he is trying to undo the damage done by former governor haley barbour. it's a tough one. a temporary court i

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. half hour, mississippi governor haley barbour pardons more than 200 people. some of these are convicted murderers. for now they have a right to carry a gun. they're going to be able to vote. ed lavandera has the latest for us. >>> we've been ripped for waking people up. "the daily show" was all over us so we decided to go big or go home. that's right, jon stewart, you know who we're going to wake up today? not the alabamas but the person who is impersonating both of these obamas, it's ru paul. >> i've never seen this before, ashleigh. >> i love it. it's ru paul dressed as both the president and first lady. we figured since he's ru paul and people have been saying that ron paul has as much a chance of being president as ru paul we thought we would wake up ru paul and ask him about that. turns out he's been doing some campaigning in new hampshire. con netted to all of this, believe it or not. >>> it is time to check the stories that are making news this morning. history in new hampshire

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. happy you're staying with us.t. >> good morning. got breaking news of the dangerous storms racing across the south. thousand of people without power right now. going to talk about that. update you on what's happening there. >>> plus, the fight for florida. there are just eight days until the primary. newt gingrich and mitt romney and they're ripping into each other's records and into each other. >> 88% of

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. happy you're staying with us.t. >> good morning. got breaking news of the dangerous storms racing across the south. thousand of people without power right now. going to talk about that. update you on what's happening there. >>> plus, the fight for florida. there are just eight days until the primary. newt gingrich and mitt romney and they're ripping into each other's records and into each other. >> 88% of republicans voted to rep pri man speaker gingrich. >> you end up with a guy who is a very good salesman, very much wants to sell. but he has a really weak product. >> plus, joe paterno is being remembered this morning. to what degreeha

ashleigh banfield, zoraida sambolin.o pounce on the winner of the iowa caucuses. >> i figure they don't want romney. that's my guess. we do this crazy thing, i don't know if you were watching yesterday because it was a holiday. we do this thing where we decide to call people and wake them up at 5:00 orr 6:00 in the morning and get their opinions on whatever is going on in the news. the person we'll wake up today, i could get in a lot of trouble because he was on the sopranos. i'm not going to tell you who it is. he was on "the sopranos," he didn't live to see the finale. do you have an idea? >> no, because i never watched. >> a good thing he's sleeping right now and not hearing that. so there's your hint. i might give you a clue later. i could be sleeping with the fishes for waking him up. he's huge into politics. that's a great part. what a great day to talk to him. 30 minutes past the hour. let's get you caught up on the headlines. >>> here is a good one. a man suspected in the l.a. arson spree in custody. fires have s

i'm zoraida sambolin. 5 a.m. in the east. >> let's start with tacks. don't you love that. >> big news today. >> unless you're probably governor romney. you don't like taxes. you don't like talking taxes anyway. but he is. he's talking taxes. he's releasing his tax returns today. but you know what, early start has the early look. we got all those facts and details of why everybody is up in arms. what did he make and paid out? >> the florida debate. it was a little nasty and personal. romney is saying no more mr. nice guy. going after gingrich with gloves off. >> tivo or pop the popcorn now. it's the annual state of the union. even though one of his terms didn't have a state of the union. we're going to have that tonight. what is president obama going to do? a campaign speech or a blueprint for the economy? >> this was breaking news yesterday. the deadly tornadoes in alabama. it's the second time for those folks in less than a year. the red cross is responding. there are two people dead, hundreds of homes destroyed in that area. pictures are difficult to

ashleigh banfield, zoraida sambolin.o pounce on the winner of the iowa caucuses. >> i figure they don't want romney. that's my guess. we do this crazy thing, i don't know if you were watching yesterday because it was a holiday. we do this thing where we decide to call people and wake them up at 5:00 orr 6:00 in the morning and get their opinions on whatever is going on in the news. the person we'll wake up today, i could get in a lot of trouble because he was on the sopranos. i'm not going to tell you who it is. he was on "the sopranos," he didn't live to see the finale. do you have an idea? >> no, because i never watched. >> a good thing he's sleeping right now and not hearing that. so there's your hint. i might give you a clue later. i could be sleeping with the fishes for waking him up. he's huge into politics. that's a great part. what a great day to talk to him. 30 minutes past the hour. let's get you caught up on the headlines. >>> here is a good one. a man suspected in the l.a. arson spree in custody. fires have s

. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. let's get started. >> we've got a lot of breaking news coming into our offices from around the world. >>> you know this story already, remarkable pictures out of italy, and now we're hearing the rescue operation of that cruise ship listing on its side has been suspended once again because the ship is moving. not only that, one of the res e rescuers had to be rescued as well. we'll get you detailed. >>> and wikipedia and other websites going partially dark. right after midnight that happened. they're protesting anti-piracy bills. that's google right there. >>> if you thought that all's fair in love and war and even the fringes of war, the u.s. and pakistan are having trouble right now. pakistan has said to the united states, you know that special envoy you sent us? send them back. we don't want them. weem get to the details. >>> mitt romney reports that he pays about a 15% tax rate. how do you feel about that? he is resisting calls to release his tax returns. we've got a lot more detai

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. we are bringing you the news from a to z. it is thursday, january 19th. let's get started. amazing new details overnight in the italian cruise ship disaster. a stunning admission from the captain saying that he ordered the turn too late. >> and also in politics, newt gingrich is making up some ground you might call it. he is closing the gap the front-runner mitt romney in south carolina. trouble may be brewing, though. his daughters are having to come to his defense after an interview which is scheduled for today is about to go after him from his ex-wife. >> and a rare winter storm that pounded the pacific northwest. it is now heading east. rob is tracking the forecast. where it will go next and how much snow we are actually talking about this morning. >>> don't know if you're a tune or it's been a while since you were a student. things are different now. reading on an ipad. how about reading your textbook on an ipad? >> that would be fantastic. >> how nice would it be not having that

. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. here is what did on the agenda.rying to get the votes and change minds in the last full day of campaigning in iowa. how many are undecided? versus how many can have their minds changed? we'll talk about that. >> kind of like a half and halfy thing really. some are sort of undecided. by the way, since it's the eve of the political season kicking off which we're so excited about we thought we'd wake somebody up to ask them about it. we're not telling you who. we'll give you a hint. it's somebody from a very prominent political family. it's a kennedy. >> oh. i'm going to wake up a kennedy. >> but we won't tell you which one and she doesn't know either. i'm not going to tell you if her dad was president or if heir r was a senator. she doesn't know we're calling. >> we have other stories catching our attention. a new lead in a string of arson fires in southern california. police do have a person of interest right there in the circle from surveillance video at two of the fire locations. so this man is said to be in his la

. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. we are bringing you the news from a to z. it's 6:00 a.m.e east. >> it is final few days before the big showdown in florida. and fireworks were on last night at the debate. cnn debate things got real heated. it is a very tight race. this ch one of these four scored the knockout. >>> now outrage in mississippi. the governor files for ten pardoned criminals. they have gone suddenly missing. how convenient, strange, or accidental? not sure which. >> or all of the above. >>> talk about being a top banana, john goodman. >> kumquat. >> top kumquat. friday word of the day, who knew. how would you like to be in two movies nominated for best picture? he's going to stop to us to talk about that. >> he's actually in london. >>> here's a video that you've got to see. a snowmobiler falls 120 feet at the ice games. showing it to you so you know that he's okay. wait until you hear what he said right after that crash. "early start" starts right now. >> i still can't breathe because it looks like he lands right on his head. spoiler alert, he's okay otherwise

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> hi, i'm ashleigh banfield. nice to have you here.re bringing you the news from a to z. that's our theme. 6:00 in the east. let's get started. candidates are getting in final digs before florida goes to the polls. polls will open just one hour from now. >> we have live pictures for you here. anti-assad rally in syria. the protesters are flooding the streets as you see there. the white house is saying president assad will go. one country at the u.n. may stand in the way of that. >>> one of those pardoned mississippi killers who was on the loose and on the run has been found. thousands of miles away, in fact. 1,000 miles awe way from mississippi. he may, may, may be coming home to face the authorities there. i say may because the attorney general wants to get tough on the manhunt but he can't really. we'll explain why. >>> and the president letting secrets fly about u.s. drones during a hang. why the loose lips on sensitive intelligence matters. >>> candidates have done all the talk on it and now it's time for the people of florida to b

i'm ashleigh banfield with an early start and i'm zoraida sambolin.t is 6:00 in the east. >>> if you saw this, quite something jan brewer behind that limo wagging her finger at the president getting in his face. she is talking about what triggered tensions between her and the president on the tarmac. >>> the mayor is apologizing for this crazy taco remark that he made. allegations of police brutality in that area. is the apology have people calm down because of this crazy controversy? we're going to dig a little bit deeper into the story and get some answers. >>> also, overseas, what a day. a u.s. aide worker freed. jessica on the right reunited with her boyfriend and father. the blackhawks, wow, the operation. wait until you hear the step-by-step. >>> and the reward is now being offered for a missing murderer in mississippi. governor haley barbour pardoned four convicted killers right before he left office. all but one has appeared in court. they have no idea where that man is. >> feels weird. i'm not sure if we're allowed to call him a murderer, whi

i'm zoraida sambolin along with ashleigh banfield.g after the country handed down the first death sentence against on american since the islamic revolution 33 years ago. >> iran is saying that amir hekmati, foreign marine interpreter is a u.s. spy using a family trip to see his granny as a cover-up. cnn's zain vergee just spoke exclusively to the family's attorney who is a former u.s. ambassador for war crimes. >> i hear from them easily five, six times a day. as you can imagine, the distress is very, very high. the news is not positive. but we try to reassure them that it's not over. we will engage the government and hope that they will show compassion. >> wow. remarkable story. iran is saying that hekmati and his attorney and family have 20 days to appeal that case. whatever the appeal means in that country, because that trial sure came about fast. >> very quickly. >> i didn't even know it was on. i have to be honest with you. the moment we found out he was actually in custody was just a few weeks ago. we're watch that for you. >>>

. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. >>> we've got breaking news from east. these two pictures, happy, happy faces. freedom. they are two foreign aid workers, one of them american, and they've been held for three months by pirates in somalia. they are free. we'll tell you how and how the rescue went down. >>> and did you watch the state of the union address? president obama's challenging republicans to get on board or get out of his way. he says preserving the american dream is the defining issue of our time. we have lots of highlights, lots of reaction. our panelists are going to weigh in. >> don't know if you're having a green apple for breakfast this morning, but i'll tell you what, the soon to be biggest technology firm in the world is feasting on green apples. apple just reporting historic profits. i know we say that sometimes, but wait until you hear how much that company made. >> it's probably known because we're contributing to it. >>> ashleigh, did i tell you that plasma particles are hurdling toward us, how would you feel about that? >> i'd say auro

i'm ashley banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin.alf hour, major over the counter recall, folks, painkillers and other drugs you might have in your medicine cabinet. elizabeth cohen is going to join us live to explain what we need to do next. >>> now and again we like to, well, we feel the pain of waking up very, very early in the morning so we just like other people to feel the pain, too. we dial them up on the show and have them wake them up. should we tease them or tell them who snts. >> no, don't tell them. >> don't tell? >> yeah. it's a comedian and particularly happens to like politics. we're going to see how funny he is first thing in the morning. that's coming up in a bit. >> on the west coast? >> i don't know. that's the good question. >> or new york. >> i think in new york city. wake yourself up, for crying out loud. in new york city it's only 6:30. we've been up since 1:30 -- or 1:00. >>> coming up in the top stories of the half hour as well because these are the ones making headlines. two weekend debates. did you miss the

. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. we are bringing you the news from a to z.n florida for these guys to get out there and stomp for their votes. gingrich is losing ground and resorting to name calling, calling romney a liberal and liar. >>> rick santorum planning to be back on the campaign trail after a real tough weekend. in the hospital with his little baby daughter but said she has had a miraculous turn around. >>> defense secretary leon panetta is speaking out on pakistan and bin laden saying someone in the government must have known where he was hiding out. cnn's national security analyst, peter bergen, on that. >>> and we are watching the occupiers, especially in d.c., because they're facing a deadline of about 12:00 noon to pack up those tents and tarps and get on out of there. now we're expecting some tense moments could be earlier. it's all just happening blocks away from the white house. we will see what happens as they close in on the occupieroccupie >>> on the eve of the florida primary mitt romney is on a roll here. gingrich and romney calm traini

i'm zoraida sambolin along with ashleigh banfield.voted. >> but only eight of them really matter. >> they all mattered. look at this. mitt romney, 30,015. santorum, 30,007. closest caucus in history. only eight votes separated them. >> what a difference eight votes can make. if you think you don't matter when you go to your polls. yes, this is a caucus, but should we just tell you that even though it's a caucus and even though we don't have final delegate counts out of iowa, we do have that presidential preference. write the candidate they like and they count those names and numbers and that's what we got. didn't even get it until about 2:30 eastern time. crazy stuff. >> not only that, the des moines retch sister, when it went to print, they didn't have the final decision. they decided it was close enough for a split decision. put romney on the left, santorum on the right. they went to print, it looked like it could have gone either way. really like a tie that jockeyed back and forth's in at about 2:30, those eight votes finally came

. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. >>> we've got breaking news from east. pictures, happy, happy faces. freedom. they are two foreign aid workers, one of them american, and they've been held for three months by pirates in somalia. they are free. we'll tell you how and how the rescue went down. >>> and did you watch the state of the union address? president obama's challenging republicans to get on board or get out of his way. he says preserving the american dream is the defining issue of our time. we have lots of highlights, lots of reaction. our panelists are going to weigh in. >> don't know if you're having a green apple for breakfast this morning, but i'll tell you what, the soon to be biggest technology firm in the world is feasting on green apples. apple just reporting historic profits. i know we say that sometimes, but wait until you hear how much that company made. >> it's probably known because we're contributing to it. >>> ashleigh, did i tell you that plasma particles are hurdling toward us, how would you feel about that? >> i'd say aurora boreali

i'm ashleigh banfield, and i'm zoraida sambolin.oming up next with "starting point." good morning. >> good morning to you both. welcome to our new show called "starting point." we're live once again at the waveland cafe in iowa. today, of course, is decision day. today the campaign stops thinking about polls and projections and actually starts being about real numbers. iowans, of course, going to cast their votes for the person they would like to see run for president against president barack obama. tonight's test has rick santorum surging. he appears to be the gop with the most mo, momentum, going into today's caucuses. practically picking up his mail in this state. mitt romney hasn't been and he's doing pretty well, chatting and talking about winning, oozing confidence, like charlie sheen, people tell us on the campaign trail. michele bachmann is asking, do you believe in miracles? she says get ready for a big surprise on her part in the iowa tonight. she'll join us along with her kids to tell us why in a "starting point" exclusiv

. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. here is what did on the agenda.rying to get the votes and change minds in the last full day of campaigning in iowa. how many are undecided? versus how many can have their minds changed? we'll talk about that. >> kind of like a half and halfy thing really. some are sort of undecided. by the way, since it's the eve of the political season kicking off which we're so excited about we thought we'd wake somebody up to ask them about it. we're not telling you who. we'll give you a hint. it's somebody from a very prominent political family. it's a kennedy. >> oh. i'm going to wake up a kennedy. >> but we won't tell you which one and she doesn't know either. i'm not going to tell you if her dad was president or if heir r was a senator. she doesn't know we're calling. >> we have other stories catching our attention. a new lead in a string of arson fires in southern california. police do have a person of interest right there in the circle from surveillance video at two of the fire locations. so this man is said to be in his la

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin.ith us this morning. let's get started here. newt gingrich in rare form. clashing with his three rivals and even our very own moderator, cnn's moderator john king. the fiery highlights are headed your way. >> she's not kidding. fiery highlights. >>> we're watch og news developing. a nato chopper down in southern afghanistan. six peacekeepers apparently are killed and a taliban sent a text message to cnn is claiming responsibility for this. but is it true? >>> and that italy ship disaster. the search for survivors has been suspended again because of rough weather is causing the ship to shift. if it keeps moving, they're fearing an environmental disaster there. >>> and you've probably heard of this notorious group called anonymous. anonymous is like a web club, internet club, now targeting the fbi and justice department. this could be the largest coordinated sbrt attack ever. you won't believe how the government responded and what that's causing anonymous to say and do. >>> is all right.

. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. we're happy you're joining us. we're bringing you the news from "a" to "z." it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. >>> six police officers were shot overnight while serving a search warrant in utah. that was drug-related. they are recovering in the hospital this morning. apparently, only one suspect there. >> also in the hospital, right? >> yes, also in the hospital. >> we'll continue to watch that. >>> also, guess what? some huge announcements coming. pictures like this may not be as voluminous if the government gets its way. president obama is about to announce we're going to cut a lot of troops and change our war tragedy. we're not going to be so capable of fighting two wars at once if what he says is going to be the way of the future. >>> so, you know the dallas teenager that was deported by mistake? well, her family says she was sent to colombia where she didn't speak the language, didn't know anyone. why? because apparently, she ran away from home, and when the police picked her up, she gave them a false name, which hap

. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. it's "early start." we're coming to you from the cnn election center this morning. very excited to be here with you. >> our giant flag in the background. feeling very american, and you know what? it's a good thing. 30 hours or so until things get opened up and iowa caucuses get underway. >> and incredible coverage headed your way as well. it is 6:01 in the east. new surveillance tape identifies a person of interest in the california arson fires. the new fires may be a part of an arson spree. eight of them they're looking into now. >>> also another very strange story going on in washington state. this man is apparently a suspect in a killing of a ranger in mount rainier national park. apparently supposed to be a routine traffic stop, but if the allegations are true, the man in the picture took off and when a road block was set up decided to shoot a 32-year-old mother of two who was a park ranger. that story coming up. >>> and conditions in the great lakes could make your travel a bit impossible there. mr.

zoraida sambolin. soledad o'brien is coming up next with "starting point." good morning. >> good morning to you both. welcome to our new show called "starting point." we're live once again at the waveland cafe in iowa. today, of course, is decision day. today the campaign stops thinking about polls and projections and actually starts being about real numbers. iowans, of course, going to cast their votes for the person they would like to see run for president against president barack obama. tonight's test has rick santorum surging. he appears to be the gop with the most mo, momentum, going into today's caucuses. practically picking up his mail in this state. mitt romney hasn't been and he's doing pretty well, chatting and talking about winning, oozing confidence, like charlie sheen, people tell us on the campaign trail. michele bachmann is asking, do you believe in miracles? she says get ready for a big surprise on her part in the iowa tonight. she'll join us along with her kids to tell us why in a "starting point" exclusive. >>> plus, get real. we have not f