i'm ashleigh banfield. 33 minutes past the hour.pdated on the top stories on the heels of the democratic debacle in wisconsin. the recall that didn't recall. the failed recall vote of governor scott walker. president obama heading west young man looking to raise money. as we mentioned. norad intercepted a plane that entered the president's airspace. officials say that aircraft landed without incident. but back to the bigger issue. it's the president's second fundraising swing through california in as many months. the events in san francisco and l.a., including one held by gay and lesbian supporters. the president spoke of the progress being made and the challenges that lie ahead. >> it's still about hope and change. you tell them, i still believe in the american people and the innate goodness of this country. i still believe in that vision where we all come together. >> that's how you raise money, folks. cnn's political editor paulstein house is live in washington. it's the numbers talking. paul, i looked at the numbers raised in to

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. first, it is a failed recall. delivering a wake-up call to the white house this morn ing. wisconsin governor scott walker keeps his job, becoming the first governor in u.s. history to survive a recall election. a real slap in the face for democrats. literally. take a look at a female supporter slapping runner-up tom barrett. milwaukee's democratic mayor, for conceding the race too soon last night. she didn't have to, you know. walker, the tea party backed republican who broke his state's public unions register add comfortable seven-point victory over barrett. he was quick to put a national spin on his big, local win. >> tonight, tonight we tell wisconsin, we tell our country, and we tell people all across the globe that voters really do want leaders to stand up and make the tough decisions. >> ted rowlands is live in madison this morning. i got to tell you, we were shocked to see that video of mayor barrett being slapped in the face. what do you know about that? >> reporter: well, wha

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. we begin with the shocking and sometimes sickening testimony in the child sex abuse trial of former penn state football defensive coordinator jerry sandusky. we have heard from two alleged victims already, and a third could take the stand later this morning. yesterday former assistant football coach mike mcqueary also testified, describing what he thought appeared to be sandusky molesting a young boy in a shower. and there was tearful, riveting testimony from the man whose accusations helped trigger the criminal investigation. alleged victim number one said that he stayed at jerry sandusky's house more than 100 times as a boy, and he was sexually assaulted repeat lid when he was just 12 years old. susan candiotti is live in bellefonte, pennsylvania. susan, what made victim number one break down in tears on the stand yesterday? >> reporter: it had to do with the nature of his painful testimony. testimony that was very difficult to listen to for everyone in the courtroom. and i think sa

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> that's an imposing shot.i've always wondered why people go over niagara falls in a barrel. >> i agree. >> really? what are you thinking? it is pretty. you do not need to ride the falls. >> i can't even do the tour they do on the -- i can't do that. >> really? the maiden mist. maid of the mist. >> something like that. >> something like that. >> i can't do it. >> jim and pam's wedding site. >> thank you for joining us. i'm zoraida sambolin. it is 30 minutes past the hour here. the bill clinton apology tour in full swing this morning. the former president insisting he now regrets comments he made earlier this week when he suggested he would be open to extending the bush era tax cuts, a position directly at odds with president obama's stance. mr. clinton offering up a mea culpa, speaking exclusively with wolf blitzer in "the situation room." >> yeah, i'm very sorry about what happened yesterday. it was what i thought something had to be done on the fiscal cliff before the election. apparently nothing has to be do

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida some bow lynn. fit for a queen. this is her 60 years on the thrown. right now the royal family is attending a service of thanksgiving at st. paul's cathedral. the queen is on her way. later it is a carriage procession through the streets of london. lots of excitement over the pond. the celebration is a little bitter sweet. twins phillip is in the hospital. cnn's brooke baldwin is live in buckingham palace. we are taking a look at the pictures. the queen is about to step out of her car and head into saint paul's cathedral. what can we expect, brook? >> reporter: good morning. first let me take you back ten minutes here at buckingham palace. it's hard to think of any kind of comparison, zoraida. we saw the queeneave certainly sur roublded by security. she just left and the crowds are already out. and they're so excited. you can hear the peels of the bells as she is, as they say here in london, en route to st. paul's cathedral. we've been seeing some of the pictures. you can see prince charles is alrea

. >> good morning, everybody, i'm ashleigh banfield and we're bri from a to z. ohn edwards not guilty but maybe not quite so innocent either is the headline on this one. jury acquitting the former presidential candidate on one count of campaign finance fraud and the judge declaring a mistrial on the five remaining counts. after the jury said they just cut' get out of the deadlock. prosecutors have to decide whether or not to get at this again and retry john edwards. legal experts really don't expect it to happen. listen to our own jeffrey toobin. >> i don't see any rationale for going forward with this case. john edwards is humiliated, is he discredited, is he appropriately out of american politics. but i don't see any reason why this case should go forward. >> the jury deliberated the case for nine days. outside the courthouse john edwards was happy but he was contrite. >> while i do not believe that i did anything illegal or ever thought i was doing anything illegal, i did an awful, awful lot that was wrong, and there is no one else responsible for my sins. >>

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> good morning, everybody, i'm ashleigh banfield. east coast. let's get you started with the top news of the day. new developments in syria where there is more evidence of the assad regime's alleged crimes, this evidence coming to light thanks to an international agency that has been declined the ability to go into that country for over a year and decided instead to just sneak in and do the work themselves. ivan watson is following the developments from istanbul, turkey, this morning. we're talking about amnesty international, a well renowned global group finally coming up with independent answers to the accusations the assad regime says the violence is a bunch of thugs and terrorists out there. what's amnesty international saying? >> reporter: well, their report just adds to the trove of evidence that suggests the assad regime carried out systematic war crimes, crimes against humanity. it visited at least 23 towns and villages in the north of the country, in aleppo province, and it interviewed more than 200 people and had names of m

i'm ashleigh banfield. >>> welcome, everybody.'s debt crisis, china's slowing economy, america's jobs report. fears of a fresh recession. >>> new developments to tell you about in the trayvon martin case. the shooter, george zimmerman, is now back in custody. we'll tell you why a judge decided to revoke his bail. >>> and the magic is back. tiger woods capturing jack nicklaus's tournament that the golden bear himself called the most unbelievable, gutsy shot he has ever seen. we'll let you see it for yourself. it's monday, june 4th, and "starting point" begins right now. >>> welcome, everybody. our "starting point" this morning is a word of warning. prepare for a volatile week in the markets as asian stocks are tumbling overnight after that disappointing jobs report that we showed you on friday showing unemployment up to 8.2%, just 69,000 jobs were created in the month of may. adding to the problem, the debt crisis in europe as well as a slowdown in the chinese economy. so the european markets have recovered pretty much across the b

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambol. 30 minutes past the hour.ight now, tropical storm debby is stalled over florida's panhandle smacking state with high winds and heavy rains. forecasters say the slow-moving storm could dump another foot of rain on florida over the next c couple of days and could spawn more tornadoes as well. the storm is blamed for one death so far. the governor declaring a statewide emergency. george howell is live in florida. they said this was going to be a primarily a rain event. is it raining now? >> reporter: good morning. the rain has tapered off this morning, which is good news. want to show you this though. the owner of this convenience store put out these sandbags, because the owner had an idea of what was to come. take a look at the lot here. this area covered in at least a foot of water. you can still see the impact here of the strong winds. strong enough to knock over a couple trash cans here. this is what we're seeing here in isolated spots in low-lying areas. you can see where the water is up to a foot in some pl

i'm ashleigh banfield. will he or won't he testify?e on a courtroom in the jerry sandusky case today. cnn has learned that former penn state assistant football coach has been prepped and is ready to go. ready to take the stand. whether or not he actually does that isn't going to be decided until the very last moment when the defense is expected to make the decision and then wrap up the defense case. yesterday, though, his wife of 45 years, dottie sandusky, did take the stand. and she faced up to 45 minutes of questioning. she told the jurors that many of the accusers had been to their home over the years and that she had never witnessed any inappropriate contact between the accusers and her husband. cnn's national correspondent susan candiotti is live from bellefonte, pennsylvania, this morning. susan, talk to me a little bit about this possibility of jerry sandusky taking the stand. because clearly the jury has a lot of questions after hearing two different sides of this story. >> reporter: they sure do, ashleigh. good morning. well,

we're happy you're with us. >> good morning, i'm ashleigh banfield.y. court expected to resume in two and a half hours in the jerry sandusky trial. one other alleged victim expected to make the stand and that would make three in a row. yesterday the 18-year-old who's accusations first triggered the investigation into this case gave graphic details about his alleged abuse by the former coach. the man known as alleged victim one, at first he would kiss me on the forehead good night. later he quote, put his mouth on my privates then said quote, it's your turn and made me put my mouth on his privates. joining me now, former prosecutor beth karas. this is one of those cases where sometimes the story of quantity can trump quality in a bizarre way. we've only had two of these alleged accusers so far. but the impact of it so far in your assessment? >> reporter: very powerful, ashleigh. this case could have gone forward with one of them. a lot of people say it's just this young man's word against sandusky's, he's denying this. when you have one after another a

i'm ashleigh banfield, it's 11:00 on the east coast, 8:00 on the west coast.child rape trial of jerry sandusky centers on the very first young man to come forward and claim that sandusky molested him over and over again. victim number one is what he is referred to in court. he was befriended by the former penn state assistant football coach at the charity that mr. sandusky founded for troubled kids. susan candiotti is live at courthouse in pennsylvania. as i understand it, there has been a last-minute filing of some information that is a bit of a bombshell with regards to what's happening in the courtroom. somewhat related but somewhat no

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. >> more than 25 inches of rain has come down along. the deluge is not offer. some people are starting to go back, some by boats, to homes that are a total loss. >> the water was up this high on the doors. everything inside the garage was floating. everything -- there was a walkway in the center and everything was stacked up on the sides. the water came up high enough that is started to collapse in on itself. >> you have to wonder if people have flood insurance. another four to eight inches could hit northern florida as debby heads slowly towards the atlantic. >> we have new video just in to cnn. thomes entirely up in flares in colorado springs. one official saying it look likes a military invasion. the fire in colorado springs has spread to 6,200 acres, it is only 5% contained. 65 mile-per-hour winds blew it right past one containment line. 32,000 people are now on the run. >> despite ethics violation and scandal and illness, et cetera, long time new york democratic congressman charlie rangel is a winner. he won the primary last night

i'm ashleigh banfield. this is "early start." >> i'm zoraida sambolin.ast the hour here. >>> let's get you caught up on the top stories of the day. brand new this morning, this is a big one. united states commerce secretary john bryson has been accused of felony hit and run in california. this is all breaking right now. police in san gabriel say bryson was involved in a series of wrecks on saturday. police say he hit a stopped car twice before leaving the scene and then hitting a second car. police found bryson unconscious behind the wheel. he remains in the hospital this morning. police say a preliminary alcohol and drug test has come back negative. >>> when president obama and mitt romney trying to recover from their friday follies. the race for the white house couldn't possibly get any tighter right now. brand new for you this morning, a fresh cnn poll of polls, showing the two candidates locked in an absolute dead heat. cnn political editor, paul steinhauser is live in washington this morning. we're always talking about statistical ties. this is the

. >> welcome to "early start," nice to have you with us, i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin, bringing you the news from "a" to "z," 5:00 a.m. here in the east. let's get started. >>> this is cnn breaking news. >>> we begin with this this morning. bran new details on the two american men arrested in japan after a nicki minaj concert. police are holding one of them, a 19-year-old on suspicion of murder in the death of a 21-year-old irish exchange student, a woman who disappeared after that concert and was killed. the other is charged with groping the alleged victim's friend. >>> mitt romney's kicking off his every town counts bus tour today in new hampshire while president obama's back in washington. his campaign, $2 million richer after big money fund-raiser last night at the new york home of actress sara jessica parker. yesterday the candidates were doing a hard sell for their economic policies and taking shots at each other in the battleground state of hey high. romney saying the president has failed the american people. the president warning voters not to believe the scary

welcome to "early start," i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east, let's get started. we can expect more graphic testimony when the jerry

. >>> it's friday, i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm christine romans. >> the wall street journal says allmoodies downgraded 15 of the largest banks. who better on the story than the one to my left. >> it was a hammer blow to the largest psyche, five of the largest u.s. banks were downgrade, bank of america, citigroup and morgan stanley and j.p. morgan stanley. moodies says these banks have significant exposure to the volatility in the markets and economies. banking analyst mike mayo says this won't change your day to day banking but this will affect business for the banks themselves to get loans and will affect who will be able to do business with them and willing to do business with them. he says this is likely to be the worst lending decade for banks since the great depression. many of you have been complaining about that, you're right. the stocks for these banks are up a bit this morning because in short, the downgrades could have been worse. the rating changes were already factored in. the dow plunged 250 points. here's why. more signs of a slowdown in china, germany and u.s. economie

. >> i'm ashleigh banfield. we're bringing you the news from "a" to "z." it is 5:00 on the dot in the east. let's start with this, shall we? victim number one ready to take the stand today in jerry sandusky child abuse sex trial. today's witness was just 11 or 12 years old when he first met the penn state assistant football coach. it was his accusations that triggered this criminal investigation leading to jerry sandusky's arrest. susan candiotti is live in bellefonte, pennsylvania this morning, she's been covering this case. incredible stories coming out in court. i don't know if it can get any worse. his story is set to come out in court today. what is the story of victim number one following yesterday's story of victim number four? >> reporter: well, this is going to be quite a day two for the jurors, isn't it, after hearing so much graphic detail. here's what we know about alleged victim number one, according to what he has told a grand jury. he said he was sexually assaulted, including being raped and molested by jerry sandusky at least 20 times. and

. >> good morning, i'm ashleigh banfield.y about obama care, a vote to hold the attorney general of the united states, eric, holder, in contempt officially for refusing to turn over certain documents on fast and furious gun tracking operation. more than 100 democrats decided to walk out and boycott this historic vote all together, walking out to protest out of the chamber and gone. the white house and eric holder for their part dismissed this whole operation as politically motivated. >> today's vote may make for good political feeder in the minds of some but it is a kras effort and grave disservice to the american people. they expect and they deserve far more. >> why is this so historic? >> because eric holder is the first sitting united states attorney general to be cited for contempt of congress. >> new this morning, european leaders agree to a special bailout fund to help struggling banks. under the terms of the deal, eurozone -- stock markets in europe rallied on the news of this big decision. for more on stocks, christin

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm

i'm zoraida sambolin. >>> i'm ashleigh banfield. it's 30 minutes past the hour. start with this. big story today. this happens to be one of mitt romney's favorite lines on the campaign stump, it's to tell the audience if i'm elected i will appeal obamacare. that works. republicans love to hate president obama's health care reforms, and this really gets them fired up when they're out on the stump. but what happens if republicans actually get their wish and obamacare is no more? because that's the possibility in just a couple of hours from now. will mitt romney lose his rallying cry? what about the president? what about president obama? he has a ton politically invested, like how about this an entire year fighting to get obamacare passed. but the supreme court overturning health care might not actually be a total loss for the obama camp. thoroughly confused? well, then jonathan allen is the person for you. he's politico's senior correspondent. he joins me live. good thing you are here. there are a lot of issues that are very chewy, as i like to say. let's start wit

i'm ashleigh banfield >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. it's 5:00 a.m. here in the east. let's get started. >>> attorney eric holder to be held in contempt in congress. yesterday the members of the government oversight and reform committee voted along party lines to recommend citing him for contempt for failing to turn over subpoenaed documents from the botched fast and furious gun operation, documents that are now off limits to republicans, and everyone else, because the president has invoked executive privilege to keep all of those documents now under wraps. joe johns is live from washington, d.c., this morning. joe, this is the first time that president obama has used the executive privilege. i think it was president clinton that maybe used it 14 times. how rare is this, and what is going to happen next to the attorney general? >> reporter: it is rare, but on the other hand, presidents do it, and most presidents do it at least once or twice during the course of four years or so. as you said, president obama's done it once. president george w. bush six times. bill clint

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zor ray da zam bow lynn. >>> up first, the decision that will affect everygle american is less than five hours away. the supreme court will decide whether all or parts of the

. >>> i'm ashleigh banfield. if it's interesting, you're about to see it. quieting down. veteran conservative radio host neal boortz is retiring and passing the mike torch to his colleague, herman cain, who recently made a republican run for the president. boortz isn't going quietly, though. check this out. >> my last day on the air is january the 21st of next year, which is the day we inaugurate a new president. if it's barack obama, then i'm going to disappear into the mountains somewhere and come out after he has completely destroyed this country. >> wsb radio says boortz is syndicated on 260 radio stations. >>> attorneys for the shooter of trayvon martin want to free him from jail for the second go-round. george zimmerman's attorney is expected to file a motion for a new bond hearing. zimmerman turned himself in yesterday after a judge pulled his bond. the defense says it was fear that kept him from disclosing the money he raised online and that it's possible he may not have actually known he had access to it. >>> jury selection set to begin tomorrow in

. >> and i'm ashleigh banfield. we're bringing you the news from a to z. it's nasty out there.ropical storm debby just stalled over florida's panhandle. it's smacking that sunshine state it with high winds and heavy rain. look at the pictures. boats getting smashed around and it's going to get worse before it gets any better. forecasters are saying the slow-

i'm ashleigh banfield >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. it's 5:00 a.m. here in the east.'s get started. >>> attorney eric holder to be held in contempt in congress. yesterday the members of the go

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. we begin with the shocking and sometimes s

i'm ashleigh banfield in for carol costello and some of the stories we're following in the newsroom today set to begin in its presentation of its case today in the jerry sandusky child rape trial. yesterday jerry sandusky underwent psychological testing. his lawyers plan to argue that he suffers a personality disorder. >>> fears of a power struggle and more bloodshed as the muslim brotherhood claims victory in egypt's historic presidential election. the state media account shows the candidate mohamed morsi is leading but there are still a lot of votes that have yet to be counted. >>> an autopsy is planned for rodney king today. los angeles police are treating his death as a drowning. the 47-year-old was found it at the bottom of his own swimming pool early yesterday morning. his 1991 beating by los angeles police officers was caught on camera, with riots breaking out after the officers were criminally acquitted of that beating. >>> well, at first it seemed like the stock market was heading for a rally after the pro-bailout party won the election in greece. but now, i don't know, maybe not

. >> ashleigh banfield and zoraida sambolin.tes picked the pro-ballot candidate to lead. >> christine romans is here to give us the lowdown. every seems to be down. it seemed like an up story and now it's becoming i down story. >> there was an initial reaction that was released quite frankly in overseas markets that's because greece will stay in the eurozone. that's what this vote was about. but a lot of people came out, guys, and voted to say, hey, we don't want to be part of these bailouts. we don't want this crush burden for having to qualify for the bailouts so that shows you the coalition is going to have trouble. let me tell you about the troubles ahead for greece. five years of deep recession. people are not feeling great in this country. two yearses with a financial crisis. concerns as i said of the coalition however it's formed lasting look, you've got a bailout at the end of the june. and bailout money, the cash runs out mid-july. so this has been described as a quote for the status quo. and the status quo was very dif

i'm ashleigh banfield, nice to have you with us. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. it is 6:00 a.m.s, eight weeks, 46 witnesses and an estimated 2 to $3 million, in your money, taxpayer money, roger clemens not guilty on all counts. he was acquitted on all charges yesterday. the rocket, as he's called, denying all along he ever used performance enhancing drugs as billion. clemens attorney insists his legendary pitching career is not tainted. >> i hope those in the public that made up their mind before there was a trial will now back up and entertain the possibility of what he has always said, using steroid and hgh is cheating and it was totally contrary to his entire career. >> joe johns is live in washington, d.c. for us. nice to see you, after four years, millions spent on this investigation, the government could not come up with a conviction here. they are calling it a blow to the justice department. why did this case fail? >> well, zoraida, this case was referred to the justice department for prosecution by a u.s. congressional committee. and they are the ones who initially deci

cnn "newsroom" continues right now with ashleigh banfield in for kyra phillips. >> good morning. deliberations in the jerry sandusky day. i do mean full. 48 counts that they are considering. and that is not counting the bombshell claim from one of sandusky's own sons. and in philadelphia, the 13th day of deliberations in the 13th week of a sex abuse trial of two

cnn "newsroom" continues right now with ashleigh banfield in for kyra phillips. >> good morning. here we go. it's the first full day of jury deliberations in the jerry sandusky day. i do mean full. 48 counts that they are considering. and that is not counting the bombshell claim from one of sandusky's own sons. and in philadelphia, the 13th day of deliberations in the 13th week of a sex abuse trial of two people belonging to the catholic church. priests, one an alleged monster, the other an alleged enabler. and we are also in orlando where hispanic voters are about to hear from marco rubio and then later president obama. you're going to hear from them, too, right here in the cnn "newsroom." let's begin this hour with the upside of the downgrade. yes, you heard it. new york markets aren't crying over it too badly in the world's bank and they are suffering. the dow is up after one blistering day when the dow dropped about 250 points. overseas it's a bit of a different story, though. big selloffs in europe, selloffs in asia. down, down, down. look at all of those arrows. here's the

that is the news folks, thanks for being with us, i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. zipping up loose lips, the director of the national intelligence agency taking new steps to stop classified information from getting out. cnn has exclusive details this morning. >>> making history in egypt, the country ha its first freely elected president ever, but he can keep the democracy from falling apart. jamie rubin, jeff toobin and chaka khan and mira sorvino joining us this morning.

that is the news folks, thanks for being with us, i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. zipping up loose lips, the director of the national intelligence agency taking new steps to stop classified information from getting out. cnn has exclusive details this morning. >>> making history in egypt, the country ha its first freely elected president ever, but he can keep the democracy from falling apart. jamie rubin, jeff toobin and chaka khan and mira sorvino joining us this morning. "starting point" begins right now. >>> good morning, welcome, everybody, our starting point, deadly before it even makes landfall, storm debby is what we're talking about, hammering florida with extreme weather and slow moving, slow moving, sitting off the florida panhandle, outer bands whipping up dangerous surf triggering a huge water spout and debby also spawning a tornado as it drenches the coast. 2 feet can fall before it's all over. let's get right to john zarrella in clearwater florida. >> reporter: a slow moving system and this is clearwater beach, the intercoastal behind me. you can see r