i'm soledad o'brien. welcome to "starting point." we are coming to you from manchester, new hampshire. we are coming to you live from the airport diner. five day ways from primary day here. our starting point this morning is something that you are bogey to hear on the combine trail today which is the future of the american military. just about four hours president obama will reveal his plan for a slimmed-down force that will no longer be fighting two full-blown ground wars. digging into the details and talking a lot about it this morning. also, mitt romney, does he have a tea party problem? they didn't go away in iowa but could new hampshire be different? we are going to ask the tea party favorite and romney supporter christine o'donnell this morning. and despite the sparring back in 2008 in this very state, senator john mccain is now backing mitt romney. he is going to join thus morning to tell us why. then oops, we deported your teenage daughter. a family is asking how the government accidently september a missing runaway teenager,

i'm soledad o'brien. once again we're in chez bouchon.s, of course, politics and the fight in south carolina. mitt romney breezes through the first primary of 2012 but faces now a pivotal test in the state. he's got the election, money, can he win it all? we're going to talk to governor romney fresh off his win, straight ahead this morning. >>> plus, the chief of the dnc says while romney's double-digit primary win was a loss, now, that is spin. we're going to explain that one. i'm not sure i'm

i'm soledad o'brien. once again we're in chez bouchon.s, of course, politics and the fight in south carolina. mitt romney breezes through the first primary of 2012 but faces now a pivotal test in the state. he's got the election, money, can he win it all? we're going to talk to governor ro

soledad o'brien, former presidential candidate herman cain is going to tell soledad why he decided to endorse newt gingrich this weekend and what a difference it will ke. it is 5:08 in the east. we give you an early start to your day by alerting you to the news that's happening later. the stories that are developing now whampt will be the big story. andrew young, former aid to presidential candidate john edwards will be in court to answer contempt charges. young and his wife are accused of turning sealed documents over to federal prosecutors. those documents are part of a civil lawsuit filed against them by edwards former miss stress for invasion of privacy. hunter is trying to reclaim personal items that she says belonged to her, including photographs and that alleged sex tape. john edwards, you'll recall, is charged with using campaign contributions to hide his affair with hunter. >>> and the occupy protesters in washington, d.c., might not have such a nice wakeup call today. they could get the boot earlier than expected. they've only got until noon. if they're late sleepers, it mea

she sat down with soledad o'brien to talk about her beau and ups and downs with weight loss. >> yourmy man. >> your man. >> i don't have a boyfriend. >> your man. >> yes. >> is somebody who's been in your life a long time. >> uh-huh. >> why get married now? >> well, why not get married now? i need someone to take care of me, help take care of me. >> you don't feel taken care of. >> not as good as i could be. i take fabulous care of myself. let's put that on record. it wouldn't hurt. >> tell me a little bit about the weight, because you look great. >> thank you. >> the last i heard you lost 85 pounds. >> i did. from where i was. but i put 15 or 20 of those pounds back on and i'm working to get them back off. >> what do you do to get them off? >> it's an up and down thing. when i drop the sugar out of the beverages, my iced tea, lemonade, the pounds start coming off. >> you can find out what else aretha franklin has to say monday morning on "starting point" with soledad o'brien. it begins at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. i want you to listen to this now. >> i'm voting for romney. >> i'm drin

it looks real official. >>> soledad o'brien is coming up next, and she's going to join us right now withs got on "starting point." hi, soledad. >> good morning. the day after the debate, we are talking about how it went,winne. and we're going to talk with thorning with actor and former representative. we're going to ask him about that. >>> also, college costs seem to be spiraling out of control and, in fact, college is no longer affordable for many americans. this morning we'll talk to education secretary arne duncan about a proposal to reverse that trend. and we told you this story about the east haven mayor and tacos comment. we covered that a lot yesterday. guess what, hundreds of tacos were delivered -- yeah, they are -- hundreds of tacos were delivered to the east haven mayor and they've had -- they tell people if you text us, we will deliver more tacos to the mayor. we'll tell you what's happening there and how he is responding to that this morning. that and much more ahead as we begin at 7:00 a.m. on "starting point."fo the things we buy most. it's 1% cash back everywhere, every t

soledad o'brien is in clive outside of des moines. 're counting votes over there, soledad. >> yeah, there are two precincts that they're counting votes for here in clive. over here i'm looking at precinct two votes being counted. they're starting to sort them. so first they've got to divide them by candidate. after that they count those piles. once they count them for the first time, they'll switch, count those piles for the second time to make sure they're getting a consistent number. after that they'll start writing on a white board. they're going to write on the white board who has done, who has done well. there are speakers here talking as well. i'm going to let you come through. >> thank you. >> while they're doing the counting it takes 15 minutes. i'm sorry, i apologize for blocking you. there's business to do. speakers will come up and talk about the platform and the planks and things like that for the folks who stayed. they probably lost 800 people, 1,000 people, these are all who are left. these are people interested in seeing

soledad o'brien goes one-on-one is republican senator marco rubio. the coverage of the florida primary begins with a special edition tonight at 6:00 eastern. at 7:00 eastern, join wolf, anderson, erin, candy and the best political team on television as they guide you through the florida results. >>> want to get you up to speed on syria this morning. we've been bringing you a lot of stories about syria but things are ramping up there. our secretary of state, hillary clinton, is expected to urge the u.n. security council to support a resolution for peace in syria to boot bashar al assad out of power. look at your pictures. the violence escalating in the streets. cnn showing you both sides saying the government has been cracking down day after day. yesterday, alone, 100 people died. the government saying for it part, these are all terrorists. arwa damen is live. >> the u.n. resolutions don't have a lot of effect when it comes to this typically. this particular resolution doesn't have a lot of teeth either. it's not about sanctions economically and it's

. >> soledad o'brien, where are you now? >> we are here in a place where there's two precincts caucuses. west des moines one and two. 300 people can sit. now many hundred more have come in. they've finally closed the doors. so the line to register is getting much shorter. they're hoping to get started officially in about five or ten minutes. here is what's going to happen. it all starts right up there on that podium. let me walk you through. first, i'll show you where the ballot box is. it is right over here. people have these red ballots. once they fill them out, they'll put them inside this ballot box. then i'll walk you up the stairs. they'll bring those ballot boxes eventually after the representatives of the candidates speak, they'll bring those ballot boxes up here. they'll lay them out, they'll divide them up and they'll start counting them. they'll count them a second time to confirm the numbers and they'll start writing down the results right up here on the easel. and this will be the first indication for people abo

now he's gone all together. >>> soledad o'brien joins us now with a look ahead at "starting point." >t about the captain. remarkable. we'll talk about the search for survivors that has been suspended with a former navy s.e.a.l. they're going to talk about how dangerous and risky that snchts plus, iran says no, they will not be returning that secret spy craft, the drone that crashed in iran. however, they are willing to send a $4 small toy model to the president. talk about that. >>> plus, you're moms, i'm a mom. how much do you think the job of a mom is worth? give me a number. just laughter. just laughter. yes. >> billions. >> yes, that would be just hysterical laughter on that. we'll crunch the numbers and tell you how much a mom is worth so we can go home and present that bill to people. that's ahead this morning. stay with us. ♪ ♪ ♪ one too many... [ male announcer ] it's time to reclaim your garage. the all-new passat. the 2012 motor trend car of the year. ♪ seek your way and go >>> good morning, san francisco. 39 degrees there. guess what, later it's going to be sunny, a high of

i'm soledad o'brien, and you're watching my new show, called "starting point."ive this morning at the waveland cafe in des moines, iowa. >>> coming up in the next half hour, it is caucus eve. voters here can't take a step without hearing a campaign pitch. and close to half of likely voters say they are still thinking about changing their minds. republican candidates are promising to close the federal department of education. an idea that many voters here in iowa like. we'll talk about what's at risk there. >>> and something presidential candidates as far back as ronald reagan have wanted to do, close the d.o.e. but what could happen to kids who rely on the billions of dollars that the d.o.e. hands snout we'll look at that. >>> we begin, though, with the tightening race here in iowa. mitt romney is on top, but ron paul and rick santorum are in striking distance, so it's still anyone's game, especially when one poll found that nearly 40% of the caucus goers could be swayed to vote for another candidate. that statistic includes iowa congressman steve king. i spoke

she sat down with cnn's soledad o'brien to talk about her ups and downs with her weight loss. >> youryfriend. >> my man. i don't have a boyfriend, my man. >> your man has been somebody who's been in your life a long time? why get married now? >> why not get married, i need someone to take care of me, help take care of me. >> you don't get taken care of? >> i take fabulous care of myself, let's put that on record. but it wouldn't hurt. >> tell me a little bit about the weight, because you look great. last i heard you had lost 85 pounds. >> i was, but i put 15 or 20 of those pounds back on and i'm working to get them back off now. it's an up and down thing. i'll tell you something, when i dropped the sugar out of the beverages, my iced tea, lemon e lemonade, the pounds started coming off. >> you can find out what else aretha had to say at "starting point" with soledad o'brien starting at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. >> i'm voting for romney. >> i'm drinking a sam adams with lagger, and i'm voting for john huntsman. >> how some voters in new hampshire are picking presidents. that's straight a

. >>> and our colleague, soledad o'brien is standing by live with her brand new program "starting point, soledad. >> hey, ladies, good morning. our starting point this morning is starting "starting point" here at the diner and our focus, the undecided. a huge group of voters who could make every single poll that has happened so far until now absolutely, positively irrelevant. live in des moines. last full day of campaigns, of course, and the also talking about the candidate who said iowans pick corn not presidents. kind of snitty. isn't it? that's what jon huntsman said. he'll join us live at 8:00 this morning eastern time telling us why he thinks the state of new hampshire matters much, much more. all that and much more coming up at the top of the hour as we start "starting point." back to you guys. >> we'll be watching. guaranteed audience right here. >> thank you, soledad. you were born's in iowa, too. >> right. >> guaranteed. i said warm in iowa. it's been cold there. talking weather with another favery colleague, rob marciano. he's dreamy. did i say that? he is dreamy. in person, t

>> oh, our very own soledad o'brien. here with her. >> soledad will have the queen of soul coming up. delicious sugar-free vitafusion fiber gummies have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. >>> you will not even miss your bus because it's 6:58 which means that's the news from a-z. i'm ashlee banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. >> soeledad o'brien has the quen of soul, aretha franklin. >>> hi, everybody. i'm soledad o'brien. your watching our new show "starting point." live this morning in manchester, new hampshire. it is primary eve here in new hampshire. the specialty, the specialty at this diner is something called a giant plate of fries covered in cheese kurd, canadian cheese kurd, and then a spicy gray zi on top. they promise it will be on a

i'm soledad o'brien. we are starting our second hour. "starting point."e in manchester, new hampshire. the restaurant opened around 6:00 a.m. this morning. we're enjoying politics and pork pie which is something that has to have just under a million categories in it. it's right in front of you. it is boiled pork, potatoes in a pastry things with more potato, bread, eggs. that's the special. go back to bed after you have that. we're talking politics this morning. our starting point is looking at the race for second here in new hampshire. we have results from one town that has a knack for picking republican presidential nominees plus a brand new snapshot of the race coming from some new polling that's just an hour old. we'll talk about all of that with mary kaye constance. she joins us this morning. a story that everyone is talking about. four killers that have been pardoned. people demand to know why the mississippi governor set them free. >>> also president obama's chief of staff has quit. there's a shakeup on the west wing. former chief of staff, john de

in the meantime, soledad o'brien has a look at what's ahead on "starting point."ng. we've got a lot to talk about this morning. we're going to talk about those pictures you showed about tahrir square. and steny hoyer is joining us this morning and republican congressman jed he. there were a lot offal as of bipartisanship. we'll see if the two sides can agree on anything as we move post-state of the union address. i was telling you about these fascinating tapes, 45 hours of secret tapes made by john f. kennedy jr. they have been released and we're going to talk about jfk's last three months of his life with presidential historian douglas brinkley. that is all ahead this morning as "starting point" gets under fwha roughly nine minutes or so. "early start" is back right after this short break. >>> pretty shot. >> you know, i love new york, i love chicago. >> but you've got a new favorite? >> i love those people in atlanta. good morning to you. 37 degrees right now. guess what. sunny, 65 later. those folks are super nice there. >> sun rise looks beautiful, doesn't it?

that's in colorado spring, colorado. >>> soledad o'brien joining us with what's ahead on "starting pointto you, soledad. >> good morning to you guys. "starting point," of course, about ten minutes away. we're talking to the man who many are calling the tea party's new haymaker. tim scott, the road to the gop nomination could go right to his district in south carolina. plus the race for the white house, no laughing matter, unless it's hysterical. did you see this? playing the part of herman cain. "early start" is coming back right after the break. thrilled. wait. we can have shakes? and boston cream pie. did you say pie? pie. she said pie. pie. [ male announcer ] get back on track with low prices on everything you need. backed by our ad match guarantee. walmart. nyqui tylenol: me, too. and cougnasal congestion.ers?ee. nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. 6:51. rick santorum did not have a great run. an event he really got into it on gay m

you're watching "starting point" with soledad o'brien. i'm soledad o'brien. in new hampshire this morning. that's the inside of this really wonderful cafe. we have been eating breakfast this morning. we're talking about outrage in mississippi. that is because of the outgoing governor, haley barbour, has pardoned 200 people including some people who were killers. we'll talk with some family members of victims who are outraged today. and then breathe easy if you're a pot smoker. good news for pot smokers. that's rare for us. elizabeth cohen has a result of a 20-year study that focuses on people who smoke pot. >>> first though how's that for a tease, christine. first. before we get to the pot story, we'll look at some of the other stories that you are following for us. >>> that's what we call a hook, right into the news headlines. can't wait for that with elizabeth later. joran van der sloot returns to court in peru to face a murder charge. he's accused of killing stephany flores in a lima hotel in 2010. he's expected to enter a plea after requesting more time t

all right, 38 minutes after the hour. >>> coming up at about 7:35 on "starting point," soledad o'brienohn mccain about why he endo e endorsed mitt romney. did you watch that? and at 7:05 eastern, soledad will talk to former senate candidate christine o'donnell about whether rick santorum's recent momentum will affect mitt romney in new hampshire, where he is leading the polls, quite handsomely. >> one of the last interviews she did on cnn, she walked out on piers morgan when he was asking about gay marriage. so, i wonder if soledad's going there today. but she laughs about the whole "i'm not a witch" thing. i love that. >>> coming up, we have a special guest. we're going to wake her up. she's actually on the west coast. and, well, that kind of gives it away, doesn't it? i wasn't going to tell you, but it's assistant d.a. casey novak. diane neil. she has no clue, but she's about to get a phone call. did you know this girl is crazy about politics and was considering running herself? >> oh! >> you'll find out why she did not. bonus! so you earn 50% more cash. according to research, everyb

at 7:00 this morning, our friend, soledad o'brien will broadcast live from charleston, south carolina. one of her real big gets, the authors of the big "the real romney." interesting stuff in that book. she'll have it tonight on "starting point." >>> and a two-hour town hall debate live from charleston. it will be moderated by cnn anchor and chief national correspondent john king. tune in for that. >>> we really like to get you ahead of the game. it's so early in the morning, you think we're giving you yesterday's news? heck no. we're giving you tonight's news. >>> in a little more than three hours, something will happen that could change the way you think about the republican race. the republican party of iowa is going to publicly release the certified vote totals of the january caucuses. important? sure. why not. mitt romney will know for sure whether he really did win in that narrow eight-vote victory over rick santorum. and you know what, there's some drepcy here. >> can wait to get those results. >>> and the top u.s. military commander is in israel for high-level talks. this is m

soledad o'brien joins us from a key manchester polling station. when i grow up, i want to fix up old houses. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. . >>> less than an hour now until most polling stations begin to close across new hampshire. newt gingrich needs a strong finish before moving onto the campaign in south carolina where help will be waiting. an independent group backing gingrich will be spending millions of dollars on attack ads kritd sizing mitt romney's record. mr. speaker, south carolina in a moment. let's talk about expectations for tonight. can you make the case, as you do now, that governor romney is a weak frer and would be a weak nominee? is your credibility to make that

soledad o'brien joining us live from des moines. soledad, quite a night. what is your take on rick santorum. >> quite a morning, actually. technically. you know, interesting. you know, i think a lot of people the days before the caucuses actually begin were telling me, watch rick santorum. that is the headline and to a large degree it was. romney wins but it was those eight points and those eight votes were really the rick santorum difference. it's due to a couple of things. the first that he did the very traditional way that people like to be campaigned to here in iowa, which is know out and meet people. he went to all 99 counties and did a lot of hand shaking and really met people. here in iowa, people will tell you they really appreciate and value that. i think that was very important for him. the second thing he did while he really had the social conservatives behind him to a large degree, one thing he started doing in sort of the days after he got his bump was to start talking about blue collar job issues. start talking about the economy. moving out o

morning shows, he was on cnn, msnbc and on fox, and, being asked about his performance, on cnn, soledad o'brien asked him about his 16-point win in new hampshire and described it as being not a victory? >> well, it is all about expectation which the media set up. they set up the level that you are supposed to -- the bar you are supposed to jump over and if you don't jump over the bar, somehow it wasn't as great but, here i'm going to use a word now that is often heard on network television, i'll use the c-word. conflict. this is what the media like better than anything else and one of the few equal opportunities they indulge in and, when clinton was running we had whitewater and paula jones and as everybody knows republicans don't have sex and have to do other stuff now with them to keep the conflict going and it builds ratings. no surprise. >> the 16 point victory was not a victory according to cnn? >> the moral hazard of reporters is so strong, they would say, mitt romney, you won huge, you won decisively and won bigger than bush 41 did in 1988. and, snooze, right? basically going to go over

"starting point" with soledad o'brien is up next. >> good morning.g 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

"starting point" with soledad o'brien is up next. >> good morning.g 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

. >>> coming up in the next hour, jody kantor will the soledad o'brien's guest. >>> it's really gettingw with the gop, thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow republican, right? well, doesn't seem to matter because poor old mitt romney is under fire from rick perry, from newt gingrich, from rick santorum. and even rudy jult giuliani was on piers morgan last night was saying, cut it down, guys. >>> in washington, democratic strategist maria cardona is here and paul steinhauser is us, and from chicago, conservative commentator lenny mcallister. >> they're going after him not only about the whole issue of, you know, capitalism and how his work at bain was somehow what they believe it should be. i didn't understand any of it especially since everybody has come out against it and losing traction. it doesn't stop there. there's a web app right now out and it's paid for by the newt gingrich camp and it goes after the whole sort of language and leftyism of speaking other language. let's play it and talk on the other side. >> massachusetts mitt romney will say anything to win, anything. and just li

in the meantime, soledad o'brien has a look at what's ahead on "starting point."got a lot to talk about this morning. we're going to talk about those pictures you showed about tahrir square. and steny hoyer is joining us this morning and republican congressman jed he. there were a lot offal as of bipartisanship. we'll see if the two sides can agree on anything as we move post-state of the union address. i was telling you about these fascinating tapes, 45 hours of secret tapes made by john f. kennedy jr. they have been released and we're going to talk about jfk's last three months of his life with presidential historian douglas brinkley. that is all ahead this morning as "starting point" gets under fwha roughly nine minutes or so. "early start" is back right after this short break. >>> pretty shot. >> you know, i love new york, i love chicago. >> but you've got a new favorite? >> i love those people in atlanta. good morning to you. 37 degrees right now. guess what. sunny, 65 later. those folks are super nice there. >> sun rise looks beautiful, doesn't it? the halce