zoraida? >> i know you're a poll junkie. i can't let you go without reviewing the polls. in case there's a matchup here. obama-romney, what does it look like? >> a brand new poll from nbc/"washington post" came out yesterday. the president has a seven-point advantage according to this poll. our cnn poll from two weeks ago and gallup poll also had the president on top. go to this screen, and this is interesting. the gender gap. zoraida, we've been talking about this over and over and over. in this poll, romney ahead with men. in women, a very large advantage for the president. it's probably why you saw romney yesterday at his event talk about women's issues and blame the president for job losses among women. >> trying to explain the war on women. at 6:00 we want to talk about potential running mates. get ready for that one. paul steinhauser live in washington for us. thank you. >>> ten minutes past 5:00. a major scare in the air. a korean airlines jet was forced to make an emergency landing in

zoraida won the cnn bracket challenge. way, i'm sorry, i'm getting some breaking news right now, there is a senate subcommittee hearing on the cheating that zoraida did in order to make this -- >> how dare you call me a cheater! >> reporter: i just want to let bruce and everyone in the control room do not get into her ear, what are the names of the kentucky players? what's the mascot for kentucky. answer that question? >> i have no idea. >> reporter: come on. >> the boy and the man in my life saved me on this one. listen, i am going to give credit where credit is due. >> reporter: i rest my case. >> i know but i did much better than you and that's really all that the maers, right, carlos? >> i think i may have come in last. >> reporter: you were breaking up with that last one, zoraida. >> of course we were breaking up when we were asking you how you did. >> thank you, carlos. >> reporter: you know, guys, we are breaking up in more ways than you can imagine. i'm out of here. >> see you later. >> it wouldn't be the first tim

>> yeah, zoraida, that's right.say they saw and spoke with bales when he came back to the base in between going to the first village and the second village. this is what investigators are looking at. more than two dozen army criminal investigators on this case now. they've been to the village for the first time to try and collect whatever evidence and interviews they can. but it is weeks after the event. so, there will be chain of custody issues, a lot of difficulty in collecting evidence. but they are doing it and they are conducting interviews. and there will now, in fact, be a sanity review for sergeant bales. they will look at his mental health, try to evaluate his mental health situation and determine if he, in fact, is competent to stand trial. zoraida? >> let's talk about something that happened right before that, the koran burning. apparently the investigation has been completed. so, what happens now? >> two investigations, actually, completed now we have been told. the joint afghan/u.s. investigation and th

>> well, zoraida, yes. as we know there are reports that the agents and soldiers bragged to the women that we're to protect obama. there's no more reports coming out on whether that's true. we may find out more given new news that the women that were taken back to the hotel left their colombian identity documents with the hotel reception. that's quite a common practice where prostitutes are allowed donto enter hotels between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. so now that colombian investigators have those details, we have u.s. investigators right now checking out the details of those identities and looking for the women. so hopefully should they be found they'll be the ones that can tell us just how much obama security was compromised with any information the men gave them. >> now, i know you say you were surprised at how brazen the secret service members allegedly were. can you explain that and why? >> well, i mean, i have to say i wasn't surprised that prostitutes were being engaged by members of the secret service

. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. >> did it throw you off for a minute. >> i love 5:00 a.m. in the east. good to have you with us. game on. mitt romney, he declared the race is on with president obama. >> a better america begins tonight. >> okay. so now we know it's on but what do we know about newt gingrich and rick santorum and when they may officially get behind him or will they? we have details meetings, planned ahead. >> and birds cause another scare in the sky. this is the second one this week. a flight with 54 people on board turns around after geese smack into the windshield. ew! >> and president obama slow jamming on student loans with jimmy fallon. >> now is not the time to make school more expensive for our young people. >> oh, yeah. >> the president going late night to grab some young voters. we'll have the highlights for you. >> he looks too serious in the background. >> mitt romney so close to the republican nomination now he can taste it. the former massachusetts goer sweeping to victory in

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm kate bolduan, giving ashleigh a day off. great to be here. >>> we're starting today with scary news, killer storms up and down tornado alley, hundreds of twisters touching down this weekend. our rob marciano is right in the trick of it. you've got to see the pictures of it. live on the ground in oklahoma just ahead. >>> afghan leaders have said they've repelled the deadly attacks in kabul and three other provinces. the explosions and gun fire have stopped at least for now. >>> the latest on the prostitution scandal. nearly a dozen secret service agents pulled off the job. and the president, not surprisingly, not pleased. >> i expect that investigation to be thorough and rigorous. >> ahead, how a complaint from one prostitute in colombia set the scandal in motion. >>> and, yes, that is secretary of state hillary clinton. she was caught on camera, take a look, folks, you don't normally see her had like this. she's knocking down a beer and dancing up a storm at a cuban nightclub in colombia. >>> up first, the alarm after the st

hello. >> good morning, ashleigh and zoraida.road to justice. george zimmerman is facing second-degree murder charges in the death of their son. zimmerman will appear in a florida courtroom today. a conviction on that charge could carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. he will plead not guilty. >>> 911 tapes are out from the night that whitney houston died. the hotel security guard at the beverly hilton made the call after houston was found lying face down in a bathtub. the tape, revealing some confusion about the situation because the woman -- a woman in the singer's room who called hotel security, she kept hanging up. >>> jury selection begins today in the federal trial for former senator john edwards. the trial is expected to last at least six weeks. edwards is facing six felony charges for conspiracy, accepting illegal campaign contributions. if convicted, he could face 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines. >>> california state officials blasting u.c. davis leaders over this, a pepper spray incident that went vira

i'm zoraida sambolin.that madeline mcscan still alive. this is what she might look like as well. we're talking to a family spokesperson about this case. >>> horrific testimony, too painful for jennifer hudson. the actress walking out of the trial of the man accuse fd killing her mother, brother and her nephew. >>> do you ever wonder what they wear under that robe? wonder no more. a judge under fire for snapping a shirtless photo of himself and firing it off in an e-mail to a married bailiff. now he's talking and he may have one of those judge shows in the future as well. the hilarious response is coming up ahead. >>> ashley? >> thanks zoraida. it's 30 minutes past the hour. there's new hope in the case of a little missing girl named madeline mccann. she has been gone now for five years. disappeared in portugal. scotland yard says she may be actually alive. british police release a composite photo of what madeleine might look like today. she would be turning nine next week. they're asking the portuguese aut

i'm zoraida sambolin. it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. george zimmerman speaking out from his hiding spot. the man who shot 17-year-old trayvon martin has just launched a website to plead his innocence and ask for donations for his defense. ♪ >> well, i walk around to make sure everybody else is working so i don't have to do anything. >> that's another embarrassing moment for the agency in charge of saving the government money. the white house is in full damage control after this one and republicans are in full investigation mode. >> wildfires raging from maine to miami. flames threatening homes. thick smoke stopping traffic after one of the warmest and driest marches -- march ever. >> you don't just come to miami and say the things this guy said. ozzie guillen, manager of the marlin, boy, is he getting off on the wrong foot with the fans. he said something about fidel castro that not too many people like. >>> george zimmerman speaks. well, sort of. the man who alleshot trayvon ma launched a website that solici

i'm kate bolduan. >> i'm zoraida sambolin.t" this morning with a new legal twist in the trayvon martin case, his accused killer wants a new judge. we'll tell you why. >>> plus the secret service prostitution scandal is going up the ladder. we have more details for you. >>> and there's this -- >> it's pathetic, i got to tell you that. >> moments ago a -- >> oh, yeah, that's what it looked like yesterday as lawmakers tore into the tsa's head honchos for drinking and partying in las vegas. >>> and this a live look at kennedy space center, the space shuttle discovery taking off moments ago,

i'm kate bolduan. >> i'm zoraida sambolin.nt" this morning with a new legal twist in the trayvon martin case, his accused killer wants a new judge. we'll tell you why. >>> plus the

. >> i'm gried zoraida sambolin. after weeks in hiding, george zimmerman made his first court appearance for the shooting of 17-year-old trayvon martin. prosecutors saying the neighborhood watch volunteer followed the unarmed teenage other after aa police dispatcher told him to back off. >>> pyongyang we have a problem. depositing a long-range rocket right into the smack of the ocean, the damage is done. united nations security council will talk about this, the north korean threat, later today. >>> newark, new jersey, mayor cory booker, already a rising star. now he's a superhero after i ran into a burning home to help save a woman. he was hospitalized. we have an update on his condition. >>> using your money to reward what some call a jackass. the gift that keeps on giving. we'll explain. >>> up first, the state versus george zimmerman. it's official. florida prosecutors laying out their case against the man now accused of murdering 17-year-old trayvon martin. after weeks in hiding, we got our first full look at the

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm ashleigh banfield. nice to have you with us.billing for headline this is morning. trayvon martin's family is asking for a new federal review of their son's death. it concerns possible interference they allege by florida prosecutors who declined to pursue charges against george zimmerman despite a police report that recommended his arrest. >>> a russian passenger plane crashes during takeoff, killing 31 people on board including all four of the crew members. the aircraft was traveling from an oil rich area of siberia. it burst into flames after takeoff. there were 12 who survived but this morning they remain in intensive care. >>> an ugly post game celebration. kentucky fans burning couches and flipping cars, this after their team won. there are reports of more than two dozen arrest this is morning as the wildcats get ready to play in the title game tonight. >>> dallas love field airport was shut down yesterday by a student's science project. that's right, a science project. five gates were evacuated when the tsa found a robotic

zoraida.released a video which went viral, basically, even though calling nugent a surrogate for mitt romney even though there's no formal connection there. but we should talk a little bit about what nugent has said about this because, obviously, making no apologies. in fact, he spoke to cnn contributor and tea party activist dana lash on her radio show. it happened yesterday. just listen to what he said about this. >> wasserman schultz is such a brain dead, soulless, heartless idiot that i could not be more proud that this soulless, heartless, idiot feebly attempts to find fault with ted nugent because i am on the right track and she just encourages me to stand stronger. >> in fact, he says he stands by his speech. he calls his comments, 100% positive. obviously, the white house was asked what it thinks about all of this and the white house spokesman jay carney was quick to say, "look, we're not going to respond to every reporter's comments. the president is focused on the issues." >> there's

thanks, zoraida. >> thank you. >>> just give the kid a ball. grown-up fans beat a little kid to a souvenir, make him cry. is it me? i just want to cry when i see this little guy. i love him. give him the ball. it's our get real. and tareq salahi says this is for real. is it a way to extend his 15 minutes of fame? check out our live blog on our website cnn.com/startingpoint. talk with us on twitter at starting point@cnn. christine romance. abby huntsman's playlist "stronger." i bathed it in miracles. director: [ sighs ] cut! sorry to interrupt. when's the show? well, if we don't find an audience, all we'll ever do is rehearse. maybe you should try every door direct mail. just select the zip codes where you want your message to be seen, print it yourself, or we'll help you find a local partner and you find the customers that matter most. brilliant. clifton, show us overjoyed. no, too much. jennessa. ah! a round of applause. [ applause ] [ male announcer ] go online to reach every home, every address, every time with every door direct mail. [ snee

zoraida? >> it's 37 minutes past the hour. talk about crazy weather.week left in april. snow is falling in pennsylvania. a powerful nor'easter is targeting thousands this morning from west virginia to western new york. rob marciano has your forecast from the cnn weather center in atlanta. i keep on calling it cooky weather. >> it's a big storm. different people are affected differently. the east side of the storm is a warm one. we've seen temperature jumps of about 10 degrees across parts of eastern new england including rhode island. the center of the low is over new york city. it will be drifting up toward the north and west and notice the white across upstate western new york and western parts of pennsylvania. temperatures here around the freezing mark. cold enough for snow. it's piling up in places near cornell getting seven inches of know and amounts similar to that across parts of western pennsylvania pennsylvania. total accumulations up to four inches outside of pittsburgh. higher elevations will see more. winds gusty. flooding across the northe

zoraida has them.o be siding with arizona in the fight over its controversial immigration law. the federal government is arguing that states don't have authority to enforce immigration laws. president obama appointed justice sonia sotomayor says the case is not going well. we talked to jose vargas to get his opinion on this issue. >> what we have here is if these provisions come into play, can you imagine the united states of america having 50 different policies for each state when it deals with immigration? >> protests against the law are heating up in arizona. nine demonstrators were arrested in phoenix yesterday. the supreme court is expected to make its final decision in the summer. they are expecting that in june actually. >>> horrific testimony just too painful for singer jennifer hudson at her family's murder trial. hudson shut her eyes as a police officers described finding the bloody bodies of her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. she walked out of the courtroom to avoid seeing disturbing

i'm kate bolduan. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. launched the careers of countless stars and millions of kis on new year's eve. we'll talk about his life and legacy with gloria gaynor and d editor of billboard magazine. >>> forced out over a prosecution scandal in columbia, one of the escorts is now talking. she said it was a fight that erupted over her price. we'll talk to a former secret service agent whose brother was working in columbia. >>> he says, yes, he was nude but, no, he was not lewd. the man who stripped town to absolutely nothing will join us. fully clothed, i'm hoping, to tell us this morning why he has no regrets about his protest. it's thursday, april 19th and "starting point" starts right now. this is off my playlist this morning, chuck berry, johnny b. goode. he made his national debut on "bandstand" with dick clark. will cain joins us. columnist for the blaze.com. you still have the beard. ok

i'm kate bolduan. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. launched the careers of countless stars and millions of kis on new year's eve. we'll talk about his life and legacy with gloria gaynor and d editor of billboard magazine. >>> forced out over a prosecution scandal in columbia, one of the escorts is now talking. she said it was a fight that erupted over her price. we'll talk to a former secret service agent whose brother was working in columbia. >>> he says, yes, he was nude but, no, he was not

i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. we're bringing you the news from "a" to "z." we start with our top story. >>> texas tornadoes tossing trucks like toys. look at that. it crushed cars like soda cans. incredible live video showing the power of a twister. >> it was scary. it was so scary. it remind you of the wizard of oz when the tornado hit and everything going round and round. >> the clean-up now beginning in the dallas/ft. worth area, and one of the busiest travel hubs in the country is now checking if the planes are fit to fly. >>> new details this morning in the trayvon martin investigation and new questions about whether or not george zimmerman uttered a racial slur before pulling the trigger. >>> we won them all. >> yes, indeed. it was a trifecta. mitt romney sweeps three more contests, moving closer to clinching the nomination, as president obama mentions him by name now. >>> and from russia with love, a whole lot of love. claims in a new documentary that the russian spy anna chapman got cozy with a cabinet mem

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm christine romans in for ashleigh banfield this morning. she's on assignment. it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. good morning. coming up this hour -- >> the president looking for an election boost, a huge jobs report comes out in a few hours from now. we'll talk about what you can expect. >>> and the coach at the center of the nfl bounty scandal caught calls for heads in a tough pep talk to his team. the tape that could be the nail in the coffin for his career. ♪ >> that's not going go of very well. the agency in charge of cutting government costs makes a joke out of it in a new web video, this after it blew almost $1 million on a las vegas conference. >>> a japanese ghost ship that was drifting off the coast of alaska now sleeps with the fishes. new video of the coast guard unloading the cannons on it. up first, it's the missing piece of the recovery, the critical jobs report for march is due out in about three and a half hours. a report with the potential to shake up the 2012 election. christine romans will tell us what we can expect today. chri

. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. let's get started. >> the man who left george zimmerman walk free is still effectively on the job this morning. >>> it was a sucker punch, the northeast is cleaning up after a powerful late april snowstorm socked the region with over a foot of snow in some areas covering the roads, runways, and the flowers that had already blossomed. >>> and first there was bountygate, now there's spygate. the general manager of the new orleans saints is being accused of bugging the superdome to listen in on visiting coaches. there's talk of criminal charges, but mickey loomis is saying the report is 1,0000 plu false. >> a police dog sent in to end a high speed chase. apparently he worked it out. >> that's some nice maneuvers. >>> up first this morning a dramatic turnaround in the trayvon martin case. the sanford, florida city commission voted to reject the police commissioner's resignation. last month he was blasted for not arresting trayvon martin immediately after the shooting, but now they questio

that's off zoraida's playlist. that's marc anthony. i need to know.r us. >> australian troops will pull out of afghanistan ahead of schedule. some of the 1,500 australian soldiers now stationed in afghanistan could come home within a few months. all of them could be out by the end of next year. that's 12 months earlier than originally planned. >>> andrews bvievik taking the stand. he called it the most spectacular attack in europe since world war ii and necessary to save the country from multiculturalism. >>> julian assange launches a new career today, tv host. it's called "the world tomorrow." it debuts today on russian television. the first interview will feature a range of guests who are stamping their mark on the future including politicians, revolutionaries, artists and visionaries. assange is living in england while awaiting extradition to sweden on sexual assault charges. >>> sara ganim has been awarded a pulitzer prize for her coverage of the penn state sex abuse scandal. ga ganim broke the newts that jerry sandusky was under investigation for

time now to go to zoraida for the other big stories of the morning.> good morning, christine. we start with breaking news this morning. her case captured worldwide attention and now there's new hope for missing british girl madeleine mccann. madeleine was 3 years old when she vanished in 2007. this morning u.k. authorities say she may still be alive but refuse to say what evidence they uncovered to suggest this. police released a new age progression image showing what madeleine may look like now. she would be 9 years old this may. madeleine was last seen in portugal on a family vacation. >>> for the second time in five days, a bird strike forces a passenger jet in new york to make an emergency landing. this latest incident involved a jetblue flight last night from westchester county airport headed to west palm beach. the pilot was forced to turn around just 15 minutes after takeoff when two geese slammed into the windshield and damaged it. one passenger described the impact. >> the plane started swerving immediately right after the two hits. he was ro

i'm zoraida sambolin.in the eas. the terror in tulsa seems to be over. two suspects are heading to court this morning. >>> plus a facebook post that may point to revenge as a possible motive. >>> we could know in days whether george zimmerman will be charged in the shooting killing of trayvon martin. after 43 day it's possible the grand jury will take up the case. >>> in north korea a rocket in position for launch right now. >> a gay named bubba wins the coveted green jacket, bubba watson pulling off an emotional and sudden grinding death win at the masters and one of golf's favorites finally has a major title. >>> they're not calling it a hate crime but police in tulsa, oklahoma, are investigating whether race and revenge played a role in last week's deadly shooting spree. two suspects were arrested, 19-year-old jake england and 33-year-old jason watts. england my have been motivated for revenge for his father's killing two years ago. we asked tulsa's mayor about the investigation in our first hour. >> th

. >>> other stories to get there, zoraida sambolin has other headlines. good morning, z. >> good morning to you. he's accused of a bombing rampage in norway last summer. anders breivik admitted to the rampage but not pleading not guilty. he says it was self-defense to "save norway from being taken over by multicultural forces." authorities describe him as a right-wing christian extremist. in a court appearance he gave what appeared to be a fascist salute. >>> police in baltimore say a suspect in a st. patrick's day beating was turned in. the video went viral. social media posts over the past week linked the suspect, 20-year-old aaron parsons to that brutal attack. police are still searching for three other suspects from that video, which shows a crowd of onlookers laughing as a victim is punched in the face, robbed and stripped naked. this afternoon, lawmakers will try to get to the bottom of the spending scandal at the government services administration. the house overnight committee begins a hearing to find out how the agency can justify spending more t

let's get to zoraida. >> you are safe in new york city. >> zoraida has the rest of the headlines fors. good morning. >> good morning, soledad. iran says it cracked the codes on a u.s. spy drone it captured last year and officials in tehran are leaking the alleged details. iran long bragged about capturing the drone. the pentagon doubted iran's military would be able to decode it but iran says it has. it also claims that data from that drone shows it's the same one that flew over osama bin laden's hideout in pakistan two weeks before he was killed. >>> french president nicolas sarkozy finding himself in a fight for his political life this morning after finishing second in the country's presidential election on sunday. socialist candidate came in first. he defeated sarkozy by just over one percentage point. they'll face each other in a runoff election on may 6th. >>> students and teachers return to class in oakland this morning three weeks after a gunman opened fire on campus and killed seven people there. 43-year-old has been charged with seven counts of murder and three counts of att

. >>> hi, zoraida. >> hello, christine.he teenage suspect in the deadly ohio shooting rampage will be back in court. 17-year-old t.j. lane is accused of killing three of his fellow students in january. cobe prosecuted as an adult. >>> singer jennifer hudson is scheduled to testify in the trial of a man accused of killing her mother, brother and nephew. william balfour is the estranged husband of hudson's sister. prosecutors say he gunned down her family in a jealous rage in 2008. >>> mike wallace died over the weekend aft the age of 93. his aggressive and fareless reporting is the stuff of legend. wallace was there at the beginning of "60" minutes in 196. long time colleague morley safer calls him a "one man truth squad." >> people like mike have an indefinable quality that makes people at once take to him immediately, and then find themselves rappelled by him. it's a unique talent. >> there will be a full tribute to wallace next sunday on "60 minutes." >>> minding your business let's get a quick check of the markets. stock

zoraida sambolin has those for us. >> good morning, soledad. and police are digging up the floor and tearing down the drywall of a new york city apartment in a new search for etan patz missing since 1979. the 6-year-old boy was the first missing child pictured on a milk carton. a source says patz met a carpenter in a basement the day before he vanished. cadaver dogs reportedly picked up the scent of human remains in that building. new york police commissioner ray kelly joined us here on "starting point" earlier. he says this same apartment had been searched before. >> it had been searched. obviously it was looked at a long time ago, 30 years ago. there's new technologies involved, new chemicals, new techniques that can be used. i think law enforcement certainly fbi and nypd are hopeful to give some comfort to the parents. >> two supervisors who have been forced out of the secret service in the wake of a prostitution scandal have now been identified. this is a photo from the facebook page of 48-year-old former supervisor david randall chaney. he