>> i sure can, zoraida.d to penn state the scandal so egregious it should serve as a wake-up call to all universities. let's get right to it. the fines. $60 million levied against penn state university. there will be a four-year post-season ban on games that includes, of course, bowl games, which are big money makers. there will be a cut in scholarships down to 15 per year for four years, which will really make a hit on the ability to recruit good college football players. it will erase, wipe out all football wins from 1998 through 2011. why 1998? you will remember that is the year cited by the prereport and in the criminal trial of jerry sandusky when the first incident involving a child was documented here on penn state. also, that action strips a title from joe paterno as being the winningest coach in penn state history. that title would now go to retired florida state couch, bobby bowden. he was one of the first to call for the statue of joe paterno to be taken down. that statue used to stand right behin

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

zoraida? >> why don't we talk about what romney has planned in poland today. >> reporter: he's going to be meeting with the prime minister in poland. a lot of people talking about, when you make these trips as a candidate, what exactly you're trying to do. of course, he is partly trying to get votes, correct? so in poland, which is a conservative catholic nation, there are a lot of polish who live in some of the swing states, like maryland, for example. so certainly, reaching out to those voters through this international tour -- and a lot of people are saying, look, the analysts that look at this, this is kind of an audition for mitt rom inney to show how he operat and how he deals with foreign policy while on foreign land. >> i want to go back to the issue of jerusalem being the capital. apparently, romney talked to wolf blitzer. he had this to say. we're going to chat about it afterwards. >> do you consider jerusalem to be the capital of israel? >> yes, of course. a nation has the capacity

>> absolutely right, zoraida. there's a very good chance, people don't realize this, that drew peterson at the end of the trial is going to walk out of the courtroom a free man. and the problem for the prosecution is that there's no direct evidence tying him to the death of his third wife, kathleen savio. and prosecutors can't really bring up the disappearance of his fourth wife, stacey. let's be frank, he never would have been investigated for kathleen savio's death if stacy peterson, his fourth wife, wouldn't have gone missing. in this case, there's an autopsy report, there was a coroner's jury done on kathleen savio's death and it came back as an accident. so it's a huge hurdle for prosecutors. they do have some hearsay statements they'll be able to bring in which are damning towards peterson. things said, threats he made to his ex-wife and quite frankly it's a very tough case. the defense team is very pleased with their case moving in. one of the big questions is the stacy peterson factor. how much will the ju

zoraida? >> you know what, john berman will be talking to an ex-pro football player who is going to speak specifically about that. a lot of people are saying that the sanctions were really hard against penn state. what are you hearing? >> well of course, as we've been saying, it's going to be very tough for them to try too overcome this. and the ncaa said the thing about what happened here, is that schools around the country will have to learn a lesson, face what happened here and make sure it doesn't happen again. here's the head of the ncaa. >> our goal is not to be just punitive, but to make sure the university establishes an athletic culture and daily mindset in which football will never again be placed ahead of educating, nurturing and protecting young people. >> and along with the $60 million in fines, remember, what still lies ahead for this university. all those expected civil lawsuits that they're also going to have to pay out to all the victims in this case. the child abuse victims,

i'm zoraida sambolin. let's get started.eat, the kind that makes it hard to breathe, it's threatening americans from the northeast to the midwest this morning. 16 people have died since thursday when triple digit temperatures unleashed killer thunderstorms, leaving 4 million people without power. just look at how many states are dealing with these sweltering conditions. in ohio, 427,000 customers were without power at 10:00 p.m. last night. it is the same story in virginia and maryland where hundreds of thousands of people are waiting for the electricity to return. and there's no let up in sight. 20 states are under heat advisory warnings, maryland, vf west virginia and virginia have declared states of emergency. when are they expecting to restore the power there? >> reporter: one good positive sign of progress, the traffic signal just came on a few minutes ago. this is one of the major intersections, down the road i can see to another intersection where the traffic light is still off. as of last night 300 traffic signals in

i'm zoraida sambolin along with john berman.>> we'll follow up on a story we talked about yesterday and this amazing photograph taken in washington, d.c., at the d.c. war memorial. >> so romantic. >> such a beautiful photograph. photographer and amateur angela gollick took this picture and posted it online. she thought what she saw was a wedding proposal. what she was doing was looking for this couple, their names, so she could get them their photos. it went viral. everyone talking about it. they're both in the air force, right? the air force puts out a statement yesterday saying, no. this was not, in fact, a wedding proposal. the wedding proposal happened weeks ago. this couple, who still wants to remain nameless, they want to remain nameless, they were looking for possible wedding sites, walking around washington. they just happened to be kissing. which when you think about it is just as romantic. >> all lit up. so fantastic. i hope they get copies of these pictures blown up. i like the first story better, actually. >> good lu

zoraida is there for us. you're watching "early start." d.as station about once a month. drive around town all the time doing errands and never ever have to fill up gas in the city. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. the last time i went to the gas station must have been about three months ago. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. ♪ >>> news from egypt, he's been in office less than two weeks but egypt's new president morsi has said he's going to reconvene parliament againsts wishes of the all powerful military. here's the news we're just getting in. according to the state news agency and a spokesman for the freedom and justice party, the egyptian parliament will reconvene tomorrow, tuesday at 12:30 p.m. local time, early in the morning our time. against the wishes of the country's military. egypt's generals have called an emergency meeting to discuss the move and its repercussions. zoraida sambolin is in cairo and g

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm ashlee. >> it's the kind of heat that makes it hard to breathe and it is still threatening millions of americans all the way from the midwest to the northeast this morning. >> about 16 people have now died from this heat since thursday when triple-digit temperatures unleashed killer storms that have now left millions of people without power this morning. it's incredible, but look how many states are now dealing with miserable conditions in ohio, 425,000 people are now without power. that's as of 10:00 p.m. last night. it's the same story in virginia and maryland, where hundreds of thousands of people are just waiting for the power to come back on. just a whiff of ac in these extraordinary temperatures. the problem there doesn't seem to be much of a let-up in sight. 20 states are under heat advisory warnings. and now a state of emergency has

i'm zoraida sambolin along with john berman.>> we'll follow up on a story we talked about yesterday and this amazing photograph taken in washington, d.c., at the d.c. war memorial. >> so romantic. >> such a beautiful photograph. photographer and amateur angela gollick took this picture and posted it online. she thought what she saw was a wedding proposal. what she was doing was looking for this couple, their names, so she could get them their photos. it went viral. everyone talking about it. they're both in the air force, right? the air force puts out a statement yesterday saying, no. this was not, in fact, a wedding proposal. the wedding proposal happened weeks ago. this couple, who still wants to remain nameless, they want to remain nameless, they were looking for possible wedding sites, walking around washington. they just happened to be kissing. which when you think about it is just as romantic. >> all lit up. so fantastic. i hope they get copies of these pictures blown up. i like the first story better, actually. >> good lu

we showed you those last hour, john and zoraida.anical milkers hooked up to you three times a day, it is pretty good living to be a dairy cow. >> rob having a lot of fun in the farm in indiana right now. the important thing is the drought hitting everyone, every part of the farming industry. >> yeah. we were laughing at the milking skills but at the end of the day the production is down there. it is nice to see how that operates. we typically don't get to do that. 33 minutes past the hour. breaking news from zanzibar, tanz knee a. more than 30 people have drowned, over 100 more feared dead after a ferry with nearly 300 people on board sank. about 150 people were rescued including that little boy right there, but officials say there is not much hope for the passengers who are still missing. there were 31 children on board. there were tourists on board but it is not clear if any of them were american. i was reading that two europeans were among those dead. rough weather and fierce waves are hampering the rescue efforts and may be to b

we showed you those last hour, john and zoraida.anical milkers hooked up to you three times a day, it is pretty good living to be a dairy cow. >> rob having a lot of fun in the farm in indiana right now. the important thing is the drought hitting everyone, every part of the farming industry. >> yeah. we were laughing at the milking skills but at the end of the day the production is down there. it is nice to see how that operates. we typically don't get to do that. 33 minutes past the hour. breaking news from zanzibar, tanz knee a. more than 30 people have drowned, over 100 more feared dead after a ferry with nearly 300 people on board sank. about 150 people were rescued including that little boy right there, but officials say there is not much hope for the passengers who are still missing. there were 31 children on board. there were tourists on board but it is not clear if any of them were american. i was reading that two europeans were among those dead. rough weather and fierce waves are hampering the rescue efforts and may be to b

>> reporter: yeah, zoraida.d chance that peterson will walk out of this courthouse at the end of this trial a free man. and there are a few different reasons. first off, you mentioned that this case was reopened after the fourth wife, stacey peterson, went missing. that's when they changed the death from an accident to a homicide. but the original coroner's report is still on the record. and there was a coroner's jury after that. a jury panel that looked into the case. ruling it an accident. the defense is going to hammer that to this jury. the other thing is there's no direct evidence tying peterson to his -- to his third wife's death. he was not placed at the scene. it's a very difficult case. and then you bring up the fourth wife. stacey peterson, who has been missing, and is presumed dead. she's been gone for years. over the years, peterson has made some very callous remarks about his ex-wife that is missing, saying that she was off being a dancer or this or that. take a listen to what his defense team said

zoraida, thanks so much.day's "starting point" team here, margaret hoover, author of "american individualism", her work in the george w. bush white house and abby huntsman and ryan lizza, welcome. >> good to be here. >> i got a good night's sleep, very important when the alarm goes off at 2:00 a.m. kids decideded to play with fire on the olympic level. this is coventry england, you see the kids trying to grab it. security saying, i don't think so. they got past actually for a moment these highly trained security teams to get to the runner holding the torch. they are thinking about it, thinking about it and bye-bye. you said this is exactly what your kids would have done, ryan? >> they seemed innocent here. they weren't -- >> where were their parents? >> let's be very clear. >> of course they had no weapons. >> how did the security het them get that snar. >> being from atlanta, you saw this coming into atlanta and it's pretty well oiled machine, you know. >> to be clear, ryan, your kids are 2 and 4. >> 5 and 3

let's get right to the rest of the top stories, zoraida has a look at that. >> rush hour traffic as usual at the ambassador bridge, a bomb threat shut down the busy span for five hours last night. it was reopened after security sweeps failed to turn up any explosives. a bomb threat last week forgsed the shutdown of a nearby tunnel that also connects detroit and windsor. >>> in a desperate search continues in iowa for a pair of young cousins, 8-year-old elizabeth collins and lyric cook were last seen by their grandmother before they went on a bicycle ride. crews have started draining a nearby lake for a sign of girls. lyric's mother telling anderson cooper both were always a joy to be around. >> they smile a lot. they are pretty persistent in the things they want. they are great. they are really great. you know what i mean? >> yes, they are. >> we look forward to what they had to offer in their future and the life that god had for them. >> we will have a live report on the search from iowa at the bottom of the hour. we're also going to hear more from the family there. >>> new reaction from

zoraida? >> let's of talk about the death penalty. any decision on that? >> reporter: that will come down the road. they have to take into account what the victims want to have and all of the evidence in the case. when they get to that point, but they tell me they would be shocked if the da does not go for the death penalty. >> jim spellman, thank you for that. next hour, remembering the victims of the colorado movie theater massacre, including 32-year-old rebecca's mother will join us live. >>> people chanting, tell the truth during a protest over recent police shootings in the city. police say they arrested two people when a peaceful protest started to take a turn yesterday. the demonstrations follow the fatal shootings of two men this month by police. his relationship with president obama has been rocky but former president bill clinton will play a major role at the democratic convention in charlotte. an aide confirms that clinton will deliver a key prime time speech and on september 7th, the final night of the convention, president obama will accept th

i'm zoraida sambo will i n. up first, authorities in egypt trying to negotiate the release of two kidnapped victims. one of the victims is diabetic. and his family is not here he has his medication with him. mohammed sami joins us on the phone in sinai, egypt, right now. where do the negotiations stand right now with the kidnapper? >> they are trying to negotiate with the hostages. the kidnapper insists that his uncle be released from prison and he's saying his uncle is not guilty. but the authorities are keen on making sure that they do not switch their arms. so this is a complicated situation. we know in fact past that six attempts have been kidnapped attempts in sinai d none of the hostages were ever harmed. so we are positive that the situation might be resolved soon. >> let's talk about that. as you mentioned, this is the third time that we've had american hostages. there is no demand for money, but there is a demand for somebody being released from jail, perhaps. i was just in the area and security is of c

>> good morning, zoraida. it's a pleasure to be with you this morning.g. but we also are like i told you before, christians and we were not -- we don't lie, not supposed to lie, we're supposed to set examples. i didn't want to discuss and didn't want to give details in regards to it and i know the story is out there. i want to tell you the truth as it is -- as it was given to me by my mother when i spoke to her the day of the kidnapping. and the story is consistent with what you said. the gunman did get onto the tour bus and the initial reaction or the initial steps were to take the member, the female member that is also detained with my father as hostage and being the leader not only being the leader of the missionary group, my mom said that, you know, he stood up and he just asked that the -- they leave the lady and take him. so this is why two people in addition to the translator, that is detained right now somewhere in egypt. so this is what the story is. >> i don't mean to interrupt you here but the kidnapping is communicating quite a bit and we und

. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin.nexa really works. >> we're going to talk to the man who can do it, deepak chopra will explore relationships and how he's using the internet. >> i could use advice there. the fbi and international authorities are working to find out how sewing needles ended up in four sandwiches on delta airlines flights. they were found on four separate flights. that's the arrow pointing to them traveling from amsterdam to the united states. officials say one passenger was injured by that needle but declined medical treatment. federal agents have launched a criminal investigation now. cnn's sandra endo is live with the latest. what have they uncovered so far? >> a full blown investigation is under way and the fbi and local authorities in the negligent th are trying to find out how the needles got into the sandwiches in the first place. a spokesperson said they were found in sandwiches from a. amsterdam and two flights to atlanta. when delta found out about the needles in the food, the airline said it

you can write us on twitter at zoraida cnn or john s berman at early start cnn.e saying jackie joyner kersey. >> i absolutely love her. some people think she's the best female athlete ever. on facebook, jesse so wowens an katarina vitt and greg luganis. >>> dangerous at any speed. a driver caught on camera getting trigger happy with a tailgator. that story is coming up. if you are leaving the house right now, can watch any time on your desk top or mobile phone, cnn.com/tv. why not try someplace different every morning? get two times the points on dining in restaurants with chase sapphire preferred. [ music plays, record skips ] hi, i'm new ensure clear. clear, huh? my nutritional standards are high. i'm not juice or fancy water, i'm different. i've got nine grams of protein. twist my lid. that's three times more than me! twenty-one vitamins and minerals and zero fat! hmmm. you'll bring a lot to the party. [ all ] yay! [ female announcer ] new ensure clear. nine grams protein. zero fat. twenty-one vitamins and minerals. in blueberry/pomegranate and peach. refreshi

zoraida sambolin is off today. >> i'm ashleigh banfield.ood to have ali here all week. >>> in the battle over the bush-era tax cuts, playing politics with your takehome pay and nothing hort of the presidency is on the line here. if the two parties can't agree on extending those tax cuts by the end of the year, a typical american family making $70,000 a year could get hit with a tax increase of $3,000. that is a lot of pain. right now house republicans are busy crafting a plan to extend those tax cuts for everyone across the board -- rich, poor and everything in between. this is a plan that cannot get through the democratic-controlled senate. the president making a big push to let those tax cuts expire for the wealthiest of us americans. >> here's what's at stake. we've got the bush tax cuts are set to expire at the end of this year. and i feel very strongly that the middle class tax cuts, which would affect 98% of americans, should be extended further. now is not the time for a tax increase on the middle class. the republicans say they agre

brooke, back to you. >> zoraida, thank you.licans are gearing up for a fight to take down the health care law planning to vote to repeal that law next week, july 11th. really keep in mind this is a symbolic vote because the repeal will likely never pass this in. democrats are in the majority. >> they will bring it up and when they bring it up, they will ask for a repeal. repeal of all the things i said that help children, help young adults, help seniors, help men or women who may have prostate cancer, breast cancer, whatever it is, any precondition. >> we will not flinch from our resolve to make sure this law is repealed in its entirety. >> marsha blackburn is a member of the health care subcommittee. congresswoman, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> let me just begin with the point we just left off with. this is a large ly symbolic vot. you don't have republican controlled senate, you don't have a republican sitting in the white house. i know a lot of americans are thinking they're just wasting their time up there on the

welcome back, glad you're here, i'm john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. the suspect in the aurora shooting as people wonder why 12 people lost their lives at the midnight movie screening on friday. president obama visited with families who lost loved ones yesterday and met with survivors who told him stories of heroes who save lives. he addressed the community. >> god bless all who helped to respond to this tragedy and i hope that over the next several days, next several weeks and months we all reflect on how we can do something about some of the senseless violence that ends up marring this country but also reflect on all of the wonderful people who make this the greatest country on earth. >> everyone wants answers. the accused shooter will appear before a judge this morning. jordan steffan joins us now live. thanks for being with us this morning. let's start with the preliminary hearing. what are you hearing we can expect to learn today? >> we haven't actually talked to any attorneys connected to the case but experts have told us the defense is expected

. >> zoraida, talk about 18 months of political upheaval driving the economy into the gutter.f these tourist spots. what are the tourists saying? are they worried about their safety? what are the egyptians saying about the fact people aren't showing up anymore? >> reporter: that's a serious crisis. i sat and talked to a bunch of the tour guides just today and that's the one thing they do agree on, that something needs to be done about tourism in this country. they think that it's an unfounded fear. they think that we in the media have portrayed this as a place that is unsafe to travel to. and they said nothing could be further from the truth. they said there's a time to travel to egypt, it would be now. and i will attest to the fact that everywhere i have gone, there have been no lines, no waiting. i can get into all of the int k intechties without any problems. the access is unprecedented right now. also, there seems to be a greater regard for the safety of tourists. you know, you go around, and today actually i saw armed guards in one of the tourist attractions. they say tha

zoraida is off. >> it's about 20 minutes after the hour. cuts for the last 24 hours. president obama called for the tax cuts to be extended for everyone making less than $250,000, families making less than $250,000. there's been a ton of claims back and forth. let's break down fact and fiction starting by listening to what the president had to say yesterday. >> many members of the other party believe that prosperity comes from the top down. so that if we spend trillions more on tax cuts for the wealthiest americans, that that will somehow unleash jobs and economic growth. i disagree. >> the president is talking about government spending trillions more for tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. that's a little bit of fiction. it's not yet the case, only happens if the bush tax cuts are extended for everyone nks something the president said he won't even approve and it's not even a full trillion dollars. the administration itself says it would save $968 billion over ten years by allowing the bush era tax cuts to expire for higher earners. let

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm ashleigh banfield.at's been threatening states from the midwest to the eastern coast, including maryland, a state where more than 226,000 people are still waiting for the power to come back on. that means no fans, no ac, and a lot of sweating this out. crews have come from as far as florida and canada to help speed up the effort to get the power back online but customers may have to wait until the weekend to get their electricity back. it's been deadly as well, four people have died in that state from heat-related illnesses. with temperatures expected to hit as high as 99 degrees just today in parts of that state, more people could certainly be in danger. ken is the executive director of maryland emergency management agency and joins me on the telephone. can you hear me? >> yes, i can. >> with your organization and hearing the statistics that i was rifling off, you must be performing at top pace to make sure there are no further deaths. what are you doing to help the people of maryland in this crisis? >

let's get straight to zoraida sambolin. >>> attorneys for one of jerry sandusky's victims have released two voicemail recordings they say the predator left on their client's answering machine. they have verified the authenticity of the recordings however the attorneys claiming the calls were made less than two months before the assistant coach was arrested in 2011 on child sex abuse charges. listen. >> i was just calling to see i don't know whether you had any interest in going to the penn state game this saturday. . if you could get back to me and let me know, i'd appreciate it and when you get this message, give me a call. and i'll hope to talk to you later. thanks. i love you. >> attorneys for victim number two say they intend to file a civil suit against penn state. a spokesman for the university would not comment on the voice mails but did say the school is taking the case very seriously. >>> people in colorado are slowly beginning to piece their lives together one week after the massacre. reverend jesse jackson was comforting mourners and calls last week's tragedy an act of domest

>> zoraida, in theory it stops.oments ago and even though the campaign said the contender will not criticize president obama as he is overseas both campaigns are still going after each other and he says he arrived here in london yesterday and found there has been controversy surrounding this trip already. there was an article in the london daily telegraph that included a quote from an unnamed romney advisor that the newspaper says said something about what the romney campaign feels about the u.s./u.k. relationship and here is the quote. we'll put it on the screen. i will read a portion of it. according to the london daily telegraph they said we're part of an anglo saxon heritage and he, romney, feels it is special. despite the fact the internal press could not independently verify the comments as coming from this advisor, the obama campaign went after it anyway and joe biden put out a strong statement saying not surprisingly it is a feeble attempt by the romney campaign to score political points at the expense of th

i'm zoraida sambo will i n. up first, authorities in egypt trying to negotiate the release of two kidnapped victims. one of the victims is diabetic. and his family is not here he has his medication with him. mohammed sami joins us on the phone in sinai, egypt, right now. where do the negotiations stand right now with the kidnapper? >> they are trying to negotiate with the hostages. the kidnapper insists that his uncle be released fromri

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm ashlee. >> it's the kind of heat that makes it hard to breathe and its still threatening millions of americans all the way from the midwest to the northeast this morning. >> about 16 people have now died from this heat since thursday when triple-digit temperatures unleashed killer storms that have now left millions of people without power this morning. it's incredible, but look how many sta

i'm zoraida sambolin. >>> and president clinton taking on a special role at the democratic national convention >>> and we'll talk about the quirky rule, the unfair rule that cost the americans their medal. this man caused one of our best olympians a shot at gold in london. >> we're going to chat a lot about that. see how you feel as well. >>> right now mitt romney is on a plane to poend la, the last stop on his international tour. romney left israel this morning, where he gave a tough talking speech on iran. >> we must not delude ourselves into thinking that containment is an option. we must lead the effort to prevent iran from possessing nuclear weapons capability. we should employ any and all measures to dissuade the nuclear regime from its course. no option should be excluded. we recognize israel's right to defend itself, and it is right for america to stand with you. >> cnn's sarah is live in jerusalem. how is mitt