>> thanks, zoraida.> meanwhile, we're here in charlotte with an inside look at this week's democratic national convention. they're putting some of the finishing touches on the convention center and the town as we speak. meanwhile, there is one question that democrats are being pressed to answer, and it's this -- are americans better off than they were four years ago? now, some of president obama's top advisers have flat out struggled to find a clear answer to this question, but the response that's getting the most buzz this morning came from maryland's democratic governor, martin o'malley on sunday. listen to this. >> can you honestly say that people are better off today than they were four years ago? >> no, but that's not the question of this election. the question, without a doubt, we are not as well off as we were before george bush brought us the bush job losses, the bush ecession, the bush deficits, the series of desert wars, charged for the first time to credit cards, the national credit card. >> y

they did okay, zoraida.ght more to go here in charlotte, one night more may not biggest one. soledad o'brien is here with a look at what's ahead. >> this night tonight, it could be the biggest one. it all comes down to this. president obama will take the stage appealing for a second term. we'll talk about what he needs to accomplish, the specifics that he needs to layout not just for the audience in the arena but obviously the audience watching at home as well. we'll talk about the challenges of following president bill clinton on stage. there is not going to be a balloon drop. we'll tell you why. the 2012 democratic platform, no one ever talks about the platform really. last week we talk about the rnc platform and this week the dnc platform and not because of what was in it but what was left out, the god, the naming of jerusalem as the capital of israel and we'll get to the root of how did that happen? the president had to step in. joining us live talking to chair woman debbie wasserman schultz and stephani

thank you so much, zoraida.ou got to see it. >>> next on "early start," maybe not so much history. actor cal penn's attempt to be both hilarious and insightful at the convention. why the term sexy face is trending this morning. your world. ♪ [ whispers ] real bacon... creamy cheese... 100 calories... [ chef ] ma'am [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. 100 calories... [ chef ] ma'am i i had pain in my abdomen...g. it just wouldn't go away. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer. feeling bloated for no reason. that's what i remember. seeing my doctor probably saved my life. warning signs are not the same for everyone. if you think something's wrong... see your doctor. ask about gynecologic cancer. and get the inside knowledge. 8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle -- wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exerci

i'm john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin.he boy scouts of america accused of covering up hundreds of sexual abuse cases. the l.a. times dug into hundreds of documents that detail allegations against boy scouts personnel and volunteers. the files appear to show a pattern of protecting the accused and sweeping it under the rug. i want to bring in one of the reporters on this story for "the l.a. times," good morning to you. thank you for getting up nice and early with us this morning. we appreciate it. >> you're welcome. happy to be here. >> you went through 1,600 confidential files dating from 1970 to 1991. how many cases of abuse are we talking about here? >> thousands, really. we looked at 1,600 cases but many of those cases involve several victims. as many as 2,000, even 3,000 victims are likely named in these files. >> what are the accusations? >> well, a lot of them are rather explicit in detail. many of the files contain handwritten accounts by the young 10-year-old boys who were sexually abuse. the boy scouts were attemp

i'm zoraida sitting in for costello. hours from now, the curtain goes up at the democratic national convention in north carolina. the president, meanwhile, remains on the road to charlotte. the campaign is winding its way to the dnc by stumping in key battle ground states. ohio yesterday, virginia today. and he's hammering away at the gop message from last week's convention. he says it's out of touch, out-of-date and targeting the middle class. >> despite all the challenges that we face in this new century, we saw three straight days of an agenda out of the last century. it was a rerun. of you might as well have watched it on black and white tv with some rabbit ears on there. >> and this is the democrats' not so secret weapon. first lady michelle obama is delivering a prime time address tonight. her job, fire up the party faithful and reach out to women in both parties. mrs. obama will have to share the spotlight with a rising star in the democratic party, julian castro will deliver the address, a member of san antonio,

i'm zoraida sambolin. thanks for being with us. stores today and people are already lining up. >> it goes on sale at 8:00 a.m. on the east coast. people are lining up for it. we have all the details and how much it costs. >> it's got a cult following. i will be honest. i one time stayed up all night for billy joel tickets. >> we were having that discussion. what would you wait in line for? >> billy joel. >> thousands of people waiting in line for the latest iconic iphone 5. i want to show you tokyo. in the rain, people waiting. there it is. look at sydney, australia. one guy waited for 70 hours. look at london. huge lines of people every time somebody walks in, the whole crowd goes crazy. around the world, folks are waiting in line for this iconic iphone. it goes on sale here in the u.s. at 8:00 this morning east coast time. of course we are going to have people there to watch it as well. it's going to be two-thirds of the revenue of apple will be from the iphone. they make a lot of money from the iphone. i can show you what the pi

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm alina cho.the united nations. his speech follows one from president obama, who just yesterday said the u.s. will do what it must to stop iran from developing a nuclear weapon. he said time is running out for diplomacy. >> let me be clear, america wants to resolve this issue through diplomacy. we believe that there is still time and space to do so. that time is not unlimited. >> and back to the political back and forth and dueling speeches which saw mitt romney and president obama on the same stage just hours apart. >> that's right. we want to talk more about this with margaret hoover and richard socarides. margaret is a cnn contributor, former white house appointee and bush administration. richard is a former special adviser in the clinton white house. and a democratic analyst. so, in "the wall street journal" and some other places, president obama took a little bit of heat. some people also saying that his speech was a little too campaigny, and that he di't meet with world leaders. you know, wh

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and we begin with mitt romney's hidden comments at that fund-raiser. nearly half the americans see themselves as victims entitled to government assistance and it's not his job to worry about those people. president obama released his comments on an appearance with "the tonight show with david letterman." >> one of the things i have learned as president is you represent the entire country. and when i meet with republicans as i'm traveling around the country, they are hard-working family people who care deeply about this country and my expectation is that if you want to be president, you have to work for everybody, not just for some. >> now romney is not apologizing for what he said, just how he said it. >> i recognize that those people who are not paying income tax are going to say, gosh, this provision of what mitt keeps talking about, lowering income taxes is not attractive to them. and those dependent on government and those who think government's job is to redistribute, i'm not

zoraida?u were outraged by the story. >> i am. these are 10-year-olds and 11-year-olds and when they're exposed this type of thing it becomes common practice in the future. if this is true -- >> you should have seen her reacting. >> i have a kid that plays sports and would like to continue playing sports and i think you have -- when you have these folks that are really affecting your children and how they develop and how they think in the future about sports, you have a responsibility and so it does outrage me. >> we have some happier -- >> i talk for a lot of parents. >> you'll be there soon. >> 34 minutes after the hour. the real nfl refs getting a hero's welcome in baltimore. >> this is incredible. have they ever gotten a standing ovation is what i want to know. >> first three weeks due to the lockout and roger goodell apologized to fans for use of the replacement refs and the new agreement is expected to be ratified by union members before sunday's game. >> with the first presidential deba

>> it absolutely is, zoraida. from "60 minutes" have handed the romney campaign an opportunity to talk about something other than his tax returns or that fund-raising video where he yet sized 47% of americans. this has taken over the economy has the main thrust of the romney campaign message. they're hitting obama hard on this. for example, listen to what paul ryan, romney's running mate, had to say about obama's foreign policy yesterday while campaigning in ohio, zoraida. >> i think the president on too many occasions has deferred our foreign policy leadership to the u.n. security council, to the u.n., this means russia and china get to veto what we want to do. why do we want to give them that kind of clout over our national security interests? >> the goal here is to paint president obama as projecting weakness. ryan yesterday compared the situation in the middle east to tehran in 1979. you know, calling to mind the hostage crisis that helped undermine president jimmy carter's re-election bid. we've heard that ma

i'm john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. her, maintains their innocence in a new book that is out today. but he also acknowledges that the couple's bizarre behavior and lack of a real alibi gave police to be suspicious of them. the book is "honor bound: my journey to hell and back with amanda knox" by raffaele sollecito. joining me now is criminal defense attorney anne bremer. she served as a spokesperson for friends of amanda, a seattle-based group of knox's family friends. thanks for being with us this morning. i really appreciate your time. so you met -- >> thank you. >> our pleasure. you met raffaele sollecito in seattle after the convictions were overturned. what was your impression of him? >> he was lovely. he was humble. he was grateful. and he was really shy. i guess having worked on this case for so long just remotely, of course, from seattle, it was really interesting to meet the real person, and what surprised me about him, really, was just how shy and humble he was. but he was very grateful, and very happy to see

." >>> i'm zoraida sambolin. still no deal for 30,000 chicago teachers on strike. >> we are the union the mighty mighty union. >> they are fighting for what they call a fair contract. negotiations with public school officials now entering a second day, 350,000 students have an unscheduled day off leaving parents scrambling for plan "b." casey wian is at manuel perez jr. elementary school. any progress overnight? >> well zoraida, depends on who you listen to. according to school board president david vitaly he said the two sides are close enough to get this issue resolved. however, the teachers' union says it's up to the school board to break this impasse. for now both sides seem unwilling to budge. >> they're doing very important work and it's very tough work. and it has to be appreciated and respected. that's what we do. but there are some core things where we have made i think, what is in my view, an honorable compromise and a win/win swaying as they themselves said. it's not financial anymore. you're down to t

i'm kristen romans in for zoraida. >> and i'm john berman. it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. >> this is cnn breaking news. >>> and we do begin with breaking news this morning. the nation's third largest public school system about to be shut down by a teacher strike. late last night labor talks between the chicago teachers union and school officials broke off. the walkout hits 400,000 students in nearly 700 schools. >> we have failed to reach an agreement that will prevent a labor strike. >> you know, this is not a small commitment we're making at a time when our fiscal responsibility, our fiscal situation is really challenged. >> caisson whiens live from outside the chicago school altgelt. they haven't been hit in 25 years so what can we expect? >> i think initially what we can expect is confusion and parents scrambling to try to figure out what to do with their children, especially working parents. the school behind me is 1 of 144 where parents can drop off children if they don't have alternative child care arrangements but there will be no teaching going on her

zoraida, i know you're doing it. i am. >>> 48 minutes past the hour.lood victims in louisiana help is on the way. yesterday he toured a devastated neighborhood in laplace, 30 miles west of new orleans. residents there believe the nulevees worked too well during hurricane isaac last week forcing floodwaters into their neighborhoods. the president promised to look into those claims. >>> investigators say they believe a suspected sniper who terrorized snohomish county, washington state acted alone. he was shot and killed in a stand-off with sheriff's deputies. investigators are trying to find out why the unidentified 60-year-old fired on neighborhoods and armored vehicles. one officer was treated for a gunshot wound to the calf and later released. >>> closing arguments are set today in the drew peterson murder trial. it's a case that almost never made it to court and nearly derailed three times by near mistrials as well. the former bolingbrook police sergeant is charged with killing his third week, kathleen savio, drowning her in a bathtub. it was treated

i'm zoraida sambolin sitting in for carol costello. president obama on the road to charlotte, that's what he's calling his campaign blitz through four key states as he heads to this week's democratic national convention. >> on thursday night i'm going to offer you what i believe is a better path forward, a path that will grow this economy and create more jobs and strengthen the middle class. and the good news is you have to choose the path we take. you can go with their plan to give massive new tax cuts to folks who have already made it. or we can go forward with my plan to keep taxes low for every american who is still trying to make it. [ applause ] >> senior congressional correspondent dana bash is in charlotte working really hard, i might add. there have been some crossed wires on the democrats' message. tell us all about that. >> reporter: look, it's the fundamental question that has been asked since ronald reagan ran for president back in the '80s and that question is, are you better off than you were four years ago. it's a fund

in the east and i'm zoraida sambolin.ves of christopher stevens and three other americans. the nation's counterterrorism chief telling congress it was an act of terrorism. he says armed extremists saw an opportunity to attack during protests over an anti-muslim film and they took it. and more exclusive new details. sources tell cnn ambassador stevens expressed concerns about security in the months right before he died, specifically mentioning a rise in islamic extremism and a growing al qaeda presence in libya as well. he also acknowledged being on an al qaeda hit list and warned a journalist in an e-mail sent last summer that things were heating up. that's what they said. foreign affairs reporter elise labott is live from washington this morning. and if ambassador stevens was so worried, why wasn't his security beefed up? >> reporter: well, zoraida, in the recent days, senior state department officials offering the most vigorous defense of ambassador stevens' security and the security of the diplomatic office in benghazi

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> good morning, zoraida, good morning, everybody. so glad you're with us. the country. that's right, no more replacement refs. 48 hours after that blown call that sparked national outrage, the nfl reached an eight-year clktive bargaining agreement with its refreferees. the lockout is over, effective immediately. that means the regular officials you love to hate are back. commissioner roger goodell confirming they will be on the field tonight when the baltimore ravens host the cleveland browns. >>> so it has been five years since the last midnight book release party. a year since danielle radcliffe starred in the final film. harry potter books sold a staggering 55 million copies worldwide, the movies grossing over $7 billion. that's enough to make j.k. rowling one of the richest women in the entire world. but today rowling is leaving that world behind, publishing a new book. it is for adults. it is called "the casual vaca y vacancy," and it is a far cry from hogwarts. malcolm jones has interviewed rowling numerous times and is one of the first to read the hi

>> those pictures are very familiar zoraida and christine. this embassy is located on a very busy, commercial street in the capital. what i can tell you this is one of the most secure embassies that the united states has. it looks like they are very close to that front gate situation. the yemeni forces control the street the outside perimeter of the embassy. there are checkpoints and anyone on that street who tries to approach the embassy is stopped well before they get there. this is a place that has seen many protests has seen attacks, seen attempted attacks. one of the most secure. but let's be very cautious here. we have seen the unrest at u.s. installations over the last few days. reports are the yemeni forces are trying to control the situation. we will have to keep monitoring this in the coming hours. >> barbara, we are hearing about shots fired. is that some inside the embassy out or from outside the embassy in? >> well the reports that i-witnesses are giving indicate that yemeni forces have been firing into the air at this point, try

>> thanks, zoraida.ent wild last night during the president's speech but how did the rest of the america react? especially those key undecided voters. we will tell you how undecided voters felt about the president's words coming up next. i don't have to use gas. i am probably going to the gas 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. ♪ that i forget how to put gas in my car. i was talking to my best friend. i told her i wasn't feeling like myself... i had pain in my pelvic area... and bleeding that wasn't normal for me. she said i had to go to the doctor. turned out i had uterine cancer, a type of gynecologic cancer. i received treatment and we're confi

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm christine romans.retary of state hillary clinton confirming that a state department official at the u.s. consulate was killed during an angry protest in bengha benghazi, libya. the protests are over a web video protesters called anti-muslim. >>> a similar scene in egypt where protesters tore down the u.s. embassy's flag after protesting all day in cairo. this comes as protesters continue to stand right outside of the embassy walls under watch from egyptian security forces. those protesters also say the web video is why they are protesting. we have a journalist on the phone from cairo who has been with us over the past year following the arab spring and now the slow, steady steps toward democracy. welcome to the program. tell me a little bit about what you know is happening there in cairo and what sparked all this. >> reporter: hi, good morning. what sparked it was several days of clips of this film being shown on some tv stations in egypt and calls by the ultraconservatives to go and protest outside th

we certainly appreciate your time this morning. >> thank you, zoraida.ave a great day. >> you, too. >> all right. just ahead on "starting point," a dance studio offering pole dancing classes to kids as young as 5. >> how do you feel about this? >> look at this. it's weird. the owner says parents are asking for the classes themselves. details next. g. [ jack ] after lauren broke up with me, i went to the citi private pass page and decided to be...not boring. that's how i met marilyn... giada... really good. yes! [ jack ] ...and alicia. ♪ this girl is on fire [ male announcer ] use any citi card to get the benefits of private pass. more concerts, more events, more experiences. [ jack ] hey, who's boring now? [ male announcer ] get more access with the citi card. [ crowd cheering, mouse clicks ] [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... ♪ [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at

i'm zoraida sambolin along with mr. after a guitar smashing meltdown in las vegas. the clip from the i heart radio music festival on friday went viral, and happened when billy joe was told they only had a minute left. he stopped mid tune and went off. take a look at this. >> look at that [ bleep ] time right now. one minute. i'm not [ bleep ] justin bieber you [ bleep ]. let me show you what one [ bleep ] minute means. >> that didn't go well. >> maybe rehab is in order for him. >>> get on your horse. the korean pop gangnam style is the most liked video in the history of youtube. ♪ gangnam style >> the video has been viewed close to 260 million times. has 2.6 million likes and has inspired flash mobs around the world it is also number one on itunes. it has been shared by celebrities and is covered by the likes of maroon five. even the u.s. naval academy made a parody video. the video refers to the lavish gangnam districts of seoul, korea. we were waiting for mr. berman to demonstrate this morning. >> it makes me feel bad

zoraida zam lynn and john berman are off. it's 5:00 in the east so let's get started. >>> protests erupting overnight and with friday prayers ending in just one hour u.s. embassies around the world are bracing for more. overnight, the anger and defiance that started wednesday over an anti-muslim movie made in the u.s. spreading to 11 countries from egypt to as far west as morocco and as far east as india. the worst of it in yemen, where at least five yemenis were killed as hundreds of protesters stormed the american embassy in sanaa. cars and bottles smashed, water cannons brought out to control this crowd. in egypt, where the violence first erupted three days ago, more clashes. protesters setting fires and the egyptian military deploying tanks to keep things calm. and in libya news overnight that four people arrested in the murder of ambassador chris stevens and three other americans. this morning, we're learning of the identities of the other two americans killed in that attack, glen doherty and tyrone woods, former navy s.

>> all right, zoraida, thank you. as you have heard the tone of the speeches here at the dnc went from brazen attacks on the romney campaign to inspirational speeches from first lady. one of tonight's speakers is on the starting point team, connecticut governor malloy. that the entire -- someone will come out like governor strickland, he warned us that's what he was going to do and he came out on the attack, sort of moderated by high inspiration. >> if you can't stand the heat you should stay out of the kitchen. mitt romney has a record and we can talk about it. it's fair game to talk about. speakers are going to do that. we're going to also talk about what the president has accomplished. and he's accomplished a great deal and actually much more than he gets credit for. >> whose fault is that? >> i wish you would tell a story about the president a little more. the fact that we've created 4.5 million private sector jobs. >> that number was thrown out there a lot and you know when the fact checkers look at that, they sa

. >> zoraida sambolin in for carol costel costello, cnn "newsroom" continues now with ashley banfield. >> thanks for being here, 11:00 on the east coast, 8:00 on the west coast. did somebody mention charlotte, north carolina? something going on there. boy, is there ever. take a look at your screen. that is the site of americans coming together. no, really. that's what they're calling it. americans coming together. it's the theme. and it could also describe the podium at the democratic national convention, which kicks off officially tonight. and hold your horses. i hope you like speakers! because we've got 48 speakers on tap, just for opening night alone. let me repeat that. 48 speakers on tap, just for opening night alone. and that doesn't even count the opening and closing prayers. but make no mistake, they're going to be good. the headliner is none other than the first lady herself, michelle obama. and the keynote skooep speaker is a guy you may not know right now, but mark my words, you're going to know him tomorrow, and you're going to know him in probably the next four and eight