i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. we get a check of today's weather. om the weather center in atlanta. hey, rob. >> hi, john, hi, zoraida. rainfall is on the way. in some cases you need it but not all at one time and not in this amount. 3 to 5 inches potentially across the tennessee valley getting into the ohio river valley. heavy downpours, cause something of the rivers to rise, especially the smaller streams over the next 48 hours. that means, well, get the galoshes handy. the rains pour in from the gulf of mexico. this is deep tropical stuff. if this disturbance had time, it would develop over the gulf of mexico. it probably will be lifted up places further to the north and east as well. it's not one spot that will see the rainfall. that's for sure. the forecast for the next 48 hours, the brighter colors indicate rain will be in excess of 2 inches, in some cases 3, 4, 5 inches. this will reach eventually to the i-90 corridor. threat for severe weather across the florida panhandle just south of atlanta, this will be expanding, i think, tomorrow as thi

i'm john berman along with zoraida sambolin.rned on the bul bullies. a town rallying around a high school girl who was voted homecoming princess as a prank. can you believe it? she was humiliated that she found out class mates voted her on to their homecoming court as a joke. she decided to stay hole. the boy who was going to be paired with her turned in his own crown so that he would not have to be seen with her. other classmates start eed rallying around her and then the town and then nation. an anti-bullying facebook page was set up to support whitney. >> good for them. >>> move over, ringo, make room for madeleine albright. she made a surprise performance at washington's kennedy center sunday night. this crowd -- i can't believe this. the crowd included aretha franklin, herby hancock. she can get down. >> can we hear? we don't have sound. >> i can fell you she plays well. >> how do you know? >> she's madeleine albright. of course she plays well. >> that is so cool. >> you're not going to beat that. that's the best picture pr

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. >> 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

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. >> 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. 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 zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. it was at long last it was safe to play and to watch a pro football game. the real nfl officials made their season debut last night. the crew got a standing ovation from the crowd in baltimore before the ravens/browns game. football and therefore life as we know it nearly unraveled during prechaotic weeks with those replacement referees. roger goodell apologized to fans for the lockout but insisted the league and the referees were close to a deal even without that debacle last monday night. >> i believe we would have reached an agreement this week regardless of monday night or sunday night or the past weekend. everybody was to the point of getting this concluded. >> so how did the real guys do? cnn's nischelle turner is live in los angeles. what did unthink? any bad calls? >> reporter: well, it depends on who you're rooting for basically, john, you know, yes, the refs -- the real refs got a standing ovation last night and everyone was breathing a sigh of relief that they were back on

i'm alina cho. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin.nally over for you. starting tonight, millions of football fans will once again be able to boo the real referees. >> that's right. >> the nfl lockout is officially over. the blown call that ignited national outrage on monday night shoved a little fire under the league, because the nfl and its referees signed off on a new eight-year collective bargaining agreement. this happened in the wee hours of the morning. >> that's right. eight years, that is unprecedented. it means no more replacement refs. the real refs will be on the field tonight. roger goodell confirming the regular officials will be back on the field when the baltimola ravens host the cleveland browns. jason carroll joins us. and it's pretty clear they had to move quickly after that awful call. these replacement refs really didn't have integrity, did they? >> they were doing the best job they could, but you had a lot of these replacement players and they had no experience with professional ball. some of them being pulled out

i'm zoraida sambolin in new york. >> and i'm john berman in charlotte, north carolina live at the cnn grill. the convention gavels to order in the afternoon. then the party will spend the next three days trying to sell the message that we are, in fact, better off now than we were four years ago. they have had trouble with that one so far. they suggest they would have a better plan for the future. tonight's main attraction, first lady michelle obama and castro. cnn's dana bash joins me now. dana, you have inside information for the obama contain and what the goals are for these three days. >> first of all, they say they want to chrrystallize the visio. when you look at the economy between barack obama and mitt romney. and they're also going to talk about building a middleclass from the middle out, not from the top down. a very different vision. >> we have heard that phrase a lot. >> i think the word we're going to hear over and over again is middle, middle, middle. middle class. they're going to focus heavily on the middleclass. the other thing they're going to talk about is something

i'm zoraida sambolin in new york. >> i'm john berman, live at the cnn grill in charlotte, north carolina for the democratic national convention. zoraida, this was a tour deforce last night, bill clinton, big dog, showing he might be out of office but not out of tricks. he was part accomplish, part preacher, part lawyer with a comprehensive and exhaustive defense of president obama's record and on offense, making the case for four more years. this was all the more remarkable. remember, their relationship is complicated to say the least. cnn's dana bash joins me now. dana, this was long, 45 points. you got the sense of the people in the audience would have taken even more. >> 48 minutes and 30 seconds by the producers of this program's count. he went offscript as he does do, it was bill clinton after all. they certainly did eat it up. it was aspaech that the democratic party certainly was waiting for. >> reporter: this is the lasting image of the evening, an embrace four years ago few could imagine. but the former president made clear, bitterness over the bruising battle between his wife a

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. it is 6:00 a.m.east. >> we begin with breaking news in pakistan where a suicide bomber riding in a car filled with explosives hit a u.s. consulate. take a look at the map there. a pakistani police source is saying two pakistanis were killed in that explosion. 25 others were injured at the scene. the state department says two american staffers were injured. we're going to continue to follow all of the developments and we'll bring you any updates as soon as they come in. john? >> thanks, zoraida. here in charlotte, the democrats are gearing up for their critical convention week. it's their chance to show the nation why they think president obama deserve four more years. a major problem facing the party heading into the convention is this question. are americans better off today than they were four years ago? i'm joined by my friend dana bash. it's a question the democrats have had a hard time answering the last couple of days? >> they have. all you have to do is watch two of the president's top campaig

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

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john berman live any cnn grill. of the highlights, former president bill clinton will speak, this is the first time a president's predecessor will deliver the nominating address. this morning all of the talk and buzz is about the first lady. her speech really set the tone here. dana bash and ryan lizza and ryan, i want to get to dana. give me the highlights. >> michelle obama. there's no question about it. she was validator and character witness and reaching out to women to do that she talked about being a mother. >> you see, at the end of the day, my most important title is still mom in chief. my daughters are still the heart of my heart and the center of my world. but let me tell you, today i have none of those worries from four years ago, no, not about whether barack and i were doing what was best for our girls. >> now, the other person to talk about important women in his life was the key note speaker, julian castro from san antonio. he gave a biting speech but did so with a smile. listen to what he said about m

now it's time to get to "cnn newsroom" with zoraida sambolin. >>> good morning, soledad. happening now in the newsroom, battling books on the osama bin laden raid. as "no easy day" is released today, special ops veterans respond with their book called "no easy op." new questions this morning as accusations of bad blood and bitterness fly. >>> turn left, but lean right. call it the nascar vote. stereo typically southern white men usually go red, so what can president obama do to gain ground with these important voters >>> money, money, money. your job and your raise. find out where to score the most money. >>> and oh, what a night. gabby, mikhaila, opening last night's dodgers game. "cnn newsroom" begins right now. >>> good morning. i'm zoraida sambolin sitting in for carol costello. >>> just hours from now, the curtain will go up at the democratic national convention. president obama is looking for the bounce that seemed to elude republican nominee right mitt romney. tonight, democrats will kick off with a rising star in the party, san antonio mayor julian castro, who wil

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

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

welcome back, i'm zoraida sambolin in new york. >> and i'm john berman live at the midnight diner inut half half the hour right now. the convention wrapped up last night. president obama's acceptance speech marked the end of festivities there and the beginning of the homestretch of this campaign. i want to talk about that with my next guest, judy chew of california who addressed the crowd on wednesday night and co-chair of the 2012 obama campaign. you were in the hall last night, what did you think? >> i thought it was tremendous. he had to show his record of accomplishments and layout the vision for the future and fire up the crowd. >> he may have fired up the crowd and there are people saying overnight, and i agree, this is not the best speech he has ever given, not the 2004 convention speech or 2008. he has given better speeches than this, wouldn't you agree? >> i think his goal was different. in this case he had to do many tests. he had to combat the terrible commercials laid out by the super pacs and show that he is presidential, that he made very tough decisions. >> presidentia

. >> 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

i'm zoraida sambolin. short and sweet. >> that's right. i'm alina cho. "starting point" starts right now. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm christine romans. >> and i'm john berman. soledad is off today. our starting point, tough talk on iran from president obama at the united nations, as iran's leader mahmoud ahmadinejad prepares to take the podium today. he's given fiery speeches before. he will inflame an already heightened tension in the middle east? >>> the battleground votes. new polls show president obama ahead in ohio, florida, and pennsylvania. and in some cases, by double digits. can mitt romney win the presidency without the power of these swing states? >> no. and by the way, check out this incredible video. a tornado touches down, ripping through homes and buildings. it is all caught on camera. >> wow. a busy morning ahead. our guests include michele flournoy, co-chair of the obama campaign nation security advisory committee. tiki barber, former player for the new york giants, rudy giuliani, former new york city mayor, ben cohen, co-founder of

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm christine berman. "starting point" starting right now. >>> good morning to you. welcome to "starting point" here on this tuesday i'm brooke baldwin. >> and i'm john berman. soledad o'brien is off this week. our starting point, remembering the victims of 9/11. eleven years after the worst terror attack on american soil, this morning a momentous victory for some of the heroes who paid the price to serve their country. >>> also this morning, here we go, day two this teacher strike that is absolutely reverberating across the country. thousands of chicago public school teachers in this bitter, bitter dispute with the mayor, labor unions coming under siege. the question is, is a resolution at all in sight? >>> and four hours, 54 minutes later, history finally made at the u.s. open. >> oh. >> complete with some tears. what a moment. >> huge show today. take a look who will be talking to. former new york city mayor rudy giuliani. also current mayor, michael bloomberg. homeland security chairman congressman pet

i'm zoraida sambolin. >> a week. she's off only for today. >> i'm sorry. you're absolutely right.f vacation. soledad, if you're watching, you don't have to come in. >> i've got late night plans the rest of the week. come on back. i'm ali velshi, by the way. the other guy. on "starting point," breaking news. teachers are on strike. tens of thousands in chicago hit the picket line instead of the classroom. 400,000 students out of school this morning. where do the intense negotiations stand if they stand anywhere at all? we are going to talk to the school board president coming up. >>> back in session. lawmakers return to capitol hill. 57 days until the election. a massive fiscal cliff looming. will they actually tackle the issues or will they punt? >> i wonder. >>> firsthand account of the navy s.e.a.l.s who helped kill osama bin laden. revealing new details of the raid. the guy who wrote the book in his first tv interview. >>> lots to talk about this morning. we are joined by chicago school board president david vitale, former "newsweek" revolutionary lynn povich, nfl linebacker br

john berman and zoraida sambolin is off. this is a big news day, 6:00 a.m. in the east.re, brianna. >>> more protests erupting in countries overnight as outrage over amore. as we speak friday prayers are ending in several countries, and that has u.s. embassies around the world bracing for potential trouble. overnight protests spreading to 11 countries from as far west as morocco to as far east as india. the worst of it in yemen where at least five yemenis were killed after protesters stormed the american embassy in san aa. protesters destroying cars and property as the military brought out water cannons to control the crowd. in egypt more clashes as dozens set fires and chanted slogans. and in libya, news overnight that four people arrested in the murder of ambassador chris stevens, three other americans. we now know the identities of the two other americans in that attack, glen doherty and tyrone woods, former navy s.e.a.l.s, who were acts as security. >>> more u.s. firepower has arrived. the president vowing that all necessary steps to protect u.s. citizens around the

. >>> good morning to you and welcome to "starting point," soledad o'brien is off today i'm zoraida sambolining news, teachers on strike. chicago teach erps hitting the picket line instead of the classroom right now. leaving 400,000 students out of school this morning. where do the intense negotiations stand? >> back in session, the election season is the home stretch and lawmakers in the home stretch and lawmakers return to capitol hill today but even with that fiscal cliff approaching, will they actually get anything done? >> the bus re-igniting the american economy. a weak jobs report fueling both campaigns this morning. cnn is going in-depth, taking a look at the jobs crisis in america. >>> larry summers, chicago

first let's get an update on other stories with zoraida sambolin. hey, z. >> >> a political victory speech turns deadly. it was interrupted by governor. she was not hurt but one person was killed and another one was critically injured as the suspect was dragged to a police cruiser, he shouted in french, the english are waking up. that's apparently a reference to tensions between the french and english speaking communities there. >>> and the fbi denying claims that the hackers group that they accessed personal information about millions of apple users from a government computer, including president obama's ipad. the group posted online when it claims are the i.d.s of more than a million i phones and ipads. they say in all, 12 million apple i.d.s were obtained from an fbi agent's laptop. >>> florida a and m dealing with another hazing incident. the school has suspended an all female student dance team after receiving an anonymous tip from a parent about hazing in an off off campus event. a spokeswoman would say the alleged hazing included alcohol cons

. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. "starting point" starts right now. >>> good morning, everybody. i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman. soledad is off today. our "starting point," the deal is done! hip hip hooray! experienced official refs will be back on the field beginning tonight. it is like christmas here. thank you! how they got there and what happens from here. >> someone's the got job security in america. >>> candidates coming out swinging. obama and romney both in the same state again today, hammering each other on jobs. but why does newt gingrich call romney's campaign a messaging failure? >>> and it is one of the most famous cold cases in history. where jimmy hoffa's body? well, a new break in the case this morning has police ready to start drilling. >>> it's thursday, september 27th. "starting point" begins right now. >>> our starting point this morning, the blown call that outraged millions. it seems to have single handedly settled a labor dispute. that's right. the official nfl refs are headed back to the field. beginning tonight, millions of football fans will ag