Transcripts For CNN Early Start 20120305

and its nuclear program. and rush limbaugh stepping in it big time and the advertisers are dropping like flies, folks, bailing, because it just ain't right to call a law student a slut. why doesn't he get it? can the champion of the right overcome this or would this possibly become his imus moment. >> is it ever okay to call someone a slut? >> having been called a slut by one of my colleagues on the air, i would say it's not. so shut your cake hole, limbaugh. >> i came back to this nasty talk. and this little girl we've been following. >> awful story. it's one of many we followed along the way following tornadoes. some of the pictures tend to look a lot the same. i keep calling it a massive blender. those pictures do look the same but for the stories coming from those images. >> we really appreciate it. >> very sad. >> the countdown to super tuesday and mitt romney's clicking on all cylinders. romney coming off three straight wins, michigan, arizona, washington state, he got two big endorsements also over weekend. he is sounding like a nominee, attacking president obama instead of his republican rivals. listen to what he told voters in georgia. >> it's pretty straightforward in my view. if barack obama gets re-elected iran will have a nuclear weapon and the world will change if that's the case. >> well, words like that and probably a couple of wins under his belt and the polls are definitely showing the momentum picking up for mr mrp. let me get you to some of the latest numbers from the nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. not too shabby in a national contest. romney getting 38% from likely republican voters, that's to 32 for rick santorum. if you look at grin grich aingre back with 32% and 13% respectively. cnn's political editor paul steinhauser is live at cnn center in atlanta. i like to call it mojo but you like to call it momentum. i think mitt romney has three in a row from the last time around. is that momentum we're seeing closing that gap and knotting up the race? >> definitely that and probably ad spending in some of the super tuesday states as well, ashley. super tuesday will give mitt romney an opportunity to put daylight, some distance between himself and rivals for the gop nomination. here's why you mentioned it. all those delegates at stake, ten states, we're talking about more delegates at stake tomorrow night than all the contests we've had so far. more than a third needed to clinch the nomination. you know, romney has closed the gap in some of the states. ohio, this is a state where santorum is up just a week and a half ago. now all the polls in ohio, mitt romney is ahead. take a look at this brand new poll from tennessee, the same story. you can see, mitt romney has closed the gap with rick santorum in tennessee. rick santorum used to have a double digit lead there as well. you want to call it mojo, i love that word as well. let's say santorum wins ohio or oklahoma or one or two others, the race goes on for a long, long time. >> i knew you were going to say that. super tuesdayen is as super as it used to be. we keep losing states. >> there were about 20 states the last time around. the calendar changes every four years. >> so does mine. i think i heard a pundit say over the last couple of days if one of these candidates can prevail in five or six, i may have the math wrong, five or six of the ten states, it's over, baby. is that true? >> i don't think that's true. here's why. if romney does, maybe it's over. if romney has a bad night, he has the organization to continue on. he wants to have a very good night. newt gingrich, let's talk about him. he needs to win right here where i am in georgia. take a listen to what he told candy crowley on "state of the union." >> i'm very confident in the largest state that's going to vote on tuesday, georgia, which has more delegates than any other state we'll win a decisive victory and do well in tennessee, oklahoma and i had high and a number of other states. >> double digits right here in georgia. doesn't sound like he's going anywhere right now. ashleigh. >> i'm sure he'll have a good night there. there's ten states there. paul steinhauser, nice to see you. >> thanks. almost coming up on "starting point" our colleague soledad o'brien will have one-on-one conversations. and soledad will also go one-on-one with former house speaker newt gingrich. don't miss that. our tuesday coverage, super, super tuesday coverage, which means it's not only super tuesday but it's super coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow evening starts with "john king, usa" and complete coverage at 7:00 eastern time. a series of tornadoes turned towns into complete ruins from the deep south to the midwest, another deadly blow. this is what we were talking about a little while ago. this little girl, 14-month-old angel babcock has died. everybody was pulling for angel. she had somehow survived a tornado that killed her father, her mother and her two siblings in indiana. the toddler was three about 100 yards from her home. she suffered massive head injuries. she was in critical condition from the very beginning. and sadly she was taken off life support yesterday. she is the 39th fatality in five states from friday's storms. angel's grandfather, talked to a cnn affiliate about the agonizing decision. >> my pastor will go in with me and we're going to pray there and i'm going to tell that little girl that -- i'm going to tell her that it's time for her to meet her mommy and daddy. >> oh, my goodness. well, meantime, kentucky's governor requesting federal disaster assistance. the town of west liberty, one of the area's hardest hit, that is where rob marciano is this morning. he's joining us live. rob, i understand it is snowing where you are? oh, my gosh. >> very much so. yes. take a look. talk about adding insult to injury. if this isn't any sort of indication or illustration of how two different air masses cause a tornado outbreak like this, here it is. it was in the 70s just three days ago with tornadoes firing across this state and now it's snowing sideways and temperatures in the 20s. it's piling up. the roads are slick and obviously this is going to hamper recovery efforts and cleanup efforts today as we go through time. over 100 tornado reports across the united states on friday, 42 of those confirmed. that number will go up, as you mentioned, 39 fatalities. that number seems to continue to climb. 21 of those in the state of kentucky. mitch mcconnell was out here yesterday. he said he hasn't seen anything remotely like this since 1974. the state is reeling. the tornado that came through on friday was rated an ef-3 with wi winds wind speeds at 130 miles an hour. it was half a mile wide. it took out almost this entire town. there's 12,000 people that live here. and i haven't seen many buildings in this town that have been untouched. you're looking over my shoulder. this is the mobile command center of the bank that's been here for 100 years. there's the main street, the municipal building. that's probably -- has done the best. it's all brick there. just the windows are blown out. every other building in this town has seen major, major damage. residents have not been allowed to come back. they thought they'd be allowed to come back yesterday. i'm not sure if they're going to be allowed to come back today. a number of them are staying at a hotel about an hour away. i spoke with them last night. they're frustrated. they give me their phone number to call them and check on their homes and give them updates. it's so frustrating and sad. i don't have good news for them. like i said, there haven't been many structures here that have gone untouched. everything is either very, very much damaged, unlivable or completely destroyed. >> rob, i can feel that frustration coming from you. thank you very much for that report. and then our next hour, we'll talk with two tornado survivors from henryville, indiana. julie money and her brother, terry mock. his home, take a look, was leveled by that to storm. in just under six hours, president obama and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu will meet face to face at the white house. the two leaders are pretty much off completely on how to handle iran and its budding nuclear program. president obama really wants the israelis to hold off, exercise restraint, let diplomacy work its way. if your window closes you have no other options, you've got to act fast. that's now netanyahu sees it anyway. the american-israel public affairs committee meeting was held yesterday. this is what was said in front of a very powerful organization. have a listen. >> no israeli government can tolerate a nuclear weapon in the hands of the regime that denies the holocaust, threatens to wipe israel off the map and supports terrorist groups that is committed to israel's destruction. >>y know if you could spot it in the backdrop, there was a tight rope in there somewhere that the president was walking while addressing that organization and brianna keilar joins us live to talk more about this. get me up spo speto speed with d between these two leaders. they do not see eye to eye at all on the notion of a preemptive strike on israel. even though they kind of talk a little bit of talk the same, essentially they are nowhere near the same on the red line, are they? >> reporter: they say their objectives are the same, obviously to keep iran from having a nuclear weapon. probably one of the best ways to describe the relationship would be to say that it is cordial and that's almost kind of, i guess you could say, speak for get along because they have to get along. this is a relationship, benjamin netanyahu, president obama, they've met several times over the course of the presidents being in office. there have been times where it has been extremely tense. there is obviously some mistrust but i also think you hear from both sides, these are huge allies, the u.s. and israel. they do have the same objective here and they'll work towards that objective. but oh, yeah, this is kind of where you'd want to be the fly on the wall for sure, ashleigh. >> while you hear the eloquent and fluent speeches from the campaign trail, you're hearing the republicans are having some fun with this one , at least they're finding fresh ground to mine. they're critical of what's going on. >> reporter: this has been a huge issue for republicans in general and also on the presidential campaign trail. if you just open up the papers today, you look at "the wall street journal" and editorial saying mr. obama should make it clear he will do everything in his power to prevent iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability and that he will stand by israel if it must act. you go to "usa today," mike huckabee saying 70 years after the holocaust, the u.s. cannot turn a blind eye to iran, which is the focus of evil in the modern world. we must act soon or face the withering verdict of history. they see this as a big opportunity, republicans do, ashleigh, because obviously, when you're looking at this in the context of an election year, normally jewish voters very much go for the democrat for president obama. this is such a toughly contested election year that even peeling off a few votes, we're seeing this in all kinds of voting demographics really could be the key. this is something obviously republicans know and president obama is sensitive to as he really tries. we saw this yesterday when he addressed apac to say the u.s. is strongly allied with israel. >> more to come on this for sure. we'll be keeping a close eye on it. you are busy today. >> oh, yes. >> keep working. thank you brianna keilar, appreciate it. we're minding your business there. >> we're doing our job. >> the u.s. markets closed slightly lower on friday. if you were watching the bell -- >> stock futures pointing to a lower open. christine romans is here to explain why some markets are down. >> china, china and china. >> that's a good banner. china today, wen jiabao, the premier of china, the first time in eight years speaking to the national congress there saying to the peoples national congress saying we'll lower our growth target to 7.5%. that's still a lot. but that shows you china is trying to focus on quality in its economy, not speed. chinese growth has been gang busters for 30 years. at least double digit, mostly double digit growth in china's economy over the past 30 years. they're trying to slow it down just a little bit, reign it in, focus on quality over just speed there. this pertains to commodities, metals, stocks, anything you can think of in financial markets will be affect by this. i want to show you quickly how china compares to the rest of the world. china is the driver. eu growth is forecast at 0%. nothing. nothing. that's painful. zero is painful. europe still has a lot of work to do. china, even with a slower growth target if they can manage to slow it down, 7.5%. i want to real quickly focus on another thing, too. military spending. the chinese are boosting military spending by 11%, still a fraction of what the u.s. spends. this is after this pivot by the u.s. to focus more on the pacific rim area, china is responding by spending more money on its military. that's something that bears watching, too. >> all right. >> the growth number, i was trying to do the number in my head. how does that compare? >> it's 2% for us. 0% for the eu and gas prices came out, they're up again, surprise, surprise. 0%, 2%. >> i'm sure she's talking. did you see me? >> i forgive you. i forgive you. >> since i've never done that in my life. thank you, appreciate it. 16 minutes past the hour. time to check stories making news this morning. ten states and 437 critical delegates up for grabs on super tuesday tomorrow. a new nbc/"wall street journal" poll shows mitt romney gaining support from likely republican voters and conservatives. and that fast-moving tornadoes that hit on friday killing 39 people in five states. the latest victim, this little girl. an indiana toddler who had become a symbol of hope, little angel. she survived after being thrown into a field 100 yards from her home. her whole family was wiped out. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu goes face to face with president obama at the white house this morning. the two leaders will discuss iran and its nuclear program, with the president expected to urge israel to use restraint. a tragic ending to the search for a 4-year-old boy in new mexico. his body was found on sunday morning at the bottom of a 30-foot deep hole. that was in his neighbor's backyard. an amber alert had been issued to are that boy the night before. north korean leader kim jong unvisited the demilitarized zone for the very first time since taking control of that country last december. the visit comes amid threats of a, quote, sacred war with south korea over join the military drills with the united states. this just in. i was looking up the numbers, folks. gas is up again, rising for 27 days straight. your new national average for a gallon of gas is $3.77. it's up a fraction of a cent. in fact, 0.3 cent in the last 24 hours. aaa posted it on the website, again, why i was reading instead of listening to christine. we're getting close to the awful magic number, $4 a gallon of gas. it exists in a few places but not ubiquitously. >> it's tough. >> especially if you have an suv. folks out there trying not to drive as much. there's only so much when you have to get to work. >> and you're car pooling. >> take a train. >> when you have kids and you're taking them to games, it's complicated to do that. still to come on "early start," a tearful vladimir putin. he is declaring victory. the opponents are furious, alleging massive fraud and they're planning a protest rally in moscow later. and rush limbaugh, rush to judgment or is he really an idiot for saying what he said on the air? i don't know, this one's a real tough one, and it the? most people pretty much agree, you just shouldn't call women sluts no matter what. please, rush, really? good luck with those advertisers. back in a moment. [ male announcer ] if you were building the perfect laptop you'd chose an intel core i7 processor for maximum processing power. you'd use carbon fiber and machined aluminum, to make it more beautiful and more durable. you'd even use edge-to-edge gorilla glass for a stunning display in a more compact form. everything that you would ever want in a laptop. introducing the dell xps 13 ultrabook. everything. and more. ♪ evmid grade and more. dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback right now, get 5% cashback at gas stations. it pays to discover. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. call now for our free guide and tips on planning for your retirement this tax season. in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check. it is 5:20 in the morning. he'll give up his jobs aprime minister and he appears to be headed for a third term as president. opposition is insisting that he won by massive fraud, intimidation, ballot box stuffing, all sorts of allegations there. they also have a protest rally planned for today. let's check in with phil black, he is live in moscow. so vladimir putin is saying we won in an open and honest battle. can you tell us what's going on? >> yes, zoraida, that is what he's saying. he is claiming it's an open and honest battle. he was emotional as he declared victory before a huge crowd of supporters last night. those were definitely tears. as for the cause, putin says it was the cold wind, not an overwhelming sense of emotion. the strong man of russian politics isn't ready for the possibility that he has a softer side up. but he's saying it was a good win ab a strong win, an honest win. that is very much being contested by his opponents by the growing opposition movement being protested on the streets in recent months. they very much believe there was significant fraud involved in this election. >> they also believe he will not be able to rule like he used to. we understand there are protests plan. can you tell us about that? >> yes. this is really the big question now. what happens next? how do the russian people, particularly those who have been so openly displaying their dislike for this man, how do they respond to this election result? there is a rally planned for moscow this evening. by that opposition protest movement. this will be the first real test of the momentum of that movement which has grown from almost nothing three months ago to a very significant, regular protest force where they get tens of thousands of people on to the streets. as i say, the question now is, will the russian people, in particular those people who live in the cities and are dissatisfied with putin's leadership, will they accept the new reality that's back or they continue to oppose and challenge his continued leadership of this country? >> all right. we'll continue to check in with you. phil black, live for us in moscow. thank you very much. >> i'll be honest. i agree with phil there. it is a good possibility that putin was not crying, that he was actually tearing because of the wind. i grew up in winnipeg and at the beginning of march outside in the evening -- >> the cold makes you cry? >> yes. the first thing i thought was, it looks cold, not oh, look at him, he's all emotional. first thing i thought. then i read the wire accounts that he was tearing up in emotion. i thought, nah, he was cold. >> rookies. you have to spend some time in the cold prairies for a while. >> and chicago wind getting biting sometimes when it's slapping against your face. >> exactly. 25 minutes past 5:00. there's a student who's gone missing at the university of wisconsin. and it is a bit of a mystery, folks. he celebrated his 21st birthday at a local bar and then, gone. so what's the story here? we'll talk to unravel this mystery. you're watching "early start." y. 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>> i have not. talk about crying when you're being pulled by the dogs in the cold. >> that's how i used to get to school every day, uphill on the way there, uphill on the way back. >> go, go, go, mush. i love that story. welcome to march madness. i like to call it republican style. if the poll numbers are right, mitt romney is looking pretty good. looking pretty mitt-ish on the eve of super tuesday. can he deliver what he needs to to to deliver that knockout punch and end this thing once and for all? the latest nbc/"wall street journal" poll has the numbers this way, romney at 38% of the vote, santorum at 32% and gingrich and paul coming in with 13% apiece. if you break it down into ohio, the big old critical bellwether state, it's a dead heat statistically speaking anyway. the nbc maris poll says that rick santorum has about a two-point lead over mitt romney. but that is, again, a four-point margin of error. what does it mean, all that math? live from chicago is lenny mccallister. also here in new york, dean obidella and a white house reporter for politico. lenny, i've been watching the numbers contract, slowly but surely, all the gaps that mitt romney has been sweating over as he gets to every contest, they get tighter and tighter. i don't get it. what is it exactly that he's been doing or what other people have been doing to contract those numbers for him? >> everybody else had an opportunity to be a front-runner and everybody else has fumbled while they've been a front-runner. the latest casualty has been rick santorum with the race going into arizona and michigan. at this point in time, it seems as though conservatives are finally starting to say, it looks as though it's been mitt romney. where you've seen rick santorum had these big leads in ohio, previously in michigan and the like, they're starting to contract. the closer these races get, the more the advantage goes to romney, again, he does have the structure. he does the have money and he has been running for president since pretty much 2006. this is when it starts playing to his advantage to have the establishment behind him and the money available to be able to win these close races. if he wins a close race in ohio, and he can couple that with good showings in the south he'll be well on his way moving forward. look at ohio. we have to see, what does he do in oklahoma and tennessee? how does he look, even if he doesn't win if he's a respectable second place he'll be well on his way moving into april. >> one of the things we have to do here as good reporters is learn the election system. this should be a master's program, honestly, the briefing book on each of the races and the rules and how they allot the delegates. it changes every four years as paul steinhauser said. in 2010, the rnc jiggered with the rules to suggest they have to allot things proportionately. not the big old swath of winner takes all. some said great idea, that helps prolong the race a little longer. chris christie had this to say, i will quote him directly, this is the dumbest any idea anybody ever had, make ours longer so we can beat each other up longer? is that's what's happening? is this a bad thing? >> what's happening in part. the rnc changed the rules because they wanted to have an epic battle like hillary clinton and barack obama and john edwards to an extent had in 2008. generated interest, got a lot of new voters involved in the process. they want a repeat of that scenario. what they have is almost like an endless poker game. guys sitting around the table, even the loser getting chips fed to him by the super p a. cs, not encouraging them to get out of the race, encouraging them to stay on so they're in a sense victims of their own decision to protract the rules and generate interest. you can't land a haymaker oregon knockout blow. romney is in a good position right now. he's looking to gain momentum heading into super tuesday. the problem mr. i -- there is te proportionate system. even though rick santorum and newt gingrich will probably not finish as strong as romney on tuesday, gingrich can grab delegates and santorum can collect some, although not at quite the rate that romney does. >> i'm curious about this abc news/"wall street journal" poll. i want to read some of the words that people came up with. the ones we could put on tv. looky, unenthusiastic, discouraged, lesser of two evils, painful, poor choices, uninspiring, depressed, holy-moly, i don't know if chris christie had a good idea by suggesting this was really stupid to protract the race or if this is the only way to get all other states involved in the race? >> i'm not sure. chris christie is always interesting and funny. i'm from jersey originally. i find him interesting at all times. you have super pacs, super tuesdays. what you don't have are super candidates on the republican side. that's the problem. there's an enthusiasm gap with mitt romney. they might be coalescing a little bit. voting is not enough to win the presidency. anyone who's worked on a campaign can tell you. you need to be excited, call people up, get them excitement. romney should do something to generate excitement, maybe wear a jeremy lin shirt. he reminds me of john kerry in 2004. they're starting to build around him but there's no excitement or enthusiasm. >> maybe what he can do is say, vote for me because i'd only lose by six points were the other guys would love by 8 points, 14 points and 17 points if you go down the line. i have to cut it there. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> also at 7:00, soledad o'brien will speak to eric cantor. he's put his weight behind mitt romney. what does that endorsement do for mitt romney and why did he do it? also, at 8:00 a.m., she goes one-on-one with john mccain. make sure you tune in for the one-on-one. and at 8:30. soledad goes one-on-one with newt gingrich. i think there will be headlines coming out of these interviews. our super tuesday coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. eastern tomorrow evening. a special edition of "john king, usa" is followed by complete coverage at 7:00. we will be right back. when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have 6 grams of sugars. with 15 grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. 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[ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so greek. so did you hear the one about rush limbaugh? >> oh, my goodness. >> should i keep it clean? >> you should. >> here's the deal. i can't keep it clean because i cannot report on the story without saying something that probably shouldn't be said on tv, slut. that is what rush limbaugh deemed appropriate when referring to an adversary in an argument, in a debate, over contraception and whether it should be covered. the advertisers who spend money on his show are dropping like flies. even after he decided to put out an apology days later. it all had to do with sandra fluke. she appeared on capitol hill. she talked about coverage and contraception and he said she's a slut. for doing so. >> seven sponsors have pulled business from rush limbaugh's radio show in response to his three-day rant against georgetown fluke because she wants insurance companies to cover contraception. as you said, here's some of what limbaugh said. >> what does it say about the college coed susan fluke who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says she must be paid to have sex. what does that make her? it makes her a slut, right? it makes her a prostitute. she wants to be paid to have sex. >> fluke is her name. limbaugh released a written apology saying in part my choice of words was not the best. >> really? >> not the best? really. >> in an attempt to be humorous -- >> funny, funny. >> i created a national stir. i sincerely apologize to miss fluke for the insulting word choices. >> there was a whole bunch of stuff in the middle the apology that said i think this is part of the argument i want to make. which is fine, rush limbaugh, make your argument. you can agree or disagree on contraception. that's not the issue. you cannot call women you disagree with sluts or prostitutes. i was called a slut by michael savage, a conservative radio talk show host, laura ingram has been called a slut by another conservative on msnbc. by the way i was also called a slut on msnbc. it ends now. cut it out! it's not appropriate. it's disgusting. >> a lot of people are wondering if this will be the demise of rush limbaugh and a lot of folks saying this wasn't a funny moment, right? >> not at all. >> how could you possibly call this funny? that's what catches me more and losing his sponsors. ron paul said the only reason he apologized is because he's losing sponsors. and he's down to seven sponsors he's lost. i want to read the statement from one of them. this is why one of the sponsors walked away. he said no one with daughters the age of sandra fluke, i have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well intentioned young lady. mr. limbaugh with his attacks overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. this is kind of the way that, you no he, you affect change, right? lose your sponsors. >> yes. it's unbelievable what these men think they can get away with. please, are you kidding me? i was called a slut because i was doing coverage in the middle east. michael savage didn't like giving the voice to some of the arab instigators in the middle east. that made me a slut. what does it take? what year is this, limbaugh? shut your cake hole, please. >> losing sponsors, perhaps that will be it. >> woop, woop. i think i said my peace on this one. boy was that opinionated? dan aykroyd on fellow blues brother john belushi. 30 years since his death. a sneak peek at a "showbiz tonight" exclusive. you're watching "early start." cherry orchard, blackberry harvest... my daughter's grabbing some yoplait. pina colada, orange creme. i can't imagine where she is... strawberry cheesecake. 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this is big news. the sleep number bed. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. wow! that feels really good. it's hugging my body. it works in a minute. i can get more support. if you change your mind once you get home you can adjust it. so whatever you feel like, the sleep number bed's going to provide it for you. at our semi-annual sleep sale, save $400 to $700 on our most popular bed sets. sale ends soon. only at the sleep number stores. where queen mattresses start at just $699. it is 48 minutes past the hour. time to check the stories making news this morning. countdown to super tuesday. ten states, 419 delegates at stake tomorrow night. it's a big one, folks. the new nbc/"wall street journal" national poll has mitt romney opening a six-point lead over rick santorum among likely republican primary voters. and that rash of tornados that raked five states now blamed for 39 deaths, including a 14-month-old baby who had briefly survived, being catapulted from her home, discovered in a field. the tornado killed her entire family in indiana. kentucky's governor says the damage in his state is the worst that he has ever seen. vladimir putin headed for his third term as russia's president, declaring victory with 64% of the vote. putin's opposition claiming he rigged the win through fraud and intimidation. protests are scheduled for today. 30 years ago today, comic legend john belushi died of an overdose of cocaine and heroin. dan aykroyd spoke exclusively to "showbiz tonight," saying if his friend was still alive, he'd be a leading light on broadway. >> if he would be directing plays in new york city, with the leading lights of theater avant-garde. he would be directing plays and musicals. he would be one of the premiere director/producers on broadway. that would have been his destiny. he was so intelligent and so well referenced. >> belushi's body was discovered on march 5th, 1982 in a bungalow in hollywood. you can watch the entire exclusive interview on "showbiz tonight" on headline news. >> a.j. hammer does such a good job with those interviews. he always gets the big ones. and prince terry on a tour on behalf of his grandma. he's in the bahamas wowing the crowd. the next stop, i'm not sure it will be as friendly. it's the jamaican prime minister he needs to woo next. that person wants no part of the british monarchy. you're watching "early start." you'd use carbon fiber and machined aluminum, to make it more beautiful and more durable. you'd even use edge-to-edge gorilla glass for a stunning display in a more compact form. everything that you would ever want in a laptop. introducing the dell xps 13 ultrabook. everything. and more. ♪ will be giving awaye. passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. okay, this is supposed to be the easy part of the job. but it turns out it may not be much of a picnic. it's a diplomat test for britain's prince harry. he's going to head to jamaica later on today. it's part of the caribbean tour, you know, meeting all the folks in the former colonies and now in the commonwealth. he's meeting with the jamaican prime minister who says she wants to remove the queen of england as jamaica's head of state. >> prince harry on this diamond jubilee tour to celebrate the queen's 60th year on the throne. right now, as ashleigh said, he is in the bahamas having all sorts of fun. max foster is live in the bahamas. talk to us a little bit about what he is doing on this trip. then we'll talk about the diplomat mission he perhaps could be on. >> reporter: yes, it's going to be a big test for prince harry, this whole visit. he's hurdling around at break neck speed. he arrived in belize over the weekend. it was a test to see how they'd accept him. he went into the street party which was organized for him. and he just threw himself in. that's what endeared him to the crowds there. he started drinking the local drinks and threw himself into a dancing session. the crowds just loved this. and then the next day he toured an ancient mayan temple, took in incredible views and after that, he headed to the bahamas. this was an island that princess diana loved. they honeymooned here, diana and prince charles. it was a personal visit. he visited an island, was shown around by one of princess diana's bridesmaids. the scenes we have here were quite incredible. the island went absolutely wild for him. and it was a great success, really. it was so successful, he was pulled out after ten minutes because there was just too many people there. >> we know he's there celebrating the diamond jubilee. he's having a meeting with jamaica's prime minister as well. can you tell us about that? >> yes, this is significant because since the visit was announced to jamaica, the prime minister was voted in and she said that she wanted to get rid of the monarchy, the link to the monarchy. the queen of britain is the queen of bell lies, the bahamas and jamaica. they want to break this link. there's all sorts of associations between the british and colonies and slavery. we're going to see how he does that, can he win jamaica around or will jamaica just decide as they did with kate and william in canada, quebec, that they're anti-monarchy but they like harry as a celebrity-type figure. >> max foster, thank you for joining us this morning. it is 56 minutes past 5:00 on the east coast. just ahead on "early start," 39 now the death toll from last week's five-state killer tornadoes. coming up in just a moment, out of these pictures, a remarkable story, a brother and a sister who are alive but lost just about everything. and it is countdown to super tuesday. good news and bad news for mitt romney. he's pulling away from his gop rivals but not president obama. we're breaking down all those numbers for you this morning. you are watching "early start." . creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. 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[ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. very good morning to you. welcome to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. we're bring you the news, a to z. let's get started. super tuesday just a day away now. call it the march madness republican style. the latest polls are right, mitt romney could be a lot closer to the nomination on wednesday morning. a brother and a sister from indiana lose just about everything in a devastating tornado outbreak. we are going to ask them about surviving an ordeal in which 39 other people could not. okay. he runs toward killer storms when others run away from them. in this hour, meet tornado chaser jeff, he has been putting himself in harm's way for 35 years. >> listen to the hail on this car. i know firsthand what that sounds like. also, vladimir putin trying to hold back the tears are. they tears of emotion of tears of, it's cold in moscow at the beginning of march, folks, especially night in the wind. look at those flags. i believe the latter. he declared victory in russia's presidential election but did he win this thing fair and square? >> close-up on their faces and see if anybody else is tearing up, i say. >> could be. even though i tear when other people don't in the wind. that's just me. so it is one minutes past 6:00. we're counting down to super tuesday. it looks like it could be fairly super for mitt romney if the numbers are anything. he's coming off wins in michigan, arizona, washington state. he's got his sights set obviously on president barack obama instead of the gop rivals. somewhat anyway. this is what he told voters in georgia. >> it's pretty straightforward, in my view. if barack obama gets reelected iran will have a nuclear weapon and world will change, if that's the case. >> the nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows romney 38%, santorum at 32%. this is the highest total for romney to date. it is eve of super tuesday. a lot is at stake. ten states, 419 delegates at stake tomorrow night. can romney deliver a knockout blow? there's only one guy we can talk to about this. cnn political editor paul steinhauser live in atlanta. i was looking at the numbers getting super confused and thought, i get to talk to paul this morning. romney got two major endorsem t endorsements this past weekend, one from tom colburnnd from house majority leader eric kantor, as well. reading a lot of articles that perhaps they're trying to rally behind this candidate. can he pull it off on super tuesday? >> those endorsements are interesting because those are two conservative politicians. he's had trouble coalescing the conservative base. it will put some daylight between himself and santorum and gingrich and paul. this is all about delegates. you showed that 1419. that's more than we have seen so far in any contest so far all combined. it's more than a third of the delegates but a candidate needs to lock down and clench the nomination. and what about that momentum? you were just talking about it. take a look at this poll. brand new out of ohio. arguably the most important. mitt romney is tied with rick santorum. santorum had a big double digit lead there a week ago. what if rick santorum holds on and wins ohio, make oklahoma and another state, we will be talking about a very different race on wednesday morning. >> how is it breaking down? there are a lot of people who are speculating what the numbers will end up being. can it be such a decisive win for mitt romney that he is the candidate if. >> probably not because it is all proportional here. it's not winner take all like arizona. we're going to see rick santorum pick up a bunch of delegates. same thing for gingrich and ron paul. for gingrich, he needs to win georgia tomorrow. that's his home state. he needs to win there. if he doesn't, i don't know how he continues on with his bid for the nomination. >> we know you're going to be watching the numbers for us. thank you, paul steinhauser. keep it on cnn now through november for the best political coverage on television. it's 7:00 a.m. on "starting point." soledad o'brien goes one-on-one with house majority leader eric cantor. then she faces off with newt gingrich. he says he has to win his home state of georgia tomorrow like paul steinhauser said, to remain a credible credit. soledad will ask him what happens if he doesn't. and our super tuesday coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. eastern tomorrow everyoning with a special edition of "john king, usa." that is beginning at 7:00 for you. five minutes past the top of the hour. they are cleaning up and coming together, recall of those communities who were just devastated by that string of tornadoes that went through the midwest and southeast. they're coping with almost unimage nabl disaster. 39 people across 5 states just from friday's storms. not even the storms before that. kentucky's governor is asking for disaster assistance. asking the federal government for help. small town of west liberty was all but leveled. cnn's rob marciano is live in kentucky. last hour when we joined you you were covered in snow which i found alarming, the fact that we were going to kentucky but it really does sort of speak to the bizarre fronts that are going through there. >> yeah. and just how uncredibly intense the two air masses were that spawned this massive tornado outbreak on friday with the numbers climbing there as far as how many confirmed tornadoes on the ground. regardless, this is shaping out to be the worst march tornado outbreak since at least 1994. and on the back side of this now we've got snow that's coming in. three or four inches on the ground. it's beginning to ease up enough. but the damage is done here. obviously going to hamper recovery efforts. we're standing just above the main street over the parking lot of 100-year-old bank. this is also kind of the command center here where they're running operations. main street is pretty much level except the municipal building which is all brick is still standing. this tornado was a mile wide, that's the widest storm of this tornado outbreak. there is barely a building in this town that has gone untouched. residents have not been allowed to come back. a few business owners have snuck in to take stock of the situation but they're very, very frustrated and shocked and scared. i caught up with one storm survivor yesterday. >> everything was here for us, you know. you know, we don't know what -- nobody knows what to do now, you know, really. it's just devastation. >> take a look at the video that we're getting in now of the funnel itself. as mentioned, it was a really wide storm. frightening as it came over the ridge. and just tearing up this town with 140 plus mile an hour winds. it's really remarkable that more people didn't die. but the end result of not only this storm and the others that came through kentucky, 21 of the 39 fatalities in this state. senator mitch mcconnell was out here. i spent some time with him. he says he hadn't seen anything like it since 1974. he's going to try to expedite things as far as trying to get fema relief here. fema is going to be out here to assess damage today and hopefully get that ball rolling. hopefully today more residents will be allowed back in. right now this town continues to be on lockdown as they just try to clear some of the roadways to make it passable enough for people to get around. >> rob that video you just showed is absolutely unbelievab unbelievable. and i think the woman who is probably heard praying while she was filming this, i think the credit says stephanie fann, i'm not sure if that's the voice we're hearing. i don't know if she's assuming it's coming for me and there's nowhere i can go anywhere so i will just pray. i felt like that's where so many people's heads are at. you may hear the warnings, but sometimes there is nowhere to go but pray. rob, appreciate it. >> you bet. and residents had warnings but even the best forecasts can't give exact locations of where those twisters are actually going to hit. terry mock lost his wife, his sister julie, money, lost her car, but both have their lives. they are at the ruined restaurant where julie and her husband took shelter and helped save lives. thanks for joining us all this morning. holly, you're with us as well. we appreciate it. so julie, i wanted to start with you because we're taking a look at you there in front of that restaurant you. left your home, which was eight miles away, in order to go to the restaurant behind you. why did you do that? >> we looked at the radar and it looked like it was heading for our home in scotsburg. our friends opened the restaurant and called us and asked us to come down to their basement, so we stopped and picked up our best friends, john and monica jenkins. we barely made it here. when we got here there were people wait og to pick up their children, standing in front of the school. they couldn't see the tornado coming over the back of the school so we screamed, my husband screamed and screamed until they responded. and they went inside, thank god. i know that's why god put us here in scotsburg -- or in henry ville. >> part of the reason you left your home is because you don't have to basement? >> correct. >> how did your house do? >> oh, my house is fine. scotsburg is fine. >> isn't that something? now, you hid in the basement. can you tell us what you saw, what you heard, what you felt? >> we saw the tornado. we stayed upstairs watching a little too long. we got in the basement and a few seconds later our ears, the air sucked out of the room, i think, and our ears felt really strange. there was a large boom, large roar. the pressure let off our ears. and then it was just glass. you could hear cracking, popping, just everything you could imagine. only lasted a few seconds. >> julie, we're taking a look right now at that bus that is inside of the restaurant. did you feel that or hear that when you were downstairs? can you hear me, julie? >> yes. i didn't know it was a bus. we had no idea what it was. we thought the building probably was gone on top of us. it was only after we came out we realized that it was a school bus. >> oh, my goodness. >> terry, you fled your house with your 3-year-old daughter. where were you going? >> at that point i really didn't have any idea. just felt safer away from the modular home that we live in. we also do not have a basement or a storm shelter. i was actually going to try to go to an overpass or a very low area. but as i was traveling, we came upon top of a hill and that's when i could see the storm approaching and got very nervous because two tornadoes had dropped down but not touched the grounded. and then they dissipated. and then we seen the large tornado on the ground so i took a few moments to try to figure out what direction it was traveling. and we averted it by going south. and when i felt that berp in a safe position, i stopped, parked, and took some pictures of the actual tornado from about a mile, mile and a half. >> we were just taking a look at some of those pictures that you took. i would imagine that you were probably pretty scared. did you hear the sirens go off? >> nom. we sure didn't. i had been watching the news. and they had been putting out a lot of warnings and were pretty adamant about what was going to happen that day. and about 15 minutes before it happened, i decided we needed to be out of our home. >> i imagine you're very happy that you did. >> my daughter. >> i would imagine you are happy you did leave because we're looking at the pictures of your home and it's devastated, so you saved your life and the wife of your daughter and your wife. thank you so much for joining us this morning. we wish you well. we know that you've got a lot ahead of you still. >> we've had -- >> i'm so sorry he got cut off. later on "starting point," soledad will talk to the ownerses of that restaurant where julie and her husband found shelter from the storm. and to find out more on how you can help those effected by the midwest trnornadoes go to n cnn.com/impact. 14 minutes now past 6:00. still to come on "early start," was he crying or was he just tearing up because it was awful cold in moscow in the winter time when the wind is blowing? no matter what, it was an overwhelming victory for russia's voladimir putin, but ws it fair? and can president obama and benjamin gnattnetanyahu. these two guys don't necessarily see eye to eye on how to deal, but will obama's view prevail? you're watching "early start." ah, welcome to hotels.com. i get it...guys weekend. yeah! if you're looking for a place to get together, you came to the right place. because here at hotels.com, we're only about hotels. yeah! yeah! noooo. yeah! finding you the perfect place is all we do. welcome to hotels.com the key is to have a good strategy. the same goes for my 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[ male announcer ] with wells fargo advisor's envision plan, you always know where you stand. in fact, 93 percent of envision plan holders say they will retire on their own terms. get started on the plan you need today -- wells fargo advisors. together we'll go far. it is 18 minutes past the hour. time to check the stories making news. >> mitt romney surging in the on polls on the eve of super tuesday. ten states, 419 delegates up for grabs. in the latest poll, mitt romney has 38% support among likely republican voters. that puts him six points up on rick santorum. and also, she was called angel and she has died. the indiana toddler. angel babcock briefly survived after her parents and two siblings were killed in those twisters. the death toll from friday's storm stands at 39. vladimir putin declares his third term with 64% of the vote. his opposition though is claiming that that vote was rigged and that that win was just fraud and intimidation rifed. the protests are scheduled later on today. like father like son, kim jong un makes his first i have it to the demilemilitarized zon. joint military drills with the united states. and for an expanded look at the top stories, head to our blog at cnn.com sla/earlystart. more options for you. you can follow us on twitter at earlystartcnn. >> get right to it because that's a lot of work. still to come on "early start," they may not be seeing eye to eye but they're going to have to put on a brave face today anyway, because our president and israel's president, big meeting at the white house today. all about iran and how they see what they're going to do about iran's nuclear program. it's not going that well. let's put it miley that way. you're watching "early start." 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[ laughing ] ...is the crackle of the campfire. it can be a million years old... cool. ...or a few weeks young. ♪ [ laughs ] away beckons from orion's belt. away...is a place that's closer than you think. find your away. for a dealer and the rv that's right for you, visit gorving.com. 23 minutes past 6:00. president obama is going to spend the better part of the morning trying to convince the israelis to hold off. don't attack iran so quickly. president and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is going to meet face to face at the white house four hours from now. they agree that iran is doing naughty things but they disagree on how to stop iran from doing naughty things with regard to its nuclear program. president obama is saying, hey, hold on, let's get om calm here, take some time. maybe wait for sanctions to work, have a little diplomacy. the israelis are saying we don't have all that time because at one point a window is going to close and we can't take, you know, proactive attack, you noeks effort in this respect because they won't be able to. so the president, our president, addressed the america israel public affairs committee meeting yesterday and said, we got your back, israel. >> no israeli government can tolerate a nuclear weapon in the hands of a regime that denies the holocaust, threatens to wipe israel off the map, sponsors terrorist groups committed to israel's destruction. >> our brianna keilar is live in washington, d.c. he's covering this story today. brianna, everyone knows that america and israel is a very strong bond, but as things have ramped up in iran, it seems our relationship with israel is getting a little testy. are you seeing it this way or is this just a one off thing until they get your story straight? >> no, i think that this is actually something that you've seen for some time now. specifically between these two leaders, president obama and ben gentleman anyone netanyahu. there's been a lot of tension, ashleigh. i think you look back historically over the last few years and you can kind of see really specific instances where you can see that this relationship is perhaps not as good as either side would hope. there was last year when netanyahu came here to the white house and seemed to really lecture president obama and you could really almost read that body language and see things weren't going so well between them. there was also the time where president obama and french president nichololas sarkozy we caught by an open mike during the g-20 last year talking about netanyahu in a way that sort of belied some of the issues they may have. i think the thing though here is the reality that i think critics and supporters of president obama alike though feel is that these two sides need to work toward a common goal and certainly this is a relationship that can be preserved. but i think you might call it cordial more than anything. >> common goal is what everybody would like to see, especially as things heat up. i get the sense just reading those who are watching this process between these two leaders, that they're not going to achieve much in this meeting today. they're not going to come out of here with some great big taunt, are they? >> no, i think that's the expectation, ashleigh. what big question is, what is the red line. obviously we know that israel their concern is that if iran gets the capacity to build a nuclear weapon, it's a little more blurry rewhen it comes to the u.s. seems more to be that it's the actual building of a nuclear weapon and then you also have this issue that complicates the matter. israel and the u.s., they have different military abilities to stop iran militarily should it come to that. certainly the u.s. has more capabili capability. and so there's a question if israel did want to go it alone and not rely on the u.s., they might pursue a military option sooner than the u.s., but you can see the tension kind of builds into this really, this gap between president obama and netanyahu and how the two coupleries are try toing to fin solution to this. >> i woulder how much the u.s. would like to say they don't know so they can remain come police it on the attack. brianna keilar, thanks for that. 27 minutes past the hour. here ahead on "early start" we are counting down to super tuesday. mitt romney is gaining momentum in the polls, but can any republican beat obama? we're going to talk to our panelists about that. weigh in on rush limbaugh as well. you are watching "early start." ♪ ♪ one, two, three, four ♪ you say ♪ flip it over and replay ♪ we'll make everything okay ♪ walk together the right way ♪ do, do, do, do i like yoplait. it is yoplait. but you said it was greek. mmhmm. so is it greek or is it yoplait? exactly. okay... 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[ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke. hi. it is 30 minutes past 6:00 on the east coast. welcome back to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. it is time to check the stories. mitt romney surging in the polls on the eve of super tuesday. ten states, 419 critical delegates, are attack tomorrow. a new nbc/"wall street journal" poll shows romney nearly doubling his support among conservatives since january while opening a six-point lead on rick santorum. assessing the damage from last week's tornado devastation in the south and in the midwest. 21 twisters striking kentucky alone. in the town of west libertyville all but leveled. vladimir putin celebrating a win in his presidential election. this time he picked up 64% of the vote. his rivals say, yeah, maybe 64% through fraud. they're quoting massive fraud. they're saying protests are scheduled for later today because of it. 31 minutes past the hour. on to politics. down to the final four. we have been for a little while. if the poll numbers are right, romney is looking like a front-runner on the eve of super tuesday. a lot is at stake tomorrow. 10 states 419 critical delegates. can romney deliver a knockout blow? the polls sew romney is gaining moment momentum. nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows romney gets 38%. santorum has 32%. the highest total ever for romney. and in ohio, it is considered the most crucial of the ten states. it is a statistically dead heat in the latest nbc news maris poll. 34%-32%. live from chicago conservative commentator lenny mcallister and here in new york we have dino and live in washington, joe williams, white house reporter from politico. always a smile on your face. romney might take the delegate majority on super tuesday. he's got a lot of strong endorsements, especially over the weekend. senator colburn, senator cantor. they say the republican party really wants this over by super tuesday. is it possible that mitt romney will be the gop candidate? >> in a word, no. but the longer explanation is that this primary system is built for the long haul. the delegate are awarded proportionately. he will likely take some early no mo mem tum and likely to get that front-runner status cemented but he's got some tough ones coming up, especially in the south where he struggled. chances are he can't lock this up with one super tuesday sweep. >> i'm going to switch gears here. candidates were on the trail this weekend talking about iran. we've been covering quite a bit this morning, specifically the threat of nuclear weapons. here's one of them talking. we'll chat on the other side. >> we've had no evidence that the president is prepared to take steps to stop iran from getting nuclear weapons. they talk and the iranians build. they talk and the iranians build. we're being played for fools. >> this is give an opportunity to the republicans to appeal to jewish voters, right? and then there's a "washington post" poll that says 33% of people approve of how president obama handles iran. could republicans gain some strength by taking the hard line position on iran? >> i don't think so, to be honest. honestly, look, the republican party, the people who brought us the iraq war want to bring us the sequel, the iran war. i saw a recent poll, 17% of americans support military action. 60% want diplomacy. that's what president obama wants. this saber rattling to get votes is irresponsible, frankly. let the diplomatic commission take its toll, we don't want people in harm's way again. frankly, we don't have the money in america to wage another war. maybe he can send an angry e-mail at this point. we're not going to blow things up. >> "the washington post" poll say only 33% of the people approved of how president obama is handling iran. >> look at the flip side. how many people want military action? that's which we're talking about. only 17% in a cnn poll from just three weeks ago. 60% want diplomacy. no one in america wants war again. how do they want him to handle it, i'm not sure because there's no silver bullet. it has to be diplomatic first or war. what are the options if we don't want war? >> lenny, something you and i were texting a lot about this morning, the controversy with rush limbaugh. he made some comments about a law student. she testified in favor of all insurers covering bit control. some people have not heard the controversy yet, and then we'll talk about it. >> what does it say about the college coeds susan fluke who goes before congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex. what does that make her? it makes her a slut, right? makes her a prostitute. she wants to be paid to have sex. >> everybody is talking about it. not everybody had heard it. i felt the need to play it. rush limbaugh's statement, a symptom of the problem with the gop? >> he is a symptom, not the problem. and the overall problem is this. when you look at the democratic party, you have people on the far left and you still have blue dog democrats. you look at the republican party and you basically have nothing more than the most part the hard core right taking over the republican party. to be called a moderate republican, mr, in today's republican party, you might as well call it mr and mf because it's a bad term to be called a moderate republican in today's gop. when you have that, you have this type of political purity going on where things keep driving to the extremes and there are times when it drives off the rails. unfortunately you start also having people that are driving that philosophy that don't have to go up for a vote. he's going to lose sponsors. he's still going to make $40 million this year and the republican party has to answer for that not only in the primaries, the presidential candidates right now have to answer for it and we're going to have to conversations to answer for this movement throughout 2012. that's the reason why this big ten fiphilosophy that they usedo have where they continue to have principles but semblance of balance within the republican party. >> i'm losing time here. but, dean, i wanted you to weigh in quickly on this as well. >> unbelievably business pickable and i'm also upset. mitt romney's response was, i wouldn't have used those words. no, mitt romney, get a backbone. you're running for president of the united states. you come out and say these words are despicable. i think rush limbaugh, this is just like don imus' comments. rush limbaugh should be fired. he's made racist comments about african-american before, sexless comments. good-bye, rush limbaugh. >> a lot of people are comparing the two. thanks for joining us this morning. you can keep it here on cnn throughout november for the best political coverage on television. soledad o'brien goes one-on-one with house majority leader eric cantor who just endorsed mitt romney. at 8:30 soledad faces off with former house speaker newt gingrich. he says he has to win his home state of georgia tomorrow to remain a credible candidate. so what's his plan if he doesn't? we're going to try to found out for you. we'll be right back. we decided to build a 100 foot long double helix made out of full color leds and then connect all that to music source. we have a deejay come. and the light sequences or preprogrammed to play along with the tempo of the music. and it was beautiful. clean lines connecting city to city. the map shows you where we go... but not how we get there. because in this business... there are no straight lines. only the twists and turns of an unpredictable industry. the passengers change... the gates change. government regulations change... oil peaks and plummets. and let's not even get started on the weather. the fact is: no two flights are ever the same. no matter how many times we've accomplished them in the past. the eighty-thousand employees at delta... must predict the unpredictable. anticipate the unexpected. and never let the rules... overrule common sense. this is how we tame the unwieldiness of air travel. pull it taut... and wrap it around the globe... until it's not just lines you see... it's the world. aflac! ha! isn't major medical enough? 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[ male announcer ] help your family stay afloat at aflac.com. plegh! have 46 grams of whole grains... mmmm. ...and a touch of sweetness. you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste. get your free sample of quaker oatmeal squares on facebook. 41 minutes past the hour. welcome back to "early start." an artificial pancreas is being called a game changer for nearly 5 million diabetics across the country who use insulin. >> senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen has a story of a young girl who was once of the first to try this device out. she joins us now along with that patient, ellie and her mom stephanie, as well. first, let me start with you, elizabeth, for the nuts and bolts of this story. exactly how does this work and what does it mean for a diabetic in the grand scheme of the disease? >> you know, ashleigh, diabetics, their pancreas has basically pooped out. why mean is their pancreases cannot process sugar the way that they need it to process it in order to stay alive. so, i'm going to introduce you again to ellie. we're going to see pictures of her at home. she has to test her blood sugar 10 to 12 times a day, brick her finger, and estimate how much insulin she needs, again, in order to stay alive. her mother wakes up every three hours at night. >> wow! >> and the reason why is that in the middle of the night you can have a sugar low that can kill you. and stephanie will tell us how she has caught several sugar lows that could have killed her daughter. now, when she wears the artificial pancreas which she wore for an experiment at the hospital, what happens is that that device tests the sugar all the time, every five minutes it's testing her blood sugar and uses an algorithm to decide how much insulin she dmeeneeds. it takes a lot of the guesswork out of treating diabetes. >> it does the measuring. what about the actual insulin. does it manage that as well? >> it does. it actually gives you tins lynn. if you go to cnn.com/empowerpatient, you can see how it works. >> ellie looks pretty in pink right beside us. ellie, i think you're 12 years old, if you haven't had a recent birthday, but at 12 years old this must be a really huge deal for you. >> yeah, it is. it's really hard to go to sleep-overs and birthday parties. >> and not only that, you've been doing this on your own for a while, right? like you test your blood sugar like elizabeth just said and you inject yourself with insulin at the ripe young age of 12. so is this going to be sort of a whole new life for you if you get to continue the use of this device? >> uh-huh, yeah, i won't have to test my blood sugar, estimate how many -- how much insulin i have to take. >> stephanie, your daughter is absolutely adorable. i was just looking at you smiling as she was speaking. it's not just because she's well spoken. i'm sure that this just gives you an incredible freedom. but at the same time, are you at all worried about this in terms of approval by the fda? it makes me nervous to just say you're kind of a test case, right? >> that's part of the reason we're so appreciative for this opportunity to participate in this type of research because we understand that in order for the science and technology to advance, they have to be able to use the device on patients. and so we're very anxious to have the opportunity to use the device in a home setting. we spent three days at mass general hospital with the device. and we were very inspired by the promise and what a difference it could make in ellie's life. >> well, stephanie shaheen and ellie shah,een, thank you for joining us to tell us your story. elizabeth cohen, thanks for bringing it to us. thanks, everybody. what a great story. wow. >> hope it all works well for them. >> me, too. 45 minutes past the hour. time to check stories making news this morning. ten states and more than 400 delegates up for grabs on super tuesday. mitt romney opening a six-point lead over rick santorum. that's in the latest national poll of republicans conducted by nbc news and the "wall street journal." the rash of tornadoes that rate five states now blamed for 39 deaths and among them 14-month-old angel babcock. she was taken off life support after somehow surviving a twister that wiped out her entire family in indiana. her grandparents were by her side. ish ailisraeli prime ministe and the president meets face to face at the white house. the president is expected to urge the israelis to use restraint when dealing with iran and nuclear threat so sanctions and diplomacy can have a chance. no apparent let-up from syrian troops in homs. arrests, they say regime forces are targeting other cities, too, across the country. at this point, killing at least five people. vladimir putin tearing up, literally, at a rally celebrating his victory in russia's presidential election. not sure if it's emotion or the very cold wind. tears were there. the tears were real. he's now headed for his third term winning 64% of the vote. but his rivals say 64, smixty-four. they say it was rife with fraud. up, up, away again. the new national average for a gallon of gas stands at $3.77. that supposed just a fraction in the last 24 hours. but it is the 27th straight day that we've had a rise in gas prices. we're getting closer and closer to that awful mark, four bucks, four bucks a gallon. yes, i know that some states and some areas have it but not everywhere, folks. the experts say that $4 is when people really start to get that emotional reaction and curb their consumption to start saving money. our soledad o'brien, busy, busy, prepping for great interviews. she joins us now with basically a menu of what's coming up. >> you know what, i'm having that emotional reaction. $4.17 when i was driving upstate a little bit this weekend. hi, expensive. we're going to talk this morning about president netanyahu of -- i'm sorry, prime minister netanyahu of israel and president obama sitting down talking about the white house today. the president has been talking tough about iran and israel, but the two countries are said to be very far apart on how they see the next steps. going to talk about that. politics, romney leading in the national polls, first time since november. we'll talk about what his strategy could be come tomorrow which, of course, is super tuesday. we're going to also speak to the former house speaker newt gingrich this morning. senator john mccain is going to join us as well. we will speak to the house majority leader eric cantor joining us this morning. finally, rush limbaugh apologizes, kind of, sort of, not really. we'll talk about that. that's all ahead this morning on "starting point" which begins at the top of the hour. see you guys back on "early see you guys back on "early mon burst, blackberry harvest, pina colada... i can't imagine where she is... orange creme... 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[ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so greek. ♪ ♪ and the flowers and the trees all laugh when you walk by ♪ ♪ and the neighbors' kids... what does being true to yourself have to do with being healthy? everything. ♪ but you're not ♪ you're the one ♪ one, one, one, one, one ♪ the one ♪ one, one, one, one, one ♪ the one ♪ one, one, one... >> announcer: this is the day. the day that we say to the world of identity thieves "enough." we're lifelock, and we believe you have the right to live free from the fear of identity theft. our pledge to you? as long as there are identity thieves, we'll be there. we're lifelock. and we offer the most comprehensive identity theft protection ever created. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. welcome to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. "starting point" with soledad o'brien begins right now. >> good morning, ladies. president obama is less than three hours away from a showdown which we are expecting, of course, at the white house. he's going to be talking with the prime minister benjamin netanyahu. they will be talking about iran. we'll bring you up to speed on what's going to happen there. over sea, lots of developments to get to. iran going toe to toe. also, is iran underwriting syria? we'll discuss that as well. we're going to talk to senator john mccain this morning about that. and rush limbaugh. listen. >> what does it say about the college coed susan fluke who goes before congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid

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