from a hillside in ohio, flattening cars, people were inside this home. the owner heard a sound, sow sparks, thought it was a thunderstorm. here's the good news, everyone inside is okay. >> miraculous given that video. holy cow. the nfl showing no mercy on the new orleans saints for paying bounties for big-time hits. the league suspending head coach shawn payton for the entire season. the general manager for eight games. and defensive coach greg williams who is now with the ram, suspended indefinitely for running that bounty program. tim tebow is taking his act to the big apple, traded to the new york jets. i know you know about this. all the fans and analysts are saying it's not exactly a match made in heaven? some people think it may be. it's one minute past 5:00. they've tried talking him out, freezing him out, scaring him out but the self-proclaimed al qaeda terrorist who is wanted for a killing spree in france is still standing his ground this morning. have a listen to this. >> blasts ringing out in the night. an attempt to literally rattle this guy into negotiating and surrendering. french authorities say, sadly, they have had no contact. the suspect's name is mohammed mira. the effort resulting in nothing. standoff at an apartment building entering its second day in france. hundreds of heavily armed officers are under strict orders. bring him in alive. cnn affiliate france says we have amateur video of mohammed mira. this is the first time you see him up close. it left three jewish children and a rabbi and three french paratroopers dead. we're live in toulouse france this morning. what's the latest there, diana. >> reporter: ashleigh, the latest in this 30-hour siege is now in the 30th hour, we've just heard from the interior ministry that at 2:00 a.m. this morning, which is about eight hours ago, there were two gunshots fired inside the house. they don't know why. they don't know what it was. since that point, they haven't had any more communication with the man. they did have communication with him before. it is very difficult to know what that means. this is purely speculation. but my reading of that, one reading of that could be that he has killed himself. they told us that in his communications with police yesterday, he said that he did want to die with his weapon in his hands. so it is very possible that he's killed himself. but at this stage, it's very difficult really to know what has happened. as you said, over the course of the night, there were these sort of stun grenades thrown in. huge bangs to shock and intimidate him. it doesn't seem to have worked. the case is still -- still maintaining they want him to come out alive to face justice for mees hideous crimes that he's done, ashleigh. >> diana, that is some news. 30 hours ago a raid did not go well and several people, the police involved were shot, hurt. what's the plan now? what are they going to try actually entering the building again to see if he's actually dead? >> reporter: it's difficult to know what they're going to do. yesterday we heard that they are using infrared technology, sensoring technology to try and find out where he is at any given point. you would have thought if he's been motionless for eight hours, then they would know about t but obviously, we, as the press, are kept quite a long way from the house itself, we're probably the last people who are going to know. interestingly, ashleigh, the electricity has been cut off to the whole neighborhood. so he also, if he is still alive, won't be watching the process outside, ashleigh. >> that's a remarkable development. thanks very much for that, diane. national outrage is building over the shooting death of an unarmed florida teenager by a neighborhood watch captain. hundreds of people attended a million hoodie march in manhattan yesterday. trayvon martin was wearing a hoodie when he was shot and killed by george zimmerman last month. demonstrators want an end to the profiling and want zimmerman arrested trayvon martin's parents were there and spoke to the crowd. >> trayvon martin did matter. i just want new york to know that we're not going to stop until we get justice. >> our son was not committing any crimes. our son we want to stand up for justice and do what's right. >> cnn's george hollow is in florida where reverend al sharpton will hold a rally tonight. there are big developments in the sanford police department as well. george, what can you tell us? >> well, clearly, this case has brought a lot of attention here to the city of sanford. as you mentioned, we're expecting hundreds of people to attend a rally here in the city. this comes a day after a 3-2 vote, a public vote of no confidence by city commissioners, including the city's mayor for the city's police chief. that's a big deal because it will weigh heavily on the mind of sanford's city manager. we're told that a federal investigation is welcomed. they want investigators to look through the actions of his police department. even to him, there are things that don't seem right. take a listen. >> if this took place in another city, certainly mr. zimmerman would have been arrested i'm told it's because of the florida law. that i think needs to be looked at. >> do you believe that your police department acted appropriately that day? >> based upon what they felt, i believe that they acted what they thought was appropriate. now the question is, did they? >> a lot of pressure on the city manager who has the power to hire and fire the police chief and certainly pressure on george zimmerman who has not been seen since the shooting. we found a new picture of him when he acted as a security guard at a party back in 2005. clearly, he was a watch captain of this neighborhood here in sanford. and many neighbors, some neighbors say that they appreciated the fact that he was there. but what he called self-defense that day, many in this community call murder. >> have we heard anything from his family at all, from zimmerman's family? >> we spent time trying to track down relatives, friends and at this point, it's really hard to find anyone on zimmerman's side within his family who will speak for him. we do know that his father did deliver a letter to the orlando sentinel saying that his son did not confront trayvon martin. but certainly the meeting between the two ended in a deadly shooting. >> i heard report that he had to move because he's fearing for his life. george howell live in sanford, florida, for us. we really appreciate it. thank you. ashleigh, back to you. it's 8:00 minutes past 5:00. zoraida, thank you. a major flood threat pushing eastward across the deep south right now. want to show you some pictures. they do not look good. that storm is triggering some bad flash flooding in louisiana and you know what they say, do not drive through it. you don't know how deep it is. two feet of water, filling up the roads and creeping into homes as well. >> look. >> i don't know if that car was trying to drive through it. but the one before it certainly was and so is this one driving with a camera. not a good picture. not something you like to see. rob marciano has been watching this and the rest of the weather across the country. hi rob. >> good morning, guys. this system is moving so slowly, not only the severe weather threat but the flood threat will be ongoing. ahead of it, it's running into really warm air. some of the numbers are incredible as far as highs. 87 degrees in chicago. the all-time record. it missed the all-time record by one degree. 85 degrees in columbus, ohio. that was a record. marquette, michigan, 81 degrees. they blew the record out of the water by 32 degrees. the old record was 49 degrees. all right. here's your system. there you go. just kind of sitting and spinning. not making much progress to the east. it will do so, but slowly, very, very slowly. the rain will keep coming in off the gulf of meck coe. there will be a flood threat today. 4 to 6 inches from mobile to pensacola northward towards birmingham and montgomery. ahead of this system, it's going to be a record high temperature in some cases. 80 degrees in lant lachbatlanta. 76 degrees in new york. for the most part, eastern half of the country, for the most part is done. >> yea. >> i would feel better if i didn't have to see the pictures down south. >> that's true. right, rob? >> we kind of need the rain but not all at one time. >> that's the problem. rob, we'll check in later. thanks. ten minutes past the hour. this just in. aaa says a new national average for a gallon of regular gas. do you want to gas? >> $3.88 a gallon. that is 13 days in a row of gas prices rising. analysts say the high gas prices are here to say through at least the summer. you might want to prepare your finances for that. adjust your budgets. >> two days in a row it's almost two cents overnight. the rising numbers are getting bigger each time it seems. frustrating. ten minutes past 5:00 in the morning on the east coast. u.s. markets hitting the brakes yesterday. the markets closing mixed. but mostly on the lower end of things. the dow lost most of the three major -- rather the dow lost -- looks like up in the nasdaq. if you want to look positive, this there you go. s&p down slightly two. i try to put a positive spin on things. >> lits bring in christine romans and talk about loans add the massive amount of debt we're mounting in this country. how much debt do the students have? >> you say what's your major? journalism, french, biology. the answer now of your major is debt. look a trillion dollars. the consumer financial protection bureau in some testimony yesterday say they think the number is above a trillion dollars. that would be bigger than credit card debt for the first time ever. the reason is, more kids are taking on more debt because their parents can't take money out of the house. they can't get money out of the house to pay the tuition bills. tuition is still rising. kids know they need a college degree. they know what they have to do. the big difference is there's a conversation about is college worth it? the unemployment rate for those with a college education is in the below 4%. it's half what it is for everyone else. here's the thing. you cannot afford to find yourself during college. you can't afford to take five years to graduate. you can't afford to switch your major. you can't afford not to understand your student loans. a group called the young invincibles. that a lot of kids don't understand their loans. they don't understand the difference between a federal loan and -- a federal loan, if you miss payments, they can jack up -- >> the private loan doesn't have higher rates? >> the private loan has higher interest rates. the public loan has lower interest rate. but public loans, the government's student loans, if congress doesn't do anything, the loan rates will jump to 6.8% in july. so you're looking at possibly higher -- that's $5,000 more for a ten-year loan for about $25,000. another $5,000 out of your pockets. listen to me. student debt is the most important investment you're going to make. i mean, you need to sit down and figure it out. kids are coming out with 10, 20, $30,000 in student debt. you need the right major for the right skills for the kids. there's no room for any error here. >> a lot of kids take a lot of time trying to figure it out. maybe community colleges are a good solution? >> yes. the only country in the world that spends 20,000 d a year to find themselves. >> college isn't just for fun anymore. >> that's depressing. >> it is. >> get serious. >> thank you, christine. 13 minutes past the hour. damage control on the mitt romney camp this morning. the gop front-runner insisting he will not flipflop on his positions if he wins the republican nomination. those are marks after one of romney's top aides made an infamous etch a sketch comment on starting point yesterday. if case you missed it. here's what adviser eric fern strum told us how the romney campaign might change in the fall if his candidate is the nominee. >> i think he hit a reset button for the fall campaign. everything changes. it's almost like an etch-a-sketch. you can shake it up and start all over again. >> didn't take long for rick santorum and newt gingrich to pounce on that remark. they even used props. >> which i have today. >> you have to stand for something that lasts longer than this. people aren't stupid. so we have a real challenge. i need your help this saturday. >> an etch-a-sketch. he said you turn it over and shake it and then you start all over. imagine, had mitt romney been around at the time we were drafting our constitution. he would have shaken it up after it was approved to rewrite it. >> well, reporters also were pretty quick to confront mitt romney for that explanation. here's what he said his communications director really meant. >> organizationally, a general election campaign takes on a different profile. the issues i'm running on will be exactly the same. i'm running as a conservative republican. i was coy conservative republican as governor, i'll be running -- hopefully nominated as president. the policies and positions are the same. >> just to bring perspective to the fiasco, mitt romney's wife ann offering up her take to cnn's piers morgan. >> a lot of play. >> it's a distraction because what we're talking about is an economic message, it's a jobs message. it's talking about capping spending, balancing budgets. >> are you going to maker i can -- are you going to maker i can right it on etch a sketch, i'm very sorry. >> i think that's a great idea, piers. we'll have him do that tomorrow. >> the democratic national committee pout out a video. altered to look like he's drawn with an etch a sketch. the company behind the etch a sketch is thrilled with all of the attention. they put out a statement that reads in part, "a profound toy, highly recognized and loved by all is now shaking up the national debate. nothing is as quintessentially american as etch a sketch and a good old-fashioned political debate." >> i said is anybody good on an etch a sketch. we have props. i wanted somebody to do your profile in here. >> you're kidding. >> they came up with romney instead. >> that's hard enough. >> this is phil. he did this in seconds. we're working on your profile next. we'll see if we can work that out. >> not going to happen. >> i'll shake it up. >> somebody called it the original ipad. >> good one. from the '50s. >> i'll buy that. 17 minutes past the hour. at 7:00 a.m. eastern, soledad o'brien will talk about the romney camp when joined by mark mckin none and amy kremer. on the east coast, running to freedom. somali pirates release hostages seven months after they're kidnapped off a beach. take a look at that. when jeb bush makes his pick for president and vice president. can you guess who he picked? you probably can't. you're watching "early start." . not that we'd ever brag about it. turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how'd that get there? 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[ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so greek. it is now 21 minutes past 5:00 on the east coast. time to check stories making headlines this morning. here's christine romans. >> wanted in france. the standoff between a wanted terrorist and hundreds of heavily armed police. some in body armor. now in the second tense day. the suspect accused of killing seven people including a rabbi and jewish children in a ten-day killing spree. french authorities have had no contact with the man overnight. a former nasa scientist sentenced to 13 years in prison for trying to sell u.s. space secrets to israel, he was arrested nearly two years into an undercover sting operation. he worked on nuclear weapons and satellite technology at nasa. somali pirates released a british hostage nearly seven months after being kidnapped in kenya. this is video of judith teb et boarding a plane. she's overjoyed to be reunited for her son and plans to dpreef for her husband who was killed when taken captive. >> a pleasant stroll on the pier after a woman tripped and fell into lake michigan because she was texting and walking. >> bonnie miller's husband and a passerby jumped in after her. the coast guard and police were able to get her to safety. her fall should be a lesson to all. don't walk and text. >> for an expanded look at top stories, head to cnn.com/early start. zoraida? >> don't walk and text by the water definitely. >> the story, christine, like two years ago in new york city about people texting and falling into manholes. it just shows that you when you're in your device, you're oblivious. that's why people who talk about driving and texting say it's so dangerous. >> i will never do that one. an early read on local news making national headlines. we have papers from newark, new jersey, the star ledger and the spur. >> this is a big story that everyone has been talking about. dharun ravi charged with the death of tyler clementi. they were roommates. ravi is telling the ledger, i'm very sorry about tyler. he's saying that he doesn't recognize the person who who has become. he admits to being immature and insensitive. here's something huge. he says he does not regret saying no to the plea deal. that deal that would have kept him out of jail. >> that's interesting. his reasoning behind it. >> listen, he's facing ten years after being convicted across the board, right? including the bias crime, which is the big one. if he had taken that deal, it would have been no jail time at all. here's what he says about that. i'm going to kboet him. "i won't ever get up there and tell the world i hated tyler because he was gay or tell tell the world i was trying to hurt or intimidate him because it's not true. it's really quite something. he says he was the last one to see tyler clementi alive. he also says that he seemed normal and then all of a sudden he was gone. >> big gamble he took on that, right? >> huge. that kind of a comment, don't forget there's probably appeals in place as well. that's pretty significant. pittsburgh tribune review. jeb bush says it is time to support mitt romney. that's florida's former governor, whose father and brother were president. says romney earned the right to take on president obama in november. he wants republicans to unite around romney. bush also says the economy is the most important issue and romney will create jobs and get the economy growing. he says romney should choose marco rubio as his running mate as well. he describes rubio as dynamic, joyful, disciplined and principled. also saying "he is the best orat orator, a good family man, not only consistent conservative but he's managed to find a way to communicate a conservative message full of hope and optimism." bush also stresses the significance of the latino vote, especially in the swing states. he says the latino vote will be critical and urged republicans to be more sensitive to issues like immigration. the article goes on to say bush's endorsement will signal other top republicans to follow. we'll see. some folks are thrilled about rubio being the running mate because of how he supports immigration issues. >> some people would like it to be jeb bush. the rising tide might float all boats. you never know what's going to happen. right? who knows? >> one thing is that it's 25 minutes past 5:00 on the east coast. coming up, when it comes to the delegates and the numbers, who has more and who can win this thing, romney says one thing and santorum says another. but they all talk about math and how the math is on their side. really, come on. is it? snoo christine romans, the best person at math that i know, is going to do the numbers for us. one for the record books. the largest ship ever to enter san francisco bay. wait until you hear how big it is. you're watching early start. 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[ female announcer ] yoplait original. 25 flavors for you to love. you're probably muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. have you heard. tebow mania in new york. >> some of the new york fans are freaking out. they're really upset about this. >> excited. >> some people are excited without question. but there's one guy, i don't know, a guy named mark sanchez is wondering where do i stand in all of this? it was a deal that almost didn't happen. how did it happen and what's going to happen in new york. how about the jerseys. tebow, tebow. >> i think they're hoping money, money, money. it's 29 minutes past the hour. welcome back to early start. >> i'm ashleigh banfield nice to see you. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. we are happy you're with us. time to check stories making news this morning. blasts outside the hideout of a wanted terror suspect in france. the standoff now in the second tense day. he's accused of killing seven people, including a rabbi and jewish children in a ten-day killing spree. french authorities have had no ton tact with the man overnight. hundreds of demonstrators taking to the streets of manhattan and calling for the arrest of a neighborhood watch captain in florida who shot and killed an unarmed teenager last month. trayvon martin's parents, the victim, they attended the million hoodie march and asked for justice for their son. officials in sanford, florida, where it happened, have issued a vote of no confidence yesterday against their chief of police for how he handled the case. >> a white teenager in jackson, mississippi, pleading guilty to murder and hate crime charges for running over a black man with his pickup truck. a judge calls the act "a stain that will take years to fade." 19-year-old deryl dedmon apologizing yesterday to the victim's family before receiving two life sentences for the death of james craig anderson. the new orleans saints hit with some of the most severe penalties in nfl history and all of it for paying bounties for big painful damaging hits. league suspending head coach payton for the season. the general manager for eight games. defensive coach greg williams, now with the rams, suspended indefinitely for running that bounty program. mad stacks. the this ship sailing into the record books. it doesn't look that big, right? it's the largest ship to ever enter san francisco bay. it's also the largest container ship to ever dock in north america. the ship is longer than an aircraft carrier and has the capacity to carry 12,500 containers. >> you want to see a person standing there. look at the ship beside it. don't know the size of the ship beside it. the tugboat too. gives you a little bit. is that a person? >> little perspective there. >> tiny little person there. >> you need to see leonardo dicaprio on the bow. 32 minutes past 5:00 everyone. it's all about the math. the race to 1144, right? mitt romney has been consolidating delegates. but rick santorum says hey, i'm not going anywhere. christine romans has a look. the map that everybody says is on their side, christine. >> that's true. i will never do this as elega elegantly as my friend, john king. look at this beautiful map. we can look at the map together. this is the race to 1144. you did can see that mitt romney is almost halfway there. 462 is his pledged delegates. compared with rick santorum, 249. moving through the primary calendar. there's a primary in louisiana today. it's expected to go for rick santorum. right there. that gives a little bit more to santorum but he's still trailing pretty substantially behind mitt romney. let's go through the calendar, if you will. let's move into april. got a few more here. district of columbia, maryland, wisconsin. look at that top line for mitt romney. keep moving through april. watch that top line for mitt romney. now you're into may, middle of may. may 22nd. mitt romney is getting closer and closer to this 1144. even with texas going for rick santorum with a pretty decent number of delegates there, let's go to the end. this is what the math looks like. he makes it. mitt romney makes it past that number, 1183 is his number there. even as you have rick santorum getting a big chunk of the middle of the country here. no matter how you slice it here, you see rick santorum who can slow down the consolidation of delegates for mitt romney and maybe, maybe if you turned a bunch of these states around, maybe he could keep him from getting to that number. maybe. but no one is forecasting that. when you look at the polls and how it all seems to go out here, you've got newt gingrich in a couple of states here, you have rick santorum with 488 delegates and mitt romney making it, getting that 1144, ladies. >> that's going all the way to the end, right? >> this goes to the end. we have a long-fought battle coming up. but the math is clearly on mitt romney's side. >> thank you for clearing that up. we appreciate it. >> i love you, christine. the weird thing, is we have the leaderboard, i would have come to the same conclusion, right? >> what if you started to change things. even if you gave this one to santorum, mitt romney still makes it. >> what if you came to new jersey, which is clearly -- this is clearly chris christie is the governor there. he's for mitt romney. you start to see where you're depriving romney of the delegate. but rick santorum doesn't make it either. >> i'm going to be on record as saying you're just as good as john king and prettier. there's that. >> thank you, christine. >> speechless. >> i know. but john king, that guy -- he can do things with his magic wall that i will never do. >> 35 minutes past the hour. thanks, christine. powerful booms rocking that small wisconsin town 40 miles west of green bay. we talked to them yesterday. residents say it sounded like distant thunder or somebody slamming a door. the city has ruled out every obvious source of the noise. this is the first story i looked up. did they finally find a solution? they were recording overnight. it still didn't record. >> it still didn't record. >> it's like the i.t. guy who comes to fix your computer and it works perfectly. the city officials say they believe the most likely source, it's not confirmed yet. here's what they say. geological activity caused by a natural phenomenon in the soil just a few hundred feet below the surface. i don't get it. but they haven't confirmed that either. the sounds certainly have the people worried there. have a listen. >> i'm not trying to incite panic or anything. how do we tell if it's dangerous or need to evacuate? >> if we felt it was necessary to evacuate, we would indicate that. >> the city officials said they will have devices installed to monitor the underground activity and to pinpoint an epicenter. however, they warn there is a chance they may never know the exact cause of the sounds. some folks are worried the earth would open up and swallow them. one said that's unlikely. >> tell me definitely. >> i like the idea that it's tremors from the movie. remember those crazy critters just kidding. >> some people mentioned aliens as well in the story. >> get to the bottom of it. >> it's scary. still ahead, he said he was watching a movie in his room and it sounded like a little mini earthquake. that a mini earthquake? a huge boulder damages a home. scares a lot of people there. >> man, take a look at that. also, here's something else that's big. tebow mania. in the media capital of the world. tim tebow coming to the big apple after a day filled with drama. you're going to hear about it and see it. you're watching early start. if you are one of the millions of men who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. 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[ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. i just love the eagles. especially when they sing new kid in town and we're looking at new york city. there's a new kid in town. his name is tim tebow. you may have heard from him. >> that's our front yard. >> we're looking out our window with that, guys. when you thought it couldn't get crazier, it's reaching new heights. >> it's something when you see the front page of the news and the post. and the back. you get the sports. tebow all over the place. this is awesome. we love this kind much thing. >> advertisers. >> star quarterback. you probably know him as the star qb for the denver broncos, the strong christian values, tebowing, the internet trend. he's been traded to the new york jets. this was on the verge of not happening at all. of course, ha do did we do? we picked alina cho to talk to us. >> you know what, research di. >> you are a great journalist. >> you're a great journalist and we knew that you would get to the woman of what happened. >> when i went to bed last night -- to give you an idea of how late this happened. when i went to bed, it still was not a done deal. first thing i did was check my black ber. i thought thank goodness he's coming. a lot of people are excited. some people are not. safe to say this on again, off again deal to bring tim tebow to the new york jets is on again. the announcement came late last night. it almost didn't happen. here's why. the deal nearly fell apart because of a clause in tebow's contract called recapture language where the jets would have had to pay the broncos $5 million extra to get him. late last night the deal was back on after the jets agreed to pay half of that amount. the tebow jerseys are being printed and jets fans are snapping them up. as of this more than, more than 11,000 people have liked the tebow announcement on the jets official facebook page. again, not everyone is liking the idea. here's what jets fans are saying. >> fit in well here and we're happy to have him. >> i'm psyched up. >> look what he did for the broncos last year. it might push sanchez to be tougher and get out there all the time. >> he's not going to be a quarterback. >> play him as a running back. >> i think it's dumb. >> that's a new york moment. >> that is special. >> that's great. >> the combo of these two guys really is what a lot of people are talking about. what did you hear? it's a good thing or bad thing? >> it depends who you ask. if you follow the news trickling out, you know that this saga is a three quarterback deal. it's a tale of three quarterbacks. tim tebow, mark sanchez and peyton manning. remember last year tebow, in case anybody forgot turned the broncos fortunes around. remember he was a backup quarterback. once he became the starter, broncos started winning. imagine that. some fans thought his christian values, his faith had something to do with it. peyton manning, arguably the best quarterback in the nfl, after he was let go by the colts, he signed with the denver broncos. remember, that was tim tebow's team. with a huge star, they didn't need tebow anymore. now that tebow is going to the jets, it's raising another big question. that man there, the current star quarterback, mark sanchez, sanchez just signed a new three-year deal worth $40.5 million. will he play? in a radio interview he said, sanchez we're speaking about saying i think tim will do great no matter what happens. he definitely has talent, knows how to win shall and inspire players. the mere fact that we're talking about this morning, it is a very big deal whether you're a sports fan or not. especially on the heels of lin-sanity. now tebow mania. on the back of one of the papers, the post or the daily news, they're calling it tim-sanity. >> how about that? >> he's taken over. >> from one to the other. >> i don't get it when -- first of all, i think mark sanchez is a good quarterback. i don't know anything about football. but i see him doing great things on the front page. >> with his girlfriends. >> same thing about tebow. he had a huge turn around. you think that would launch him into a starting position. he does well and still gets a backup spot? >> his overall record too. >> remember, new york sports ads are tough. the jets were 8-8. did not make the playoffs last season. see how i know this. >> this is our girl. she's nobody girl but our girl. >> they're not going to be patient if sanchez doesn't deliver. they may call on tebow to start the starting games. wait and see. >> we'll have to go to a break. >> thank you so much alina. >> coming up in a little bit, we have this picture for you. it's at a murder arraignment in ohio much the courtroom went into this. you do not want this to happen. not at all. we'll explain why this happened and what happened afterwards. emotions running high. this is hard to believe. but the guy driving this car actually got out of it alive. >> holy moly. >> you're watching "early start." is always headed somewhere. to give it a sense of direction, at&t created a mobile asset solution to protect and track everything. so every piece of equipment knows where it is, how it's doing or where it goes next. ♪ this is the bell on the cat. 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[ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪ time to check the stories making news this morning. here is christine romans. good morning. >> good morning. three loud explosions heard minutes ago outside the building where a shooting suspect has been in a standoff with police. you can hear the explosions there. other explosions heard overnight. to try to get the self-proclaimed al qaeda terrorist wanted for a ten-day killing spree to surrender. the san krof in toulouse entering a second day. they've had no contact with mohammed merah overnight. in ohio, it happened yesterday morning after -- sheriff's deputies were able to break it up quickly. they arrested one person. take a look at this video. a tree falls on to a man's car while he's driving. flattening it like a pancake. robert salts describes the moment the tree came crashing down. >> i actually went -- the tree come down, i thought it might be a little smaller tree. but the tree kept coming. the roof was on top of me and i feel awful lucky right now when i finally got out. >> lucky, i'll say. he only complained about being sore, a little headache and overall says, he feels just fine. >> unbelievable. this was nothing short of a miracle therement. >> wow. you call your insurance agent and say turn on the local news. >> no need to visit. give him the same headline as the daily news. amen that he's okay. thanks, christine. appreciate that. 50 minutes past 5:00 in the east. you have to see this video. it's absolutely remarkable. it's an apache. take a look at this. it looks like it's buzzing a base about to make a hard landing and oh, my lord. that is a hard landing. was it a top gun stunt gone wrong or something more serious? beware of falling boulders. a giant rock breaks free and crushes everything in its path. people inside that house are okay. you're watching "early start." i think the volt is an awesome car. and i really do love how... how unique it is. my friends say that it's like i'm driving a spaceship. the body style and the interior design... everything is really cool, but more than anything i love the gas mileage. i don't even know what it's like to really stop and get gas. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. probably less. you should get a volt because it's going to save you a crap load of money. [ laughs ] ♪ will be giving away passafree copies [ laughs ] of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. we are keeping you in the pop culture loop this morning by looking at what's trending on web and in social media. so this video just posted online of a heart-stopping chopper crash in afghanistan. i need to tell you off the bat everyone okay. you can watch. >> good disclaimer. >> apache helicopter buzzing a base and swooping down and hitting the ground really hard. >> look at this. good lord. you think there's people there? there are. but they all are okay. >> yeah. >> remarkable. >> abc news heard that it happened february 6th. no one on the ground is injured and the crew actually survived, as we said. no clear whether it was a in maneuver or a pilot showing off. what i found remarkable about this, the guy taking the video, all the way to the bitter end. >> he watches it going down, going down and finally puts it down. everybody rushes to make sure they're okay. >> few expletives that we had to bleep out. this was scary from the ground and why wouldn't it? >> something else that's scary from the ground. 25-foot boulder breaking free from the hillside and rolling o into your house. unless i saw the pictures i wouldn't have believed it. you can be the judge yourself. there's the hillside, there's the house and car. that 25-pound boulder smashed. it's unbelievable. here's what's more unbelievable. there were people inside that home. have a listen. >> i sensed the pop and a flash of light which i think was the transformer going. and thought, oh, well, we have lightning and i'll wake up in the morning and figure out whether i've got power or not. i just went to bed. about 25 minutes later, the fire department was pounding on my door and the guy said hey, do you realize that part of your hillside let go? >> yeah. he sure does now. again, amazing to think that everyone is okay. thank goodness. neighbors have been evacuated. are you ready for this? they're checking for the stability of the hillside. >> thank goodness they are. it could happen in somebody else's home. somebody could die. terrible. >> good luck. >> he didn't notice. >> sounded like thunder. still ahead, the million hoodie march in manhattan. outrage is building over the death of this young man and people are demanding justice and answers over the murder of this teenager, trayvon martin. they've tried everything to get him out. but the standoff continues between french police and a suspected killer. you're watching "early start." tl and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. 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[ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine 2012 iihs top safety picks. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 passat for $219 a month. 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. good morning everyone. good morning, everyone. welcome to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. let's get started here. three loud explosions heard a short time ago outside the building where a shooting suspect has been in a standoff with police in france. they're meant to ratelle the suspect, mohammed merah, out of his hideout after more than 24 hours. authorities are starting to wonder if he is already dead. a live report coming up shortly. a million hoodie march protesting the shooting death of an unarmed florida teenager. protesters demanding an arrest. and new trouble for the chief of police in charge of that case. major flood threat is pushing east across the deep south right now. the storm, dumping close to a foot of rain in parts of louisiana. it's sending rivers over their banks into roads and homes in that area. and the nfl, showing no mercy on the new orleans saints for paying bounties for big hits. the league suspending sean payton for the entire season, and gregg williams, who is now with the rams, was suspended indefinitely for running that bounty program. and did you hear? tim tebow is taking his act to the big apple. he has been traded to the new york jets. a lot of fans and analysts are saying it's not exactly a match made in heaven. ashleigh? >> zoraida, thank you so much. national outrage certainly building this morning after that shooting death of an unarmed florida teenager by a neighborhood watch captain. in new york, hundreds of people attended what was called a million hoodie march. it happened in manhattan last night. trayvon martin's parents were there. this is what they had to say to the crowd. >> trayvon martin did matter. and i just want new york to know that we're not going to stop until we get justice. >> our son was not committing any crime. our son is your son. and you've got to stand up for justice and what's right. >> in washington, the justice department is now investigating whether the shooting by that neighborhood watch captain, whose name is george zimmerman was, in fact, a hate crime. potentially a civil rights violation. and in florida, sanford city commissioner commissioners are voting 3-2, that they have no confidence in their police chief, bill lee, who has been on the job for less than a year. george howl is live in florida where the reverend al sharpton is planning on holding a rally tonight. this continues on several fronts. >> indeed, the investigation continues. as you mentioned, this story puts a big focus on the city of sanford. we are expecting hundreds, if not thousands of people to arrive here for that big rally scheduled later today. this comes a day after that 3-2 vote of no confidence by city commissioners. that is a big deal, because it puts a great deal of attention and focus on the mind of the city manager here. northern bonaparte says he will not make any major decision until he hears from federal investigators as they look through this case and also look through his police department to look for problems, situations where the police department has issues with the black community here in sanford but he says there are issues about this case that even trouble him. take a look. >> if this took place in another city, certainly, mr. zimmerman would have been arrested. it did not take place here. i'm being told it's because of the florida law. that, i think, needs to be looked at. >> do you believe your police department acted appropriately that day? >> based on what they felt, i believe they acted on what was appropriate. now the question is, did they? >> so, there is a big focus on the police department and, of course, a focus on george zimmerman. in fact, we have this new picture of zimmerman. we spent some time trying to find family and relatives. zimmerman has not been seen since. this picture was taken in 2005 when he worked as a security guard at a party. clearly he was the watch captain of this neighborhood that night when he claims he acted in self defense. many in this community feel, indeed, it was murder. back to you. >> what do we know about george zimmerman? his dad made a statement, talking about how he believes his son is innocent of all of this. at the same time, there are people all over the country, not just florida, asking for his head. so, where is he? >> at this point, he's not at his home. we check ed there. he's not at relatives or friends' homes. we checked around the city of sanford. federal investigators look into the case to determine whether he will be charged. of course, this is also being turned over to a grand jury april 10th. >> what about the local police? in all of this, it seems as though everything is completely stalled. because of the national attention and the outcry, have they changed their tune? are they backtracking, looking for forensic evidence, interviewing him, doing anything to put together this story? >> everything about this case has been turned over to federal investigators. and it's been turned over to this grand jury, will be turned over to the grand jury. that's really where we will find out if george zimmerman is charged in this case. at this point, you can tell the city's mayor is looking into the police department as is the city manager, trying to find situations where they can improve the connection, their connection here with the community. >> all right. george howl live for us in sanford, florida, this morning. thanks so much for that. quick reminder to you as well. "starting point" with soledad o'brien will talk about the trayvon martin case with ben jealous, president of the naacp. and she will also have the person you just saw speaking with george, norton bonaparte jr., the city manager of sanford, who can yank the police chief from his position. remarks coming after one of romney's top aides made a now infamous etch-a-sketch comment. in case you missed it, here is what adviser eric fernstrom told cnn when he was asked how the romney campaign might change in the fall if his candidate is the nominee. >> i think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. it's almost like an etch-a-sketch. you kind of shake it up and we start all over again. >> it didn't take long for rick santorum and newt gingrich to pounce on that remark. >> you have to stand for something that lasts longer than this. people aren't stupid. and so we have a real challenge. i need your help this saturday. >> an etch-a-sketch. he said you just turn it over and shake it and then you start all over. imagine, had mitt romney been around at the time we were drafting our constitution. he would have just shaken it, shook it up after it was approved to rewrite it. >> reporters were quick to confront romney for an etch-a-sketch reaction. here is what he said he really meant. >> organizationally a campaign takes on a different profile. the issues i'm running on will be exactly the same. i'm running as a conservative republican. i was a conservative republican governor. i will be running as a conservative republican nominee -- hopefully at that point, nominee for president. >> meanwhile, the company behind the etch-a-sketch is thrilled with all the attention. >> of course. >> a profound toy, highly recognized and loved by all is now shaking up the national debate. nothing is as quintessentially american as an etch-a-sketch and a good old-fashioned political debate. i asked if anybody could draw ashleigh. they did romney earlier. oh, can you see? there you are. >> are you joking? >> no. phil did this. i'm thinking the one on the right is you now, the one on the left is you aged. >> aged? okay. very impressive. it is etch-a-sketch. way to go, phil. i want to remind you, as well, 7:00 eastern on "starting point," soledad will have more to talk about the romney camp and the etch-a-sketch. she'll be joined by the daily beast contributor and also amy kramer, the chairman of the tea party express. hopefully more reaction on the controversy that started on soledad's program yesterday. >> absolutely. wanted for a ten-day killing spree in france is still stand ing his ground this morning. authorities are starting to wonder whether he is already dead. new explosions heard minutes ago as the standoff enters its second day now. several blasts, also, overnight were in an attempt to literally rattle him into negotiating and surrendering. heavily armed officers are under orders to bring him in live. this is amateur video of the suspect, mohammed merah. it would be our first look at him. take a look there. he is wanted in the terrorist rampage that left three jewish children, a rabbi and three french paratroopers dead. live in toulouse france, what is the latest on the gun shots, diana magnay? >> reporter: the interior minister didn't know what to make of them, he said. since then, there hasn't been any communication with the suspect holed up inside that house. but also he hadn't been communicating with police before. so, it's difficult to know whether those gunshots meant that he has killed himself. he said apparently in his discussions with police yesterday that he wanted to die with weapons in his arms. that said, it seems impossible to believe that the police wouldn't know if he had killed himself, given the fact that they have infrared sensoring technology, thermal imaging, which you would be able to tell if a body is dead. it's difficult to understand what's going on. also, as you said, there were three loud explosions, stun grenades that the police have sort of been throwing in at the house throughout the night to intimidate the suspect, to sort of shock him with the noise and the light. and why would they do that if he was still -- if he was already dead? so there are many questions, as this siege continues. now well into its 30th hour, zoraida. >> we appreciate you keeping us updated. diana magnay in toulouse, france. thank you. there are some signs, some signs of improvement. >> some, some, she says, with a high voice. >> please, please. is it real this time? >> i was watching this yesterday and i thought, oh -- >> in 2008 people said we're at the bottom of the housing market. no. 2010 we have this home buyer tax credit. now this is the bottom of the housing market. no. it's 2012 and people are saying it's stabilizing. the howing market is stabilizing. i hope they're right. have you heard this phrase green shoots? >> no. >> when a seed comes out of the ground and it starts to sprout? it doesn't mean it's healthy and vibrant but it's stable and there's a green shoot coming out. existing home sales are actually up. people are buying more homes this year than they did the same month last year and home prices stopped falling year over year. the median price of an existing home, $156,000, $600, i think that's well off where it was in 2007. it's not falling, at least, year over year. there's also this big argument that it's actually better to be buying a home -- it's cheaper to buy a home than it is to rent. home prices have been hammered so much, there's actually affordability. we may never see interest rate this is low again. so pretty viral yesterday, showing the best markets to buy. better to buy than rent in detroit, better it to buy than rent in oklahoma city, better to buy than rent in dayton, ohio, michigan, and toll eedo, ohio. it's better to rent than buy. real estate is all local. >> it is. >> for the first time if you've got money in the bank, a great credit score, there's a lot of ifs. >> yeah. >> but, people are starting to buy homes. >> do you know what? zoraida loved a young girl who was 12 years old. >> i love that interview. >> the first thing i thought was, wow, i bet there's a bunch of these things out there. >> she paid cash and 33% of existing home sales are cash. people with cash. we talk about low interest rates, but cash. her name was willow and i love you, willow. >> i know. right? >> nice to have that. >> we would all love to have children like that, right? that want to invest money as opposed to spend it. >> it would be nice to have that down payment. a lot of people have that mission but just don't have the ability, which is really difficult. christine, thanks so much. >> 13 minutes past the hour. snatched by somali gunman on a resort island in kenya. a british tourist. she was freed after months in cap activity. and the headlines in new york say, amen and god him. it's tim sanity, any way you slice it. >> tim sanity. wow. this is new. yep, i'm sending the dancing chicken to every store in the franchise to get the word out. that could work. or you could use every door direct mail from the postal service. it'll help you and all your franchisees find the customers that matter most -- the ones in the neighborhood. you print it or we'll help you find a local partner. great. keep it moving, honey. honey? that's my wife. wow. there you go. there you go. 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this is big news. have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. 17 minutes past the hour here. it is a done deal. tim tebow is coming to the big city. here is one of the headlines from the daily news. have you seen this? amen, they're saying. new yorkers yesterday also reacted to the news. listen to this. >> i am so excited. i love tebow. and i love the jets. so, this is awesome. >> i think it's dumb. >> they're bringing a lot to the locker room by getting tebow and we have the power of jesus christ on our side now. >> this is a really oddball move. i was not expecting this at all by them, but i'm glad tebow has a home. >> kevin armstrong is a sports writer for the new york daily news. it was your headline we showed earlier. thank you for being here with us. this has been all of the conversation. i suspected that the girls were going to like this. but you hear some guys jumping on the band wagon. is this a good move? what do you think? >> sure. i think new yorkers will embrace it. i think it's a screwball maybe going from peyton manning to tim tebow and all the talk that the jets have had this offseason. he's a hard worker, former heisman worker, won a playoff game against the steelers last year. so, new york wants a winner. no matter what role he plays, whether it's backup or eventual starter, taking over for mark sanchez, new york will embrace him. >> do you think so? some people think he is way out of his element in new york city. because, you know, he's a christian guy and wears that on his sleeve. >> i think he's in his element in the spotlight. he can handle anything that comes at him, whether people see him as polarizing or potential starter in the nfl, none of that really matters to him. he has proven, whether in denver or gainesville for college, he is a guy that will accept any challenge put before him. >> a lot of people were scratching their heads, right? this makes no sense. what was management thinking? the matchup between these two guys working together, is that going to work out? >> absolutely. first they were interested in peyton manning. that didn't happen. then they're going for the guy who peyton manning took over for in denver. mark sanchez is largely an unproven quarterback in terms of the nfl, made it to two afc championship games but digressed last year. if he starts struggling or doesn't complete passes early in the season -- >> there's a lot of talk that they're actually going to play together. how is that going to work out or how could it work out? >> the jets want to be a running team. rex ryan wants to move -- last year they lost their identity in passing with sanchez. tebow offers the wildcat packages and really adding that dynamic to the offense. i wouldn't be surprised to see them working well together. it's whether sanchez can really maintain his position that's going to be the question. >> a lot of people talk about the leadership that tim tebow brings to the table. do you think sanchez will be put off by that? >> i don't think so. i think he will try to control the locker room, and tebow can only help. it's a strong brand of leadership by tebow, unquestioned about him at any level he has played at. teammates and people across the league never questioned the leadership value. it's whether they can exist as co-leaders that's really the question. >> and yesterday, you know, we were waiting on pins and needles. it's going to happen. it's not going to happen. how do you overlook a clause like that in the contract, $5 million? >> few organizations can pull it off the way the new york jets do. they'll keep it interesting. it really was fascinating, you know. they officially announced it eight hours before it was done. i mean, in the history of pro sports not many deals are done like that, and in terms of this scale, tebow and the polarization of it. it's a spectacular move by the new york jets. >> let's talk about the fans. that's who we heard of at the beginning of the segment. there's a lot of emotion here. i've yet to attend a new york sporting event, but i hear they are really tough fans. do you think that they will actually embrace tebow? >> i do. i think he will get some of the loudest cheers when they take the field in the home opener. i think he's a guy that really inspires that. i've seen him three times live, twice in denver and once on the road. home fans love him. the away fans hate him. you're just going to see a lot of that across new york. there's only going to be a bigger bullseye as the jets continue to draw headlines. >> i'm going to put you on the spot. do you think this will get them to the super bowl? do you think this is what they needed? >> i'm not sure about immediately. there's a lot more pieces they need to add and compliment both sanchez and tebow to make it that far. >> i'm excited about it. i, for one, as a transplant here in new york. appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> ashleigh, back to you. >> i want to highlight the back cover of his paper. i don't know if you can see it clearly but it's a statue of liberty in the tebow position. tebow town. that's great stuff. coming up, president obama green lighting production on that keystone pipeline. but, wait. not all of it. just part of it. and what good is part of a pipeline anyway? what kind of a difference will it make? we'll let you know. also a tree flattens a car and under that tree there is a man inside that car. do you think he came out unscathed? could it be possible? look at your screen. we'll explain what happened in a moment. i like yoplait. it is yoplait. but you said it was greek. mmhmm. so is it greek or is it yoplait? 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[whoosh, clang] you need lifelock, the only identity theft protection company that now monitors bank accounts for takeover fraud. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. breaking news for you this morning. cnn has just learned that the siege in southern france is now over. this, according to the afp. the shooting suspect, who has been in a standoff with the police for 30 hours plus apparently now over. officers have been slowly moving, step by step, inside the apartment. they are watching out for any boobie traps that may have been lef left. almost over. not completely over. there is definitely a significant difference there. nobody has heard from mohammed merah for hours. there were shots inside that apartment last night and three explosions in the last hour. mohammed merah is a self proclaimed militant and is being blamed for a series of shootings in toulouse. >> they want to be specific that it's nearly over. police are inside the apartment now and very carefully going through. they're worried he could have set booby traps. >> if you're one of this group of police officers who is now entering this apartment, imagine, because their colleagues two days ago stormed that apartment in a night raid and were shot and injured. clear clearly it's history that it's an extraordinarily dangerous mission. the afp delivering the information that the standoff is now near over and police are inside that apartment. hey, guys, i'm jeff corwin. i spend ten months on the road. rule number one, keep a carry on. if luggage is lost, it's not going to be mine. everything you need is in your carry on bag. i bring my vitamins with me. i prepackage everything. and i have it ready to go. and, of course, toiletries. i found all those things that i use at home just miniaturized for the road. i learned from my wife, ladies rai razors are better for your face than the macho ones. get these portable floss. my dirty little secret, i use secret when i'm on the road. i also want to be able to have a functional office. that is really what's incredible now. i can be off the grid, doing research on whale sharks. when i'm done, i can sit down and put my kids to bed. thanks for hanging out and seeing my secrets for surviving being on the road. 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[ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ breaking news out of france now. afp is reporting that the standoff with the terrorist suspect is nearing an end. they're saying that standoff could be nearing an end. diana magnay is joining us on the phone. >> we're hearing there may be new explosions, all of this after shots have been fired nine, ten hours ago. what's going on? >> reporter: i've heard a significant number of automatic gunfire, shots fired. so the last few minutes have been full of the sound of gunfire. i don't know if there is an exchange or if that is just the police going in, but it certainly does seem as though the raid has begun. as you said, afp reporting, also another local media reporting from police sources that it's about to commence. and then we heard this gunfire. it does seem as though, you know, well into 30 hours after the siege began, police are now going into that house to try and take mohammed merah out, dead or alive. >> just quickly, diana, run me through how we got to this moment. there seems to have been so many of these developments overnight, starting with many hours ago explosions and then, as you mentioned, gunfire inside the apartment. take me from there. run the night through. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. about 11:30 last night, local time, three big explosions went off. and those are sort of stun grenades. interior minister told us that was the start of the raid, so that the suspect could be disoriented by the blast and the noise. and that happened fairly regular occasions throughout the night that the police threw in these hand grenades. then at 2:00 am, there were two gunshots fired from within the house that the police weren't able to explain. so, that sort of raises the question, did the suspect kill himself at that point? you know, the interior ministry was saying we're not sure. we hope he's still alive. we want to take him out alive. they didn't have any contact with him at that point. not that they had had contact with him in the hours before either. but since then, there have been a few more of those hand grenades thrown in. this is the first time we've heard real volume of gunfire in the way that i just did. they haven't been going on since i've been on air, but there was certainly a significant amount of gunfire in the last five minutes, which would lead me to assume that this raid has begun. >> unbelievable developments. dieiana magnay on the line from toulouse, france, which could be the beginning of the end, if not the end of this 30-hour long standoff in france. thanks for that, diana. >> we'll continue to follow these developments and bring them to you as we get them. president obama is plan ini to announce plans of the keystone pipeline today. part of his tour of four battleground states. transcanada plans to go ahead with a 485-mile segment from cushing, port arthur, texas. it's marked with the green arrow. the president rejected the full 1,161 mile pipeline. it goes from canada to the gulf coast. it's meant as an extension to the existing keystone pipeline that you see here in orange. that's the existing one. the president rejected the full extension because he needed more time. congressi congressional republicans had forced his hand last year. it required president obama to make a decision on keystone within 60 days. joining me now, representative bill johnson, republican from ohio and member of the natural resources committee in the house. thank you so much for being with us this morning. are you pleased that the president is going to expedite this? >> i think any time we're creating jobs, that's a good thing. but this move just absolutely does not make any sense to me. i don't understand why the president simply doesn't go ahead and approve the entire keystone xl pipeline. what good is it going to do us to put in the lower half of the pipeline if we can't get the oil from canada by doing the top half of the pipeline? it's sort of like giving someone a car and saying we're only going to let you put tires on the back. you can't put any tires on the front. you can't really use it for its intended purpose. it doesn't make any sense to me. and with gas now double what it was when the president came into office -- >> there are really three big issues here folks are debating. will it lower gas prices? will it create a lot of jobs? then there's the environmental concern in that area. let's start with the gas prices, right? we'll listen to nancy pelosi and then i want to talk about it. >> sure. >> the fact is that this pipeline was going to be built or may still be built to bring oil to the refineries, to take it overseas. this isn't about domestic consumption. >> and "the new york times" actually says that foreign companies are five out of the six companies that have contracted for three-quarters of this oil. one american company that's contracted is geared towards export. so, how would it help us here in the united states? and how would it lower gas prices? >> because of the president's failed energy policy -- you know, he says he wants an all of the above energy policy, but he doesn't really have regulatory actions in place to give us an all of the above energy policy. we haven't built a new refinery here in america in 35 years. any time that we have seen domestic oil production go up, we've seen a lowering of gas prices. as i mentioned before your question, gas prices have doubled since president obama came into office in my little hometown of marietta, ohio, they topped $3.99 a gallon yesterday. >> many experts would say really the only way we're going to lower gas prices is if there's peace in iran, basically. >> well, every time we've increased domestic oil production in our nation's history, we've seen gas prices come down. we've had expert testimony yesterday from economist that is said -- >> would it be a significant decrease? because we found perhaps maybe three to six cents a gallon. >> when we see gas prices topping $4 a gallon, do we not want to do everything we can to drive those gas prices down? how much further -- how much higher are we willing to let the american people suffer with these rising prices? you know, if we had an all of the above policy -- we've got 3 trillion barrels of oil that we own ourselves in the outer continental shelf, in anwar. the president, trying to take credit now for approving the lower half of the keystone xl pipeline, in light of the fact that last year -- >> congressman, i hate to interrupt you, but we don't have a lot of time. >> go ahead. >> there are two things i want to deal with. it's the job creation here. >> sure. >> you say it would create at least 100,000 jobs. estimates range between 20,000 jobs, temporary jobs here. how do you respond to that? i have one more question after that for you. >> i'm not sure where you're getting your numbers from. >> the state department says between 5,000 and 6,000 jobs, sir. >> well, 20,000 jobs are for the whole pipeline, the construction jobs, immediate jobs to construct the pipeline. and then you're talking about over 100,000 jobs as that pipeline begins to produce and we see that oil begin to flow. that's what the economists and that's what the experts i've talked to -- i'm not the state department. >> cornell university is an independent research here, it says between 500 and 1,400 temporary construction jobs, at most. lastly, i wanted to deal with the environmental concern there. >> you know, the state department conducted its environmental concern. the state department had already given its approval. let's not forget that the president approved a very similar pipeline to this and considered the environmental concerns with the alberta clipper that runs from vancouver down to wisconsin. so, i mean, this doesn't make sense. we can stand on environmental concerns that are not based on science and fact, but the truth of it is, the state department had already concluded its environmental analysis. >> congressman bill johnson, thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. breaking news now at 6:40 on the east coast. >> our breaking news comes out of toulouse, france. we've been updating you with that standoff with the admitted al qaeda member, mohammed merah. efm tv is reporting that that standoff is over and that suspect is dead. citing police sources, mohammed merah, 23 years old, an admitted al qaeda member responsible for those series of shootings, leaving seven people dead, including three children, this is over, folks, according to that television station, the french police telling that tv station mohammed merah is dead. all of this following gunshots, automatic gunfire that erupted in the last 20 minutes. diana magnay reporting. she could hear the automatic gunfire. we heard before that there had actually been an incursion, that police had stormed that apartment. all of this following the last two hours, additional stun grenades and explosions. this all began last night with stun grenades that went off about 9:00 eastern time. in an effort to just get this gunman to communicate, because he had fallen in radio silence with these police officers. there also had been some gunshots heard inside that apartment and radio silence from this gunman. early this morning, just within the last hour and a half, a lot of activity in toulouse, france. and then the raid. french police raiding that apartment. and now bfm tv, french channel there citing police sources and saying that gunman, 23-year-old mohammed merah, is dead and this standoff is over. we have more on that coming up in a moment. meantime, quick break. rgy relie. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. water, we take our showers with it. we make our coffee with it. but we rarely tap its true potential and just let it be itself. flowing freely into clean lakes, clear streams and along more fresh water coast line than any other state in the country. come realize water's true potential. dive in-to the waters of pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org. aflac! ha! isn't major medical enough? 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[ male announcer ] help your family stay afloat at aflac.com. plegh! anti-aging cream undeniably. it creamed unbelievably a $500 cream. and now women have made regenerist microsculpting cream also unscented. women love it. in original and also fragrance-free. it's 46 minutes after the hour. we've been following a standoff all night long in toulouse, france. the standoff in france with that suspected and probably now proven shooter, self admitted shooter of seven people in france is now over. the french police, according to bfm tv, cnn affiliate in that jurisdiction, is now dead. >> she had reported earlier a couple of gunshot wounds -- or couple of gunshots they had heard, not sure if it was outside or inside. at that time sheerks sashe said whether or not the suspect killed himself. we do not have clarity on that. we know that he's dead but don't know what happened. >> our breaking news is that our affiliate, bfm tv in france is reporting through their police source sources this gunman is dead, 23-year-old mohammed merah, admitted al qaeda member, who went on the shooting rampage killing three -- excuse me, four children as well as three other adults. he is dead. here is how the night played out. late last night, a series of stun grenade explosions were heard within that neighborhood. electricity was cut off to everyone in that neighborhood. they had been in contact with mohammed merah, but then radio silence. they couldn't get ahold of him. he would not speak. i want to play you some of the tape we were able to record of what those explosions sounded like. have a listen. [ speaking french ] >> sadly, that was tape of some of the live reporting from bfm television. now you should be able to hear the explosions on reuters tape. [ speaking french ] [ gunfire ] >> the french announcers were saying 31, we're in the 31st hour of this. this has gone on for two straight days. diana magnay in that region had said last night we heard these same explosions, followed by a lot of silence. then there were two shots fired inside the apartment where mohammed merah was holed up. and, again, radio silence. they had tried to establish contact with him, because he had been quiet for quite some time throughout the night, again, these stun grenades going off. of course, it's our night and their day. these stun grenades going off again. in the last hour diana magnay reporting to us that french police stormed that apartment and she could hear automatic gunfire. clearly, they had been there before, folks. french police had stormed that apartment before when he was alive and took gunfire from him. several of them were injured. this time, as we know it, according to bfm tv, our cnn affiliate in france, their sources are telling us this is over. he is dead. >> we'll take a quick break and we'll be right back. ng melodi] ♪ [ malennounc ] at northrop grumman, makthworld a feplace. th's value performance. northr gruan. here's a chance to create jobs in america. oil sands projects, like kearl, and the keystone pipeline will provide secure and reliable energy to the united states. over the coming years, projects like these could create more than half a million jobs in the us alone. from the canadian border, through the mid west, to the gulf coast. benefiting hundreds of thousands of families throughout the country. this is just what our economy needs right now. the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how'd that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine 2012 iihs top safety picks. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 passat for $219 a month. lease the 2012 passat we want to protect the house. right. but... home security systems can be really expensive. to save money, we actually just adopted a rescue panther. i think i'm goin-... shhh! we find that we don't need to sleep that much. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ 52 minutes now past 6:00 in the morning. while you were sleeping, a lot going on in toulouse, france. we're hearing that this standoff is over, the suspect in the standoff is dead. that suspect, mohammed merah, 23 years old, admitted al qaeda member, who admitted he was responsible for the shootings of seven people in the last few weeks around the toulouse area, including those innocent victims at the jewish school, including four kids. the suspect, at this point, we're told after stun grenades, automatic gunfire and police raid through his apartment this morning is dead. this, according to our affiliate, bfm tv, telling us their police sources confirm that this suspect is finally dead and in 31 hours, the standoff is now finally over. >> grateful a lot more people weren't injured there in that standoff. 53 minutes past the hour. protesters are marching in new york city to show support for the slain florida teenager, trayvon martin. the million hoodie march went all the way to the united nations last night. he was wearing a hoodie when shot dead by a neighborhood watchman last month. no end to the slaughter of civilians in syria. 79 more deaths being reported yesterday. more than half of them in the city of homs. shelling and sniper fire being reported. china and russia joining the security council to end the blood shed. and check out this scene in a toledo, ohio, courtroom. it happened yesterday morning, right after a murder suspect was arraigned. a fight breaking out between the accused killer's family and the victim's family. sheriff's deputies were able to break it up quickly. they did arrest one person. somali pie rates have released a british hostage. look at her running to her freedom, after nearly seven months when she was kidnapped from a beach in kenya. she is running to board a plane to get out of that country. she says she is absolutely overjoyed to be reunited with her son. however, there is a sad side to this story. she now has to grieve for her husband, david, who was killed as she was taken captive. we're going to switch gears here, folks. a 25-foot boeld boulder wreaks havoc. it crushes everything in its path, even a house with people inside. they are all okay. we're going to give you more details on this story. you're watching early start. where you don't get thrown by curveballs. ♪ this is the age of knowing how to get things done. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. -three. -one. two. three. one. -two. -three. -one. -two. -three. 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[ male announcer ] 1, 2, 3 percent cash back for the things you buy most. the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke. welcome back. two minutes before 7:00 am in the east coast. here is what you don't want to wake up to. as awful as this looks with people inside that home, this is okay. >> do you know why? luckily, they were at the back of the house. they actual ly had no idea this had happened. >> how could you not hear that your house was being destroyed? some of the neigh neighbors said they thought there was thunder but also saw sparks and thought it was fireworks. look at the damage. >> the owner of the house says he thought his transformer blew and he was going to deal with the issue in the morning. >> good morning, michael. i'm sorry. folks, it's nice to have you here with us. a lot of busy news this morning. this is early start to the news a to z. i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. good morning. i'm soledad o'brien. our "starting point," the suspect accused of killing seven people, include iing three jewi children, is now dead. the million hoodie march, people demanding justice for trayvon martin and the arrest of the man accused of shooting him. the president of the naacp, ben jealous, will join us this morning. candidates running to toys r us after a romney aide said this on our