>> many people do not think it was authentic. his mother was not in the hospital. there are many other things that came out. and frankly, if you would report it accurately, i think you'd probably get better ratings than you're getting, which are pretty small. >> donald, have you seen the actual newspaper announcements within days of his birth in honolulu? the honolulu star bulletin. we'll put it up there. you've seen the birth announcement in 1961. listen to me, donald -- can i ask -- >> can i talk while you stop defending obama? >> donald, you're beginning to sound a little ridiculous, i have to tell you. >> no, i think you are, wolf. >> cnn's political editor paul steinhauser is in washington this morning. paul, you thought this whole clinching the nomination thing and reaching the magic number of 1,144 would kind of go over with a whimper, and it turns out it kind of did. >> and blame donald trump for a lot of it. this is a huge distraction. you mentioned right off the bat. mitt romney just made history last night. he's become the first mormon to clinch the nomination of a major party. that is a very big deal. we're not talking about that. we're talking about donald trump and the birther issue. that is a huge distraction for mitt romney. his whole theme this week was going after president obama, saying he's bad for job creators, wasting taxpayer dollars. we're not talking about that either. we're talking about donald trump and the birther issue. thanks to wolf bliter for that interview. he did a strong, strong job of pointing out to donald trump that, yes, barack obama was born in the united states, and you're not looking at the facts. this is what we're talking about. newt gingrich, former house speaker who was romney's rival, came out last night. he spoke to cameras and said this is not a distraction for republicans. take a look at what gingrich said. >> i think donald trump said what he said because he thinks it's the right thing for him to say? >> do you think it's racist? >> no. i think that obama creates very powerful emotions about him, largely because of the radicalism of his views. >> you know, i was looking at the full report, ashleigh, from the fund-raiser, and donald trump did not mention the birther issue at all. he attacked dopresident obama f a lot of other things, but the issue of the birth certificate did not come up at that closed fund-raiser last night. >> it's interesting that on his plane mitt romney disavowed the issues and said, i believe obama was born in this country, and it's not an issue for me. last night something else happened, and it looked like he started to wave into this issue and not disavow it entirely. can you touch on that? >> a little bit of a bizarre moment. it was a couple hours before the fund-raiser. mitt romney had a campaign event at a furniture store in las vegas. he talked about a supporter that said something else should be added to the constitution when it comes to requirements for being president. take a listen. >> i was speaking with one of these business owners who owns a couple of restaurants in town, and he said, you know, i'd like to change the constitution. i'm not sure i can do it, he said, but i'd like to have a provision in the constitution that, in addition to the age of the president and the citizenship of the president and the birth place of the president being set by the constitution, i'd like it also to say that the president has to spend three years working in business before he can become president of the united states. >> ashleigh, as you mentioned, a little bizarre, especially on a day that there was so much attention to the birther issue that romney would bring it up publicly and talk about it in front of cameras. i don't think he was talking about the birther issue. it didn't sound great, but his big theme has been, listen, i'm a businessman. that makes me qualified to be president. i think that's what he was trying to highlight there. again, maybe a little tone deaf. ashleigh? >> you're right. that should have been what the issue is. that is a legitimate campaign issue. it's what most people think this election is all about. the fact that he said it twice, the citizenship and the place where the president is born, made it feel as though, hey, hold on a second. you're really stepping into this little business. anyway, lots more to talk about. and 1,144, we have the nominee. how exciting is that? >> but unofficial. hate to say that. we have to wait until the convention in august. >> steinhauser, oh. always good to see you, no matter what time of day. and there's a lot of buzz, wolf blitzer's interview with donald trump. guess what? we're going to get the blitz on early. i'm going to talk with wolf live at 6:30 eastern. we'll get his thoughts about what went down live on tv with the donald. it is six minutes past the hour. here an embarrassing slip-up by president obama has polish political leaders outraged this morning. the white house says the president misspoke during the medal of freedom ceremonies when he referred to a polish death camp instead of a german death camp while honoring the memory of a polish resistance fighter during world war ii. here's the comment that is causing all the controversy. >> before one trip across enemy lines, resistance fighters told him that jews were being murdered on a massive scale and smuggled him -- warsaw ghetto in a polish death camp to see for himself. >> poland's prime minister calls that comment a matter of ignorance. the prime minister is expected to address the issue publicly a little later today. they're asking the u.s. justice department to step in after a tennessee judge stopped the construction of a mosque in murfreesboro. the islamic center was the focus on cnn last year. the judge claimed they failed to give notice about the mosque. county officials say they're now reviewing that ruling. coming up at 7:30 this morning, we're going to be talking live with the spokesman of that move mosque on "starting point." the united states is asking canada to investigate a deadly plane crash that happened in virginia. they're asking canada because both planes were owned by u.s. federal employees, one from the faa and one from the ntsb. the planes crashed into each other in midair on monday about 50 miles from washington, d.c. one pilot and a passenger were killed. the other pilot is injured. u.s. officials say an ntsb investigator will assist the canadian investigation. for the first time, we are hearing an apology from the former rutgers university student convicted of bias intimidation after using a web cam to spy on his roommate, who later killed himself. dharun ravi is due in court today before he begins serving his 30-day sentence in the death of tyler clemente, related to the death of tyler clemente. in a written statement issued yesterday, ravi said, "i accept responsibility for and regret my thoughtless, insensitive, immature, stupid, and childish choices that i made." jurors in the john edwards corruption trial will begin their eighth day of deliberations this morning, and there are signs they're not even close to reaching a verdict. several of them sending notes to a judge about scheduling conflicts this week and next week of the the judge also scolding jurors, warning them not to discuss the case outside the deliberation room. just ahead, international outrage is really growing after that horrifying massacre of civilians, many of them children in syria. now another country is telling the syrian ambassador, get out and get out fast. a live report on this crisis coming up next. announcer ] this is genco services -- mcallen, texas. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere, 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 ] now citi thankyou visa card holders can combine the thankyou points they've earned and get even greater rewards. ♪ welcome back. it is 12 minutes past the hour. the crisis in syria will be front and center when the united nations security council meets later this morning. japan is now joining the u.s. and other western nations expelling its syrian ambassador in tokyo. in response to last week's massacre of more than 100 civilians in the town of houla, including many, many children. cnn's ivan watson is monitoring developments from istanbul, turkey. he joins us live. what is the latest there? >> reporter: zoraida, we have the japanese foreign minister accusing syria of inhuman acts of violence, of killing children in houla last friday and declaring syria's ambassador persona non grata. that's at least 11 countries that have expelled syrian diplomats in the last 24 hours. take a look at what the united nations spokesman says about the grisly details of that massacre on friday, which he's blaming on pro-government syrian militias called shabiha. take a listen. >> a small number appears to be killed by artillery shelling and tank fire, which took place over a period of 12 hours. but the majority appear to have been the result of house to house summary executions of armed men getting into houses and killing men, women, and children inside. what is clear is government forces were involved. they were shelling, using tanks and artillery, and it appears to be shabiha militia entering the houses and slaughtering people in what is really an abominable crime that took place throughout the day on friday. >> reporter: zoraida, we just spoke with an 11-year-old boy, a resident of houla, who survived that attack. he said that men armed with guns and knives broke into his house, took away his father, and shot his mother and siblings in front of his eyes. listen to what he had to say to us. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: his last words to us were please do not tell them where i am, what my name is. i don't want them to kill me. the syrian government has denied any links whatsoever to this violence. it insists it's fighting armed terrorists like al qaeda. zoraida? >> ivan, we keep on hearing that all of these syrian ambassadors are being kicked out. will that have any impact on the violence in syria? or is it just a symbolic move? >> reporter: simple answer is no. this violence has been going on for nearly 16 months. there has been a chorus of international criticism. the united nations has repeatedly accused the syrian government of crimes against humanity. there has been no sign, even after syria signed on to a peace plan with the united nations and pledged to pull its forces back from syrian cities, there has been no sign that it is willing to stop doing things like shelling syrian cities and torturing prisoners or massacres like this one that the u.n. has directly accused the syrian government of carrying out. so the simple answer is no. as long as russia and china and iran are backing up the syrian government and as long as western governments are unwilling to escalate pressure and risk a bigger conflict in syria, it looks like this awful cycle of violence will just continue. >> ivan watson reporting live for us from istanbul, turkey. we appreciate that. >> for not disavowing the donald's comments. at least 16 people are now reported dead after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit northern italy yesterday. this is the second earthquake to hit the region this month. just nine days ago seven people were killed in a 6.0 magnitude quake. officials say 14,000 people now without homes. former penn state coach jerry sandusky is not expected to attend a pretrial hearing in his case later today, but the accused child molester was in a pennsylvania judge's chambers tuesday afternoon for a closed door hearing. sandusky has pleaded not guilty to charges he sexually abused at least ten boys over the course of 14 years. the pilot of a small plane escaped from an emergency landing without injury after his propellor fell off. investigators on the scene believe engine belts on the cessna blew, causing serious damage to the front of the plane. the propellor landed on a roof of a home near the airport in monteca, california. other debris ended up in the pool. there were no injuries. many have wanted to hurt chef gordon ramsey. only one person got the chance. ramsey was taken down during a soccer match on sunday. also hurt during the game, funny man will ferrell. they were joined by gerard butler, mike myers, and edward norton. at the end of the day, the charity event raised over $6 million for unicef, so the injuries, i guess, were worth it. >> that's about $1 million an injury by my count. good pictures. >> we're getting an early read on your local news that is making national headlines. and moms making a mad dash to libraries in brevard county, florida? why? the county lifts its ban on the book "50 shades of grey." >> have you read it? >> i just started it. have you? >> i read the first, i'm on the second. >> thousands of eager readers took a stand against censorship and pushed librarians to return their 19 copies of the steamy, semipornographic novel to shelves after pulling the book earlier this month. >> i used to read some ken follett books back in the day that i thought were pretty steamy. maybe it's just me. it didn't live up to all that billing. >> are you kidding me? i think it does. >> it's steamy. don't get me wrong. there's some serious smut in there. nothing like i haven't seen in other books. >> maybe the hype. you were expecting a heck of a lot more. >> and also the sales, just the sheer number of people buying this thing. >> we're reading because we have in the know for you. >> and i never read fiction. this is like the first fictional book i've read in a long type. >> i don't think it's fiction. >> there's a headline. so we've got this one for you too. brand new study. this is really odd. it claims that patients who need a lung transplant are better off getting a smoker's lung. >> oh. >> than no lung at all. kind of stands to reason. but the "toronto star" has the details on this one. the researchers are admitting that patients who receive the lung of a smoker are likely not to live as long as a patient who gets a nonsmoker's lung, but the study goes on to say that a person who does get a lung from a smoker has a 21% lower chance of dying than a person who just sits on the waiting list and doesn't get a healthy or nonhealthy lung. it's kind of a sad thing. you think you go through the lung transplant and get a bum lung. but you've got at least a few more years anyway. >> surprising there. toyota prius is now the third best selling car in the entire world. bloomberg says prius sales have more than doubled as it introduced more vehicles to its line, like the prius hatchback, the wagon, and the subcompact. the prius was the first car released back in 1997. it was the top-selling green car, trailing the number one toyota corolla and the number two, which is the ford focus. >> i would say it's leo dicaprio. if you have any questions, go to our blog cnn.com/earlystart. a first for facebook this morning, but it's not something to brag about. christine romans with the new low coming up.e to hotels.com. summer road trip, huh? 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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's 24 minutes past the hour. that would be 5:00 on the east coast. wake up. minding your business, a pretty nice rally on the markets following the holiday. the dow, nasdaq, and s&p all gaining more than 1%. like those arrows. it was actually the lack of negative headlines from europe that helped push the stocks upward. >> facebook was another story, though. christine romans is here. new lows. >> lost another 10% yesterday, facebook shares. the stock is down more than a quarter of value since the ipo, closing below $30 yesterday for the first time. >> eek. >> this morning facebook shares are down in premarket. there's a lot of big negative bets in the options market about the bearishness of investors, and new lows because the company is preparing to buy a norwegian mobile browser called opera software. facebook needs help in mobile operations, but investors questioning whether this particular deal would be the right fit. other facebook news, the co-founder eduardo savarin speaking to newspaper. he says he moved to singapore saying "the decision decision was strictly based on my interest of living and working in singapore. i am obligated and i will pay hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes to the american government." he only had nice things to say about mark zuckerberg. he said, he's a visionary. >> is that the first time he said something positive? >> he's really not had anything to do with facebook for a long time. he's been living in singapore since at least 2009, doing business there. really interesting piece. i'll tweet that out for you. >> for anyone who's seen "the social network, ♪ you can see the de-evolution of that relationship. >> apparently, he never threw a laptop at mark zuckerberg. it's a movie, everyone. ruffles, doritos, snack foods for us, but apparently targets for mexican drug cartels. people with a machine. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. and this is what inspires us to create new technology. ♪ technology that connects us to everything the world has to offer and vice versa. ♪ technology that makes lightweight stronger, safer, and faster than ever before. ♪ technology that makes electric electrifying and efficiency exhilarating. ♪ technology that doesn't just drive us, but drives progress. ♪ and driving progress is what we do every day. ♪ ♪ ♪ i hear you... ♪ rocky mountain high ♪ rocky, rocky mountain high ♪ ♪ all my exes live in texas ♪ ♪ born on the bayou [ female announcer ] the perfect song for everywhere can be downloaded almost anywhere. ♪ i'm back, back in the new york groove ♪ [ male announcer ] the nation's largest 4g network. covering 2,000 more 4g cities and towns than verizon. rethink possible. talk about a snack attack. mexican drug cartels torching trucks and warehouses of a distributor of chips made by a subsidiary of pepsico. the crime is sparking fears that violence may actually slow mexico's economic expansion. mold kills the mayor. the widow of a local politician in florida claims that her husband died after helping a constituent with a complaint about a problem ditch. a doctor says mold in that ditch caused the death of the 80-year-old mayor. and is michelle obama the next hillary clinton? the first lady talking about her political future. welcome back to "early start," everyone. i'm ashleigh banfield. >> we are very happy to have you this morning. i'm zoraida sambolin. it's 31 minutes past the hour. we start with mexican drug cartels, apparently targeting big business. over the weekend, pair houses torched five delivery trucks. it belongs to a warehouse that delivers snack chips in mexico. rafael joins us from the cnn center in atlanta. rafael, have people died in this as well? >> reporter: no. fortunately, zoraida, there were no deaths or injuries, but what is happening in mexico is that this kind of attack has the business community on alert. we have seen these kinds of attacks before, i guess. small businesses in very local communities, but it's the first time we see an attack against a major transnational company, in this case, an american company owned by pepsico. we don't know if the attackers knew that sbritas was a subsidiary of pepsico, but there's a lot of concern it's an american subsidiary. president felipe calderon says it's part of his concern, and that's why he's launched an offensive against the drug cartels. >> translator: organized crime is a threat to growth and development and an obstacle to prosperity because it attacks corporations and businesses, weak and small, and it suppresses the possibility of prosperity for our people. >> reporter: president calderon has dispatched federal police to guard ten distribution centers in the southern states, zoraida. five of these distribution centers were attacked over the weekend. >> rafael, we talk about the drug cartels -- and i know we talked to you about this last time. typically, we're talking about folks being decapitated, mass killings. do we know why they're targeting these particular areas? any motive behind these attacks? >> reporter: officially, what mexican authorities are saying is that this is another extortion attempt, this time just happens to be a major international company. but local media are reporting that there's a possibility that delivery trucks similar to the ones that sabrita used to distribute their snacks, may have been used by mexican security forces to transport personnel and weapons. so not confirmed officially, but that's one of the versions that mexican media is dealing with this morning, zoraida. >> certainly very scary when you're talking about u.s. owned companies. rafael live for us at the cnn center in atlanta. thank you for that report. 34 minutes past 5:00. he escaped house arrest in china and landed here in the united states. now human rights activist chen guangcheng is opening up about his final days in china and what happened to him and his family. he's written an op ed piece for "the new york times" website, accusing china of failing to uphold its own laws and insisting that its abusive treatment of dissidents threatens its political stability. after they discovered my escape from my vimmage in april, a furious pack of thugs, not one in uniform, bearing no search or arrest warrants and refusing to identify themselves, scaled the wall of my brother guangfu's farmhouse in the dead of night, smashed through the doors, and brutally assaulted my brother. after detaining him, the gang returned twice more, severely beating my sister-in-law and nephew with pickaxe handles. just last week, chen spoke exclusively with anderson cooper, but at the time he wasn't ready to speak with the horrors he'd endured in such detail. >> in 2006 you were arrested essentially on trumped up charges and you were in prison for four years. what was that like? >> translator: can we not talk about this right now? i can't recall. it's hard for me to describe what it was like during the time, but let's just say my suffering was beyond imagination. >> chen says he's very concerned for the safety of his nephew because his nephew stabbed several of his attackers with a kitchen knife before he was detained, but then he was charged with attempted homicide. >> 35 minutes past the hour. the widow of a florida mayor who says her husband died from black mold that he was exposed to after helping a resident. bob thompson was the mayor of callow calloway. that's right near panama city. he died saturday at the age of 80. his wife, rita thompson, says he got sick last week after investigating a resident complaint about a ditch. thompson says her husband found mold and mildew in that ditch. she said doctors determined black mold is what killed him. >> he said, your husband has got mold all over his lungs, and it's shutting his body down. >> well, thompson had only been in office for 33 days. so is she the fall gal? ann torres has resigned as communications director for newark mayor corey booker. there are reports she was forced out because of controversial statements made by booker on nbc's "meet the press" earlier this month. the democratic mayor is an obama surrogate and said he was nauseated by the president's attack ads about mitt romney but also about republican ads as well. the republicans had a field day with that, and booker, some said, might have been forced to back off those remarks and get back in the good graces of fellow democrats. don't expect michelle obama to run for political office when it's time for her husband to leave the white house. the first lady telling the ladies of "the view" she has zero interest in following in the footsteps of the last democratic first lady hillary clinton. >> there's so many ways to serve, and being president is one of the hardest ways, and that's one of the reason why i tell barack, i'm a little smarter than him. i picked the easier job. no, i'm just kidding. but, no, i have no interest in politics, never have, never will. >> michelle obama is interested in another type of public service. the first lady says, as long as she has a platform, she will be a voice for america's military families. athletes are known for being pretty particular. so just imagine a pole vaulter's nightmare when delta airlines lost her equipment. her name is katie davis, and she checked her poles at the airport on her way to compete in colorado only to arrive, no poles in baggage. so after four days of back and forth with the company, katie's poles finally arrived just hours before she was set to compete. good news, right? wait for it. her coaches got stuck in traffic on the way to pick up the poles. so she was forced to compete without her coaches and also with a borrowed pole that was too short. >> i needed a coach, and i needed my poles. so it was frustrating for sure. >> when you have someone who works hard and does well and you just think that kid deserves it. >> so she was unable to claim her third all-american title, but if there's any silver lining to this, she did get $200 from delta. >> $200, title, $200, title. i don't know. >> poor kati. you're a hero in our books this morning for going ahead and competing anyway, for being a good sport. she could have said a whole lot of other things on tv but didn't. he's a convicted felon, but could barry bonds' home run king end back on the payroll of the san francisco giants? mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. there are a lot of warning lights and sounds vying for your attention. so we invented a warning.. you can feel. introducing the all new cadillac xts, available with the patented safety alert seat. when there is danger you might not see, you're warned by a pulse in the seat. it's technology you won't find in a mercedes e-class. the all new cadillac xts has arrived. and it's bringing the future forward. i'm one of six children that my mother raised by herself, and so college was a dream when i was a kid. i didn't know how i was gonna to do it, but i knew i was gonna get that opportunity one day, and that's what happened with university of phoenix. nothing can stop me now. i feel like the sky's the limit with what i can do and what i can accomplish. my name is naphtali bryant and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now. 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[ female announcer ] new ensure clear. nine grams protein. zero fat. twenty-one vitamins and minerals. in blueberry/pomegranate and peach. refreshing nutrition in charge! it is 42 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date now. here is christine romans. >> good morning again. mitt romney over the top. he now has more than enough delegates to be the republican nominee after winning the texas primary last night, but no one's talking about that because donald trump stole his thunder. the donald appearing with romney at a las vegas fund-raiser yesterday. and donald trump decided to revive the birther debate again, insisting the president's birth certificate is bogus. that triggered a memorable exchange between trump and cnn's wolf blitzer. you'll hear that interview when we're joined live by wolf blitzer himself. canadian authorities confirming that metal debris falling from the sky in toronto did indeed come from air canada's boeing 777. it happened just after takeoff when an engine on the air canada flight shut down. the pilot made an emergency landing back at toronto's airport. the music world mourning the death of music legend doc watson. the guitarist was known for his flat picking and finger picking style. he died as a result of colon surgery at a hospital in north carolina at the age of 89. the former communications director for british prime minister david cameron has been taken into custody by scottish police. seven officers showing up at andy coulson's home this morning. he's being investigated for allegedly committing perjury at a trial in 2010. coulson's already free on bail in the phone hacking scandal has unfolding right now in the uk. a new meaning to the term drive-thru when 23-year-old michael smith realized his taco bell drive-thru order wasn't complete, he hit the gas and rammed his car through the window of the restaurant in ohio. running into the building over a taco, pretty surprised. >> oh, no, call you not idiot or rocket scientist, never running through a window, that's for sure. >> they got him his missing taco too. police were able to find smith at his home by following the trail of motor fluid dripping from his damaged car after he left the scene tuesday. smith was charged with felony vandalism. baseball's home run king barry bonds, insert asterisk here, wants to get back in the game even though he's a convicted felon now. bonds says he's talked to the san francisco giants about working with the team in some capacity once his legal troubles are all behind him. the former giants slugger is appealing his conviction last year for misleading a grand jury investigating steroid use in sports. >> what do you think the giants have to say about that? >> all i say is barry bonds asterisk, period. >> okay. >> there you go. it's 45 minutes now past the hour. there are a lot of places in the northeast mopping up this morning after the storms last night and probably a lot of people who didn't get a lot of sleep because their kids were crying because of the thunder and the lightning. >> bad weather. rob marciano is with us in the weather center. >> when you say a lot of people, are you projecting? >> i am officially complaining about two little children, ages 5 and 6, who don't like thunder. >> i'll have a little talk with them and get them storm ready and storm tough. they weren't the only ones, i'll tell you that. from the canadian border across the allegheny through the ohio river valley, rough, rough night. here's video of new hampshire. across the white mountains and the valley locations certainly seeing flash flooding and taking a lot of dirt and debris down with it. all this rainfall came in a very short amount of time into rugged terrain. this is the result. how much rain in a two-hour period? seeing almost five inches. wal pole seeing almost four inches. stoddard saying 3.71 inches. this doesn't include what happened in upstate new york, where they had, in some cases, baseball sized hail, damaging winds. and now we'll talk about beryl which is almost back to tropical storm strength. wellborn seeing 15 inches, over a foot in midway. they need the rain badly, so they'll take it. they got some last night in georgia. back side of the system seeing showers move down through macon. here is the center of beryl, which is just to the northeast about 50 miles of charleston, and now starting to pick up steam. it's going to pretty much rake the coastline and head into the outer banks. it will probably become a tropical storm again, but by that time, it's not going to be an issue. two to four inches of rainfall expected here. really through the afternoon and evening hours. after that, once the storm begins to pick up steam, here's the forecast track. we look for it to head out to sea fairly rapidly. if it's a tropical storm then, it's fun. who cares at this point? >> who cares? >> severe threat across the midsection of the country and through tornado alley. that's where the rough area is. >> severe threat? really? >> moderate. there you go. the big red ball there, right in the heart of tornado alley. oklahoma will likely see thunderstorms that could likely drop some tornadoes. >> we'll be watching for that. >> ashleigh, don't let your kids go out that way. >> it's a very good idea, i'm telling you. ear plugs for them and me. >> i didn't even hear a thing. i got up this morning and said, oh, it must have rained last night. >> there's like thunder and lightning and monsters falling from the sky. >> that's why you have one of those air cleaners, a lot of noise, white noise, i don't hear a thing when i go to sleep. it works. >> ps, my kids are really little. so they still run in saying, mommy, i need a snuggle. >> mine can't open the door. it's locked. 47 minutes. 48 minutes past the hour. >> yours or theirs? >> mine. yeah, i like it from the outside every night. i don't think so. we've seen plenty of people jump out of airplanes. >> i still like that idea. i'm thinking about it. >> listen, folks, coming up, you're going to hear from a man who says he plans to skydive from the edge of space. >> this is so cool. man, is that cool. check this out. i cannot wait for this to happen. also, if you're leaving the house right now, you can still watch us. you can check us out any time on your desktop or do so on your mobile, which is very cool if you're commuting, as long as you're not the driver. go to cnn.com/tv for all the information you need. 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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. actually it can. neutrogena® ultra sheer provides unbeatable uva uvb protection and while other sunscreens can feel greasy ultra sheer® is clean and dry. it's the best for your skin. ultra sheer®. neutrogena®. it is time to take a look at what is trending on the web. his blood could boil from that high. later this summer, austrian daredevil felix baumgartner will attempt the longest and highest freefall ever from 120,000 feet above sea level. from the edge of space, more than 22 miles up, if he pulls it off. he'll also break the speed of sound at more than 690 miles an hour. no one has ever done that outside a plane or a spacecraft. >> are you afraid of dying on this? >> well, dying has always been part of my life because, as a base jumper, you always face death on every base jump. >> oh, my goodness. >> watch this. this is great. >> this is incredible. baumgartner has base jumped from right there, the christ the redeemer statue in rio, and also from the petronus towers in kuala lumpur, the tallest buildings in the world. >> i have been falling felix for a long time. i wish him the best. he seems very confident. >> confident enough to take risks. >> remember growing up with evel knievel, we thought those were pretty risky too. but he's like a frontiersman. adding fuel to the fire of one of the biggest rivalries in sports, michigan recruit not offering any apologies this morning after tweeting him burning his recruitment letter from ohio state university. even in the faith of a barrage of death threats from buckeyes fans. the picture came with #goblue and #beatohio. that ain't big. that ain't classy. that's all i'm saying. >> poor taste. a bear takes a dip in a pool with a view. >> i love that. >> two sisters were siting in their kitchen in an l.a. suburb enjoying the memorial day weekend. when they spotted a bear taking a lirely swim in the family pool. >> i would have done it. >> so long holiday weekends aren't the just for humans to enjoy. they said they called their parents but did not call 911. >> he's doing the beared paddle. >> i think they were just enjoying that. how often does that happen? it's not clear how long the bear stuck around. >> can i tell you? that pool needs cleaning. i told you i had a bear at my house once, the number of flies that bear had on him and the number of flies he left behind, as well as a few other special gifts the bear left behind. they're not particularly clean, those bears in the wild. stephen colbert making history during his two-week hiatus and returned talking about being the first male member of maxim's hot 100 club. take a look. >> this is historic, folks. i am the rosa parks of men that "maxim" readers want to see back up that bus. beep, beep, beep, beep. according to the good people at "maxim," i am hotter than christina hendricks, nicki my na minaj, sophia vergara and the other 3.3 billion people in the world. men, if you're home watching right now, look at your girlfriend. she is uglier than me. don't feel bad, ladies, because this is proof that you do not need to be a busty supermodel to be hot. you can still be sexy with a "b" cup. "maxim" has proven that no reward is beyond my reach. i expect to also win the westminster dog show and motor trend car of the year. i won't tell you where, but i do have a cup holder. >> okay. that was good. he's my favorite. i think it's the raised eyebrow that gives him all that sexy. >> fantastic. donald trump tang ls with our own wolf blitzer. >> there are many people that don't agree with that birth certificate. they don't think it's authentic, wolf. >> we show you everything in case you missed it. renewed birther talk taking away from mitt romney's big night. now's the time to move from to where you want to go. look up. with u.s. bank let's get the wheels turning. use our strength & stability to open new opportunities. to lend, and lift ...every business...every dream... to new heights of prosperity. good things are happening. just look up. with u.s. bank. support team usa and show our olympic spirit right in our own backyard. so we combined our citi thankyou points to make it happen. tom chipped in 10,000 points. karen kicked in 20,000. and by pooling more thankyou points from folks all over town, we were able to watch team usa... 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[ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ donald trump versus wolf blitzer. their war of words live on tv. >> donald, donald, you're beginning to sound a little ridiculous. i have to tell you. >> no, i think you are, are, wo. let me tell you something. i think you sound ridiculous. plus the white house apologizing after president obama accidentally insults the people of poland. and a pilot pulls up a miracle, after the plane's propeller ends up on the roof of a house. good morning, everyone. welcome to -- >> woof! >> you thought you had a rough day. this is strt t"early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. let's get started at 6:00 a.m. in the east. mitt romney trumped by the donald, after last night's texas primary win, romney now has more than enough delegates to clinch the republican nomination but hardly anyone is talking about that this morning. instead it is with donald trump, about where the president was born. >> a lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate. >> how can you say that if the -- >> many people do not think it was authentic, his mother was not in the hospital. there were many other things that came out, and frankly, if you would report it accurately i think you'd probably get better ratings you're getting which are pretty small. >> donald, have you seen the actual newspaper announcements within days of his birth in han lulu, "the honolulu star bulletin" you see the birth announcement back in 1961. >> yes and many people did that. >> excuse me, can i ask the question? >> can i talk without you defending obama? >> donald, you're beginning to sound a little ridiculous. >> no, i think you, wolf. >> cnn political editor paul steinhauser, in washington, we were waiting for the 1,144 and fell on deaf eared. >> got trumped by donald trump. this was a big deal, mitt romney becomes the first mormon to clinch a major party nomination and yeah, nobody's talking about that, as you mentioned, zoraida, everybody is discussing donald trump and the issue over the president's birth place. there's a picture of in are mity coming off the plane and in the back the trump plane, symbolic of the day. you can see him coming off the plane there. listen, everybody is discussing donald trump and this issue and it is a distraction for mitt romney. the whole theme for mitt romney is the president is bad when it comes to job creators and wasting taxpayer money. we're not discussing that at all. newt gingrich is at this fund-raiser trump had at his hotel. he disagrees, take a listen to newt gingrich. >> i think donald trump said what he said because he thinks it's the right thing for him to say. >> reporter: do you think it's the right thing to say? >> no, i this that i obama creates very powerful emotions about him, largely because of the radicalism of his views. >> i was looking at the pool notes from the fund-raiser and donald trump not expectedly did not bring up the birther issue at the fund-raiser. he said the country is not great now because of barack obama and if mitt romney was elected in november he would bring up greatness in the country. >> what romney has done, he does believe the birth certificate is valid but there are some who think he did bring up that birther issue. can you tell us about that? >> it was an incident earlier in the day, mitt romney was at a campaign rally at a fund raiser in a furniture store and talked about a supporter and the supporter's ideas of what the constitution should include when it comes to a president. take a listen. >> i was speaking with one of these business owners who owns a couple of restaurants in town and he said, "you know, i'd like to change the constitution. i'm not sure i can do it," he said, "but i'd like to have a provision in the constitution that in addition to the age of the president and the citizenship of the president, and the birth place of the president being set by the constitution, i'd like it also to say that the president has to spend at least three years working in business before he can become president of the united states." >> listen, i know part of mitt romney's shtick as running for president, part of his theme he's a businessman and president barack obama is not a businessman and maybe that's what he was trying to do but on a day when we were talking about this issue for him to bring up citizenship and birth place it seems a little tone deaf to me. >> back to the official word, 1,144, official or not? >> unofficial, sorry to say, and it doesn't officially happen until the convention when is he nominated, then he officially becomes the nominee. late august. poll jiz, but we're there. >> paul steinhauser, thank you very much. there's a lot of buzz about wolf blitzer's interview with donald trump. wolf will join us live, live at 6:30 eastern, getting up early for us. an embarrassing mistake by president obama has poland's political leaders furious. he misspoke when he referred to a polish death camp instead of a german death camp while honoring the memory of a polish resistance fighter during world war ii. here is the comment that is causing all of the controversy. >> before one trip across enemy lines, resistance fighters told him that jews were being murdered on a massive scale and smuggled him into the warsaw ghetto in a polish death camp to see for himself. >> poland it's foreign minister calls that comment a matter of "ignorance and incompetence." poland's prime minister donald tusk is expected to address the controversy publicly today. a civil rights group is asking the u.s. justice department to step in after a tennessee judge stopped construction of a mosque. the islamic center in murfreesboro was featured in cnn's "in america" document. yesterday the judge ruled the county failed to give proper notice about plans for the mosque before granting a permit. anti-mosque groups have been fighting construction for two years. county officials are reviewing the ruling. coming up on "starting point" with soledad o'brien, she's going to speak live with the spokesperson representing the mosque, saleh sbenato. 11 countries including the united states have expelled syrian envoys. more than 100 civilians including many, many children, were killed by regime forces in the town of hula. the worst in the uprising of the assad government. for the first time an apology of the rutgers student, dharun ravi goes to court today before he starts his 30-day sentence. "i accept responsibility for and regret my thoughtless, insensitive, immature, stupid and childish choices that i made." jurors in the john edwards trial will begin their eighth day of deliberation this is morning and there are signs they're not even close to a verdict. several of them sending notes to the judge about scheduling conflicts this week and next week. the judge also scolding the jurors warning them not to discuss the case outside of the deliberation room. >> strange, some of the alternate jurors wearing matching clothing. >> they did. >> several days in a row. >> they said they were bored and this was a way of adding humor. actually the judge i heard was laughing, thought it was kind of funny. one of those instances. >> if i'm john edwards' attorney i am taking copious notes about all of these misgivings because they've had to be spoken to as well and that could be an issue if the verdict comes out not in john edwards' favor. i get concerned when i hear jurors that isn't doing anything that's right down the line. a propeller on a hot tin roof. not just a regular roof but find out how the pilot managed to bring the plane down without the aid of one very important propeller. make that new stouffer's steam meal so tasty. actually, the milk from my farm makes it so creamy, right dad. dad can see... boys! don't you think stouffer's steam perfect bag should get some credit? my carrots. my milk. 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[ male announcer ] now citi thankyou visa card holders can combine the thankyou points they've earned and get even greater rewards. ♪ there are a lot of warning lights and sounds vying for your attention. so we invented a warning.. you can feel. introducing the all new cadillac xts, available with the patented safety alert seat. when there is danger you might not see, you're warned by a pulse in the seat. it's technology you won't find in a mercedes e-class. the all new cadillac xts has arrived. and it's bringing the future forward. 12 minutes past 6:00 on the east coast. get up, get at it. time to get you up to date on the top headlines and christine romans is doing that for us. >> good morning, ladies. mitt romney's moment in the spotlight overshadowed by donald trump. romney has enough delegates to be the gop nominee after winning the texas primary last night but no one is talking about that because donald trump appearing with romney at a las vegas fund-raiser decided to revive the birth debate. he insists the president's birth certificate is bogus. at least 16 people have been reported dead after an earthquake in northern italy, this is the second quake to hit the region this month. just nine days ago seven people were killed in another quake. officials say 1,000 people have to live somewhere else. the united states is asking canada to investigate a deadly plane crash in virginia. both owned by federal employees, the faa and ntsb. former penn state coach jerry sandusky is not expected to attend a pretrial hearing but the accused child molester was in a pennsylvania judge's chambers tuesday afternoon for a closed door hearing, he has pled not guilty to the charges he sexually abused ten boys. the fall gal for newark mayor cory booker, reports she was forced out because of controversial statements made by booker on nbc's "meet the press" earlier this month. the democratic mayor said he was nauseated by the president's attack ads against mitt romney. republicans had a field day with that and booker was forced to back off those remarks to get back in the good graces of democrats. the u.s. postal service is offering $15,000 buyouts to 45,000 mail handlers as it seeks to cut costs and reduce staffing levels. it reported a $3 billion in the first quarter. >> the biggest concern they would shut her down. >> these are mail handlers, packing things up, putting them from truck to truck and fewer pieces of mail we're sending there's not enough. they want small businesses to send more direct mail because they think that might be future for the christmas service. >> i get more junk. heavy rain, flooding, even hail depending on where you live, how you pay attention overnight. rob marciano has your weather update. hey, rob. >> hi, two spots one in the northeast, upstate new york, new england, and even the metro area of the tri-state area got hammered with hail, so did oklahoma. this video out of the richmond area, pretty much the entire state got peppered with severe storms yesterday, numerous hail reports and damaging hail from golf ball to in some cases in king fisher, oklahoma, softball size hail so that will take a windshield out and ding up the car. auto body shops in high demand this morning and they might be again later on today and tomorrow, another threat for severe weather, storm prediction center moderate risk for oklahoma city proper. round two of storms expected as we go through the afternoon and evening with the tail end of this front that is pushing through the northeast, ahead of it last night is where the line of thunderstorms crushed the northeast area with also winds and hail and reports of up to baseball-sized hail there. the rainfall from tropical depression beryl certainly impressive, 15 inches in wellborn, midway florida over a foot of rainfall. the rain is headed toward south carolina and north carolina as well, pouring along the border through wilmington, newborn, pretty much scrape the coastline. by the time it becomes a tropical storm again it will be offshore and out to sea. 80 degrees expected in new york city once the front gets through. chicago 66 degrees, cool, low humidity, we'll take it. >> perfect. >> nice evening with the windows open. thank you, rob marciano. pilot of a small plane pulling off one heck of a miracle after the propeller broke off. not even a scratch on it. investigators say that it's likely that the engine belts on the cessna blew, caused serious damage to the front of the plane. the propeller, though, landed on the roof of a home near the airport in montega, california. apparently there was other debris landing in the pool but not landing on anyone, which is the good news so there were no injuries involved. saving nemo, a scuba diver spots a puffer fish swimming by with a hook stuck in his mouth. he delicately pulls it out. >> he was a good patient. the diver got it out, the fish swam away. not even a thank you, right? but look at that. >> great video. >> that's sweet. >> isn't it, adorable. >> yeah. >> "he made me ink." it's inscribed on the back of your iphone, "assembled in china." apple's new boss says i want to make a change to that. christine romans will come back with more from that, it's tim cook, folks, rumor has it. for an expanded look at our top stories head to our blog cnn.com/earlystart. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. mcallen, texas. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere, 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. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ a very good morning to you. it is 21 minutes past 6:00, we're minding your business this morning. u.s. markets kicking off the week with a pretty nice rally following the holiday on monday. the dow and the nasdaq and the s&p all gaining more than 1% and i guess no news is good news because europe's debt crisis back in focus this week but the lack of negative headlines from the region helped to push the stocks up. >> very nice. facebook was another story all together. christine romans is here with the low. >> the lowdown and the low, low. it fell another 10% yesterday, it's down 2% again this morning in the pre-market. the stock has lost nearly a quarter of its value since its ipo and closed below $30 yesterday, due to speculation it was going to buy this norwegian mobile operator called opera. there are people who are concerned yes facebook needs help in mobile operations but investors were questioning whether this was the right fit overall. the co-founder eduardo savran speaking with a brazilian paper "the decision was strictly based on my interest of living and working in singapore." he already said he has paid and will continue to pay his taxes. he likes mark zuckerberg and he's held true to his mission and goal for the company. >> he didn't make that much money. >> is this a time to buy facebook? >> a lot of people have been asking me that but the options trading opened on trafacebook a the options are more bearish than bullish on facebook, another reason why the stock was down. >> how about apple, we have a rare sighting. >> a bombshell from tim cook who is the ceo. he told the all things d, d-10 conference he wants apple to make products in the u.s. someday. >> will there be an apple product ever made again in the united states? >> i want there to be. >> will it ever say on the back of an apple product "designed in the california, made in the united states"? >> it may. could you put down there even today several parts are from the united states. >> like the glass is from the united states and it has a lot of criticism in this country because it make the products at huge compounds overseas and they've had to double the wages in china, concerns about conditions there. he hit on incredible new products but said the company is doubling down on secrecy as well so they've been telling us and i was on a conference call with him recently he was talking about the pipeline that is just full but they're not going to tell us. >> pipeline full of new products. >> something will leak. >> lord. >> they're very secret but that manufacturing comment i think was a bombshell because a lot of people said this company has no intention of making anything in the united states. the jobs created by apple are created overseas. the middle class built by apple is built in other countries. consumers and shareholders in this country benefit but not employees except for retail employees who make less than, you know, the national average. so interesting stuff. the one thing you need to know about your money, i wanted to bring this to you, emergency unemployment benefits are running out for tens of thousands, almost half of the states have fewer weeks available. many states are tightening their requirements for jobless benefits. we're seeing a major shift now from emergency benefits to chronic unemployment for the long-term unemployed. watch, you're going to see unemployment benefits start to wind down for a lot of people. >> is it possible to get the real unemployment number? we get the unemployment stats. >> what do you mean? >> the ones who have been out of work so long, taking the benefits, they are not counted anymore. >> we know how many people are in the country and we know how many people are working, we know the percentage of people working is something like 58% of working aged people are working. there are a lot of different statistics. >> it's frustrating. >> you got to read my book. >> i have only looked at your book but have it displayed prominently in the office. >> there are lots of different ways to cut the numbers. people suit on tfocus on the nut suit their purposes. the beard versus the hair. wolf blitzer taking on donald trump in his birther beliefs. wolf will join us live next. hey, did you ever finish last month's invoices? sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get back to these invoices... which i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. 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[ major nutrition ] ensure high protein... ensure! nutrition in charge! to your kids' wet skin. neutrogena® wet skin kids. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®. with gold bond intensive healing cream. it targets the underlying causes of itch and irritation. gold bond. intensive healing for lasting relief. wolf blitzer takes on donald trump. you heard it here on cnn. >> donald, donald, you're beginning to sound a little ridiculous. i have to tell you. >> no, i think you, wolf. let me tell you something, i think you sound ridiculous. >> coming up in a few moments, wolf blitzer joins you live to talk about that exchange. the story of survival, a family of three joining us to talk about how they beat the odds when thinker small plane went down in the mountains of idaho. plus jeb bush for vice president? hear what the former president's brother has to say when asked if he could be mitt romney's pick. welcome back to "early start." i'ms d s dizoraida sambolin. i'm ashleigh banfield. it's 30 minutes past the hour, 6:30 on the east coast. let's start with this one, it should have been mitt romney's big day because he got enough delegates last night to secure the gop presidential nomination yesterday. trouble is the air waves his supporter donald trump was sucking the air out of every room he was in by talking about president obama and birth certificate again, whether it's real or whether it's fake. let's be clear, government officials in hawaii, republican and democrat, have said it's real. so now that we've gotten that clear, let's go to the call, because he called in to cnn's "the situation room" with wolf blitzer, and here's how the discussion progressed. >> a lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate. >> how can you say that if the state -- >> i know you don't report it but many people do not think it was authentic. his mother was not in the hospital. there were many other things that came out, and frankly, if you would report it accurately i think you'd probably get better ratings than you're getting which are pretty small. >> donald have you seen the newspaper announcements within days of his birth in honolulu, for example, the "honolulu star bulletin" you see the birth announcement back in 1961, the "honolulu". >> excuse me, wolf, am i allowed to talk? >> can i ask the question? >> without you defending obama? >> donald, you're beginning to sound a little ridiculous, i have to tell you. >> no, i think you are, wolf. >> hmm. and that's that. joining me live on the phone, wolf blitzer, my colleague, the anchor of "the situation room," who got up early for us. good morning, mr. blitzer. >> good morning, ashleigh. how are you doing? >> good, looking forward to our discussion, another good day. >> huge fallout, a lot of people talking about it because the birther issue continues to rear its head because of the donald, also it's sucking the life of what really should be mitt romney's big day today. >> it was really an historic moment in the united states in american history, for the simple reason that for the first time in our history a mormon is now the nominee of a major political party. look, there have been other examples of other religions entering into the mainstream of american politics, john f. kennedy in 1961 when he was elected the first catholic president of the united states, when barack obama four years ago was the first african-american president of the united states. now there's a mormon who is going to be the republican presidential nominee, and it was really an historic moment and unfortunately, because of all this so-called birther stuff, it was somewhat overshadowed and i think that's sad. i think we could have spent some other time talking about some other important issues, but when -- it would have been different if donald trump would have been doing it by himself for trump tower in new york talking about this but it happened to be on a day when he was hosting together with others a fund-raiser for mitt romney in las vegas. >> why is he doing it, wolf? listen, this is no secretet anymore. if anybody's watching and wondering if there's still some shade of question, it was the republican governor in 2010 of hawaii who called this a horrible distraction and said that it is just a fact, period, that the president was born in a hospital in honolulu. why is donald trump doing this, doubling down, as you put t especially on a day when his own candidate is possibly not going to weather it well? >> i've known donald trump for a long time and interviewed him on many, many occasions. he's an intelligent guy, not a stupid guy or anything like that. sume maybe it's an obvious reason, he believes it. he believes that there are a lot of questions out there. he's read a lot of the conspee conspeartoryial theories and believes what he's saying. >> i heard you questioning him over and over about the number of times he brought up the issue that "many people believe this," in fact we with our producers count the number of times "many people" it was 18 times in your interview, wolf, that donald trump said "many people believe this," and i know you took him to task and said who? what people of record? and he said "i don't give names." >> i was surprised if he's going to back it up he has to have evidence. linda lingo was the republican governor when she authenticated the birth certificate. now there's a democratic governor who authenticated the birth certificate. the individual in charge of the department is republican and authenticated the live birth certificate. mitt romney disagrees with him, newt gingrich disagrees with him, all the other republican presidential candidates basically disagree with him. they accept the fact that barack obama was born in hawaii back in 1961. even karl rove, the head of the largest pro-republican superpack out there disagrees. so it's not controversial. >> no, it's not controversial. and i heard you. >> i don't understand why he continues as i say to double down and now sort of all in, as a casino metaphor. >> i wonder if he's so all in and can't get out. i heard you confront him and show him two different birth announcements in newspapers on honolulu in 1961 and his retort was "many people used to do that," put birth announcements to suggest they were citizens of the united states. i never heard any reporting of that trend. have you ever heard of that kind of a trend and did you get a response when you asked donald what his facts were to back up that claim? >> about the birth announcements of the "honolulu newspaper"? if there was a conspiracy it started in 1961. think about, this ashleigh, for a second, if he were born in kenya, in 1961, even phone calls, transatlantic international phone calls from kenya to honolulu, they didn't have cell phones or internet service in those days, that would have been a little difficult but forget about that for a second. if you assume that back in 1961 somebody said you know this little baby who was born. >> my baby is going to be president. >> someday, he's black, white and african-american, his mother is caucasian but you know what? someday he might run for president so let's put this announcement in the newspapers. >> i think donald trump's jumped the shark, i got to be honest with you. >> let's see what happens. he's not backing down though, you know. >> you got that right. made for good tv. you held your own. >> vintage donald trump. >> i was watching it live, thank you. wolf blitzer live getting up early with us on the phones. if you're wondering if that's a one-sided interview because wolf blitzer and ashleigh banfield are raving democrats who don't support donald's -- forget about it. here i have put together a mash-up of some of wolf blitzer's greatest hits and they are non-partisan and i direct you to david duke, michael moore, newt gingrich, have a look. >> i'm asking you a question. do you think david irving should be imprisoned in austria -- >> we invited you on. why is there a zionist conspiracy if we're letting you on television. >> i haven't seen you in three years so after you trashed "fahrenheit" and said i was wrong about yeah this war was, i'm waiting for an apology. >> michael we invited you on numerous occasions. unfortunately you've declined the invitations. you said that he lives in a world of swiss bank and cayman island bank accounts. i didn't say that, did you. >> i did and perfectly happy to say that on an interview in a tv show. this is a national debate you have a range of issues to talk about. >> you make an accusation and you need to explain that. >> blitzer! boo-yah! blitz! >> warning people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder watch out for people peddling fake pills online. and a teen will talk with the doc. ♪ right now, millions of americans are using their preventive benefits from the health care law. you can, too. not just because there may be no insurance copays or out-of-pocket costs. but because of all those tomorrows you want to see. use your benefits today. learn more at healthcare.gov. and this is what inspires us to create new technology. ♪ technology that connects us to everything the world has to offer and vice versa. ♪ technology that makes lightweight stronger, safer, and faster than ever before. ♪ technology that makes electric electrifying and efficiency exhilarating. ♪ technology that doesn't just drive us, but drives progress. ♪ and driving progress is what we do every day. ♪ ♪ at bank of america, we're lending and investing in communities across the country. from helping to revitalize a neighborhood in brooklyn... financing industries that are creating jobs in boston... providing funding for the expansion of a local business serving a diverse seattle community... and lending to ensure a north texas hospital continues to deliver quality care. because the more we can do in local neighborhoods and communities, the more we can help make opportunity possible. 42 minutes past the hour. quick check of your travel forecast, here's rob marciano. >> good morning again, ladies. we'll start you off at the airports we think will see some problems. new york showers leftover, philadelphia same deal. dallas, afternoon thunderstorms and san francisco some wind later today as well. thunderstorms in dallas a couple of them going through the morning hours, we'll get a reenergizing later on today. here's what's left of beryl, could become a tropical storm raking the coastline of south and north carolina. heavy rain traveling to wil nington, newborn and the outer banks, pushed by the front bringing in cooler and quieter air after a rough night across much of new england and the northeast. 67 degrees, low humidity in chicago. 80 degrees in new york and you will see cool and dry air later on tonight. >> thank you, rob marciano. we have a big show coming up next, i don't know if you heard about it. hosted by -- >> you're just trying to pay me back because i said a story you were surprised about. "hey that was on our show yesterday." >> i said something about a 6-year-old. wow did you know there's a 6-year-old in the national spelling bee? that was on the news yesterday and yes i watch your show but every so often i have to go to the bathroom. what's coming up? >> five years and millions of dollars spent, mitt romney has finally clinched the republican nomination but it is donald trump, as you were just talking about a moment ago with wolf blitzer, who has really been stealing the headlines. we'll tell you how trump's birther claims are overshadowing his big night. a reporter is blind-folded and driven to one of the homes of the enemies. look at the terror group's inner workings. david letterman sits down with regis philbin for a one on one interview. it's very rare. don't forget watch us at the top of the hour or if you head out to work, whip out your mobile phone. >> don't miss us because soledad will test you when you're on the show. >> yes i will, tomorrow is your day, zoraida. >> looking forward to. to bri. look. it's so simple. 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[ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business. welcome back to "early start." it is 47 minutes past the hour. miraculous survival story this morning with the family of three recovering from only minor injuries after their plane went down in the mountains of southern idaho. pilot brian down flying with his wife and daughter was forced into a snowy mountainside after a sudden cold front caused the plane's wings to ice over. after several hours the family was able to locate their cell phone in the wreckage and dial 911. >> owyhee county 911, what is your emergency? >> hi, i'm in an airplane and i crashed and i'm in the mountains. >> where are you at, hon? >> in the 29 miles east of -- west of mountain home, idaho. i need you to send a search party, please. >> i believe that's their daughter, heather, you're listening to on the phone. the family was stranded over 12 hours before being lifted from the crash site. all three have been released from the hospital and there were no life-threatening injuries. brian and jay-ann are on the phone. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> brian, at what point did you realize you were in trouble? >> well, we were getting actually the weather closed in on us so that right there was a pretty biggest indicator when we knew we were getting into trouble. we could still see the ground but still the weather was just pretty severe that had closed in on us pretty quickly so again, that's about when really identified we were in a lot of trouble. >> what made i realize that you were in trouble? >> well, again, i'm not an instrument pilot, i'm more of a visual. we need good visibility, not just the ground but all the way around us and that part of the visibility was closing in fast. >> were you trying to communicate for help at all? was that possible or no? >> no, i was actually focusing a lot more on just flying the airplane at that time, and keeping us in the air. >> and i was reading reports here that you belly flopped the plane into the mountainside. was that a purposeful maneuver? >> well, i don't know about the belly flop definition, but yeah, i did try and pitch the nose of the plane up to match the terrain that i was heading towards, so we didn't nose the plane in, straight into the ground. >> and jay ann, what were you thinking a ining while all of t happening? >> i was terrified. i could see the ground come up on us and knew that i -- i knew that it was not a good situation. i also knew that you know, if anybody could get us through this, it was going to be brian, because i trust his piloting skills explicitly, and, but i was very frightened, as anybody would be, and when i realized that we were going to crash, i, it was just very, very frightening, very frightening. >> i know that your daughter was there with you as well. were you sitting in the front of the plane and she was behind you? >> correct. it's a four-seater plane and brian eni were in the front and she was in the back. >> now, once you crashed and you realized everybody's alive, what happened then? >> we zwrus sort of sat there for a minute, because we didn't know where our phones were. we didn't know how to communicate with anybody, but we also knew that we could, you know, that somehow, some way, we knew our indicator, there's a crash indicator and you'll have to ask brian what the technical name of it is but there is a crash indicator on the plane and i knew that would begin to go off so somebody could hear it. >> your daughter's cell phone started ringing which is how you knew where it was and she was able to call for help? >> exactly, that was several hours later, we didn't realize -- we couldn't find them. it was getting dark and we couldn't find them and so when the cell phone rang, of course, it lit up. and then she was able to find it, and then make the call. >> wow. >> we didn't think we had power or reception. >> and your rescuers had to trek through the snow to get you. how long did you spend out there? >> about 12 hours i believe. >> wow. well brian and jayann, we are so grateful you're with us this morning. are you well? everybody okay? >> we're well. we're banged up. we're banged up and bruised, and couple broken bones but we are alive and this is nothing short of a miracle, and god's hand evident in every single thing that happened. >> brian and jayann thank you for joining us this morning and give our best to heather as well. >> thank you. >> wow. it is lucky they're with us. banged up, broken rib stitches. >> they call it just banged up. could have been worse. if you're leaving the house right now don't worry, take us with you, catch us any time on your desktop or mobile phone, go to cnn.com/tv and everything you need is right there. homicide of young people in america has an impact on all of us. how can we save these young people's lives? 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(growl) we invite you to get a free sample and try one on too. it's time to live wider awake. only the beautyrest recharge sleep system combines the comfort of aircool memory foam layered on top of beautyrest pocketed coils to promote proper sleeping posture all night long. the revolutionary recharge sleep system... from beautyrest. it's you, fully charged. so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life, but with advair, i'm breathing better so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, take the lead. ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. 57 minutes past the hour. the government is paying close attention to online sales of fake adderall. they are complaining about counterfeit versions for attention hyperactivity disorder. the dea warns the phony pills might not only be ineffective but also be harmful. patients who need a lung transplant may be better off getting one from a former smoker, that according to not getting one at all. "the toronto star" has details. researchers admit patients who get a smoker's lung probably won't live as long as they would have had they gotten a transplant from a patient who didn't smoke but the person who gets a lung from a smoker has a 21% chance of dying than a person who is on the waiting list so better not to be on the waiting list and better to get that smoker's lung which is not as good as it could be unfortunately. "starting point" is less than a minute away. we wrap up as always with best advice. here's christine romans. >> actor david cassidy, advice from his own father. >> follow your dream, follow your passion, do it and do it as well as you can do it, no matter what it is. >> do it as well as you can do it no matter what it is. >> if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. >> all i know is someone has to pay you to do what you're doing. >> but that is "early start" "the news from a to z." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. welcome, everybody. our starting point, trumping the mess anxious donald trump refuses to drop the birther thing on the day mitt romney locks up the no nation. we'll show you a bit of wolf blitzer's interview. >> donald, you're beginning to sound a little ridiculous. >> no, i think you are, wolf. >> oh, and there's more. is syria at a tipping point? the u.s. empells a syrian ambassador after dozens of women and children are executed on the streets of hula. >> facebook stocks tank but mark zuckerberg is still worth roughly $14 billion so why did he stiff a waiter on his honey moon? it's wednesday, may 30th and "starting point" begins right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> good morning, welcome. let's get to headlines. christine romans has those. julian assange's appeal against extradition denied. the british supreme court ruled assange will be sent to sweden over allegations he sexually abused two women in the country in 2010. assange fears that if he's extradited sweden will hand him over to the u.s. where he could be prosecuted for his leaking o