time will tell. >> and mississippi's governor is under fire. 200 pardons in his final days. new information on who was set free and what these convicted killers are now allowed to do. we also understand that these are unconditional pardons, which means that their constitutional rights are restored. we're going to find out a little bit more about that. apparently, they're going to be able to vote and own guns. >> 2011 was so last year because 2012 got some stocks on a tear. the dow climbing to the highest level since july. what the what? >> we're going to figure all this out with christine romans in just a few moments. and the death of actress natalie wood, who died back in 19 1981. was she killed? new this morning, what police found since they reopened this investigation two months ago. >> that woo hoo you heard at the top of the news cast, could be sounding like the power train for mitt romney as he heads to the next stop. i wonder if this is going to be a sweep. is south carolina going to sweep the table for mitt romney? that was serious history being made? 90% of the votes have been counted. still counting this morning. it's a foregone conclusion. romney dominant. look at that, 40% of the vote. ron paul coming in a sweet second at 23%. jon huntsman not too shabby. he said, i'll take third, thank you very much, at 17%. didn't do badly at all. >> look at the rest of the field. newt gingrich fourth with 10%. rick santorum 9%. rick perry at 1%. romney says tonight, of course, we made history, then he turned up the attacks on president obama. listen up. >> we do remember, when barack obama came to new hampshire four years ago, he promised to bring people together, he promised to change the broken system in washington, he promised to improve our nation. those are the days of lofty promises made by a hopeful candidate. today we're faced with the disappointing record of a failed president. >> political director mark preston joins us this morning. the history he was talking about, first nonrepublican incumbent to win iowa and new hampshire back to back. we did just mention with 95% of the precincts reporting, romney has 40%. a lot of people saying he was going to be somewhere in the 30s. he beat expectations here. >> he beat expectations and reached the threshold here. had mitt romney ended up 34%, 35%, 36%, there would be an argument made that he still was not able to grow the support, and he showed that last night in new hampshire. he grew the support. a lot of people will still say there's a conservative movement against mitt romney, but the fact of the matter was he has won the first two, and as ashleigh said, he's got momentum. >> he's got the freight train going, and it started with not only the 40% but this speech we're looking at now. i can't tell you how presidential that seemed to me. i was a maesly little viewer watching the set as the returns came in. i watched a teleprompted speech which he'd done away with before, and a speech that sounded very presidential as opposed to a man still on the campaign. >> they're all heading down to south carolina now. while we spent last week in new hampshire, and this week we're sitting here and talked about the big win out of iowa for rick santorum and mitt romney. now we're talking about the big win out of new hampshire for mitt romney and head to south carolina. >> let's talk about the tea par party. i have here 40% of the tea party vote went to him. i don't know if those numbers changed this morning. that was a big win for him. >> it was a big win because, again, it goes back to can mitt romney get the republican base to get behind him. we saw that last night. what we should note is that tea party supporters in new hampshire tend to be fiscal supporters. tea party supporters out in iowa and perhaps down in south carolina, will also tend to embrace more of these social conservative views. >> so the tea party in south carolina may not be the same as the tea party in new hampshire. i was talking to christine romans about it a little earlier this morning. it's almost like, if this is a family, they're fourth cousins. >> they're fourth cousins, but they're still family, remember. and the hope is, if you are a republican, that at some point the family will come together because they have one enemy, barack obama. >> but will newt gingrich be able to chip away at what we saw happen in new hampshire down in south carolina? he's been pushing some mean old ads down there. >> not only newt gingrich but we saw rick perry on piers morgan say he plans to go at mitt romney. rick santorum plans to go at mitt romney. it's going to be ugly the next few weeks. >> what do his numbers in south carolina look like? >> mitt romney is going to do well. mitt romney got two big endorsements the past two weeks, john mccain who won south carolina in 2008, and nikki haley, the governor of south carolina. the question is can he hold on to the evangelical vote down there. >> thanks for joining us. i think you're going to stick around. >> absolutely. >> we'll have you all morning. thank you. let's bring in the political panel. john, senior political columnist with "newsweek" and the daily beast. will, columnist with the blaze. and democratic strategist hillary rosen. will, i want to begin with you. as we're here with this big win for mitt romney, the question is will this momentum continue into south carolina? so here are some things that are happening. the super pac is beginning a $5 million ad campaign against him this week. we heard that perry said in south carolina, i know the difference between venture capitalism and vulture capitalism. and i want to listen in here. piers morgan asked rick perry last night if any candidate could seriously beat mitt romney. here's what he said, and then we'll talk about it. >> one of the reasons is because south carolina is a winner take allstate, and so winning here, i can promise you, wipes out the caucus victory and new hampshire. if mitt's thinking he's got it in the bag, i think he's going to be in for a great surprise in south carolina when he shows up here. >> what do you think? can he keep it going into south carolina? >> all indications are yes. look, he's got momentum and money. there's no indication that mitt romney is going to be tripped up any time soon. that being said, we've performed primaries now in two states. there's a lot to go. all of these guys -- rick perry, rick santorum, jon huntsman -- their future relies on the other opponents get out. they each need each other to get out. there needs to be a solid, unified alternative to mitt romney, but no one's doing that. they all want to be the guy that hangs on until someone else is out. until that happens, no one is r -- mitt romney is running away with it. >> it's instructive to know why the other guys are staying in, which as he saw from the exit polls last night, there's still over a third of the republican primary voters that are not happy with their candidate. of those people who are not happy, you know, half of them actually voted for mitt romney. so there's just no intensity for this candidate, and there's no passion for it clearly among that republican base. so they are still searching. those other guys see those polls, and they say, you know what, it could be me still. >> so, hillary, let's talk about ron paul then. he came second, but he actually won 3% more of the independent vote than romney, and he is the only one to also finish in the top three outside of romney. so what do you think is his end game? a lot of people say that he is not electable. >> well, i'll just say this about ron paul. most people think that last night was his high watermark. the kind of candidate he is appeals mostly to these early primary states. but -- and the romney people clearly are thrilled that ron paul is coming in number two to sort of back stop all these other candidates from getting position. here's my warning to mitt romney, which is be careful what you wish for. ron paul is not going to get out. eventually, these other guys will get out, but ron paul will stay in to the end and needle him for a long time getting his 10%, 11%, 12% in almost every state. >> he has a lot of passionate supporters out there. john, let's go back to mitt romney. and the good news coming here out of the exit polls. the question is will it continue to translate into south carolina? we were just talking about the conservative vote there, that tea party support. do you think they will rally around him? >> well, look, you've got two dynamics. the south carolina electorate is fundamentally different than the new hampshire electorate. here you've got 40% are independents of it's the least relinlius state overall. south carolina, the real key players are the social conservatives. that sort of tea-vangelist overlap between the tea party and the republican party. last night you've got to give mitt romney. this was a solid win. he had impressive margins across the board with evangelicals, tea partiers, et cetera, but south carolina is a tougher sell. that's why newt gingrich, rick santorum, rick perry have all decamped to south carolina. their base is wining in that state. it's going to be a tough sell for mitt romney. last time john mccain won. mitt romney came in fourth in the state. there's room for a center right candidate to win in south carolina. but it's an uphill climb for him. he has to show a continued ability to broaden his base. south carolina will be his toughest test by far. >> so you don't predict a sweep here? >> look, romney's in good shape. they clearly want to go through the january gauntlet and run the table. but remember this is a march ultimately to 1,143 delegates, and this has been a drop in the bucket to date. he's in a very strong position, but anybody who moves forward and says this is done isn't paying attention to how things get done. south carolina traditionally has been a dirty campaign, and it can be tough going. >> thanks for chiming in. thank you very much. you can keep it on cnn for the best political coverage on television at 7:30 eastern. winner mitt romney will be live on "starting point" with soledad o'brien. >> it's ten minutes past 5:00 on the east coast. we like to give you an early start to your day. stories that are just start to go develop but will probably be pretty big tonight. texas is about to start enforcing a law that requires doctors to provide a sonogram to pregnant women before they get an abortion. yesterday a federal appeals court cleared the way by overturning a lower court's decision that had blocked that law. penn state looking for a new quarterback coach today after jay paterno handed in his resignation. his father, the legendary joe paterno, was fired in the fallout from the jerry sandusky child sex abuse scandal. you can crack that ice. coast guard arctic icebreaker and a tampger hauling 1.3 million gallons of fuel should be getting through the final 100 miles of ice to reach nome, alaska, sometime today. the city is running pretty low on fuel supplies because it's been iced in since last november. don't complain about the weather, folks. >> no kidding. and power to the people. the people's choice awards are happening tonight. one of the fan faves, katy perry, with seven nominations, announced she's not going to be there. the ceremony was perry's first public outing since her breakup with russell was announced. >> jacqui jeras is in the house. >> it's going to be a bad hair day anyway. >> is it really? >> if you live in the east anyway. there's a lot of moisture, a lot of fog. give it another day because we're going to dry things out and cool things off quite a bit. >> like nome, alaska cool? >> not quite that cold, but it's going to be darn close across parts of the upper midwest. we'll show you the big stories we're watching today. it's really two systems we're going to be dealing with. in the southeast, a big rain maker here and a very strong arctic cold front. a true arctic cold front is going to be making its way through. you're not going to believe the difference in the temperatures we're going to be looking at ahead in the coming days. if you take a look at the radar picture, showers, embedded thunderstorms. very wet go around nashville, pushing up toward indianapolis as well as the cincinnati area. and winds coming in with that cold air that could be gusting up to 50 miles per hour causing delays in places like minneapolis and down towards des moines. look at the temperatures. it still isn't too brutal just yet. we're looking at 30s in the upper midwest. highs today staying in the 30s, which means the temperatures are changing a lot until they start dropping in the afternoon highs. tomorrow we'll be back in the teens, ladies. that cold air is on the way. one more day for us here in the east. >> thank you. it is 30 minutes past the hour. time to check the stories making news. mitt romney solidifying his lead in the gop race with a big victory in new hampshire. texas congressman ron paul finished in second, but they said they are now nipping at his heels. and rick santorjon huntsman puty face on his showing. a nuclear scientist killed in a terror blast. iran is now blaming israel for this and saying it's a car bomb attack. officials say the attack is similar to other ones in recent years that have targeted iranian scientists. and they are back. occupy wall street protesters returned to their original camp at new york city's zuccotti park. hundreds of people filled that park last night after police barricades were removed. don't know if you heard this one, but we've got a couple of good stories coming up. this one is outrageous really in mississippi. the governor, on his final day in office, the parting gift was pardons and lots of them, and not to just run of the mill convicts. we're talking convicted murderers, ruthless murderers. cnn's ed lavandera is on that story, and he's going to let you know not only what these folks did but now what they're going to be allowed to do now that they're out. and natalie wood's death investigation was reopened. it's about to get a new ruling. cnn is talking with the sheriff's office. we're going to try to find out the details of that. did they find out anything new? you're watching "early start." 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[ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. will be back. good morning to you, new york. right now it's 37 degrees. later, sunny and 44 headed your way. >> that ain't bad for january. >> it's great for january. i believe the temperatures are going to be plummeting soon. we'll pay for it. >> we always do. 17 feet of snow last season at my backyard. we had no snow right up till christmas, and, bam, that was it. 18 minutes past 5:00 on the east coast. 18 minutes past 2:00 a.m. on the east coast. early reads. this is a great time we get to pick out local papers and grab headlines where we're making national news. we want to get you up to speed on something going on in anchorage, alaska, as well as l.a. let's start with alaska. the christian science monitor in alaska has fabulous reporting out of cordova. look at these pictures. you think you've got problem? try 17 feet of excess snow. how about this? 24 days of snowfall. 24 days straight. they are shoveling like mad men and like mad national guardsmen because they needed the help. here's the weirdest part. are you ready? it's not just that they are running out of shovels and having a tough time buying shovels, the shovels are breaking. people are using shovels, and the snow is so heavy that their shovels are breaking. when they go to their local store to try to get a shovel, there aren't any left. >> wow. you know buying a snow blower probably would have no effect when it's that deep. however, when people are shoveling, heart attacks go up. you have to be careful. >> be very, very careful. it's a remarkable story. roofs are collapsing in because it's so heavy. think about it next time you complain about the weather. >> about our snow? >> yeah. this comes to us from "the los angeles times." the reports that the l.a. county sheriff's department has uncovered no new evidence in the case of natalie wood that would suggest her death was anything but an accident. chief of detectives is quoted as saying the actress' demise was an accident. here's the deal. careen winter checked with the sheriff's office, and they told us the investigation is actually not closed yet. it is still open. there is a potential for new information that is headed our way. we're going to check in with her in about 20 minutes, and she's going to tell us why they're not closing the investigation. >> is it weird they haven't talked to robert wagner yet? considering all the news that's been made in the case lately was about things that robert wagner said or allegedly didn't say. >> but they talked to the captain of the boat. >> he's always talking. that guy's had a different story every day. but it's really his information that got them wound up. >> started them back up again. >> it's a real csi in any case. and there's this other crime making headlines, you probably heard of it. joran van der sloot. you probably heard of him. if you didn't, here's the primer. he's involved in a murder trial in peru that's actually getting back under way today. it was put on hold last week because he was charged with killing 21-year-old stephanie flores, a local who lived down there. that happened in a lima hotel room back in 2010. so the reason things were suspended was because he needs to decide whether he's going to plead guilty or a certain kind of guilty or whether he's going to go straight through to trial and really risk a very long sentence in a peruvian prison, which i'm sure you can understand is not that pleasant. why does he name sound familiar to you? because he's also the prime suspect in natalee holloway's unsolved disappearance that goes back to 2005. he was arrested twice, never formally charged in that case. but cole thompson, the co-author of "portrait of a monster" knows all about both cases. not only are you the author of that story, but you're my former colleague from court tv. i remember living this story with you, cole. nice to see you. how are you? >> good. congratulations on the show. you went from natalie wood to natalee holloway. >> listen, it's great you came in. you're a great definitive source on this story. you spent a bunch of time in peru, didn't you? >> yes, i did. >> give me the rundown here. he's in a very uncomfortable circumstance in the peruvian prison where he is. why is there this issue between pleading to a certain kind of murder? what's the hold-up? >> well, basically, they're charging him with the equivalent, i guess, of second degree murder here. the family wanted him charged with first degree murder, premeditated murder, where he would have served a life sentence in prison. he's trying to cop his own plea, work out his own plea deal, in which case he would basically plead guilty to manslaughter. he doesn't want to plead to any of the aggravating circumstances though he's willing to admit to the murder. >> aggravating. wait, stop there. you got the case file, i think i heard at one point. you actually got what the police -- >> i do. when you look at the three judges sitting at the bench, they all have a binder in front of them, and we were leaked the same binder they have in front of them. >> all the details? >> all the details. we have a pretty good idea who all the witnesses are, what they're going to say. >> is it true when i heard that this murder was not just your garden variety murder. this was horrifically violent. this woman suffered immensely and was left for dead and struggled. it was extraordinarily painful. you want aggravators, you got your aggravators, if that's true. >> oh, yeah. it was brutal. the lead detective took us into a room and kind of pantomimed what he thought happened to stephanie. they sat on the bed. he elbows her right in the nose. they struggle. some punches are exchanged. he told the police that she was a very strong girl. he grabs her by the throat, throttles the back of her head against the wall. they believe he's torturing her for her p.i.n. numbers to her credit cards at that point. she drops down to the floor. he believes she's dead. the police believe he jumped into the shower, cleaned up, walked back into the room, and heard she was still making noises. he might have even gone on a coffee run while she was still alive on the floor. at that point, he smothers her with a shirt that he's seen on surveillance tape walking into the hotel room with. >> if that's not bad enough -- and it is -- her dad -- we have a quick picture. we have a quick picture of ricardo flores, her dad. he is a hero. he's a race car driver in that country, and he is beloved in p peru, and so you can bet your bottom dollar that country is none too thrilled having joran van der sloot. >> thanks for coming in with that info. appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. i'll come back again sometime. it's 25 minutes past the hour. still to come, convicted murderers now free. they're back on the streets. they could be among you at some point. the fallout continues over the former mississippi governor there and all these pardons that he granted. it's not the first time either that he's been involved in controversial pardons. we're going to take a look at his record and what freedom means for these convicted murderers. you're watching at "early start." hey guys, breakfast! ♪ [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first on the side. from honey nut cheerios to cinnamon toast crunch to lucky charms, get more whole grain than any other ingredient... without question. just look for the white check. it's 29 minutes past 5:00 in the east. 29 minutes past 2:00 in l.a. hello. i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. welcome back to "early start." this one is mind boggling. mississippi governor haley barbour is under fire. he issued more than 200 pardons. we're learning about who has been pardoned, including relatives of famous people. these are convicted murderers, folks. if overnight you heard the rattling of your 401(k), hey, things are looking pretty good. we're only a week and a bit into january, but the dow has climbed to its highest level since july. what a difference just new year's eve can make. >> it's so nice to be able to share some good news, right? >> i'm not used to saying it. i'm just not used to saying it after a year of doom and gloom. >> let's hope we do get used to it. that would be great. >> don't forget, reallocate. go in and take a look at what you got. christine is good at that. we'll talk to her in a while. it's 5:30 on the nose. these are the top stories making news this morning. the republican candidates moving on to south carolina. all of them. none of them dropped out. this after the nation's first primary in new hampshire. if you were sleeping, it was mitt romney, folks, walking away with the big one. ron paul coming in second. and a very respectable third going to jon huntsman, who is accentuating the positive of the third place finish. >> here we sit tonight, ladies and gentlemen, with a ticket to ride and to move on. here we go to south carolina. thank you all so very much. thank you. the u.s. is confirming its first drone strike in pakistan since november. that is when an attack mistakenly killed two dozen pakistani soldiers near the afghan border. officials say the latest missile strike killed at least four suspected militants in the north waziristan border region. and the revolving door seemingly continues at fannie mae. ceo mike williams is stepping down after a little more than two years of running the mortgage-backed giant. he was tapped to run fannie mae back in 2009 just after it was placed into a federal conservatorsh conservatorship. and there is outrage this morning in mississippi and right across the country. >> it's incredible. >> it really is and a bit mind boggling. the outgoing governor, haley barbour, famous, everybody knows him. he's a respectable politician. he's been around a very long time, and he did something very strange to some. pardoning nearly 200 criminals, and not just any -- rapists, killers. in fact, 14 convicted murderers. >> and some of whom were working at trustees at the governor's mansion. get this. this is not the first time barbour is involved in controversial pardons. taking a closer look at his record and what freedoms these pardons actually give the criminals. this is mind boggling. ed lavandera is live in dallas. ed, you know, we started the conversation yesterday. we want to continue it today because we are really just shocked at this. i just want to mention this one incident. one of these men actually killing his wife back in 1993 as she held a baby in her arms. how does the governor explain these pardons? >> reporter: well, frankly, he hasn't, and we've tried december bratly over the last 36 hours to try to get a response from the former governor haley barbour. we've reached out to his spokesperson. they've made no comment. he was at the swearing in ceremony for mississippi's new governor yesterday. he was asked by reporters yesterday and blew off those questions as well. there's simply been no explanation at that point to explain his decision process in pardoning so many people. >> you know, a lot of times we listen to these pardons that happen at the 11th hour, and we understand that perhaps there's some rehabilitation involved. most of these folks actually worked at the governor's mansion. was this part of some program? is there some sort of an explanation that way? >> reporter: well, some of the murderers you're referring to that were pardoned -- and these are full and unconditional pardons. this will not be on their record. they can go back as if nothing had happened. some of these inmates were working at trustees, and these are inmates -- this happens across the country. trustees are these inmates that get good behavior, are essentially trusted by the prison guards, and they're allowed to have jobs or duties that are much -- gives it much more flexibility to compare it to other inmates. some of these trustees, or some of these inmates did work as trustees around the governor's man mansion. quite frankly, there's almost 200 in all. 14 murderers. another 16 or so that were convict of homicide or manslaughter. the range of punishment and the range of crimes that were committed by these inmates runs the gamut. there is everything on this list. it's eight pages long. >> if he's not talking, what about the program? if haley barbour's not going to talk about this, can people talk about the program being changed? >> reporter: i've been watching a lot of talk in mississippi, a lot of blogs and that sort of thing, people debating this. there's already talk of trying to change this. you see this talk a lot after there's some sort of controversial pardon. this isn't the first time when an outgoing governor or politician has made these kind of remarkable, last-minute pardons that have shocked a lot of people. and this whole pardon process and these pardon privileges really haven't changed all that much. we'll see how it goes from here. >> this one is totally mind boggling. ed lavandera, thanks so much for joining us. we appreciate it. we're actually going to talk to somebody a little bit later who lives in that state and who is also as outraged about this. they have a big domestic violence issue in that state. >> and soledad o'brien is going to talk the to victims of these killers. these killers walk among us, and they'll be at your ballot boxes too. >> that is just outrageous, unbelievable. >> we'll switch gears to something that will make you feel better. the dow closed at its highest level since july. this happened yesterday. the dow gained .5% yesterday. the nasdaq was up about 1%. s&p 500 up about .9%. >> that will make you feel great as long as you don't sell short, like a lot of people were doing. >> as long as you're in the stock market and didn't run away scared when the u.s. was downgraded. >> there's a lot of money in people's mattress. >> i keep saying, if you blinked, you missed it. suddenly, we're back at our highest level since july. frankly, we had a rough summer and a rough early fall because there were big concerns about the u.s. and the credit rating of the united states. remember our own sterling credit rating was downgraded. suddenly the dow is up 9% -- 7% rather for the past year. there's the chart. you can see it's been a slow climb up, but it has been a climb up. now the dow over the past year, highest since july. financial stocks did very well, you guys. bank of america, that stock was one of the biggest financial gainers yesterday, up 6%. it might be in your 401(k). a lot of the financial stocks doing better because there was an assessment from fitch that europe is on the right path. how many times have you heard me say that europe is really important for us >> now you're freaking me out. europe is on the right path seriously? >> optimism? is there optimism here? >> i would say that what has been the hallmark of the stock market since the u.s. debt downgrade is it's three steps forward and two steps back. that's been the way it is with the u.s. economy. you look at jobs, front page of "usa today" big analysis, probably stuck in 8% unemployment range for this year. this is going to be a very political number. even when you look at, for example, new hampshire, unemployment rate 5.2%. going down to south carolina, unemployment rate 9.9%. even though there's steady gains in the job market, it's going to be micro again. it's going to be talking about battleground states and how many jobs they're short from when the president took office. >> my brother is this investing tycoon, and he said to me, here's the deal, ash. you've got to lay off the european stocks, european financials. focus perhaps maybe on the american financials, and then go big in asia. >> i think i need to have your brother as one of my sources. >> nope, he's mine. but that's not too crazy, right? >> we're watching asia carefully because china, there was a manufacturing number yesterday that showed that china's factory powerhouse is slowing a little bit. there's worries about china hitting a rough patch too. they've been gang buster growth in asia. can they make it forever? slow, three steps forward, two steps back is going to be the theme for the stock market. job market also 8% unemployment rate range, and we'll talk about battleground states, and their unemployment rate is going to dominate the headlines. >> that keeps you busy. so a story you've been following for 30 years, natalie wood. talk about a cold case. it is black and white cold. but now there's some weird reporting on the fact it may be closing again, or is it? we're not sure about this one yet. you're going to get some clearing up in just a moment. you're watching "early start." e and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. ♪ ♪ ♪ one too many... 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[ male announcer ] get the venture card at capitalone.com and earn double miles on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? cover for me. i have an audition. bee buenos diaz, miami. it is 70 degrees there right now. they have chances of storms. they're heading up to 82. >> i would still take it. storms or no storms, that's my winter vacation place, i tell you. >> so beautiful. >> hello, miami. >> sometimes a little muggy, but nice shot. >> it's a lovely shot, and it's still dark there because it's only 5:41 eastern time, which means it's 3, 2 -- forget it. i can't do math at this hour. 2:41 in l.a. let's take you to l.a. big story. the natalie wood case being he invigorated by reporting a few months ago. new details. now we're hearing strange reporting in "the l.a. times" that detectives have found no evidence of foul play in her death. we're going to tell you why that may not be the definitive word in just a few moments. >> remember wood drowned back in 1981. the actress was on a boat with her husband actor robert wagner and actor christopher walken. she somehow fell off a boat. now investigators are trying to figure out how that happened. cnn's carin winter is live in los angeles. she's been talking to the sheriff's office saying the investigation is not over yet. they say it's open. people think it's closed. what's going on? >> reporter: absolutely. i can tell you because cnn has independently confirmed this, that the los angeles county sheriff's department is not closing the books on this case. steve whit more with the l.a. county sheriff's department told me last night, as of right now, this is still an open investigation despite the story in "the l.a. times," which whitmore said is not completely accurate. that new report that investigators have found no new evidence and have ruled out foul play in natalie wood's death. just to be clear, wood's death is still considered accidental at this point, but whitmore says it's possible investigators could still find new information that would change that conclusion. he said there are leads they're still following up on, interviews that are, in fact, taking place as we speak. new information that basically they have to sift through and close out before they say for sure whether this actress' death was a result of foul play or not. the problem here -- and you can understand with a case like this that's several decades old, they're keeping a lot of things close to the vest. they're not offering a play by play of the direction this case has taken since the time it reopened. so there's a lot of speculation that wood's death, the mystery behind it, will ever be solved. >> do we know who they're talking to? like robert wagner? >> reporter: that's a good question. i asked whitmore point blank, and he answered. they're keeping to mum about everything. i said, have you interviewed robert again? he said, no, we haven't. remember, kareen, when we opened this case back in november, we said at that time he was not a suspect. they interviewed him years ago. basically, they have all the information they need from him, so there's no point to interview him again. so, no, they have not interviewed him. >> i don't get that because the new information that came from the boat captain was that robert wagner did say something different. so it did change it. >> reporter: you know, i couldn't agree more, and that boat captain, dennis, came forward and said robert wagner basically told me to shut up and keep mum. he alluded to a coverup. why wouldn't they interview him? we asked investigators in november why not? they wouldn't elaborate. they said, no, we haven't spoken to him. there's no noo eed to. that's where things stand. >> thanks for clearing this up. that's an early start for her. it's 2:45 in the morning for kareen wynter. we appreciate it. don't you just hate it when a pipe comes flying through your window and you nearly die? >> oh, wow. >> folks, you're going to find out where this happened, when it happened, why it happened, and why it's not a horrible story. the man in the car survived to tell the tale. >> start counting your blessings, right? it's got tender white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. 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 proveven 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. welcome back to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin along with ashleigh banfield. time to check stories making headlines. the republican presidential race heading south after new hampshire. the first republican primary was no contest with mitt romney winning big and ron paul finishing a distant second. but he told supporters it is clear his message is being heard. >> it's no longer that an irate tireless minority that is stirring up the troops. now that irate minority, and so tireless as you have been, is growing by leaps and bounds. it's going to continue to grow by leaps and bounds. and we will restore freedom to this country. in another country, joran van der sloot returns to court in peru today facing a murder charge there because he's accused of killing stephanie flores in a lima hotel room back in 2010. he's expected to enter some kind of plea -- guilty, not guilty, sort of guilty -- after taking some time to reflect on his decision. and iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad continues his whirl wind tour of latin america today. he will be in cuba to meet with president raul castro. ahmadinejad has already visited venezuela and nicaragua. >> say it again. >> his final stop will be ecuador. that's for you. >> i love it. can't get enough of that. this is one of those for the record books -- and if you're the guy who went through it, it's something to tell your grandchildren. california. the guy is driving along, i don't know, 65 miles an hour. >> come to the tv. look at that. >> yikes. make sure you come out of the bathroom right now and take a look at your tv, like zoraida said. the pipe that you are seeing in that windshield is like a 4 foot metal pipe. it came flying through his windshield as he was driving on the freeway, stopping just inches from his face. see the steering wheel? it stopped the pipe and saved his life. this near death accident left him just a little shaken. >> i was in shock at first. all i could stare at after my car stopped was the bottom of the pipe. >> okay. i'm hearing like a buzz saw in the background. i'm guessing maybe they were trying to remove the pipe. who knows? he's a lucky man. the california highway patrol says it's probable there was a truck driving in front of his car, and the pipe somehow ended up flying off the truck and into the windshield. that's a lucky man, folks. >> minor injuries, right? he looked really good and not very rattled. >> i would say stress. buy a lottery ticket, my friend. >> indeed. 51 minutes past the hour here. what's trending? tim tebow. he has a twitter record now. those 80 yards, a very big deal on twitter. you're watching "early start." when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. 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[ female announcer ] only from aveeno. will be giving away passafree copies i found a moisturizer for life. of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. folks, we are keeping you in the loop with pop culture by taking a look at what's trending on the web and associate media. we begin with the one and only -- >> tebow. >> tim tebow. there he is praying, love this guy. so let's see. twitter says there were 9,420 tweets per second about tebow's 80-yard game-winning touchdown pass on sunday night. it's the most for any sporting event ever. it beat out the women's world cup final between the u.s. and japan. you know what else it beat out? beyonce's pregnancy announcement during the mtv video music awards. but number one, this one really shocked me -- please e-mail me. come to facebook, twitter, whatever, if you have ever heard of the japanese movie "castle in the sky" because that got the most tweets. >> it's anime, right? >> that used to be in the number one spot. >> "castle in the sky" who knew? i heard of japanese anime, but i never heard of that one and never knew it rated high on the twitter. >> there she goes. >> i'm so old. >> you know we have a facebook page. >> we do? oh, there's that. >> don't ask. there's something else trending on buzz feed. a certain "daily show" clip. i'm just going to say it right now. jon stewart, up until yesterday, you were my hero, and now i'm devastated that you ripped on us. >> he's still my hero. can we watch? >> no, we cannot watch. oh, there they go. so jon stewart rips on us, calls it waking bad. our wakeup segment. i'll have you know, mr. stewart, you're not the only one who's allowed to have fun on tv. it is 5:00 in the morning. >> i want his phone number. he would not so much fun to call in the morning. if you happen to be watching. first thing i thought, i'm going to wake him up. >> we're going to find a way. >> i cannot believe he did it. he's so mean. it was in fun. the editing was all blah. >> my mom says, if somebody's talking about you, it's always good. it's all good. >> stewart, if you're watching this, it's like superman telling you, you suck. that's what it was like. >> ouch. >> i really do love you, and i was so upset. >> greatest form of flattery. >> it is. you're absolutely right. we've got a couple of things still coming up on the program. what should we call? the blowout? >> the blowout in new hampshire. >> it's a crucial test, though, ahead in south carolina. what will happen with romney there? you're watching "early start." we'll be right back. beth! hi. looking good! you've lost some weight. thanks! you noticed! you know these clothes are too big now, so i'm donating them. not going back there again. good for you! how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. whole grain? whole grain. 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[ male announcer ] it's time to reclaim your garage. the all-new passat. the 2012 motor trend car of the year. ♪ seek your way and go good morning to you. it's one minute to 6:00 a.m. if your alarm didn't go off, that's us. it's "early start," everyone. i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. we're bringing you the news from "a" to "z." let's get started here. mitt romney, if you slept right through it, he smoked bpo. that was new hampshire and south carolina is around the corner. might be different there. new revelation from the family of a florida a&m student who was hazed to death. was he targeted because of his sexuality? and in mississippi there is a storm brewing over haley barber, the out-going mississippi governor facing reporters and walking away without an answer to the burning question, why did you pardon so many criminals on your last day in office? and why would you have pardoned killers and rapists? he's got some explaining to do but he is not doing it. want to start with the politics. new hampshire primary, says there right there in the cnn election center. this place was hopping last night. >> what was expected to happen happened and then some, right? >> got it right. and they didn't have to do the marathon, you know, 3:00 a.m. thing because mitt romney wiped it up, folks. he made history. jop front-runner sticking with the front-runner status and making history because he's the first nonincumbent republican to win iowa and new hampshire. is he going to sweep the table. is he going to get south carolina in ten days? that's what a lot of people want to know. 95% of the vote have been counted. 40% to mitt romney. 23% to ron paul. jon huntsman surging attend to a respectable 17%. can't argue with that. >> no, here's the rest of the field. newt gingrich fourth with 10%. rick santorum 9%. rick perry at 1%. romney's speech sounded more like a candidate who had given the fall, perhaps. >> this president wakes up every morning, looks across the america and is proud to announce it could be worse. it could be worse? that is not what it means to be an american, it could be worse. of course not. what defines us as americans is unwavering conviction that we know it must be better and it will be better. >> pretty good for him. cnn political director mark preston joins us now. are you calling this a big win? folks are saying in the 30s, 40 with 90% -- 95% of the precincts reporting. >> if it were not a big win it would appear we're trying to drill the romney candidacy at this point. >> i heard a headline calling the granite statement. >> is fact of the matter is he has been organizing in new hampshire since the day he lost it to john mccain in 2008. they put a lot of money on the ground. i was up there this past week. spent time at the campaign headquarters. it was abuzz. he should have won. he won it 40%. as you said, a lot of people were looking for him to come in the mid 30s. had he done that there would have been some question about his electability going forward. >> a surprise at the end of the night. a lot of us were expecting stop vetting going on and no one dropped out, which i suppose is pretty good news for mitt romney. >> he wants to see this fractioned conservative field. we talked about how the field at this point. newt gingrich, rick santorum, rick perry vying for this social conservative vote and they're going to be going at it in south carolina where evangelicals play a big part in that election. the fact of the matter is they're also going to be going after mitt romney. he has got to be concerned about that. >> we have a at of ads that are airing there that are very anti-mitt romney. one of the surprises was the tea party vote, 40% of that. you say it's different in south carolina, and folks are going to be looking different there at conservativ conservatives. >> let's look at the electorate there as a whole. it's going to be different as alabama and georgia and where we sit right here. the tea party vote, a lot of folks don't realize, but tea party activists align themselves with social conservative issues. however in new hampshire, those folks up there, those tea party folks tend to be more fiscally conservative. so what we had down in south carolina, social conservatives will have a big say. >> i thought it was a big mistake when the numbers were coming in in exit polling, 40% of the tea partiers, took mitt romney. i thought, cnn is going to take egg in the face there. >> not so much. >> thank you forgetting up early. are you going to do this a lot? >> absolutely. >> it's on tape. we got him. let's check in with christine romans who is poring through exit polling data. i know this makes you super happy, the geek in you have very excited. >> christine, if there were a headline to talk about it would be that the exit polls told us some really interesting stuff. >> you know, they really did. you mention that tea party number. 51% of the folks say they support the tea party. 51% of the exit polling didn't. 40% of those who support the tea party supported romney. it's a story. i am a geek about the numbers. the geek about the politics is mark preston so i'm bridging him in, too. the top quality of your candidate. they were asked in iowa, what is the top quality of your candidate, 35% said that they could beat obama. that is more than experience, character, true conservative. when you flip the pictures to show you who won those categories, it is mitt romney who can beat obama, mitt romney who has the experience, and character and true conservative, of course, was ron paul. i want to look quick at other data, too, because we pulled these up for you. this is where i want to bring in mark. the top issue here was the economy. 45% of those who said the top irissue was the economy voted for romney. no surprise here that paul getting number two. >> no surprise because ron paul talking about fiscal discipline, trying to bring order to washington, d.c. we have a lot of libertarians to support ron paul and want to see less government. >> look at this one. deficit, romney one that one and paul number two on that one, 34% and 33%. the same kind of story there for the deficit and economy overall. you look santorum took the social issue here. >> absolutely because that is his mainstay and that's where all of his support is going to come and that's why it's going to be important when they head down to south carolina because -- >> health care was overall didn't even rate. health care is the think, we're going to repeal the president's health care. in iowa and here, it was jobs, deficit, it's other social issues, not necessarily health care and health care reform. what does this mean when we go down to south carolina, if the economy is so important, the unemployment rate is 9.9%. it's only 5.2% in new hampshire. >> yeah. and it means the economy is going to be the major issue as it always is. south carolina the social conservative issues are going to play because we're talking about a republican primary and these are issues that people think that are important. it's always been about the economy and it's always going to be about the economy for the next seven, eight months as we head into november. >> that means he will geek out on politics and i'll geek out in numbers and we'll see you again and again and again. >> the dynamic duo. the geek squad, i love it. guys, you're great. thank you for that. six remaining republican candidates all vowing to press on in south carolina. that's ten days away, that primary. mitt romney is looking strong right now with a double digit lead in those polls. amazing. john avalon cnn contributor, senior political columnist, writing very, very late at night last night. will cane is cnn contributor and columnist with "the blaze" and cnn contributor, hillary rosen getting up to do very early work with us. hello, you three. let's start with mitt romney because he was looking very presidenti presidential. john, you wrote that he is definitely ready for prime time. i wanted to pull an example of what you wrote. part of his speech last night which was pretty strong. let's have a listen to it and talk on the other side. >> president obama wants to put free enterprise on trial. in the last few days we've seen desperate republicans join forces with him. this is such a mistake for our party and for our nation. the country has a leader to divide this and pobitter politi of envy. >> i love that line. it made me wonder, john, whether all of these efforts to rip apart, you know, his existence at bain and tear down his market capitalism was a big fat backfire. >> i think it was. what those attacks have done, at least within the republican primary electorate, have made conservative activists rally around mitt romney as the last defender of free market capitalism. it's had a ironic and completely unintended result. that speech he gave last night was a general election speech. sharp contrast with president obama. but what you saw there also was that swipe, that one-direct swipe at newt gingrich for unleashing these ads. you're going to see that continue, essentially saying why is newt gingrich's pact doing the work of the obama administration. some could end up backfiring if he goes too hard against the president but it's clear that mitt romney has been strengthened in the mind of many conservative activists because of his experience with bain which has come under attack from his rivals. >> it makes me wonder if gingrich or the pacts is going to tweak some of the message down in south carolina. since we're talking about south carolina. will, let me jump to you. and hilary, to you. but now i want will to talk about the conservative alternative because i think everybody is waiting to find out who that person is going to be. and to that note, we decided to pull some old numbers from 2008 because if anybody is as geeky as christine and mark they might remember that that very ultra conservative vote was split between huckabee and thompson. and that was what some say propelled john mccain. to win that state. if that's the case, we have santorum and gingrich splitting a lot of that vote down in south carolina. that's a good thing for romney right now, but which one -- and i'm asking you to read tea leaves, obviously. which one is more likely to pull off that big upset and get that moniker of being the conservative alternative? >> you know what, ashleigh, i can't read those tea leaves and they can't read them themselves. they have no agreement among themselves. yesterday i sat down with the group of tea party activists. this is kind of funny. i asked them each who they support. two for san santorum. two for ron paul. they're mere opposites of each other. there is no common thread that connects the two men. in fact, there's very little common thread between bachmann, perry, cane, gingrich, and now santorum. why is perry moving among this different group? i think it's all about style. the only thing that unites them is their passionate opposition to obama and to some extent romney. that's why romney's speech was so good. he was able to put out and connect on an emotional level. that is going to be one of the first times to connect with the tea party. you've got the stats there. 40% of tea partiers voted for romney here. that means people are being quiet and, in the end, kind of shuffling over and supporting the romney. >> i did the double take on it. hilary rosen, something that our jessica gyellin at the white house getting her finger on the pulse of the democrats watching new hampshire. she said her sources were saying they were having a laser focus on the enthusiasm, the turnout, and james car vel last night went off on how it wasn't as enthusiastic as it should have been. is this going to be a problem? is this something the democrats are going to seize on and have fun with? >> i don't think it's a political message for democrats. i think it's an actual operation liability for republicans. given how much passion there has been in the big picture rhetoric of the republican party about getting rid of president obama you've now seen in iowa and new hampshire not much of an uptick in terms of turnout. we saw in the exit polls again, significant dissatisfaction with their presidential choices. i think from a democratic perspective, look, we're going to have our own engagement and enthusiasm problems, there's no question about that because you always do in a re-elect. >> i was wondering about that. >> i don't think the republicans right now are showing, you know, the kind of position you expect when the desired to topple someone is so great. >> it made me wonder if the dems were licking their chops. you're right. it can happen to both sides, too. >> we are thinking to lick our chops about is, you know, democrats are actually pretty excited about running against mitt romney. i think that -- >> oh, no, they're not! i'm going to take issue with you. >> i'm thinking the same thing, ashleigh. >> all i'm hearing the democrats railing on that guy, they don't like him and they want somebody else who is quacky to be their competitor. i do have to leave it there. >> he's got a lot of flaws there and i think we're ready for him. >> all right. john avalon, will cain, hilary rosen, why don't we just meet later and talk all day about it, the three of us, the four of us. thanks, guys. in fact, if you're as into this as the rest of us you can keep it here on cnn all morning for the best political coverage on television. at 7:30 eastern mitt romney is going to be live right here on "starting point" with soledad o'brien. that's serious exclusive stuff. all right. it is 6:13 in the east. time to check our weather. jacqui jeras is here with the travel forecast. i got on the elevator and the security guard said enjoy today, we're in atlanta, because tomorrow it's going to be really cold here. >> as you head toward the weekend, it's worse. your hometown, chicago, for example, hasn't hardly had any snow at all this season. it's acoming. >> it's coming. >> get ready for it. two big stories today in the weather department. one of which is our storm across the southeast bringing in the soggy conditions. and then that blast of cold air. these are the two areas that we're talking about right here. first one means really a big problem with travel. places like philadelphia, washington, d.c., down towards charlotte into atlanta, that's where you're going to see is showers. even, yes, embedded thunderstorms. then our cold front in the upper midwest. this is bringing in true arctic air for the a change and temperatures in the teens for highs by tomorrow in the upper midwest. showers in atlanta. heavier right now into the nashville area. that's pushing up into indianapolis. our storm is going to ride up the coast so it's going to be greeting you into the northeast by tomorrow. it's going to phase up with that cold air and turn into one big storm and that rain is going to move out, the snow is going to move in. big changes ahead all across the eastern u.s. >> thank you. 15 minutes past 6:00 on the east coast and quarter past 3:00 on the west coast. so here are your top story it is you're just about to head out the door. big win in new hampshire, but can mitt keep that freight train going as he heads to south carolina? eve every gop nominee has become the eventual nominee has won that state went since it went back to the '80s. ron paul finished well last night, second place. jon huntsman, third. a prominent nuclear scientists in tehran. government officials say the attack is similar to these that have targeted iranian scientists in recent years. all right. so still to come on "early start," new developments in the case of the florida band member allegedly beaten to death in a hazing incident there. the parents are revealing that he is gay. did that have anything to do with it? sports writer joining us to talk about what it's like to be gay in a fraternity-type atmosphere. and he talked to the parents as well. he's going to weigh in on that. and in mississippi, if you're just waking up, your headlines are probably reading that your governor who just left office pardoned a whole lot of bad people. he handed out 200 some pardons to convicted criminals and they're not just petty, folks. killer, rapists, they're nasty. we're going to look at some of them and the connections that may have helped them to go free and walk amongst you and me. you're watching "early start." 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[ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. can you enjoy vegetables with sauce [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. life with crohn's disease is a daily game of "what ifs". what if my stomach pain and cramps come back? what if the plane gets delayed? what if i can't hide my symptoms? what if this takes too long? what if? but what if the most important question is the one you're not asking? what if the underlying cause of your crohn's symptoms is damaging inflammation? for help getting the answers you need visit knowcrohns.com/tv and use the interactive discussion guide to speak with your gastroenterologist. hello, dallas, texas. good morning. it is about 41 degrees, but later on today you're going to warm right up to 66 and be sunny. oh, my dear old homey, i miss you. i was there for 4 1/2 years. >> you do a great southern accent. >> if i need to, i can pore it on the i need to. but that was the view from my apartment while i was in dallas, texas. >> really if nice view. >> it was every night. lovely. >> 20 minutes past the hour here. and we're getting an early read on your local news that's making national headlines. this morning we have papers from charlotte, north carolina, and new york. we're going to begin in charlotte. >> "shar lol obsercharlotte obs are considering moving the democratic national convention in charlotte to the bank of america stadium. why? because it can sell more sky boxes to wealthy supporters. there are 74,000 seats. there's also a little bit of room to sell more passes. democratic planners are reportedly struggling to come up with ways to meet the fund-raising goal of $36.6 million. remember when bank of america wanted to raise those fees and they ended up not doing it but folks said, we don't know if we want to choose this location or not. >> this is the way to raise the fees. okay, i know that you probably followed a lot of the headlines from occupy waul streeters and mayor bloomberg said, no, you didn't, you can't be there and barricaded the place all up. look at the picture there. thank you "daily news." in new york, the barricades are down and the folks are coming on back. about 300 of them already have flooded back into the park. i don't know if it will be the same story it was before when they were all camped out, ating fabulous food and all the rest because there are strict rules that remain. no sleeping bags, no tents, no naughty behavior. we'll see how that plays out. >> see how that works. 21 minutes past the hour here. the parents of that college band player hofs allegedly beaten to death in a hazing related incident making a big revelation now about their son's life. robert champion. his family says he was gay. but they also said that it did not define him and they're not sure he was beaten more because of his sexuality. >> you know, my husband, i never concerted that. my thing is, never consider that at all. never crossed my mind. >> this was a surprise? >> yes, yes, it was. >> granderson, senior writer for espn. great to see you this morning good morning. good to see you. >> listen, i want to start with something that we said in the tease because i don't know if it's true or not so i just wanted to get your perspective here. we said that you had some experience here being a gay man in a fraternity. how that potential by effects the hazing. do you have any experience with that? >> actually, i am a gay man. i have experience with that. but i have not been in a fraternity. you know, i was approached as most students are but i declined to be a part of the group. i can tell you by my years of educational reporter on several campuses as well as my reporting yesterday is that this is a culture that we're talking about here and i'm confused as to why the parents would choose to talk about their son's sexual orientation in this case and then not go as far as to say it was a hate crime. you know, no one's been arrested. no one's lost their job. so, you know, my guess is is that they felt that they had to get people's attention because this case was kind of falling between the cracks in their opinions, i think. >> but lz, there is a lawsuit, right, against the bus company now? >> uh-huh. yes. there is a lawsuit because there was a certain amount of responsibility at least in their eyes of the bus company because the students got off the bus but then were allowed to get back on to be involved with this hazing incident that eventually led to champion's passing. so they're asserting that the bus company should have been more responsible, should have been monitoring the bus activities more closely, and that their negligence contributed to their son's passing. >> i would think, lz, a lot of people are saying that really the university here is at fault for allowing the hazing. why haven't we seen a lawsuit against the university yet? >> well, one, florida state law requires that when a public institution is being sued that several more months need to pass from the incident before such a lawsuit can be brought against them. that's the reason why i believe that you haven't seen a lawsuit yet. but, that does not mean that the university doesn't have any more responsibilities. they seem to be especialmbracin notion that it was a hate crime as opposed to a hazing crime. i'm going to play the devil's advocate then and say what are you doing to address hate crime on campus, what type of environment do you have for students so they feel safe? do all the students and faculty understand that the school is supportive of gobt students? and if not, then you're still morally if not legally responsible to make sure that you do something about it. you know, when you drop the hate crime law into the conversation, you get the department of justice involved. and i talked to hicks yesterday at the national black justice coalition and she is heated and she's let me know and the white house know that she wants to full investigation gauze if there is a chance this was a hate crime then the university needs to be held to task on this. >> i hear you, lz,and i'm not discounting the possibility that this is a hate crime but hazing is a really big problem with black universities and kol ledges across the country. what are they doing to address that and perhaps in tandem with the hate crime? >> that's a really interesting question because you know how we saw a lot of cover-up, if you will, with the penn state allegations and how so many people knew so much and said so little? that's what you're seeing historically with hbcus and i believe that's what you're seeing now with florida a&m. again, i ask the question, how do you have this happen in front of so many witnesses? this isn't like biggie and tu c tupac. this isn't casey anthony, this is a bunch of witnesses that saw what happened. no one's been arrested. why is that? how come the opportunity president is not on administrative leave yet, why does the board defend him? seems to be a lot going on to protect and isolated incident and not address the hazing that's been going on on these campuses, as you said, for decades. >> well, lz granderson, it's really nice to see you this morning. thanks for shareholdering light on this and for keeping robert champion's name out there. we appreciate it. >> thank you. it is a 30-year-old case. talk about cold. gnnatalie wood, the death of th beautiful actress and her husband on the right at one point under suspicion, never though arrested in the case. and now we're hearing this case may be closed again after just having opened up. so what is happening? is it open, is it closed, are they finding anything new? you'll find out. you're watching "early start." ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] when you're responsible for this much of the team... you need a car you can count on. ♪[music plays] i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there. i want to fix up old houses. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. i want to fall in love again. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. hello, everybody. it is 6:30 on the east coast. 3:30 on the west coast. i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. on the agenda in the next half hour, mississippi governor haley barbour pardons more than 200 people. some of these are convicted murderers. for now they have a right to carry a gun. they're going to be able to vote. ed lavandera has the latest for us. we've been ripped for waking people up. "the daily show" was all over us so we decided to go big or go home. that's right, jon stewart, you know who we're going to wake up today? not the alabamas but the person who is impersonating both of these obamas, it's ru paul. >> i've never seen this before, ashleigh. >> i love it. it's ru paul dressed as both the president and first lady. we figured since he's ru paul and people have been saying that ron paul has as much a chance of being president as ru paul we thought we would wake up ru paul and ask him about that. turns out he's been doing some campaigning in new hampshire. con netted to all of this, believe it or not. it is time to check the stories that are making news this morning. history in new hampshire. the republican candidates moving on now to south carolina after mitt romney became the first non-incumbent to win both iowa and new hampshire. ron paul for second. ron paul the second, jon huntsman, third. rick santorum who finished in the second tier, he says he is going to keep on fighting. >> we have an opportunity in this race. we have an opportunity to be the true conservative, the true conservative who can go out and do what's necessary, not just to win this race, and we can win that race. >> and that candidate is big on foreign policy. and speaking of such policy, the united states resuming drone attacks in pakistan. the first strike since an attack mistakenly killed two dozen pakistani soldiers near the afghan border just back in november. officials there say the latest missile strike killed at least four suspected militants in north waziristan region. mike williams is leaving. he was appointed to run the mortgage giant in 2009 after the federal government seized the company. says it's time to rand the reins over to someone else. newly released documents reveal the ex-mississippi governor haley barbour pardoned 200 offenders over the coast of the last several years he's been in the office of the governor and they're not just petty criminals, folks. 14 of them convicted of murder. and not just homicides, your run of the mill, serious, aggravated homicides. ed lavendandera is in dallas covering this story for cnn. ed, i get it, i get that governors don't have to answer to pardons and neither do presidents. but isn't the cry pretty darn loud and isn't he going to have to say something to all of his republican brethren? >> you've got to think at some point he has to say something. he was asked by the reporters during the swearing in ceremony for the incoming governor of mispiece he refused to answer questions. we tried repeatedly to get any kind of comment from his spokesperson to no avail. they have completely just refused any kind of comment. you have to think at some point they will -- he will have to say something because this is -- i think the outcry over what has happened here is only going to get louder. >> not only that. he's been in office since about 2004. and if you do the math, 00 p200 pardons, that's a whole lot more than the average governor in mississippi pardons. something like 10 and 20 a year is more the standard, right? >> 222 total during his eight years in office there in the state of mississippi. 199 of those coming in the last week as he was leaving office. and the whole range, everything. murders, rapists, drunk drivers. runs the gamut as to how many different types of people were pardoned or had some sort of conditional release. not all of them are pardons but a small handful of them are a conditional release issues. but the vest majority are pardons. >> unconditional, too, which means they get like all sorts of ryes that you would never expect an ex-con to have, right? >> they can vote which really shocked us and they have the right to carry arms as well. i want to ask you about the fact that they worked in the governor's mansion. what is that program all about? is it a rehabilitation program for the convicted criminals? >> how do they get in? >> well, these inmates were called trustees and this happens across the country. inmates who have essentially garnered good will, have behaved properly during their time while they were incarcerated. so they've earned extra privileges that other inmates don't get. obviously being able to be outdoors and some of these inmates worked on the governor's mansions grounds there in jackson, mississippi. kind of a nice job if you're incarcerated, to be able to be outside. so some of these inmates were working on the governor's mansion detail. >> all right. thank you for joining us. we want to talk now to ronnie mott, the managinged for of the "jackson free press," live from jackson, mississippi. are you there? >> i am. thank you. >> you wrote an editorial slamming the pardons as, quote, danger to mississippians. can you tell us, how folks there are feeling about this? >> well, from what we've heard people are just outraged. the number -- just the numbers alone of the people that governor barbour pardoned over the last weekend, 190 people is just unfathomable, really. what we zoomed in on at the "jackson free press" were the numbers of domestic violence murderers that rehe released. >> you say that perhaps in the future, women are not going to talk about the domestic violence and they're not going to get the services they need and certainly not going to get these folks prosecuted because this is the outcome. >> well, that's right. exactly. statistically, domestic violence perpetrators are really high as far as recidivism is concerned. if we can't send the message to women in mississippi, which has been ranked one of the most dangerous places for women in the nation, if we can't send them a message that they can come forward, talk to officials, be safe, then, you know, we're going backwards here. this doesn't make any sense. >> and has anybody heard from the governor about these pardons? is there any justification behind them? any explanation? >> absolutely not. we've been trying to talk to the governor since 2008 about these pardons, off and on. he has just kept silence over the years. he has not said anything. one would think if he thought this was a good thing he would come out and say something. but he said absolutely nothing. >> all right. ronni mott, thank you for joining us this morning. hopefully you can get some sort of resolution, some answers to the questions. i think the people in mississippi are going to be outraged enough that they're going to make these demands that the weird thing is they just never have to answer for these last-minute actions, these governors. and the president, too. >> but these programs, you know, these programs that exist. i mean, there's -- >> that's going to be on the block. that will be up for reanalysis, shall we say. there's nothing worse than having your hero take a potshot at you. and that's what happened to us. i am such a huge fan of jon stewart but he ripped on us loose night on his show. you know, what jon stewart, i'm digging in, my friend. you're down, my friend. >> she's digging in. >> we are going bigger. that's right. ru paul, waking him up, coming at you. uh-huh. that's all i'm saying. >> and i'm letting you. you're watching "early start." we'll be right back. there are patients who will question, why does my mouth feel dryer than i remember it to be? 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>> i love that. words to live by. >> thank you, mike, for making up early with us and send that to me live just a few moments ago because i was really in a rough way last night after my hero jon stewart -- my absolute hero, i never miss an episode of "the daily show," i was a guest on his show and he was so nice to me when i was there. and then what does he do? >> everyone is fair game on his show. you know this. >> i need thicker skin because this is what, you know, he's airing last night. he's got -- yeah. he's got us on his show. >> i'm sorry. i can't help it. >> he calls our wake-up segment waking bad, which is clever, as are all of he's segments. you know what? if you thought you were going to tear us down, my friend. >> you've got another one. >> you've got another thing coming, jon stuart. because we decided to notch it up. it turns out that honest to goodness gop candidates are not the only ones stumping in new hampshire. there was one really super tall performer eer and reality tv hu paul traveling to the state for an important message for primary voters. take a listen. >> i want you to know that i am not ron paul, i am ru paul and i am not run for president. >> that's right. famous drag queen ru paul says he's been getting mixed up with gop presidential candidate ron paul because they look so much alike. and he wants to set the record straight once and for all. we figured it would probably be a really good opportunity to wake him up and ask him how he's weekend was. >> did we dial him up? >> i just got to ask the control room if they can make sure that the number is right. do not get a wrong number for us, please. have we dialed through to ru paul yet? >> i'm here. >> ru paul. >> yay! >> hello. >> we're very happy to have you this morning. >> top of the morning to you. >> how are you doing? >> i feel fantastic. >> okay. this is hilarious because we showed a picture of you dressed up as president obama and also first lady michelle obama. >> you look great. >> awesome. >> great picture. >> awesome, awesome. what's funny is this thing is getting traction, my friend. this is not just comedy. this is true. even brit hume of fox news channel suggested on his program that ron paul has about as much chance of becoming president as ru paul. had you heard that? >> i just read that this morning. >> i hope you're not offended by it. >> i'm not und anded offended b anything. i think it's always something you need to take up with your therapist. >> so what were you doing in new hampshire? >> well, i wanted to clear up for the american voter who is who. i want the american voter to know i, ru paul, am not running for president. >> and would never consider it? >> oh, politics is -- you know, politics is a lot like show business. it's just that in show business we have much better costumes. >> oh, i'll say. can we play your -- i love your song and see some pictures of you while we're talking to you? >> sure. >> i got to tell you, i have been one jealous young lady of you because you are prettier than most women i know. >> the legs, the arms. >> come on. come on. >> that's true. >> we're also showing some pictures, ru, of your show, "drag race" on logo. highest rated show? >> absolutely. the new season starts up on january 30th on logo at 9:00. i want everybody to watch. >> it's rupaul's drag you? >> "ru paul's drag race." >> i had drag u on here. >> that's another show. we have another show called "drag u." >> we weren't i don't think. that's good. we got really skewered, ru, on "the daily show" last night so we were apprehensive on going on the phone with you. you were suggesting that confusion is a drag, hilarious, and then hade to ask you because it's just, you know, it's time for pun. if you were to run for office, what would be your platform? >> i think i would do probably an espidrill. i love it. they're so classy. >> i knew you were going to say something like that. ru paul, you are great for playing along. thank you so much. and good luck with the season opener of "drag race" on logo. >> >> thanks, kids. >> adorable. so there, jon stuart, it worked just fine. >> 46 minutes past the hour. we have an update on the natalie wood case. you know, they're trying to figure out what's going on here. detectives say they're on the verge of finally closing things out but could be possible new information that could change everything. who are they talk to? we're going to try to found out for you. you are watching "early start." ♪ [ male announcer ] no one just hands you the title, most advanced technology in its class. it needs to be earned. earned with smartbeam head lamps. earned with vented temperature control seats. earned with an 8.4-inch touch screen. and if you're driving one, you know what it means to earn something. ♪ i can go back and do gardening with comfort. [ male announcer ] osteo bi-flex with 5-loxin advanced. shows improvement in joint comfort within 7 days. osteo bi-flex. the #1 doctor and pharmacist recommended brand. welcome back. good morn, nashville. 54 degrees right now. it's not going to get much warmer. it's going to rainy, storms and 57 a little later in the day for you. >> i tell you, what though, you know this, nashville, it is dark. >> great observation, ashleigh. >> nothing gets by me. ms. soledad o'brien is here on what's ahead on "starting point." >> you're in a diner. >> yes, we are on top of it. hey, i'm in a diner today. we moved from breakfast food into my favorite food. right for dessert today. i'm excited about that. ru paulplatformespidrills. i just bought them. >> you are so ru. >> work it. we start in just about ten minutes. we're going to be talking to governor mitt romney live this morning. of course, he is last night's big winner, coasting through new hampshire. but he heads to a pivotal test in south carolina. we're going to talk to him about strategy, tragedy, tragedy. and then murders go free. we're going to talk to a man, randy walker, who was shot in the head by david gatlin who also shot and killed his ex-wife while she was holding her 6-month-old baby in her arms. randy will talk to us about just how devastated he is today about news of david gatlin's pardon. that and much more is ahead this morning as "starting point" gets under way in ten minutes. see you then. f ru minutes to catch your bus if your bus leaves at the the of the hour. this is "early start." we have developments for you in the natalie wood case. >> "l.a. times" is reporting the detectives have found no evidence of foul play in her death but that is not yet the final word. you remember woods in 1981, on a yacht with her husband actor robert wagner, christopher walken was there as well. she shom how fell off that boat. how that happened is what investigators are still trying to figure out. cnn's kareen wynter is live from los angeles. she's been talking with the l.a. county sheriff's department insiders who say new information could actually change everything in this case. do we know what that new information is? >> they're keeping a lot of things, zoraida, close to the vest but our sources are telling us that in no way, shape, or form is this case closed. steve whittemore with the l.a. county sheriff's department told me, in fact, this is still an open investigation, despite the story in the l.a. times which whittemore says got some things wrong. that new report claimed investigators have found no new evidence and basically ruled out foul play in natalie wood's death. investigators are still digging, that's right, still digging, looking into this case and that it's possible that they could come up with new information that could change the decades' old findings that her death was an accident. so there you have it. you know, detectives not done yet. still talking to people. still pursuing leads. we'll have to see where things go from this point. >> when you see pursuing leads they haven't interviewed robert wagner to our knowledge and i'm curious if there are any fore n forensics that are viable enough after 30 years. >> that's really a great question. i mean, it's been such a long time, you know, since this case began. decades ago. that's why investigators say, you know, we're really being meticulous about this. ashleigh, you raised the money question last time we chatted. why not talk to robert wagner again, natalie wood's husband at the time. whittemore says, he's not a suspect, but do you have to be a suspect to be interviewed, especially when you have so many people coming forward giving new information. exactly. absolutely. but they're sticking to their story. they're saying he hasn't been interviewed. doesn't seem like that will change in the future. perhaps if they did interview him that would crack this case wide open. who knows. >> give you some valuable information. >> maybe. i'm just surmising maybe he's not playing ball. you never know. thanks a lot. keep on the story for us. coming up, the big winner last night's new hampshire primary, mitt romney. he will be live on "starting poi point" with soledad o'brien at 7:30. ♪ [ male announcer ] how could a luminous protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong, and the optics industry in germany? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. with investment information, risks, fees and expenses when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we knew it would take time, but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund so independent scientists can study the gulf's wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i'm glad to report all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. we're committed to the gulf for everyone who loves it, and everyone who calls it home. have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. listen, big night if you slept through it, but mitt romney is on the freight train. he made the granite statement. i don't know how many other silly puns i can do. but it was good news for mitt romney. >> very exciting. also, that tea party vote. we're trying to see what's going to happen in south carolina, what happens next, and soledad o'brien is covering that. she's going to talk to mitt romney this morning. >> she's got the interview. she's got mitt romney coming up on her program i think about 7:30. >> look at her beaming. you got it. you snagged the interview, missy. we're so jealous. >> we are tired from last night watching the returns come in. but it was really interesting to be there at all the polling places. we're going to talk to the governor. thank you, ladies. appreciate the handoff. i'll be seeing you back in new york tomorrow because once we wrap up here we head back to new york. welcome, everybody. you're watching "starting point." i'm soledad o'brien. once again we're in chez bouchon. our starting point this morning is, of course, politics and the fight in south carolina. mitt romney breezes through the first primary of 2012 but faces now a pivotal test in the state. he's got the election, money, can he win it all? we're going to talk to governor ro