hostage, jessica buchanan. she's at a hospital in italy. she's going through what's callcal called a reintegration. it requires time. it's to max mime health and welfare. the question is could she be coming home soon. >> wish her well nonetheless. special delivery. can you say hot sauce? >> i woke up to the story and thought, oh, my man, what a delivery. >> politic and tacos, folks. hundreds and hundreds of tacos going to the office of the mayor of east haven, connecticut. i think you know who's behind this, why it happened and what's the reaction to it. we have an amazing video. a snow blower rider fell hundreds of feet. what he did after the crash. >> there were three angles on that. let me tell you. it looks like he's completely busted up or we wouldn't be showing you the video. >> we wouldn't have be showing you the video. >> i like good x games, i tell you. >> a real daredevil. >> let's go to the x games of politics, shall we? it was the gop's final four, and they were pulling out, no stops, kicking it up a notch. going everything from the maximum board to the new colony newt gingrich would like to establish. if you didn't know it, take a look at the backdrop. right here on this network, newt gingrich and mitt romney went at it. you can't tell by the faces but let me tell you. romney was on, going at the jugular vein, grin grich claiming he was anti-immigration. >> i'm not anti-immigrant. my father was born in mexico. my wife's mother was born in wales. don't use a term like that. you can say we disagree on certain policies but to say to welcome here legally, expand legal immigration that i approve that that's how anti-immigrant is the kind of over the top rhetoric that's carried on too long. i'm glad marco rubio called you out on it. i think you should apologize for it, and i think having differences of opinions does not give you the right to charge people with epithets. christine romans is going to join us as well. we're going to begin with paul. good morning to both of you, by the way. i see you waving there, christine. paul, i want to start with paul's picks because there are a slew of them. your favorite moments from last night. so the immigration finger-pointing sparked by the romney radio add was on the list. tell us about it. >> listen. right off the bat i'm going to say romney has had his best debate performance. this was probably the most important because it's coming a few days before the florida primary. you saw him strongly defend himself from the charges of newt give grich that he was the most anti-immigrant candidate of all four remaining republican candidates. you mentioned the radio ad. they really got him. he had a strong defense. this is the radio ad that the romney campaign put up a cup all of days in florida that gingrich at one time called the language of the spanish the language of the ghetto. >> it's one of your ads running here in florida oonld the radio and at the end you say i'm mitt romney and i approve this ad. so it is here. >> let me ask you a question. let me ask the speaker a question. did you say what the ad says or not, i don't know. >> it's taken totally out of context. >> okay. he said it. >> no, i did not say it about spanish. i said it in general about all languages. we're better for children to learn english in general, period. >> quit turn by romney, there, who was put on the spot by wolf blitzer the moderator and turned it around. one out of ten voters in the primary are latinos and hispanics and they're important. i was speaking with a lot of supporter and they were extremely, extremely pleased with his performance. >> yeah, and it's interesting because that's not an immigration issue. it's a language issue, a culture issue. i want to talk about rick santorum. he attacked mitt romney on his health care plan. let's listen, and then you can talk to me about it. >> governor romney was the awe thougher of romney care which is a top run government health care system which i read an article today has 15 different items directly in common with obama care. congressman gingrich for 20 years advocated that the federal government can force each and every person to enter into a private contract. we cannot give the issue of health caraway in this election. it is too foundational for us to win this election. that politico saying he's got game. what do you think? >> i think you're right and i think a lot of people are agreeing, zoraida. to go to mitt romney and he'd agree that that was the right way to go. that's a very dangerous thing for a republican to say. maybe he went on a little too long, a little too strong for health cakacare but he was definitely packing a punch. listen, for rick santorum and ron paul on the sides, you need to yell and scream to be a part of what's turning out to be a two f-person race. i think he did that successfully just a few hours ago. >> thanks for playing with us this morning. of course, one of the big crises is the housing crises. but nowhere has it been hit harder than in florida. here are some stats. 1 out of every 360 homes got a foreclosure notice and nearly half are under water, they're upside down. it's awful to hear that. since the housing prices peaked a few years back the home prices in florida have plummeted. 60% in orlando, more than half in miami and tampa. the republican front-runners have different versions is of how they would cope with that. here's a little bit of what both gingrich and romney said they would do about this. >> i would break each of them up into five or six separate units and over a five-year period i would wean them from all federal sponsor "showbiz flashpoint" because we need to get away from the system. >> the right course for the housing industry is to get people back to work so they can buy homes again. we have 9.9% unemployment. in florida, it's unthinkable. >> all right. so let's get you back to jacksonville where christine romans is standing by. you say it all the time when we're talking on camera, but when you hear the number, it almost feels like what the politicians are saying is just platitudes. i don't know that any politician can come in and fix this anyway. >> that's a really good point. look. the housing market isn't going to get fixed until the job market gets better. all the people we talked to, homeowners, realtors, real doors, professors who studied this thing. and really the interesting thing about this, ashleigh is no one in florida is going to be casting a vote without the baggage of the housing bubble. that's really clear. this is a housing story. florida went up fast and went up big and florida came down fast and came down big. here, jacksonville, it's about a half of all homes are under water right now meaning people who aren't in foreclosure still owe more on the home than the home is worth. it's a jobs issue. but let me tell you something else we have found. there are little seeds of recovery there, prices have dropped and are now glassed and are a lot lower than they were a few years ago. very low interest rates. you've got this glut of foreclosures that's starting to move out of the market. but the seeds being planted is much different than the green, the dawn of recovery. and so this is a real serious problem. you know, there's a lot of talk about mitt romney's taxes, too, and i think when you talk about taxes and housing, those are two issues floridians are talking about. >> you know what? you can mess with interest rates a all you want but when you're under water in a mortgage, good luck taking advantage of any of those benefits. good luck. going to come back to you to get more detail especially regarding the finances and how it affects this rice. and at 7:00, "startingpoint" with soledad o'brien. oo they were throwing her name around all sorts of times at the debate. you also want to make sure you join wolf blitzer, erin burnett, anderson couper and the wonderful and talented candy crowley for the live coverage. it's tuesday night, 6:00 eastern right here on cnn, which means they basically get no vacation. good morning. we're talking about the stories that are developing right now but they will be the big story tonight. attorney general eric holder will disclose a new fraud there are mortgage backed securities that trig erred the financial crisis. >> it's sentencing day for the barefoot bandit. he's got fans. arrested in the bahamas, remember, back in 120u after a two-year spree of barefoot break-ins and boat and plane thefts in the pacific northwest and canada. he was on the lam and had a huge plea deal. he was sentenced last month for his state crimes. so he's getting it from all directs. and the santa ana winds kicking up from southern california. officials say wind gusts as high as 70 miles an hour combined with low humidity have created very dangerous fire conditions there. >> we'll have to keep an eye on that. in fact, we have rob marciano keeping an eye on it much better. hey, there. >> good morning. we've had about a week or so break from the santa anas so it's about time for it to happen. the rain, yesterday, flooding across parts of new orleans and tornado threats across the gulf states. that has moved into florida. heavy rains moving into tampa. this is sneaking up toward jacksonville or into jacksonville and daytona and getting up into the low country of the carolinas. up to the north we do have a little wintry precip, some ice mixing in at times in upstate new york and 4 to 6 inches of snow affecting parts of the northeast. but the i-95 corridor is okay. it's a mild system heading up there. again, 1 to 4 inches across lower new england and 4208 across other parts. boston, new york, those are going to be your problem spots, philadelphia as well. tampa will see afternoon thunderstorms. another little clipper going to be coming across into chicago. that will finally bring some colder air. just like every other cold punch of air we've had, enjoy it when it comes. speaking of winter, winter x games, aspen, happening, you bet. shaun white, flying tomato. multiple winter x gold winner. there's not him. there's shaun. guys, he was practicing yesterday and sprained his ankle. i don't know if it's a little game man "showbiz flashpoint" going into the competition to get his competitors on their heels. >> this is shaun, isn't it? >> yeah, this is shaun. >> he's unbelievable. >> he's unbelievable. he goes bigger, higher, and more graceful and more peace in the air than any of his competitors. >> hey, rob, have you ever tried that? >> yeah. i can hug my carcass just like shaun. >> look at you. now, here's your crash. >> yeah, taking some big air and not quite -- i don't know if he got hurt on this seriously or not. >> no. he walked away from it. >> he did win the gold medal. >> we got e-mails that he is injured but he doesn't know it because of all the adrenaline. >> look at him walking away. i think he was doing a tim tebow afterward for that. i'd thank the lord above. >> are you going do a little half pipe for us next? >> yeah. >> thanks, rob. it's 14 minutes past the hour. time to check the news. another debate, another sparring match between the lidle republican candidate, mitt romney, newt gingrich. the two clash over illegal immigration. romney blasting him for calling him the most anti-immigrant candidate. the ad was pulled. and in mississippi, a man hunte hunt is continuing. state attorney jen reese offer a reward if you can help find this guy on your screen. take a good look. take a good, good long look. joseph osmund is his name. they say, by the way, the files on this guy and a few others are missing. the four murderers who are missing, the files are missing. they were supposed to be turned over. >> didn't that guy shoot somebody in the head twice? >> that wasn't didn't. >> i thought it was him. >> no. that was -- i got it. it will come to me. this guy is a killer. there were four of those. conveniently or accidentally the files on these guys on how they behaved, whether they were -- something you would give to the parole board. >> right, right, right. >> not able to find them. a pakistani military coming under attack overnight. officials say at least nine rockets were fired. it's located near the come pound where obama was ki where osama bin laden was killed. it's taco night. special delivery. 500 tack co-s coming into the mayor's office. >> i thought it was 2,000 talkers. nonetheless it's a lot sniet does look like more than 500. of course, you'll probably remember he made a stupid comment about making tacos for dinner as a way to reach out to latinos in that community. not the smartest thing to say. also we were watching eve though we were supposed to be asleep. the moon, a nice place to visit in august, i hear. in any case, mitt romney was smacking newt gingrich for talking about livie colonizing moon. wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback right now, get 5% cashback at gas stations. it pays to discover. moon. ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] purina one beyond. food for your cat or dog. you know what's exciting, graduation. when i look up into my student's faces, i see pride. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i earned my doctorate through university of phoenix, that pride, that was on my face. i am jocelyn taylor, i am committed to making a difference in peoples lives and i am a phoenix. and who ordered the yummy cereal? 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[ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ will be giving away passafree copies together for your future. of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. welcome back, folks. it is 5:19 in the east. we have papers from washington and fayetteville, north carolina. i'm going to start with "the washington post." wondering if newt gingrich's plan to colonize the moon is actually science fiction. it's making a lot of headlines because of the shuttle program. can a permanent lunar base be set up by 2021? experts were interviewed. they are skeptical. robe robert wee land says it speculative. this was his polite way of saying that a lunar base by january 2021 is going to be very difficult to achieve. i don't know that you call romney an expert for weighing in, but he says it may be a big idea, but it's not a good idea. and santorum say this is not a responsible thing to even put out there. >> i'd visit the moon. i don't think i'd live there, right? give me a break, seriously. >> you know, the idea of spacecraft going up on daily basis, i don't know. >> and petitioning for statehood? >> it doesn't appeal to me. i know you're more of a daredevil. i wouldn't be trying it out, i'm sorry. >> there's another great story we had coming in from the fayetteville observer out of north carolina. if you've ever been to fort brag, rail good folks work there, lived there. they're jittery about the cutbacks the pentagon keeps talking about. they're talking about major defense cutbacks and 100,000 troops and brigades gets axed. if you're at fort brag, that's not good news. they've got four of those and they're really nervous about the thousands of people who could be affected by this, because the town itself depends on that installation of that base. they depend on it. there's thousands of families, hair cutting and groceries. whatever happens -- >> domino effect. >> huge, huge effect. they're watching very closely what the defense department is going to be saying. east haven, connecticut, the mayor won't have to look far for one of the tacos he was thinking of having the other night. why? look at this. huge special delivery. hundreds of tauco tacos deliver his office. this was following the insensitive remark. members of the grun junta for progressive action delivered the tacos. >> hopefully you know now that comments like yours heightens racial teng and how the intolerance uncovered by the department of justice was allowed to take hold. these tacos represent every american across america who was disgusted and condemns your comments. >> he says the tacos are going to be donated to local soup kitchens and he also says, i'm going to quote this, the events of the past few days have focused our town and my administration on the need to deal sensitively and compassionately with the needs of the latino community. >> yeah. he's had a rough week to say the very least and i'm thinking he's looking forward to this being behind him. >> not any time soon. i also want to keep you in the pop culture loop this morning. take a look at what's trending on the social media and the intrawebs. how about this? twitter with a new policy. kind of sounds like censorship. they're going to block certain tweets. there are certain countries we can exist in. for example they're looking at the idea of even blocking neo-nazi tweets in germany and france. there are laws against hate speech there. twitter is essentially saying is figure out a way to exist in these countries and make some of those sort of heated tweets exist somewhere else so everyone else in the world can still access those that might not be offensive, to, say, an islamic republican, but they can still exist. but everybody else in the world can read those tweets. it's kind of tough. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. it's censorship. >> any way you cut it, it's censorship. drunk behind the wheel? look at these two? "wheel of fortune" hosts. they would load up on margaritas while filming the game slow. he said so. he said they would take dinner breaks as a nearby mexican restaurant. listen. >> vanna and i would go across and have two or three or six and come and do the last shows and have trouble recognizing the alphabet. they're really good tapes to get hold of. >> ashleigh thinks he was kidding. this happened when the show started and when he was much younger and could hold his liquor. he wants to go back and look at the episodes. that ire keend of fun to watch. we have highlights for you when you go to bed early and get up early. romney appearing to get his swarg, big swagger. all of this ahead of the florida primary. it's coming up on tuesday. that state, be i the way, is up for grabs. and have you watched mtv's new reeight series, "caged?" the show starts live on the set. you are watching "early start." 28 minutes past the hour. time to check the stories that are making news this morning. more debate drama as the republican presidential candidates exchange fire on everything from health care to a moon colony to illegal immigration. >> that's my favorite one, by the way. >> which one? the moon colony? >> yeah. >> it drew an angry response from mitt romney. it was called inexcusable. the ad was pulled. it was final face-off. overseas, take a look at the mass rally in cairo. more than two dozen pro-democracy groups were behind this. they were called out to march all in friday prayers. that's a big day in the country where it's like church day where they can go out and protest. that's what they were doing to mark the first anniversary of the protest that removed president hmubarak. 11 people were killed in the worst oil spill history. it's no secret. florida's big. it's a big place. i think delegate-wise, 55 up for grabs. that state still up for grabs. if you look at the number of voters and where they stand, look at. this 64% of florida voters, gop voters, anyway, they figured they know who they're going to vote for. but 25% of them still say they rrnd sure. this is according to the latest cnn poll. clearly that was on the minds of the candidates last night and they were looking for the big knockout punch as always. but did anybody score it? let's get really good analysts in here. miami, rue bun and chicag he stood up to a different mitt romney. when he stood up to newt gingrich who up until now was really bugging this guy said this about immigration. have a listen. >> is he still the most anti-immigrant candidate? >> i think of the four of us, yes. >> go ahead, governor. >> that's simply inexcusable. simply inexcusable. and actually senator marco rubio came to my defense. i'm not anti-immigrant. my father was born in mexico. my wife's father was born in wales. they came to this country. the idea that i'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. >> in a statesman-like fashion if i do say so, myself. ruben maverick, did he just wrestle this? >> it sure sounds like that. let me be clear. my comments today have been 100% approved by marco rubio. >> ruben, very good point. is it offensive if he anoints any kind of policy, everyone will follow suit? >> it's not really cheerily thought out. here i'm sitting in miami, place with a big cuban-american population. but if you head out to nevada where we're heading. they're not going to be persuaded by what marco rubio tells them. they may want some hispanic votes but they don't understand the first thing about the complexity of the spanish community. >> i still thing he did a great job of smacking down what has been a pretty strong attack on newt gingrich about the whole notion of how he feels on immigration and what to do with immigrants who are here. right or wrong? i want to get a wrap on it. >> definitely so. he definitely slammed the door on it. i don't think newt defended himself. they're all to some degree, newt less so this many of the others. they've had the campaign in three other states up to now. they've had to engage in anti-immigration rhetoric and now it's pivoting. >> new on the plate. let's go to another moment where perhaps he didn't react so well, and that had to do with the fannie mae/freddie mac attack and that's when mitt romney was able to do a real smackdown on newt over there. and i want to point out if you're watching the sound byte and you're listening, make sure you listen for how newt gingrich was left kind of speechless. here we go. >> governor romney owns shares of both fannie mae and freddie mac. governor romney made a million dollars off of selling some of that. >> mr. speaker, i know that sounds like an enormous revelation. have you checked your investments? you also have funds that invested in fannie mae and freddie mac. >> he sort of gives him the nod like, oh, damn, i forgot about those. that was a moment from newt. didn't he do his research and know it could be coming? >> this was a bad moment. i think part of it, ashleigh, was he missed the moment earlier when mitt romney came after him about the immigrant issue and said it was bad for you to throw out these bombs, these epithets. he missed his opportunity to look over to mitt romney and basically say, you know, mr. governor, after you spent all of the holiday season disparaging me to the good people of iowa and use it in new hampshire and then south carolina and it didn't work, for you to accuse me of trying to soil the playing field is rather hypocritical of you and here we go with that pious baloney. he missed that moment. romney was waiting for it. it's amazing because these candidates, it seems as though nobody knows how to be a front-runner. where was this mitt romney when he was the front-runner before the newt surnl in decembge in d >> hey, guys. this has to be quick. i want you both to win with one sentence on. this this is what newt gingrich said about the beloved ronald reagan and it's really starting to come out of the woodwork now. you measured the -- the reagan administration has failed, is failing and without dramatic change in strategy will continue to fail. president reagan is clearly failing. and i think if you can go back to 1986 if you're newt gingrich, you wish he hasn't said that where he's the grandfather of the republican movement. is that going to come to bite him in the you-know-what? make it quick? >> i think the fact that reagan was more of a centrist in 1986 gingrich can pivot off and say i was to the right of reagan. i was a strong conservative to the right of reagan. you geevet to vote for me. >> ruben? >> i think it's an embarrassment for him because he put so much stock in him. but people change their minds. >> good point. you're going dom back later on. i want to remind viewers at 7:00 a.m. eastern on starting point with soledad, he's going to join soledad and a former adviser to the romney campaign is going to join us as well. make shoe you joan wolf and erin and anderson and john for live coverage of the florida primary. it's tuesday night at 6:00 eastern right here on cnn. and did i mention, 55 delegates up for grabs. so it's the biggest one yet, biggest prize yet. new tv reality show follows mixed martial arts fighters. we're talking to the stars of "caged." that's coming up next. an 80-year-old store clerk scares an armed robber. he rips off the clown's mask. why this isn't his first time taking on a bad guy. you're watching "early start." "caged" takes you inside the world of mixed martial arts or mma, as you know. it profiles three families in a small town of louisiana as they struggle to succeed in the cage and succeed in life. here's a clip. >> i wake up in the morning, and i'm thinking about fighting, what i'm being, what i'm drinking. i'm thinking about fighting. >> quite popular there. "caged" can be seen monday nights at 10:00 on mtv. two of the stars star daniel payne known add "golden boy" and matthew who earned the nickname "danger." thanks for coming in. we appreciate it. a lot of people don't know what m mma is. if you can tell us the difference. >> i started boxing in high school. it's kind of one single aspect of the sport. mixed martial arts is every fighting aspect all put together and combined into one sport. and it's just -- it's so much more advanced than boxing i was used to in high school. it's everything you think of in mma. >> matthew, what got you interested in the sport? >> i always competed my whole life. i played sports. i don't think you ever stop being an athlete. i graduated from high school. it's something i started doing to stay in shape and have been doing it ever since. >> i tried to understand the purpose of the tv show. it said it's not just about you fighting, but it's really about finding about what your journey in life is. so what do you do with the sport? do you go professional with the sport? >> i really think everybody has their own goals in it. some do it more as a hobby than anything else. i take it very seriously. i know daniel takes it very serious sea serious seriously. others do it for fun. they have a job and want a hobby. there's all different things people want from it. that's what's great about the show. i think it shows everybody's perspective. >> daniel, it is your life, right? they follow you around all the time. does that feel intrusive? >> it can be at times but eventually you get used to it. you adapt and adjust. >> what's the most personal moment in the show? >> well, obviously my ex that passed away in high school. that's something that really hits me deep and you can see it. >> do you deal with it in the show? >> yes, ma'am. it really shows how actually i was really surprised how good it shows how i progressed through it and dealt with it and really almost, you could say, not really overcome it but dealt with it better and easier nowadays. >> and actually you've done something about that, right? used it to the benefit of other people, right? you set up a scholarship fund. >> yes, ma'am, yes, ma'am. it's a scholarship under her name that's given to -- given by the young women's service club in our town in louisiana, and it's just dedicated to hannah and everybody comes today to try to donate to it. >> i want to find out how you got the nickname "danger." >> it was kind of one of those things when i started training i was young and sporadic, and i didn't know how to control myself. so we'd be drilling and i'd drill as hard as i could because i'm competitive and i'd end up hurting people on accident. >> aren't your moms worried about safety? >> my mom worries about me all the time. i've got a plate in my head and forehand and leg. sheworks about me all the time. >> my mom's coming around. >> very respectful young men. loi v the fact that you call me ma'am. very southern boys. i want you to leave information. you can make a check payable to ywsc, minden young women's service club, p o'b 482 for the hannah scholarship. i hope you make a lot of mon. good luck with the show. you're about to meet one who busted up this guy pretty good. you think you're going to rob my convenience store with that silly little mask? yeah, i've got another thing for you. watch this. you'll find out how he foiled the intent of that robber, ripped off his mask, and what the police are now doing to find that guy. you saw this video of the robbery attempt gone wrong? >> oh, yes. >> not good. in sacramento, an 80-year-old store clerk scares off a would-be robber. look at him. here he comes thinking he's going to rob this guy's convenience store in a silly mask. you know something? he wasn't expecting this guy, 80 years old, fighting him off, ripping off his mask. there you go, out the door, scared. what does that mean for the investigation in all of this? on the phone, sergeant with the sacramento police department. do you have any leads on this guy now that this has gone national? >> we thought we had a good description of the suspect. >> here's my first thought when i saw this happen. number one, don't do this at home because it oftentimes doesn't turn out so well. i want to make sure. are the grandfather and grandson -- i guess the grandson who is 11 years old at the time, are they okay? >> yeah. they're fine. the grandfather, he had prior law enforcement experience, so i think he just reacted based on his prior training. we don't recommend people do this, but it was a good outcome. >> not only that, you got something out of it, didn't you? maybe dna off the mask? >> yeah, exactly. the victim was able to get the mask off his face and it was left in the store. hopefully we can do a dna swab and get a hit. >> i've heard people call it the kiss mask or evil clown mask. this guy has done it before, hasn't he? >> oh, yeah. this is his third time that we know of. in the first two tries he actually shot at store employees and even a witness on the second attempt. >> you're kidding me. he shot? >> oh, yeah. the first time he goes in, he shows his gun and fires rounds. two hours later he hits another store. a witness is writing down his license plate and he get for my arthritis, i use new capzasin quick relief gel. (announcer) starts working on contact and at the nerve level. to block pain for hours. new capzasin, takes the pain out of arthritis. >> that's still unclear, zoraida. but we understand that in italy she will go through what the u.s. military refers to as phase two reintegration, a form of hostages. we understand this could entail a formal and structured debriefing of both jessica and paul and also a thorough medical examination. but there's an important aspect to, this zoraida. it's called the decompression period. and we understand that it requires at least 72 hours to be fully effective just to ensure that jessica and paul are as close to 100% when it comes to health and well-being as they were before they were held hostage. you know, as you can imagine, they've gone through quite an ordeal. still unclear when jessica will be heading back to the united states. and if she does, it's probably going to be via military helicopter, zoraida. >> all right. live in kenya, thanks for all the details. ahead in the next hour which is coming up in over four minutes, big night, fight night in florida, you might say. who needs pay purview when you can watch a debate on cnn. ho dominated who? we're going to break it down. the files for the four convicted murderers pardoned by governor haley barbour, they're missing. where are they? we don't think anybody knows. you're watching "early start." . they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. 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[ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. i'm really glad we took this last minute trip! you booked our room right? not yet, thanks for reminding me. wait, what? i have the hotels.com app so we can get a great deal even at the last minute. ah, well played sir. get the app. hotels.com. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa. er very good morning to you, everyone. welcome to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. we are bringing you the news from a to z. it's 6:00 a.m. in the east. >> it is final few days before the big showdown in florida. and fireworks were on last night at the debate. cnn debate things got real heated. it is a very tight race. this ch one of these four scored the knockout. now outrage in mississippi. the governor files for ten pardoned criminals. they have gone suddenly missing. how convenient, strange, or accidental? not sure which. >> or all of the above. talk about being a top banana, john goodman. >> kumquat. >> top kumquat. friday word of the day, who knew. how would you like to be in two movies nominated for best picture? he's going to stop to us to talk about that. >> he's actually in london. here's a video that you've got to see. a snowmobiler falls 120 feet at the ice games. showing it to you so you know that he's okay. wait until you hear what he said right after that crash. "early start" starts right now. >> i still can't breathe because it looks like he lands right on his head. spoiler alert, he's okay otherwise we wouldn't be having this much fun. up first, the gop debate. how much fun can you have watching tv, folks? the fighting started from the get go. everything from immigration, mexican border, moon colonies. it was cnn's big florida debate last night. four days to go before they go to the polls and vote in that primary. and you know what? these two are in dead even heat. so, right off the bat, they went at each other. romney went after gingrich's claim that he is the most anti-immigration candidate. >> my father was born in mexico. my wife's father was born in wales. they came to this country. the idea that i'mrepulsive. don't use a term like that. you can sea we disagree on certain policies. to protect our borders, welcome people here legally, to expand legal immigration as i approve that that is somehow anti-immigrant is simply the kind of over the top rhetoric that is characterized american politic toos long as too long. i'm glad that marco rubio called you out on it. i think you recognize that having differences of opinions on it is not okay with labeling people with highly charged epitaphs. >> so live in jacksonville. cnn political editor paul steinhauser. you wrote to me, romney had game. >> yeah, romney definitely brought his game last night. listen, sr. da, he had a good debate on monday but this is maybe his strongest debate of all 19 maybe. i don't know that's that far to reach there p and you know that? in the spin room afterwards, of course they're going to say great things about the candidate, the romney camp, the top advisers were really, really happy. here's an sbreinteresting momen. wolf blitzer, the moderator, romney was able to respond quickly. yeah, it was about this ad that during the immigration debate romney didn't know anything about. it was an ram any ad in which the romney campaign calls gingrich -- uses gingrich language as calling it ghetto language. >> we just double-checked. there was one of your ads running here in florida, on the radio. and attend you say i'm mitt romney and i approve this ad, so it is here. >> let me ask you a question. let me -- let me ask the speaker a we. did you say what the ad says or not, i don't know? >> it's taken totally out of context. >> he said it. >> no, i did not say it about spanish. i said in general about all languages we are better for children to learn english in general, period. >> reporter: you know that could have been a tough moment for romney but he was able to turn the tables. latinos, hispanics so crucial here in florida. one out of ten voters is hispanic. >> we talk about immigration a lot and whether or not that's really important issue. it's number six on the agenda for latinos according to the pew hispanic research. when you talk about the language and the language you speak at home, that could be a bigger issue. appreciate you having you there. at 7:00 a.m. eastern, republican congressman david rivera, the only latino member from congress in florida who is endorsing newt gingrich. congresswoman from florida, foreign policy adviser to the romney presidential campaign will join soledad. join wolf, erin, anderson, and john for live coverage tuesday night at 6:00 eastern right here on cnn. we're keeping a pretty close eye on this story out of mississippi, the developments here now with those convicted killers who were pardoned by that state's gov next haley barbour, when he was on his way out of office. well, he may be out of office but he may have still some more explaining to do about what is going on. the files on these four killers and a couple other ex-cons just happen to be missing now. state attorney general says they were supposed to be turned over by the governor's office, but they're not. of course, this is an issue because the state a.g. wants to take this whole issue to task and maybe reverse all these conditions. ed lavandera is live there in tupelo, mississippi. how important are these files to start with, and then i'll get you to weigh in on where the heck they are? >> reporter: right, what i think the state attorney general's office was hoping for is there sop would be some sort of explanation or a smoking gun in there that might explain how these pardons came to be. there are ten files out of 203 files that they say were missing, weren't turned over when they were subpoenaed by the ag's office. the governor's office filed in a brief in court we read the explanation was that these files included four of the murderers' files that these guys were the ones we've been focusing so much on, worked as trustees on the governor's mansion grounds. the governor's office said, look, they weren't necessarily filed. there weren't any pardoned files that we kept on these guys and to quote the court filings, they were living files. these were people that they saw up close every day for a year and that spoke much more clearly and loudly than any pardon files. >> let me go back and for the on that, ed. they may go back and forth on whether there were or not files on these pardons existed. what could be in those files that could make a difference because the ag says he wants to fight these pardons, take it to court, maybe find a loophole that they announced that they were being pardoned in the newspaper. can't you just go ahead in that case without these files? >> i think that's exactly watts going to end up happening here. this is all pointing towards next week when everyone ends up back to court in front of the judge who will decide whether or not these pardons will stand. everyone here fully expects and all this will eventually, regardless of which way the judge rules. all of this will somehow end up before the supreme court hear in the state of mississippi. i think people here anticipating regardless of what's in his files, it's going to take several more weeks to resolve. >> listen, normally these files contain things like letters of support. things that would help parole officers decide on paroles or pardons. back-up documents to tell us what kind of guy this is that we're about to let go. is there some suggestion other than the ag who is a democratic, haley barbour is a republican and they not get on. me suggestion that these fileses are missing that something might be in them to suggest that these people who were let go should never have been let go? >> reporter: exactly. some or the of information that perhaps haley barbour went against the recommendations of the parole board. if there were files that said, look, under no circumstances should these guys have been pardoned. obviously that would be -- and haley barbour had the right or the pror ga tive to go that if he wanted to. as former governor, the pardon power gives the governor to do but it would definitely be one of those situations that would leave even more people scratching their heads if haley barbour was told in these file or somewhere along the line, don't pardon these guys no matter what you do, be aware of that and haley barbour went against that, yeah, that would be one of those situation where's people would look at it and continue to scratch their heads even more as to why he reached this decision. >> or, ed, one of those legacy breakers. who is to say. thanks very much for that from mississippi. see ya. it's 6:09 on the east. still to come, poppy harlow talks to tim armstrong live at the world economic forum in switzerland. >> make no mistake, it's no vacation for her. >> maybe she got a little skiing in, maybe. >> it may be beautiful but she's hard at work breaking news for us. and you know who else is breaking news to us? soledad o'brien, she's talking to mark kelly about gabrielle's recovery and the possible return down the road to public service. but first, rob has the quick check of today's travel forecast. >> deveer weather is rolling into florida. no severe right now but could be later on today. tampa, ft. myers maybe getting to the space coast as well and stretching up to the ends of the northeast where some of it is turning into the the wintry mix. few inches of wet snow with some ice up there near the canadian border. there's your storm number one getting out of here. major cities stay warm. next system coming into chicago. this one will have snow with it. it will bring in cold air for a couple of days until we warm up yet again. speaking of warm or windy, temperatures are going to be a little bit warmer than normal but the winds are going to be kicking up across southern california. santa anas the next several days. that's a quick check on weather. 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[ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa. hi, everybody. welcome back. it is 14 minutes past the hour here on "early start" which is a great time to get you caught up on your headlines this morning. here we go. republican candidates mixing it up, facing off on the sports analogies i can think of at this hour of the morning. it all went down last night. two front-runners really taking center stage and sucking up all of the air in auditorium. the polls are showing that newt gingrich and mitt romney are in a dead heat in the sunshine state. boy, could you feel it in the air last night. also, big news. freed hostage, american jessica buchanan and danish citizen are now back at a military base in sicily. they're undergoing something called a reintegration process. it's happening at an italian hospital that, of course, after they've been in captivity for three months. and we are so happy to be able too bring you that story. also another great story we brought you, the emotional week for gab rielle giffords. she came to capitol hill to say good boy to her friends and colleagues. this as she resigned her seat in congress to focus on her recovery from that near fatal gunshot wound and assassination attack last year. her husband there on the right. retired astronaut mark kelly said that gabby made the right decision and she he spoke to our soledad o'brien about gabby's future. >> you know, her goal is to recover to the point where she can get back to public service. >> she wants to go back to elected office? >> well, i don't know if it's going to be elected office, but you know, gabby's mom and sister at the time told me that gabby was born as a public servant. even as a kid she wanted to help people. i'm confident she's going to be helping people in some fashion some day. >> you're going to see much more of soledad's interview with mark kelly coming up after our program on the 8:00 hour on her program called "starting point." >> i read that he said she will be back in two years. yaus just watch. titans of businesses, word leaders gather i'd at the world economic forum in switzerland. cnn's poppy harlow going one-on-one with aol's ceo tim armstrong. good afternoon to you, poppy. do we have a preview of that? >> good morning to you, as well. we do have him here live, tim armstrong, ceo of aol. you get a real sense of what all these ceos do on the ground here. tim, let's start with that. why is it important to be here? what are you talking about here that is going to affect people at home? >> i think this is the one chance you get all year to see people, global leaders, both government business, not for profit leaders and get a sense of the global economy. i think the themes this year is that the u.s. has had a slight recovery from where we were a couple of years ago. europe is now facing that. it's very -- i think it's very concise way you can come here for a couple of days and really get a sense of how you get investments going forward and economy and jobs. >> we just had tim geithner here. you came out of a meeting with tim geithner and a number of ceos. relatively speaking the u.s. looks pretty darn good. we still have a massive jobs crisis but what is your read on the recovery in the u.s. and for everyone watching looking for jobs, what is this you're going to look like for them? >> sure, overall the global economy could grow 2% to 3%, which is great. the zus doing better. i think you have to be careful. we would love to be doing better than what we projected to do. the job standpoint, key industries where there is growth, probably double down on job creations. areas that have been hit hard in the economy probably going to be slower growth overall. >> let's talk about reaction to the president's state of the union. what we're hearing here the message from stem geithner. i think there's some concern here we don't have a clear economic strategy going forward. is that the sense? >> yeah, ceos are concerned that the united states needs a very clear economic policy and strategy. i think if you look at china and russia and other big countries they tend to have a very clear economic strategy. i think we as ceos here would like to see that. we really want to -- we the government needs to produce revenue and take down the cost structure. we're looking for a clear pathway to understand where the investments are going. >> thank you, tim. we're going to continue this conversation on "cnn money." ceos here tell me f. things don't change in the united states, we're going to take our business elsewhere. that means jobs going elsewhere. i'll throw it back to you guys in new york. >> poppy harlow in switzerland. when i said she has a preview, i had no idea. >> fantastic. thank you, poppy. nice work as usual. this was the night to say, oh, snap, or, no, you didn't. over and over and over and over again. these two front-runner going at it at the cnn republican debate last night. but did one of them win? what about the other two? did they make noise at all? gingrich and romney had very different cures for the the housing crisis. christine romans is going to come back with us and break it down. you're watching "early start." 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[ thunder crashes ] and with the most advanced all-wheel-drive system in its class that adapts to conditions as they change, now all you have to worry about is what you accomplish when you get there. ♪ i'm zoraida sambolin along with ashleigh banfield. it is 6:22 in the east. housing crisis has hit american homeowners hard, especially in states like florida. up to half of the homes in the state are under water. they are worst worthless than homeowners took out on them. >> that is not a good place to be for anybody who is in the housing market. christine romans is minding your business from jacksonville today. down in florida hanging with the election express. listen, let's talk about the housing crisis in florida because the voters there and other swing states like nevada are probably thinking that's up there among the top issues on their minds when they think about who they want to elect, right? >> oh, yeah. absolutely. you look at what's happened in this state. it went big in the housing boom and it went big in the housing crash. and this is something that every single person here is thinking about and talking about. there is not a conversation about the economy or politics in this state that does haven't to do with housing at the same time. i want you to listen quickly to somebody we talked to yesterday who is an attorney who represents people who are fighting foreclosure. he puts it in very stark terms. >> jacksonville is a beautiful vibrant city. and it is being attacked by a cancer from within. house by house. and what we see in these neighborhoods, established neighborhoods and new neighborhoods you start to see vacant house, decaying lawns, you really lose a sense of community when your neighbors all of a sudden have gone. >> also an awful lot of anger at the banks, quite frankly, because people like him and others say they have been fighting and fighting with conflicting information with banks about how to get out of their mess. i want to show you just what the foreclosures look like in this state. about half of all the homes are under water, meaning people owe more than it's worth. a look at every one in 360 homes in florida last month got a foreclosure notice. really remarkable when you think about how big that is. how much the housing prices are down. here in this area, they're down about 40% so here in jacksonville down 40%, that translates to $80,000 on the average home but worse in orlando, tampa, and miami. so you've got people who are really struggling here. it means, of course, that the tax -- a lot of the school funding, school funding has been tied to real estate transaction tax soes the schools scrambling for funding. so if you're a parent or a neighbor not paying your bills anymore, this is issue number one in florida. >> you're right. even if you're good on mortgage it means the guy next door is ruining the sale just because of the comp sales. brutal story. christine, good job down there. the thank you for thanchts ahead on "early start," potential new scandal in mississippis. critical pardon files suddenly midsing from the governor ears office. and then to do a total turn right there, this guy, john goodman, he is a good man. he may be waller from "the big lebowski" to you but he is going to join us live because you are here to watch it. whoa. whoa. how do you top great vacations? whoa. getting twice the points on great vacations. whoa! use chase sapphire preferred and now get two times the points on travel, and two times the points on dining and no foreign transaction fees. whoa! chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. apply now at chasesapphire.com/preferred with scottrader streaming quotes, any way you want. fully customize it for your trading process -- from thought to trade, on every screen. and all in real time. which makes it just like having your own trading floor, right at your fingertips. 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[ all ] i'm with scottrade. it's another reason more investors are saying... 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. the benefits of calcium in a sweet, delicious treat. enjoy vitafusion calcium gummies today. it's 28 minutes past 6:00, which is an excellent time, just an excellent time to get you caught up on top story, at least that's my friday assessment. let's talk bp. we haven't in a while. they lost another round in court. a federal judge ruled that bp is responsible for all of the economic damages that were caused by that awful deep water horizon deep rig explosion in 2010 in new orleans. you know, new orleans is actually saying that bp could still actually have to deal with other issues as well but that trans ocean, transocean is the owner of the rig. it may have to deal with other civil penalty. for bp to hear they're responsible for all the economic damages is not a good thing. you will remember that it was more serious than just messy. 11 people were killed. it was the worst oil spill in u.s. history. president obama wraps up his state of the union tour today in michigan. the president will deliver the speech at the university of michigan talking about his plans to keep college affordable. americans now carry more tuition debt than credit card debt. and here is a strange one for you. in new york city, you've seen drug busts before, right? look at all that coke. here's the story behind this seizure. it was made at the u.n., the united nations. officials say the drugs were placed in a white bag in an attempt to try to disguise them as an official diplomatic shipment. you know those diplomatic pouches that don't get searched? not this time. it raised suspicions because it was stamped with a logo that apparently was a bad version of the u.n. logo. if you're going to go to the trouble to get a white pouch to look like a diplomatic missions pouch, maybe get the stamp accurate or you're doing to get busted. >> incredible. >> something else? it is. >> yep. all right. something else causing a lot of controversy, in just four days the sunshine state could just decide the nominee for president. right now romney and gingrich in a dead heat. did anyone land a deciding blow there? so from miami we have reuben indicated columnist with "the washington post" writers group and from chicago lenny ak ll center, conservative commentator. thank you for joining us. lenny, i'm going to start with you. lots of debate last night on immigration. romney and gingrich actually went after each other. so let's listen and chat about it. [ speaking spanish ] >> not really what we wanted to listen to there, lenny. but we are talking about all of these ads, you know, these candidates going after each other, but probably one of the critical moments last night was romney's moment, right, on the way that he attacked gingrich. what did you make of that? do you think he came out the winner? >> he came out the winner with that for two big reasons. number one, newt gingrich did not reply to that. he basically was thrown underneath the bus. you've got to remember, this is a candidate that had issues about an ethics violation charge. so what did romney do? he basically attacked his character and after all these ethics violations charges and reminders from 15 years ago coming out, now mitt romney tying it in there effectively and newt did not have a way to respond to that. on top of that, wolf's response in saying, mr. governor, was this actually your ad, romney tried to separate himself and say, i don't know if that's my ad or not that threw gingrich underneath the bus. if wolf was able to come back and say, yes, that was your ad and newt was able to tie into that sooner it would not have been as much of a win for romney as it was. truth of the matter was the way it played out romney won the debate there and was able to carry the momentum from there. he may care i it until tuesday. considering that newt is not on the ballot in virginia he could take a huge lead between virginia and florida if he wins wednesday tight. >> ruben, earlier when you were talking to ashleigh you said both of these candidates are out of touch with latino voters. and you were speaking specifically to the debate on immigration. but when we look at that ad and we look at the fact that they're going back actually to a statement that gingrich made about spanish being a ghetto language because there was a reference in there, do you think that that is going to resonate more with latinos than the immigration issue? >> here's the back story on that. i wrote a column about that particular flap when gingrich made those comments. he didn't say explicitly spanish but it's clear that spanish is what he was talking about. h is a very ticklish moment for mitt romney because you see the problem here. mitt romney wanted to attack? n. spanish newt gingrich for appearing to be anti-hispanic by slamming the spanish language. fine. but in the audience mostly made up of white conservative republicans they applauded gingrich for that line. so it's really a tough stop for romney to have it both way. in spanish they want one message going after gingrich for saying that it's important to learn english but having to defend it in an audience like that. it points to the pickle that republicans are in having to give one message in one state and changing and pivoivoting wh they get to another group of voters. >> what do you think the message is that would be clear too to latino voters then? >> message is simple. one in six americanss, 50 million people are latino, speak english and spanish, part of the american fabric. the country is better for having them here. at the same time, stop putting us and them and pitting one group against the other as if somehow my family having been here long or longer than mitt romney's isn't a bunch of real americans. we are and need to be incorporated into the system and the rhetoric needs to reflect that. >> i want to talk about santorum because we haven't talked about him a lot lately. he did pretty well last night. as a matter of fact, politico, i imagine, said santorum's got game. let's listen in and chat about it. >> this is the top down model that both of these gentlemen say they're now against but they've been for and it does not provide the contrast we need with barack obama if we're going to take on that most important issue. we cannot give the issue of health care away in this election. it is too foundational for us to win this election. >> of course he has little chance of winning florida. it's the winner take allstate. and i think he's at 18% in the polls. folks are wondering does he stay in, does he bough out. what do you think? >> he absolutely stays in because he's not running to win florida right now. he's running to win the anybody but romney competition right now. it used to be newt gingrich. we see the establishment absolutely coming out against newt. therefore, if newt is forced to get out of this race, they're not going to have a late front-runner come in. they're not going to be able to pull in mitch dan elielsdaniels. why not acquiesce behind santorum. he's done extremely well in some debatsz. if it becomes a two-person race and newt gets out, it could be santorum. if that anybody but romney vote, that 65% that is still undecided ends up getting closely behind santorum. it's a good move by rick santorum in this standpoint. >> lenny and ruben, thanks for joining us this morning. coming up, another big -- i caught you off, boys. sorry. another big problem brewing in mississippi about those pardoned killers. their files, a lot of them, are missing. including some incorporating this fella and others who are pardoned criminals, ex-cons, killers. we're going to talk to one of the victims of these killers. next he was injured by one of the killers. probably got a lot to say about the politicking that's going on over these pardons. coming up on "early start." 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[ male announcer ] and there you go, business pro. there you go. go national. go like a pro. you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it. just to be able to wake up in the morning on your own. that's a big accomplishment to me. i don't know how much money i need. but i know that whatever i have that's what i'm going to live within. ♪ ♪ there's one story that has people's blood boiling. the piece mispmississippi pardo. they are free to go. trying to get it back into the tube that's not going so well though because there's apparently a whole bunch of files missing on killers and ex-cons. not a good thing when you're trying to fix the problem legally speaking. one of the people who is a victim of one of these kill sers randy walker. he was sit og an couch with his friend when david gatlin walked into the room and point blank shot that friend dead as she held her baby and then tried to shoot him, too. shot but didn't kill him. he joins us live on the phone from mississippi. can you hear me? >> yes. >> i heard you were in the courtroom during a hearing on monday when the ag and their team were trying to sort of fix this problem and assess whether these pardoned killers can actually be pardoned after all. and you faced david gatlin in that room. how was that? >> it was a little bit unnerving. it was the first time i had seen david in about 17 1/2 years. and he didn't make any eye contact with me. he just walked in straight ahead and went to the dvt's table. >> how are you doing know that he is a free man? he and others roaming the streets with y'all. >> we're on high alert. being very cautious. watching everything we do. try not to gather in the same direction twice, just being as cautious as we possibly can>> and then you hear the former governor who is really at the root of all of this because he signed those pardons just on his way out of office. and had this to say about the killers in particular who were pardoned and what kind of people he thought they were before he signed their pardons. have a listen and i'll ask you about it. >> i've let my grandchildren play with these fine men. i've let them ride their try si trisickles out on the driveway. i have no question in my mind that these five guys are not a threat to society. >> randy, the governor says they're not a threat to society. do you have something you want to say to the governor? >> yeah. i think -- i think he's wrong. governor lives in yazoo, mississippi. i would like to see if he would let them play with his kids now that they're not heavily protected by the state troopers and all the security there at the mansion. >> do you think there's something afoot with these missing files? do you think there's something suspicious that some of these files are missing now that they're trying to fix this problem or do you think it's an accident? >> i definitely don't believe it's an accident. i believe it's malicious. i believe they're beginning a cover-up in this. if i was going to try to hide that i would get rid of the other 14 or 15 files as well to try to mri mislead some of the people looking for these files. >> randy, we're thinking about you and your recovery because it is never something you get over. and we wish you the best and all the other victims of many of these criminals as well. and we thank you for your time this morning. >> tough story. >> 43 minutes past the hour here. time to check storieses making news this morning. police in roy, utah, arresting two high school students who they say planned to set off bombs during a school assembly and make their get-away in a plane. one of the suspects was reportedly fascinated be w. the columbine killings. transocean, remember them? apparently they don't have to pay any of the $40 billion in clean-up costs, and all those economic damages that were caused by the deep water horizon oil rig explosion in 2010. federal judge said, yeah, that would be bp that needs to pay all of those costs. transocean could still face civil costs, so they may not be out of the woods yet. super bowl is just over a week away but fans are having a hard time finding officially licensed team gear. a shift in suppliers from nike to reebok after ten years has meant a shortage of team jerseys and a lot of other merchandise as well. >> i bet i know where you can get it, china. >> they do all sorts of stuff like that. it looks real official. soledad o'brien is coming up next, and she's going to join us right now with a look at what she's got on "starting point." hi, soledad. >> good morning. the day after the debate, we are talking about how it went,winne. and we're going to talk with thorning with actor and former representative. we're going to ask him about that. also, college costs seem to be spiraling out of control and, in fact, college is no longer affordable for many americans. this morning we'll talk to education secretary arne duncan about a proposal to reverse that trend. and we told you this story about the east haven mayor and tacos comment. we covered that a lot yesterday. guess what, hundreds of tacos were delivered -- yeah, they are -- hundreds of tacos were delivered to the east haven mayor and they've had -- they tell people if you text us, we will deliver more tacos to the mayor. we'll tell you what's happening there and how he is responding to that this morning. that and much more ahead as we begin at 7:00 a.m. on "starting point."fo the things we buy most. it's 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. that's 1% cash back on oscar. ...tony. oscar! 2% back on whatever she'll eat. 3% back on filling up this baby. 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[ male announcer ] apply online or at a bank of america near you. we're talking 3% back on gas. good morning, everyone. welcome back to "early start." this guy is a familiar face on television and in the movies, in fact. john goodman may be one of the most recognizable and most accomplished@actors of our time. it just so happens two of the movies that he is now in have both been nominated for a best picture oscar. remarkable black and white silent film "the artist" and "extremely loud and incredibly close." here's a look. >> what do you need these for? >> a project on the census. lie number four. >> why aren't you in school? >> they said i know too much already. >> well, golden globe winner, veteran of stage and screen, john goodman joins us now live from london. nice to see you. >> nice to be seen. thank you. >> you know what? i got really excited this morning because on my notes it says you were coming into the studio, i thought, oh, my gosh, i get to meet him. there you are in london. it's nice to have you but i'm still going to invite you when you're in town to join us. >> swell. >> congratulations to you. were you surprised when you heard the nominations? >> i was very pleased. i was working over here. and iity i looked it up on my ipad and was really nice. it was really -- yeah, very pleased. >> i would think your phone would have been ringing off the hook. let's start with the film "the artist." almost entirely a silent film. the last time there was a silent film nominated for an oscar was 83 years ago. why do you think -- >> i was in that, too. >> seriously -- >> i was one of the "little rascals." >> why do you think it's touching so many people, john? >> i think it's just a basic story that works on many levels pap love story. it's -- the classic "a star is born" and also an indication of how very easily any of us can be replaced. >> what was it like being in a silent film? >> it was -- you know, it was wonderful. for one thing we got to shoot in hollywood, which is rare anymore. the whole thing, i think, was in old hollywood in los angeles. and it was this great ensemble that they put together. i think there were 68 of used. and we had to improvise and pay very close attention to what we were doing. and the show was very good with the actors. when i was improvising with jean, he spoke no english at the time and i spoke no french. so we were really paying attention. >> was that one of the greatest challenges in shooting the film? >> well, it was offset by the fact that i didn't have to learn any lines. >> i would imagine that's an added bonus. so let's switch gears here to your other movie here, "extremely loud and incredibly close." you're a friend to the little boy in that film, the young kid who loses his dad in september 11th attacks. tell us about that relationship. >> i think he and everybody else in the building realizes that oscar is a very special kid. and they developed friendship in their own way. there was a really great connection with thomas horn who plays the child oscar. really remarkable kid. >> where were you during 9/11? >> i was in sydney, australia, doing a film. and someone said that a plane had flown into the world trade center. i lived in new york during the '70s and '80s and i thought it was a cessna that flies up the hudson and cnn was on in a hotel room they had on across the street. i remember just thinking first and foremost that the world had just changed. >> did it affect your performance at all, do you think? >> well, yeah, it just reminder of what happened on that day and in watching the horror unfold on television and wondering what was next. >> you know, ashleigh was sitting here, we were taking a look at your picture when you first popped up here, and she said, um, i wonder what he's working on. it looks like he has a look going on there. what are you working on right now? >> it's a piece for the bbc. a series called "dancing on the edge." i play a wealthy american industrialist, like 1931, '32. >> you definitely look the part. listen -- >> i look like mr. belvedere. >> you look like anderson cooper's grandfather. >> what about "monsters inc." i hear something brewing there. the newsroom lit up. >> it's one of my favorite movies. >> literally? are they smoking? >> not that kind of lighting up. >> good one for you, right? >> it's -- it's -- it's well. it's really well written. and funny and, man, is it a pleasure to work for pixar. they're great people. >> john goodman, thank you for joining us. good luck to you. congratulations again. it is 6:53 in the east. "early start" will be back right after the break. aspen is not only beautiful at this time of year but it is very, very exciting. that's for sure. and rob marciano has some video from the x games that will prove what i just had to say. >> scary. >> i want to talk about sean white. i'm not sure this video we're about to show you. it's from his practice run which is what happened yesterday. he actually got hurt. sprained his ankle. >> he did? >> yeah. >> i thought he got -- >> good games manship. i think this is video from maybe the olympic or last year's x games. he's won 11 gold medals at the x games. going for five peat on the super pipe. i'm thinking the sprained ankle is not going to get in the way. slope side in the afternoon and then the super pipe will be tonight for the x games. last night x games competition, colton moore freestyle to think sled. you take a snowmobile out and you want to cruise through the wilderness. these guys -- >> ow, ow. >> that had to hurt. >> oh, oh, another angle. >> not only hurt. of course, you're worried about the head, right? >> right. he just bounces right back. this was during a semifinal run. you know they get to do it twice. maybe three times. >> he tucked his neck in just in time, rob. this could have been a very different story. >> after this he has a future as a stunt man. he went on to win it, guys. in the finals, he must have -- >> how do you when you fall? >> you get a couple of tries each run. obviously the second go around he nailed the landing. >> i love can i just say from a canadian to you when you say sled, you are the coolest man alive because a lot of people call them snowmobiles. >> i do, yeah. >> to the inner people here, they're sleds. >> tomorrow i'll put my tuke on. >> you had me at hello. >> you need to translate for me. tuke is a wool hat in canada. you wear your tuke when you're switing on the chesterfield, that's a sofa. >> end on an education, so thank you, both. appreciate that. >> that's the news from a to z. fun having you with us all week long. i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. "starting point" with soledad o'brien is next. did i get the that right for you? >> you're still mad about that. yes, it was perfect. perfect. good morning, ladies. you are watching "starting point" live from the beach hut cafe in jacksonville beach, florida. on our "starting point" this morning we're looking at i immigrati immigration, housing, colonies on the moon, very spirited cnn republican debate last night. final one before the florida primary. who won, who came out on top, and who can