afghan president meeting overnight in kabul. they were trying to diffuse tensions over the mass killings of those afghan civilian, allegedly by an american army soldier who has now been moved out of afghanistan. >> a deadly school bus crash in southern pennsylvania. the bus driver was killed when the packed bus collided with a semitruck on the highway. 28 students were injured. 6 had to be air lifted to a hospital. >> two inmates pardoned got driver's licenses and cars while they were still behind bars. all of this courtesy of the governor, his wife and his staff. ed lavendera with a cnn exclusive coming up. >> up first, with tensions rising in afghanistan meeting in kabul overnight. the u.s. soldier accused in a mass killing of afghan civilians has been moved out of the country to a military base in kuwait. that's angered lawmakers who want the american to be tried on afghan soil. and, this morning, there's word of new protests, as well. there are so many new developments overnight, let's get right to sarah live in kabul. can we first start talking about this conversation that happened between pinetta and karzai and what the outcome was of that? >> reporter: at this point in time, they haven't released exactly what the two talked about. but no doubt, the situation that happened on sunday, the mass killing of 16 civilians in the dead of night allegedly by a u.s. soldier, that certainly came up. and, also, we're talking about i'm sure the transition that you will see in 2014 with nato troops leaving this country. or at least that is the plan. so i'm sure those two issues came up. we are now seeing protests very near to where this mass a car happened. the protest actually happening after religious leaders called on people to denounce the u.s. and to call for justice. these protests happening in another area in another place called zabul. they want the justice to be right here on afghan soil. we also heard that from afghan lawmakers. there's sure to be some pushback on this, but that obviously is not going to happen because as we reported overnight, this soldier has been taken out of here, transferred out of afghanistan, taken to kuwait. the reasoning behind that seems to be legal. that they didn't have any real place, they said, to hold him here for much longer nor sort of the legal framework, militarily, to deal with him. so they moved him out to kuwait where they do have that in place. >> and we also understand that there was an explosion of a vehicle. and perhaps it wasn't an explosion. i think it was set on fire when pinetta was arriving in that country. can you tell us about that? >> yeah, there's been a lot of conflicting information. but, finally, we got to the bottom of it. there is still an investigation going on. apparently, an employee, a civilian employee, stole a car, drove it on to the runway as pinetta's plane was taxing in. the car ended up on fire, the driver ended up on fire and he has died actually. he injured someone. there's still no word on what his motive may have been. but a lot of concern there, though. they said at no time was mr. pinetta in any danger. he was able to talk to them about really what the mission is going forward, saying that the mission is a transitional one now where afghan soldiers need to be trained by nato soldiers so that, you know, the u.s. and nato allies can leave the country in the hands of afghan forces. >> sarah, thank you very much. >> four minutes passed 5:00 a.m. a new wave of out rage in a mississippi pardon's case is triggered by a cnn exclusive. documents show that two of the inmates may have received some pretty preferential treatment, not only by the governor, but by his wife and his staff, as well. here's ed lavendera. >> reporter: just days before these two mississippi killers were pardoned, cnn has learned david and charles were issued brand new driver's licenses even though they were still technically incarcerated working as trustees at the governor's mansion, which begs the question how do two inmates get licenses while they're still in custody of the prison season. >> he personally drove both men from the governor's mansion here over to the driver's license office himself. >> reporter: barber's security chief suggests the licenses would help them find jobs. why else would they need a driver's license? to drive their newly-purchased cars, of course. cnn has a report which detail how they also had cars ready for them the day they were pardoned. according to the report, barber's wife called a salesman at this car dealership. it says marshal barber contacted him for purchases. the salesman told investigators that the inmates had been brought to the dealership on january 6th, 2012 to complete paperwork for the sale. january 6th is the very day that their pardons were signed, but two days before the men were officially released. the sales man also state that had he delivered both vehicles to the governor's mansion. >> and the governor has refused to comment on ed lavendero's report. the case has been reviewed and no policies were broken. >> six minutes passed the hour here. here's a look at the story making news today. former illinois governor reports to prison today in colorado. he was sentenced to 14 years on corruption charges including the attempted sale and the atrekkeded extortion of a children's hospital in chicago. the highlights of his good-bye are straight ahead. >> and you can't miss them, honestly, a new documentary about president obama is going online today. and got a hollywood touch tipping. the road we've traveled is narrated by tom hanks and directed by davis gugenheim. here is a quick sneak peek. >> when will we understand this president and his time in office? do we look at the day's headlines? or do we remember what we, as a country, have been through. >> pardon the pun here, but it could be a game changer in the way the campaigns use social media. the film is being launched on a new youtube platform that gives anyone viewing the page a number of options to share content or to donate to the campaign. >> federal health officials unvailing a graphic antismoking campaign featuring tips from former smokers. take a look. >> it began with my big toe. that was my first amputation i had. >> it was a vascular disease brought on by smoking. >> my fingers started to go piece by piece. >> oh, wow. well, according to the cdc, the toe bbacco industry spends $27 million a day on cigarette marketing. >> u.s. markets losing some steam after that big ole rally on tuesday. markets closed mixed yesterday. the dough and nasdaq closing higher, while the s&p, the one you need to follow for your 401 k is down. >> we are still in a bull market? >> we are. it's been about three, three and a half years now it's been a bull market. so stocks have been going up. it's been good for your 401 k even as you've been screaming at the banks. also, yesterday, i want to talk about goldman sachs. that's a stock that was down 3.5%. $2.2 billion of market cap of value of goldman sachs was gone yesterday after this surprise dear john letter from an employee of the company who sent his resignation to his bosses and then put a new york times out saying that goldman sachs was deteriorating, it was a toxic place and he didn't want to work there anymore. this, of course, went viral. goldman sachs surrounded by camera crews yesterday in its lower manhattan headquarters. this is what a goldman sachs internal memo to its employees sent out yesterday. everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. but it's unfortunate that it's amplified in a newspaper and speaks louter than the regular detailed and intensive feedback you have provided the firm. they are talking to their own employees. they are looking into whether this greg smith had ever complained about this kind of behavior before -- before -- >> the big outing? >> before he put it in the new york times. whether he brought this up, you know, whether it would have been ignored, all of that kind of stuff. >> do we know anything about him? >> we know he went to stanford. he's probably 32, 33 years old. >> so the big thing about him being a big ole executive, he's a kid. >> it depends how old you are. he's been there 12 years. he started as an intern. he went through the program. he's someone called an executive director. that's why everyone was calling him an executive yesterday. the executive director is a vice president in the london office. there's about 12,000 in the business. he made a lot more money than the average american makes. hundreds of thousands of dollars. but he didn't make the big money by wall street standards. a couple of years ago, i talked to the c.e.o. when senator levin was tearing apart goldman sachs. greg smith has done more to hit the reputation of goldman. >> i want you to listen to what weinfein told me about how they were going to get it together and how wall street was going to get it together and the culture was going to change. listen. >> we'll survive only by putting our clients first in the interest of the board of community first. but there certainly is a rise in the suspicion that something is broken here and that we just don't have the standards and we have the industry and goldman sachs have a lot of work ahead of themselves to make the kinds of changes not just to convince people, but to make the kinds of changes that the -- that are warranted from the lessons of the last several years. >> so the lessons of the last several years. and now here they are again trying to kind of fix the public image in here. you know, it's always been -- public image has always been secondary to clients. this whole greg smith, new york times, now, 24 hours old? still is just buzzing -- >> well, is the culture so broken that the clients will suffer, too. >> and he will commit career suicide. >> or it's a champ letrampolinee new kind of career. >> big story there. i know everybody is trying to book that guy. >> i know, you never heard of the guy. >> thank you, christy. 12 minutes passed the hour, let's get a check of the weather now. rob marciano is in atlanta. good morning to you. >> good morning, guys, the heat continues for at least a good chunk of the country. check out these numbers. in some cases, 30 degrees above average. nashville seeing 83. these are all records. 82 degrees. we have some hundreds of records fall in the last three or four days and we'll probably see another couple of hundred or so in the next two days. chicago, 81 degrees. if this trend continues, come saint patrick's day, it will be the warmest saint patrick's day chicago has ever seen. this is more of a may or june pattern. we've got some weakness in there. so from time to time, there will be pockets of thunderstorms, some of which will be severe, rolling through the area. and we're seeing that right now across parts of ohio, eastern columbus, some of these have had some quarter-sized hail. back door front, though, for the northeast. you'll be a little bit cooler today. the other thing this time of year, all you need to do is have the winds come across the ocean. it keeps the top two-thirds fairly cool and stormy for the west coast. >> thank you, rob. so this just in, the average price of unleaded now, $3.82 per gallon. >> sorry about that. that's a one-cent jump from yesterday. gas now rising for the sixth day in a row. i wish we could give you some better news there. >> that's a lot more than our average jump, which is somewhere around a half a cent or so. but that's a full cent, folks. love fest on the south lawn of the white house last night. president obama paying tribute to british prime minister david cameron and called him a "trusted partner." >> so i'd like to propose a toast. to her majesty, the queen on her diamond jubilee. to our dear friends, david and samantha and to the great purpose and design of our lives. may we remain now and always his faithful servants. cheers, everyone. >> there were 360 people who were on the guest list, making that the biggest state dinner of the obama presidency. and, by the way, that list, star-studded, including corporate heavyweight warren buffet. and look who's here, george clooney. it looks like he's arriving single. >> wow. >> there's a story. >> there's a big story. you and a.j. hammer does with that one. mr. george clooney, solo. >> still ahead, fear and chaos on board a pane. >> the flight attendance's mental break down. did you hear, threatening to kill passengers. and, also, you might say dude picked the wrong deli. a thief macing the owner of a deli and the deli owner picking up a baseball bat. wait until you see what happens after this freeze opens up. let me say this. one hit ain't enough. >> and blagoyovich says good-bye in a very big way. he's going out more like a rock star. you're watching "early start." we want to protect the house. right. but... home security systems can be really expensive. to save money, we actually just adopted a rescue panther. i think i'm goin-... shhh! we find that we don't need to sleep that much. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? 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[ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it is 5:18 a.m. on the east coast. that is a lovely picture of the airport. you can see some of the planes getting ready. get some passengers on board and head out to the hopefully sunny guys. 57 degrees right now, going up to 81 in atlanta. >> that may be the plane you're waiting for. >> for all of you people in the airport waiting, good morning. >> time to check the stories making news this morning. >> good morning, ladies, hundreds of afghans voicing their anger near the village where 16 civilians were killed. demonstration overnight in southern afghanistan coincided with the president's meeting with the u.s. defense secretary leon panetta. former mississippi governor halle barber and his wife and staff may have given preferential treatment to two of the convicted morterers who were later pardoned. documents obtained revealed former first lady marcia barber called a car dealership to purchase vehicles for two convicted murderers just days before they were pardoned. >> we're getting a look at a melt down on an american airlines flight last week. it was captured on a passenger's cell phone video. and a flielgt attendant's voice is chillingly clear! this has not happened to me since 9/11 and i'm not putting up with this. >> somebody call 9-1-1. >> stop. stop. >> i've been highly trained by the f-a-a. >> the flight attendant says she was bipolar and had not taken her medication. american airlines not commenting on that. the security is modifying the screening process for elderly passengers starting monday at four airports, people 75 years or older will not have to remove their shoes or their light outer wear. the goal here, get this, new expedited screening process rolled out across the country. grandma? finally, keep your shoes on. >> it's about time, right? holy cow. all right, christine, thank you so much. it's 21 minutes now passed 5:00. there was a deadly shooting in front of a courthouse in texas and they are calling it a classic shoot out. here's how it went down. a man inside the courthouse was on trial for child sex assault and left the courthouse during a lunch break because he wasn't under any kind of bond or bail. instead, he went over to his truck and he picked up a gun and then opened fire. and just kept on shooting as he was driving. in the end, four people ended up hit by the bullets. one person died. police did actually apprehend him at one point. it all went down at the courthouse in beoumont texas. >> good morning. >> good morning to you. what a remarkable story. your police chief called this a real classic shoot out. can you run me down a little bit of what happened from the perspective of you and your fellow officers yesterday? >> well, it was a very extensive scene. the suspect was a 41-year-old black male from houston. he was on trial for aggravated sexual assault to his 20-year-old daughter. and during the trial, the daughter had already testified and was coming back as a rebuttal witness. and he layed wait in the parking lot, opened fire on the daughter. her mother -- and shot innocent bystanders and ended up killing a 79-year-old female. >> and that 79-year-old female has been named as minnie ray siebel. was she connected to this trial in anyway? or was she in the wrong place at the wrong time? >> she was there with a friend bringing her to court and had nothing to do with the case. >> what about the 20-year-old daughter who allegedly was the target of her father. i had heard something along the lines of her not only being shot, but also hit by his car? >> yes, he originally got out of the vehicle, shot her. he tried to shoot at the mother. he jumped in his truck, ran over the daughter in the parking lot as she went to try and sit up. and then just took off in the area in the vehicle and began shooting. >> randomly at that point? i mean, after that targeted or alleged targeted incident, did it seem as though the other victims were just completely random? >> that's what witnesses were saying they felt like. at that point, he was trying to flee the scene and was just shooting randomly. officers in the area responded and engaged him in gunfire. the gunfire, i heard -- this was 25 minutes of gunfire, i heard. it went on for quite some time. there were seven officers that engaged and two deputies that engaged in the gunfire. they were able to stable his vehicle and he fled into a nearby building where the hostages were actually able to take his gun from him. he had been shot in the gunfire in front of the courthouse. >> but it was the hostages who ultimately disarmed him and paved the way for him to be apprehended? >> yes, it was. he had entered the building during business hours and the hostages were able to get his gun from him. >> are they all okay? >> and open the doors. >> they are okay. no one was injured. and the team was able to make injury when they got the gun. >> one last quick question, the 20-year-old daughter who was not only shot but hit by the car, do we know her condition? >> she's in critical condition. >> officer carol reilly, thanks very much for joining us and lending your perspective on this. good luck to all of you and your fellow officers. >> all right, 25 minutes passed the hour. still ahead, a guy who hid his lottery win from his co-workers who were part of a pool. >> that's nasty. >> guess what? he has now been ordered to pay up. and a dog lover makes a disturbing discovery that leads to the rescue of close to one hundred puppies. that's a happy ending here. you're watching "early start." t. i like yoplait. it is yoplait. but you said it was greek. mmhmm. so is it greek or is it yoplait? 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how about this, a new leash on life. for nearly 90 dogs that were rescued from a puppy mill in north carolina. the dogs have been kept in cramped and filthy quarters. but authorities were alerted to the deplorable conditions by a customer who was buying a puppy. hey, parents, listen up and kids if you're up, a 6-year-old girl in virginia is the youngest ever to qualify for the script's national spelling bee. she won her regional competition beating out 20 other hopefuls, most of whom were nearly twice her age. that trophy a little bigger than she is, huh? >> how sweet is that? six years old. flowers and a trophy. congratulations, young lady. 31 min teas now passed 5:00 a.m. mitt romney is insisting he still has math on his sigh. the problem with romney, another message. that's their words. he, mr. senator, i should say, senator santorum campaigning in puerto rico. sunday's primary there will offer up 20 delegates. and r.j.lacosta had a chance to catch up in san juan. >> so what happened last night? >> it's pretty sad when all you have is to do math instead of, you know, trying to go out there and win it on substance and win it on what americans want to hear now. we're a long, long way from over. and you know what, i suspect if we keep winning state after state after state, we'll be the nominee. >> now, that's some kind of comforts, ain't it? for his part, mitt romney is going to be headed to the island. he'll join the former senator there as well. he's doing that tomorrow. also, he's been very busy fund raising in new york. lots of money in new york. good place to be for it. he insists that his stumble in the south was just a bump in the road. >> i'm sorry. they have to go back and look at some other states that are actually kind of important. let's say florida, for instance, where i won. and michigan and ohio. and nevada. and new hampshire. the list goes on. last night, by the way, they're forgetting a couple of other contests including hawaii. oh, by the way, i've got more delegates than anybody else. >> well, there's that. we do have the delegate count and he is doing real well. romney's a tough 498 delegates. there's good old ron paul still hanging on at 69 delegates. and the big man needs 1,144. that's the number of delegates you need to clinch the nomination. here to talk about it is live in washington, conservative columnist karen agnes. and independent political analyst. all right, you three, here's something we all at this office thought was rather intriguing. as rick santorum, the former pennsylvania senator was in puerto rico where they speak spanish, he had this to say about state hood and the requirements of an official language. like any other state, there needs to be compliance with this and other federal law. and that is that english needs to be the principle language. there are other states with more than one language, like hawaii. but to be a state of the united states, english must be the principle language. karen agnes, last i checked, there was actually nothing codified in federal law that suggested this. p.s., why would you say that in puerto rico? >> yeah, good question. you know, there isn't a federal law mandating that english is our official language. however, there is a history of some of our states, before they became states, making english their language. so it's not completely out of left field, but it does seem like a little bit of a strategic mistake. >> especially if you look at the latino vote back in 2008. we got a quick look at how it shook out between republicans and democrats. at least democrats meeting obama and republicans meeting mccain. they shook out to 67% back then and 31% voting for mccain. i don't know if there's going to be a nice long memory when we get to the general. but, quickly, those numbers might not help. >> we're seeing these other pell begans. we're trying to get these different minority groups that were really tough in the 2008 election. >> so speaking of helpful comments, i've got a great one. we found this little nugget on the campaign trail from newt gingrich. let me preface this by saying i'm a new american so there was no one more pious about loving the system than me. this is what newt gingrich had to say. have a listen. >> the system is so methodically and deliberately stupid. the willful avoidance of knowledge. it is astonishing. >> i don't know if it's more astonishing that someone would say that having basically worked in that stupid, political system for almost his whole adult life. >> well, i think if he was winning, he'd say it's the smartest system in the country. this is about a man who's now losing -- he's almost marginalized the republican party. you want everyone to co aless around him. >> i will admit, it is not without his flaws. the electoral college is really complex and confusing. the popular vote doesn't alms translate into the winner, as we have seen at times in the past. a lot of people are going to take issue with the word stupid. >> i agree. >> here's something that was really interesting. all the way along in this primary season, we have heard people taking shots at mitt romney for being a rich guy. he, himself, has put himself in his mouth a few times with being friends of the nascar owners and the nfl team owners as opposed to the fans. so he was asked on fox news channel about why he keeps doing that, just putting his foot in his mouth about being so rich. listen to his response. it's fascinating. >> hey, guess what? i made a lot of money. i've been very successful. i'm not going to apologize for that. i know dnc tries to push this out and they get it on the mainstream media networks and everybody laughs about it. in this country, we want someone who can help other people become successful. >> goldy taylor, is he finally embracing being a rich guy like, hey, i'm rich, i made it. i came from nothing. look at me now. is he doing this and is it a good thing? >> i really can't say what i want to say. >> say it, girl. go for it. >> i can't say the last word. he really is, you know, truly -- he really is truly out of touch. he has not been able to connect with voters in a real way. he was here in the south and treated it like a foreign nation. he says that these days may not be as important as some of the others that he's won. >> is that fair? he connected with me on that one. i want a really successful guy to run this country? >> with cheesy grits, too. [ laughter ] >> no, i don't want a successful guy to run this country. i do want a guy who believes in the american dream to run this country and to help other people capture and brace their own version of the american dream. but he has to understand and meet people where they are, not necessarily where he is. that is mitt romney's problem. >> we have an old expression among my old college friends, that is let your freak flag fly. i don't know if that's what he's doing. dean, karen, goldie, stick around. we'll talk to you guys in the next hour. >> it is 38 minutes passed the hour. former illinois giveer's last hoar rah. it's a big one for trying to sell a senate seat. plus, a deadly owner won't stand for a robbery attempt. stepping up to the plate to take a swing at crime, literally. you are watching "early start." 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[ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. 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. good morning to you, chicago. 63 degrees now. later? it says here, 69. but i could have sworn rob marciano said it's going to be much, much, much warmer. so, why are we showing a shot of chicago? because we are talking about rob blagoyavich. i know why it might be warming up? all the hot air from him yesterday? he could not avoid it. the convicted former illinois governor surrounded like a rock star. very weird. surrounded by supporters last night because he's getting ready this morning to report to federal prison today to serve a 14-year sentence. alina choe has been working this story. >> he is consistent. >> two things, you can't make it up and only in america. >> i love you. i absolutely love you. >> you lived there, you would know. >> good morning, guys. you know rob blagoyavich has never been one to shy away from cameras. his final public appearance was a full-on media swan song. just take a look at this. 15 television trucks line the street. the event was even timed for the beginning of the 5:00 local news. all of the stations could tape it live. we're talking 5:02 exactly. and ever the politician, he shook hands, he signed autographs. he even quoted the bible. now, remember, back in 2008, he was arrested and charged on 18 counts of corruption, caught on tape trying to sell barack obama's u.s. senate seat. he was convicted in december of last year and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. yesterday, blagoyavich took responsibility for what he did. >> i told the judge back in december, everything i talked about doing when it came to campaign fund raising and political trading i believe was on the right side of the law. the decision went against me. i am responsible for the things i've said. i accept that decision as hard as it is and the law as it stands right now is that i have to go do what i have to go do. and this is the hardest thing i've ever had to do. >> all right, maybe not so much. he praised his wife for standing by him and talked about what his prison sentence will do to his kids. >> i have to confess there are times when i just want to give up. but then i look into the eyes of my daughters and i look at my little girls and i think that is not what a father is supposed to do. you're supposed to show them how you fight through adversity. the key fight is you stand strong and you bear your crosses and you bear your burdens and that's what i hope maybe, maybe my kids can learn by at least in part that's happening to us and the calamity that we're facing. >> wow. >> goodness. >> i'm speechless, honestly. three women who have no trouble talking, completely speechless. >> i was watching his wife. she was really torn up. she was caught on tape also saying some things, you know. >> that's right. >> that were very uncomfortable to listen to. >> and it's not over yet. >> right. >> i mean, these things never are, right? >> he still can appeal. >> he says he will appeal his conviction. during that process, by the way, he'll be sitting in a federal prison somewhere in suburban denver known as inmate number 40892-424. and in case you forgot or didn't know this, he's the second illinois governor in a row to serve prison time for corruption. his predecessor, george ryan also serving time, six and a half years for his 2006 racketeering and fraud convictions. >> but they don't get to hang out together because they're not in the same place. >> he's in indiana, but it does continue. someone asked him if he's scared. he said it's not courage if you're not scared. one onlooker said it was like watching a public execution, except it's not because he's appealing. he says i have faith in the rule of law. i will be back. and, as i said, when you see what happened yesterday, only in america. >> right. >> the fourth illinois governor. it's unbelievable. >> yeah, it is pretty remarkable. >> and, you know, federal sentences, you serve almost the entire thing. >> i think it's 11.5 years he has to serve. >> yeah, and you don't get good behavior time like you do in other cases. he's going to be there a long time. >> thank you. >> 46 minutes passed the hour. still ahead, caught on tape. a deli owner beats a would-be thief like he is a pinyatta. >> an office building to walk outside because of that? look, no kidding. oh, my lord. that's incredible. >> that easter tor yell is what it is. i love it. >> we're going to take you there and explain that one in just a moment. this is lawn ranger -- eden prairie, minnesota. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. 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[ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant or are breast feeding should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month for androgel 1.62%. what are you waiting for? this is big news. welcome back. 50 minutes passed the hour here. here is miss christine robins. >> a meeting overnight in an effort to ease tension over the mass killing of afghan civilians, allegedly by an american soldier. that soldier has now left the country, u.s. military officials say he has been taken to a u.s. base in kuwait. the average price of gas rising for the sixth day in a row. a would-be robber in oregon picked the wrong deli to try to steal from. surveillance video shows the suspect pepper spraying the owner and then the owner fights back. he repeatedly beat the robber. eventually chasing him out of the store. i think police say you're not supposed to do that because it could end badly for everyone. anyway, workers at an office building have learned to duck when a canada goose is around. experts say it's an overly protected father and mother and her eggs are not very far off. the geese are very territorial, as you know. they're also protected species. get a look at this guy. he's just trying to have a cigarette break. >> you know what, i wouldn't be laughing if it was me. but i know. >> those canadians, right? >> i know. [ laughter ] >> they think, by the way, a canada goose is the only thing that's aggressive about canada. >> is it? really? >> hockey and geese. that's all you've got that's aggressive. >> thank you. that was awesome. still ahead at 5:52 in the east, a new species of frog. and we can say this about this little guy. adorable. and he just might be a yankee fan. i'm going to explain what that means. pretty cool. ss >> and the government's new anti-smoking ad campaign. showing you smoking's really, really scary side. you're watching early start. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. will be giving away passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. it's five minutes before 6:00 on the east coast. we like to keep you in the pop culture look. loop. we're taking a look at the social media. you know what it is. chad decided to take 200 of his not so closest friends out to dinner via twitter. this is what he tweeted to his 3 million followers. dinner in new york tonight. first 200 people at sylvia's restaurant by 7:00 p.m. in harlem, leave your money, credit cards at home. i got you this time. holy moly, take a look at the line. the line out the door. apparently, they had to turn away about 50 people, which is interesting considering that three million twitter followers got the invitation. if you've ever been to sylvia's, it's an iconic soul food spot. had i gotten that tweet, i would have gone, for sure. >> oh, absolutely. i've got a new restaurant to try. >> he's done this before, you know. and he also gave his phone number out to everybody. he gave his own personal cell phone number out to all of those people. >> so a new species of frog discovered. not in the jungle, but look at this cutety pie. biologists say his natural habitat is the new york city area. so, for years, they thought it was a leopard frog. but this frog has distinct dna and a different croak. you can call it a bronx cheer. this guy says he's one of the biologists working on this. he says this frog gave a repeated croak, not the long snort. when i first heard these frogs calling, it was so different i knew something was veryoff. off. >> and in the middle of new york. >> i wonder what that frog survives on? what the food source is. >> you can only imagine. >> dogs, popcorn, beer. >> we were trying to decide this. the rats probably eat the frogs, right? >> oh, no, i thought we said he was cute. it's 57 minutes now passed five on the east coast. coming up, just ahead, the u.s. secretary of defense is meeting the afghanistan president, all of this amid the new fury over a u.s. soldier's bloody civilian rampage. you're watching early start. and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. 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[ male announcer ] good choice business pro. good choice. go national. go like a pro. good morning to you, welcome to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. >> blago is not going away quietly. that is not only ex-governor of illinois, also a convicted felon and a little later on he was draped in u.s. flag after this farewell news conference that looked a little bit more like a staged political rally. we'll give you the highlights. rabbi, reality show star, adviser to his heirness, now, he is running for congress. he is joining us live here. and on to our top stories now. defense secretary leon panetta meets with afghan president, harmid karzai. also making news, a school bus driver killed, 28 students injured when the bus that they were on crashed into a semi on the highway in southern pennsylvania. drivers license and cars while they were behind bars. all ed lavin derue with an exclusive ahead. afghan president and harmid karzai trying to ease the tensions after the killing of 16 civilians last weekend. the two met in kabul a short time ago. the soldier accused in that massacre has been whisked out of that country, taken to a military base in kuwait. that has triggered more anger in afghanistan, as well. also some protests, as well, in this country. following all of the developments and, amid all of this, the violence, the potential for violence, sarah, yesterday as leon panetta was addressing a number of the troops there, the marines were asked to check their weapons outside of the facility where leon panetta was set to speak to them and tat is just a really rare move. what was that about? >> it was really about showing that afghan soldiers and the marines are u.s. and uk soldiers are on the same footing because the afghan soldiers aren't armed and they said this is something that is not a big deal when you asked the officials there with mr. panetta. but it certainly is unusual. not something you would see normally on it. that was the reason that they gave. they wanted to make sure they fell in the same footing as u.s. and uk soldiers. for that reason, they're trying to do this transition to hand the country over to afghan forces who they have been training for years to take control of their own country so that in 2014, nato troops and allies can leave the country to afghans. let's talk a little bit about what happened today. we are seeing protests now in a place called kalat, which is right next to kandahar, which is where we saw this massacre on sunday and this was sort of brought into place by religious leaders. they're screaming slogans like "death to america" and they want to see justice in their talking, of course, about the accused u.s. soldier who is accused of killing 16 people, including women and children. that soldier has now been transferred out of afghanistan. that is causing even more anger among the people here. we heard from some of the residents here in kabul, basically saying this is just not right. that this person should be tried on afghan soil. we heard just a couple days ago from lawmakers here in afghanistan asking the u.s. government to allow there to be a public trial here for the person accused, right here on u.s. soil. that soldier was transferred out last night and sent to kuwait where there is more of a military legal structure in place to deal with that sort of thing. ashleigh? >> i was talking to an officer yesterday who suggested some of the witnesses that are key in the prosecution of that soldier, it would be too difficult to transfer them out of afghanistan so,o a likely possibility he could be brought back to afghanistan to face trial. but in the interim, keeping him out of afghanistan might be the safest bet for everybody involved in this process. sara, what i find really incredible and i'm not sure if americans are tuning into this sooner rather than later. only some weeks ago that korans were burned and this week 16 people killed, 9 of them children and doesn't seem to be the same level of outrage. is it on the horizon? is it different? >> yeah, it's hard to really tell, but it seems that, you know, just to put it culocially, if you mess with someone's god, someone will be angry about that. we are talking about 16 civilians being slaughtered in the dead of night with no way to defend themselves. but we aren't seeing the kind of reaction that you did with the koran where there were protests that led to the death of 40 people, including 4 service members. it may be coming. little protests here and there popping up and, of course, friday prayers coming up tomorrow and we are hearing more protests coming. so, it's just a wait and see. it is a good point to make, ashleigh. >> doing the job for us in kabul for us this morning, thank you very much. it appears two of the inmates got preferential treatment while they were still in custody, as well. not only from the governor, but from his wife and staff. according to documents obtained exclusively by cnn. here's ed lavandera. just days before these two mississippi inmates were pardon, they were issued new driver's licenses even though they were working at the governor's mansion. which begs the question, how do two inmates get driver'slysins while still in custody of the prison system? he told cnn he personally drove both men from the governor's office to the office himself. why else would either of these men need a driver's license? to drive their newly purchased cars, of course. cnn obtained these segger reports which detail how gatlin and hooker had cars ready for them the day they were pardoned. it says, marsha barbour contacted him regarding the purchase of vehicles for hooker and gatlin. they were brought to the keelership on january 6, 2012, in a black ford crown victoria to complete paperwork for the sale. >> the mississippi department of public safety says it has reviewed the case and that no policies were broken. eight minutes now past 6:00. federal health officials unveiling a graphic, graphic anti-smoking campaign featuring tips from former smokers. have a look for yourself. >> i began with my big toe, that was my first amputation that i had. >> a vascular disease brought on by smoking. >> my fingers started to go piece by piece. >> if it is too graphic, you might want to consider this. according to the cdc, the tobacco industry spends $27 million every single day marketing cigarettes. if you do the math, that's about 10 billion every year. >> pretty impacktual. still ahead, a guy who had his lottery win from his co-workers in the pool decides not to share and then gets taken to court. we'll tell you what happened. he is a rabbi with his own reality show and he's now running for congress, as a republican. joining us live in the studio. once considered untouchable, native american tribe gets a permit to kill the national bird. what's that about? there's more to that headline before you make a decision. but, first, let's get a quick check on the travel forecast. rob marciano is looking at the map, checking it out, keeping us up to date. >> feels a lot more like may or june. temps in the 80s and records falling yesterday. 86 in st. louis and a lot of these temperatures 30 and in some cases, 40 degrees above average. 81 degrees in chicago. a little bit cooler today and a slice of a cool front coming through and keep the heat pumping and in some of that area of heat will be thunderstorms and we're seeing parts of that across ohio and a little bit cooler in new york, as well. 55, back to our cool front and storms coming across the west coast with rain and snow. that's a quick check on weather, ten minutes after the hour. 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[ male announcer ] brake problems? stop in to meineke today for a free brake inspection and you'll say... my money. my choice. my meineke. he's known as america's rabbi but now shmuley boteach. he is seeking the republican nomination for new jersey's ninth congressional district and a key party committee is endorsing him and the rabbi is joining us this morning. thank you. >> good morning. >> i wanted to get the correct pronunciation. >> you did it properly. >> thank you for being with us here. you're an incredibly interesting man. you're a well-known rabbi. some would say perhaps celebrity. why are you running for congress? >> zoraida we have to change the value discussion in the united states because the social obsession is killing us. if we spend the next three decades talking about abortion, gay marriage, where is the focus going to be about really helping families, like introducing legislation that can help marriage counseling tax deductible who can give couples in crisis to get the help that they need. i cannot believe the distractions that are undermining us in the time of such great challenge. you are showing clips from the tv show i just hosted. is the obsession over gay marriage going to help, i am a child of divorce. what about growing narcissism among our youth. none of these things are being addressed. we continue to. >> come back to the same social values issue. i want to change the conversation. >> the conversation exists. everybody is talking about the social issues. where do you stand on those issues? >> i'm an orthodox jew who has a gay brother. i may be for civil unions, but do i think gay marriage is the end of the republic? of course, not. that is ridiculous. we're using a scapegoat to excuse our own heterosexual failures in marriage. why isn't there a greater financial incentive. couples on the verge of divorce, once they get counseling, if they can afford it because it's not cheap, especially in times of economic turmoil like now. they have a significant rate of recovery in their marriage. if we don't change the conversation, the fact is if you find the underlying values that define so many policies, there's less friction because we may, we may disagree on how to get to those values, but we don't disagree on what the values should be. not the silly distractions that are just ridiculous. it's almost shameful that we're having these conversations. >> you mention the reality show. how do you separate that? this celebrity from the run of congress. >> i'm not a celebrity. i'm a father of nine. i love being around my children. i have a loving wife. i try to give families what happened to me. one out of two children are raised the way i was raised. i think that lust for attention is compensation is for absense of love. i don't know that college has to be four years any more. i was the rabbi at the university for three years. let's get students to volunteer for a year and get college credits for a year to combat the growing narcissism. twitter and facebook, but telling the whole world every single day what you're about and the corn flakes you ate for breakfast. i think policy can begin to reflect some of those values. >> you have nine children. and you said mom and dad need to be at home in order to raise those kids. running for congress will take you away from home? >> that's why i spent a good few months. but you can bring your kids to a lot of things and i like my children to actually see some of the sievingic responsibilities. the fund-raising is all difficult and it's not pleasant, but being with people and especially being forced to go out of your comfort zone and people people who are ethnically different and i freely admit this is new for me and i ask god's blessing that it turns out well. i hope the message is victorious and if i am, as well, as the great. but i think i'm getting into this because i feel this message has to be delivered, even if i end up not having that seat, i'll fight for the seat, but i think the message is still more important than that. >> we're running out of time here. who do you support in this gop race? >> i think that there are a few decent, good choices and i'm more focused on my race than i am on that. >> i suspeck pet people want to know. >> you have to give me a little bit of time. i am getting my feet wet in my own race. i follow the national races. as soon as i know, you'll be the first i call. >> good luck to you, thank you for the blessing. >> nice to see the rabbi, lovely to see you in studio. 18 minutes past 6:00 and time to check our top stories and christine romans is busy at work collecting them. she is here with us now, hi. >> hundreds of afghans taking the streets demonstrating overnight near the scene of the civilian massacre last weekend. a massacre allegedly at the hands of american army soldier. at the same time, defense secretary leon panetta and afghan president harmid karzai were meeting in kabul trying to ease tensions. rob blagojevich reports to prison today in colorado. he was sentenced to 14 years on corruption charges, including the attempted sale of president obama's former senate seat. the highlights of his big good-bye are ahead. you don't want to miss that. for the first time ever the u.s. government is allowing a native american tribe to kill bald eagles. the u.s. fish and wildlife service have granted a permit to the northern arapahoes to kill two bald eagles in a century's old religious ceremony. a ceremony that was previously outlawed. bald eagles have made such an amazing comeback over the past 25 years. it's really remarkable. >> they're off the endangered list, too. all at the same time, it's hard to see that, but understandable, as well. every other animal to be treated the same but they have the popularity. thank you for that. 20 minutes past 6:00 and some serious backlash for goldman sachs after one of their own quit and blasted the bank in a no hold's bard in the "new york times" no less. did you see this? 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[ male announcer ] one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. 24 minutes past the hour. minding your business, this is greg smith. you probably didn't know who he was until a day ago. goldman sachs who resigned in an op ed in "new york times." the toxic culture the bank is making waves across wall street. >> christine romans was following this one. you were on the phone. you were getting the statement from goldmian sachs. >> the internal memo they sent to their clients. >> he's one guy. not like he was at the bank for 25 years or 30 years and it's just rippling through thedry. >> because, look, there have been hearings, there has been a huge sec settlement with this company a year ago. it's one guy, kind of an anonymous vice president who has really blown the reputation right now of this company and it's so interesting because this guy, no one ever heard of until yesterday has done more to bring this back in the headlines after three years of the company trying to manage the image. that's interesting. unexpected. kind of a bomb going off inside and yesterday everyone was saying he was a top executive. it's kind of worse and he's a guy that when i was talking to my sources yesterday, they never heard of it. he is one of 12,000 who have this particular title. it's pretty interesting. one of the things that goldman said in its internal memo, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but it's unfortunate it's amplified in a newspaper and speaks louder than the regular detail and intensive feedback you have provided the firm. the company is looking into whether he complained before. he resigned, apparently, in an e-mail to his bosses 15 minutes before this was in "new york times." if he was so concerned about the culture of goldman sachs being toxic and all about making money, even at the risk your clients, you know, making money off of your clients. that was something he was concerned about. i talked to the ceo from goldman sachs about this very issue before. how they were going to repair their image and exactly two years ago when they were under fire from congress, this is what he told me. >> will survive only by putting our clients first in the interest of a broader community first. but there certainly is a rise in suspicion that something is broken here and we just don't have the standards and we have, the industry and goldman sachs have a lot of work ahead of itself to make the kind of changes, not just to convince people, but to make the kind of change as that the warranted from the lessons of the last several years. >> that's the goldman angle, what they have been trying to do for two years. spin debate about greg smith, is this the ultimate act of loyalty or a guy trying to use a trampoline for a new career. >> look at the effect he is having. the. >> the stock was down 3.3% yesterday. he hurt himself financially yesterday because the stock was down. >> or just huge sour grapes. that is the other big question. good job. 27 minutes past the hour coming up. the deli owner who takes the law and a bat into his own hands. even mace in the face cannot stop him from protecting his place. and, also, saved from grave conditions. a dog rescuer helps to rescue dozens of puppies from a puppy mill. we'll tell you the story behind this one, you're watching "early start." you know when i grow up, 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. 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[ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories. it is 30 minutes past the hour, welcome back to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. >> meeting overnight in kabul and ease tensions in the mass killing of afghan civilians at the hands of a u.s. soldier. and that is sparking protests this morning near the scene of last weekend's rampage. five workers who pulled their money to buy lottery tickets will share a $20 million jackpot. claimed the winning ticket was just for him and yesterday a jury in new jersey disagreed and they decided the five workers should each get $4 million. a dog lover helped save ed five. they were alerted to the deplorable conditions by a customer who bought a puppy at that location. mitt romney insists he still has the map on his side after stumbling in the deep south, but a lot of republican insiders and his rival rick santorum says math is no message. sunday's primary there offers of 20 delegates. our jim acosta caught up with a very confident santorum. >> the delegate is not on your side is probably what happened last night. >> it's pretty sad when all you have to do is do math instead of trying to go out there and win it on substance and win it on what americans want to hear about it. we're a long, long way from over and i suspect if we keep winning state after state after state, it would be the nominee. >> so, mitt romney is headed to puerto rico tomorrow. he is fund-raising in new york and he insists the losses in alabama and mississippi will not slow him down. >> i'm sorry, they have to go back and look at some other states that are actually kind of important. let's say, florida, for instance, where i won. and michigan and ohio and nevada and new hampshire. the list goes on. last night, wby the way, they were where i won. >> the latest cnn delegate count. romney 498. santorum 239. 1,144 are needed to clinch the nomination. here in new york, let's talk to our political panel, we have co-founder of the arab american comedy festival and live in washington, d.c., conservative columnist karen agnes and goldy taylor. karen, i'll start with you and i'll start with the math. romney has been hammering that he has got the most delegates, so that he is the eventual momny. let's listen to what he said on fox news yesterday. >> i'm glad that i've got, i think, about twice as many delegates as anyone in the process and last night i got more delegates than anybody else. >> personally, i think the math is really simple here. but apparently republicans are saying stop with the math speech. you know, reagan had his shining city upon a hill and romney has, we want more delegates and he has this disconnect problem. how can he change this message or should he change the message? >> we have to remember this is a contest for delegates. so, the math does matter. i understand some people want to criticize him for not throwing out the fireworks and engaging on the really controversial issues of the day, but i think romney is actually being smart to focus on what he needs to do now, which is to win the primary and put himself in a position to win the general election by staying focused on the big issuess. the economies, the jobs. he is making a good strategic move to set himself up for success in the general election. >> you don't think he seems to disconnect with people when he talks about this math constantly? >> well, a lot of headlines out there winning states versus winner take all state and it's confusing and i think he's just trying to hone in on the message of, this is a contest, i'm going to win this contest and i think that's what he need to be doing. >> dean, i'll switch gears with you. santorum is working hard to get every last delegate there and i'll give you full disclosure here, my parents are puerto rican and i went to school in puerto rico. rick santorum was asked if he would back statehood. and he said, "like any other state, there has to be compliance with this and any other federal law and that is that english has to be the principal language. there are other states with more than one language, such as hawaii, but to be a state of the united states, english has to be the principal language." from personal experience i went to elementary school there and most of the books were in the english language and if you go around the island of puerto rican, most of the people -- >> it's a great island. i hope as a result of this comment rick santorum loses the vote of j.lo and rosie perez. if you want to be an american, you have to speak english. no different than the things that rick santorum wants to impose. i want a federal amendment saying no gay marriage. the case of everything, incloousing rape and incess. i want our laws to correspond with the bible. biggest hypocrite i've seen and the candidate who says one thing and then actually wants something more and even if he is not based on our law. >> i will stayen eon this issued worries republicans that they're losing the latino vote. they don't have it. let's look mitt romney in a match matchup. and romney is making comments like the following. let's listen and then i want you to weigh in on this. >> the question is, if i were elected and congress were to pass the dream act, would i veto it? the answer is yes. the answer is self deportation. people can do better by going home because they can't find work here because they don't have legal documentation to allow them to work here. >> so, i want to be clear, immigration issues are not just latino issues, but it can alienate latino voters, right? republicans need them. how do they work this out? >> well, quite certainly mitt romney has deported himself out of the white house. he just cannot become president of these united states without winning 40% of the latino vote and, clearly, this republican field, including mitt romney has done a lot more to alienate that entire segment of the population, including people who understand those issues who don't happen to be latino or hispanic. there is a real, real issue here for republicans come this fall and i think the damage is permanent. >> all right, karen, dean, goldie, thank you for joining us this morning. 38 minutes now past 6:00 and still ahead on "early start." a jury finds virginia tech negligent in the school's reaction to that shooting massacre back in 2007. we'll explain what that means for some of the families of the victims. take a look at your screen right now. wow. that is a deli owner in oregon saying, sorry, buddy. i am better than you in a head-to-head matchup. you want to rob my store. we'll show you what happens after that video unfreezes and how he defended his home turf. you do not want to miss it. you're watching "early start." presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. 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this is big news. 42 minutes past the hour. a jury finds virginia tech universe botched its response to the 2007 massacre tat left 33 people dead. >> after the first shots were fired at that school, the facility took a full two hours before alerting students that there was actually a threat. the families of two of the victims were awarded a lot of money. $4 million each. and many are calling the verdict, or calling this justice that was long overdue. lori hoss' daughter, emily, survived that attack. and she joins me now live from richmond. lori, i'm curious. emily was part of this, but you were not part of the suit, you were, instead, testifying on behalf of those two other families. what made you get involved in their case? >> the families have all been very supportive of their efforts to get the truth and accountability in this case. and i was happy to do so. >> there was a larger settlement back in 2008 that the school actually paid out $11 million to families of victims and these two families opted out and, instead, did their own civil path. were you all involved in that larger settlement? >> yes, my daughter was part of that settlement. >> why do you suppose these two families decided they didn't want to be part of it? >> i think at the time there was a lot of pressure from the state and from officials at virginia tech and representatives of the state to settle. and it was determined, you know, by them, that this was the best they can do. i think the families, the prides and petersons and understandably so, wanted more information and more accountability than the settlement offered them. and we respected their choice at that time and as they respected my daughter's choice at that time. this was a good move for them and frankly a good move for all the families. several families who regret that settlement. >> that was my next question. is there a regret in your family's heart knowing now that these two families have had the justice that they received from the court. >> there's just some regret at not doing a better job at holding the university accountable for information, specifically, ask telling the families what happened that morning. and what went on and what they were talking about and what didn't happen, frankly, after the first two shootings. so, this verdict has been a just verdict and it has been for the families and we're happy to see that the government panel's saw that the university erred in not issuing a warning and not issuing a warning earlier and now a jury has. that's three strikes. i don't know what more we could ask for. >> always difficult to quantify justice. the settlement in 2008, it was $11 million to be split up by the victims' family members and in yesterday's case, $4 million to be awarded to each of the families. as i see it, there is this appeal to limit the $4 million to instead $100,000 suggesting that this is actually a legal cap. so, that's still to play out and it is possible that that $4 million award will be mitigated in some way. but i think is justice in the money or is justice more in the message? >> i think justice is clearly in the message. the prides and petersons have said from day one, this is not about the money, as have most of the family members. it's not about the money, but about the truth being told. the university knew at 7:30 a.m. that there was one mortally wounded, one deceased and a gunman on the loose on campus and they did nothing to inform students, staff and faculty about that danger. this has been clearly about what they did not do and it was their responsibility to notify and warn the students of a gunman on the loose on campus and they did not do it. >> lori, just quickly, how is your daughter, emily? >> emily is fine. thank you for asking. she is living happily and working and is recently engaged and getting married this summer. we're very happy for her and excited. >> congratulations to you. i wish i could give you congratulations under different circumstan circumstances. it is 47 minutes past the hour here. time to check the stories that are making news this morning. here is christine romans. >> good morning, ashleigh and zoraida. leon panetta and harmid karzai are meeting in kabul. the soldier who was taken out of the country and taken to a military base in kuwait. lawmakers are demanding that he faced justice on afghan soil. still, a very, very controversial subject. the average price of unleaded gas now $3.82 a gallon. that is a one cent jump from yesterday and gas now rising for a sixth day in a row. a would-be robber in oregon picked the wrong deli. he eventually beat the robber chasing him out of the store. an overly protective canada goose showing who rules the roost in an office building in st. louis. when father goose is around, workers just have to duck there in st. louis. >> that is some kind of video, christine romans. look at that. the guy waving him off, too, that is great. soledad o'brien joining us now with a look at what's coming up in just a few minutes on "starting point." >> rick santorum weighs into the english only debate and he says that puerto rico want to become a state, they should make english the official language because it is federal law. it's not federal law. we'll talk to this morning to a congressman from puerto rico about that. >> you guys have been talking about the fallout from goldman sachs. we'll talk to a man who literally wrote the book on goldman sachs and the culture there and the impact this letter could bring. all that and more straight ahead on "starting point." we'll see you at the top of the hour. 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? 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[ male announcer ] 1, 2, 3 percent cash back for the things you buy most. the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. >> i have to go do what i have to go do and this is the hardest thing i've ever had to do. oh, did you think he was going to go quietly? draped in the american flag, folks. former illinois governor rob blagojevich planning his exit to federal prison this morning after supporters gave him a very bizarre good-bye. 6:52 on the east coast. welcome back to "early start "everyone. as you just saw on his last day of freedom, rob blagojevich just kept talking. >> he did. alina cho joins us with a whole lot more. >> i hate to laugh. but, really you can't make it up. rob blagojevich, the former illinois governor and former contestant on "the apprentice" never shied away from the spotlight and this was no exception. his slow walk to federal prison was a full-on media circus. just look at this, 15 tv trucks lined the trestreet and the eve was timed to the 5:00 news so all the news station could take it live. blagojevich shook hands, signed autographs and, yes, he even quoted the bible. you will remember back in 2008 blagojevich was arrested and charged on 18 counts on corruption caught on tape for trying to sell barack obama's u.s. senate seat. after two trials, he was convicted and in december of last year, sentenced to 14 years in prison. and here's what he had to say about that. >> i told the judge back in december everything i talked about doing when it came to campaign fund-raising and political horse trading y believe was on the right side of the law. the decision went against me. i'm responsible for the things i said and i accept that decision, as hard as it is. the law as it stands right now is that i have to go do what i have to go do and this is the hardest thing i've ever had to do. >> the former governor has certainly made no secret that he thinks the prosecution and he's got the appeal. so, this legal saga yet to be determined. >> no, far from over. i mean, you saw him, he was defiant. he is appealing his conviction, by the way, during that entire process. he will be sitting in a federal prison somewhere in suburban denver as inmate number 40892-424. now, blagojevich, remember, he is the second governor in a row to serve prison time for corruption. his predecessor george ryan currently serving 6 1/2 years for his conviction on fraud and racketeering in 2006. this is not something that is new to the state of illinois, not by a long shot. one thing that i found that was really interesting is that someone asked him, are you scared to go to prissen? he said, it's not courage if you're not scared. i have faith in the rule of law and i will be back. >> take a look at those pictures, alina. >> that's in chicago. that is blagojevich's house and this has been a media circus. the poor folkess in that community are, you know, kind of used to this. maybe now it will dissipate because constant media trucks in that area all the time. they're waiting for him to leave. >> they had quite the show yesterday. >> yes, they did. >> i wonder if there is this kind of media circus at chicago o'hare? >> i think so. 6:55 on the east coast, coming up at 7:30 on "starting point" someone who knows what it is like to do time for political corruption. jake abramoff weighs in on whether blago is in for an attitude adjustment. get your free sample of quaker oatmeal squares on facebook. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. cleaning better doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm gonna...use these. ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ [ female announcer ] unlike mops, swiffer can maneuver into tight spaces without the hassle and its wet mopping cloths can clean better in half the time, so you don't miss a thing. mom? ahhhh! ahhhh! no it's mommy! 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