summer olympics. that's not what you want to see just before the games start. >> a bizarre one i never heard about either. the name. plus, a day of reckonning for facebook. we look ahead to the first earnings report as a public company later today with our christine romans. >> interesting. up first, the latest on the aftermath and investigation in aurora, colorado. law enforcement sources say the shooting suspect james holmes mailed a package to the university of colorado campus in aurora which was received on monday and forced the evacuation of a building. it was holmes himself who told police where to find it. cbs news says the package was addressed to a psychologist and contained a letter talking about shooting people along with scribbling showing the gunman shooting victims. we're going to have a full report from aurora in a few minutes. six days after the mssacre in aurora, colorado, gun control is a very hot topic on the campaign trail. he waited five days to enter the fray. president obama is now front and center on the debate. telling the national urban league in new orleans yesterday some weapons sales need to be restricted. >> i, like mostamericans, believe the second amendment guarantees an individual the right to bare arms. but i also believe a lot of gun owners would believe that ak-47s belong in the hands of soldiers not criminals. >> mitt romney does not see it the same way. he believes tighter gun control laws would do little to stop a massacre like the one in aurora. >> i don't happen to believe that america needs new gun laws. a lot of what this young man did was clearly against the law. but the fact it was against the law did not prevent it from happening. >> remember, mitt romney did sign an assault weapons ban when governor of massachusetts. right now romney is in london fund-raising and meeting with british leaders. there are bumps early on because of this quote in a british newspaper from an unnamed campaign adviser. "we're part of an anglo-saxon heritage and he, romney, feels that the special relationship is special. the white house didn't fully appreciate the shared history we have." some see that comment as having some racial overtones. it is getting strong reactions from both campaigns. jim acosta is live on the ground in london right now. probably not the quote that mitt romney wanted to see when he got on the ground in london. >> reporter: that's right, john. i mean he just touched down in long do london yesterday when the controversy greeted him. an unnamed romney adviser quoted it. the rest of the news media could not confirm. that it was interesting to see the aeb obama campaign seize on comments. a statement coming from vice president bide ben this. vice president biden putting out a statement through the obama campaign yesterday saying "not surprisingly this is just another feeble attempt by the romney campaign to score political points at the expense of this critical partnership. this assertion is beneath a presidential campaign." the romney campaign did put out a statement sharply rebuking the vice president basically. but then mitt romney sat down in an interview nbc's brian william. he was asked about it. the former massachusetts governor was a bit more guarded, did not go after vice president biden, only said he disagreed with the comments. here's what he had to say. >> i'm not sure who this person is. i can tell that you we have a very special relationship between the united states and great britain. it goes back to our very beginnings. cultural and historical. but i also believe the president understands that. so i don't agree with whoever that adviser might be. >> reporter: now to get to some of the day's other events, we should note that mitt romney just wrapped up a meeting with former prime minister tony blair. they had a brief discussion, we're told, about the olympics. mitt romney said to tony blair that he wants to take in a swimming event. they talked about mrs. romney's horse that is taking part in an olympic game here. he won't be watching that event. i should mention where we are right now, we're out in front of ten downing street, the residencest pri of the prime mi david cameron. we understand the olympic torch, that's right, the olympics are going on in the midst of all this the olympic torch will be coming down ten downing street today. >> take a picture. you were talking about the horse which has been in the horse and swimming. these are not topics of great world importance. what will mitt romney try to discuss and not discuss as he meets with the british leaders today? >> reporter: well, you know sh it, it's going to be interesting to hear what he has to say. he asked a question this morning when talking to tony blair and didn't respond to the question, what message do you want to send to the united states in the trip is about how mitt romney deals with the foreign leaders. he's trying to project an image of what a future president romney would look like. obviously, he talks on the campaign trail quite a bit about the partnership between the united states and england and what he says repeatedly out on the campaign trail is that a strong and secure america is the best defense, the best keeper of peace aren't world. that is something i expect he'll be talking about with the prime minister and other british leaders as he continues this trip, john. >> all right, jim accost yashgs let -- acosta, let us know whether that torch comes through. you can see the entire interview tonight at 9:00 eastern right here on cnn. so let's stay in london. nine athletes including a former olympic bronze medalist are banned from competition after testing positive for doping offenses. the international association of athletics federation confirmed six of the athletes were caught using a sophisticated new methed off domethod of doping called t biological passport method. they're from morocco, turkey, greece, bulgaria and russia and ukraine. seven admitted their offenses and the four year bans were immediately cut in half. its no the clear if any of the athletes were competing in the 2012 olympics, however. and right now the olympic torch is scheduled to arrive at millennium bridge as it works its way to the site of tomorrow's opening ceremonies. excited about this. >> absolutely. >> later today the olympic flame will get a royal welcome at buckingham palace. princes william and harry and the duchess of cambridge plab ton ahead. >> along can jim accoosta. the mother of baseball legend cal ripken jr. resting comfortably this morning after being kidnapped -- yes, kidnapped. >> bizarre story. >> absolutely. an armed gunman showed up at her maryland home tuesday morning and forced her into a car and took off. she was found yesterday morning in the backseat of her car with her hands tied. luckily, she was not harmed. her abductor appears to have used her credit cards but they have no evidence as of now of any attempted ransom demands. >> it's really bizarre is that area was completely covered by police, right? she ended up back in that neighborhood in the back of her car. people are wondering how did that happen with so much police presence? >> i'm just glad she's okay. >> really bizarre. michael jackson's mother is speaking out for the first time about reports that she had been kidnapped. catherine jackson telling abc's "nightline" she is just fine. she is devastated she lost custody of michael's three children. a missing person's report was filed last week after michael's children said that they had not heard from her. so komg coming up later, we'll catherine jackson in her own words and we'll speak with joey jackson, no relation to the jackson family. this latest round of jackson family drama and why the judge made that decision to give temporary custody of their children to their uncle. >> it is really confusing. i wonder what is going to happen to the kids? how can they be there filming the things with the confrontations with janet? >> we're going to focus on the law and why the judge made this decision and what's going to happen next as well. >> good, i can't wait. here in the northeast, we're bracing for severe weather later today. everyone is talking about it here this morning. what can we expect? >> you know, considering it's late july this is a strong piece of energy that is rolling across the northern tier states. all the heat and humidity that is built up is going to be nudged north and east. you have a couple things happening. a lot of action will be popping on the radar later on this afternoon. we're already seeing a little of that along the frontal boundary, a lot of severe weather in michigan and buffalo. but right now the big show going to be i think later on this afternoon and this evening. here's your danger zone from columbus, ohio through cincinnati back through state college, new york city, up the hudson to albany. mostly large hail and damaging wind there. could be a few isolated tornadoes with. this before that happens, again, the heat and humidity continues to build up. heat advisory south of that front. that will add more fuel to the fire. just keep an eye on the sky and certainly keep it tuned here to cnn. we'll keep you posted. >> hail an winds coming our way. thanks very much. all right. still ahead, no one saw the movie theater massacre coming. but maybe someone could have. a package sent by suspect james holmes to a former college professor before the colorado shooting. we're live in aurora next. ni wrestling team. ♪ can febreze air effects defeat the smelly air in their gym for good? 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>> reporter: we learned yesterday that package was found on monday. we knew about it. authorities here on the ground had been rather cryptic about what is going on with the situation at the hospital. we know when they zofrdiscoveree package, it forced evacuation of some of the buildings on campus temporarily. after discovered it didn't have an hazardous materials in it, officials wouldn't speak about it. we learned yesterday that the package, indeed, was sent by james hole holmes in days befor shooting on friday and addressed to a psychology professor on campus. inside the box there were messages. james holmes writing about wanting to kill people. it had cryptic drawings of a gunman shooting his victims. that is some of the odd contents of that package according to cbs news. >> we still don't have all the complete details of it as i understand it. you know, i want to focus on the victims, ed. we hear that a lot of them are uninsured and facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical costs. we hear that some of the bills are actually being wiped out. can you tell us what is happening? >> reporter: we were working on a story that many of the victims families and friends were actually going online making public pleas to essentially ask for donation to help. there's been a great deal of effort in many groups popping up. there's a state group sponsored through the governor's office that raised $2 million. and various other organizations doing similar things. a lot of these people don't have insurance and the bills are mounting after days and days of mer emergency room care. yesterday they took three patients and much of the medical bills costs will be waived. i'm not sure how long that will go for, how much of the time and how much of the expense will be taken. so we're trying to clarify that. three of the hospitals saying that much of the expense in the initial medical care costs will be waived about it hospital and paid for through donations and various charity programs that hospitals have in place. >> isn't that spectacular? the generosity of complete strangers and people banning together when people really need it. thank you for that report. we appreciate it live from aurora this morning. it is now 17 minutes past the hour. there's a lot going on this morning. let's get you up to date. here is christine romans. good morning. a lot going on. president obama weighing in on the gun control debate making perhaps some of the strongest comments yet as president on this issue. five days after the massacre in aurora, colorado, the president telling the national urban league in new orleans he backs the second amendment but not when it comes to assault weapons. >> we recognize the traditions of gun ownership that passed on from generation to generation. but hunting and shooting are part of a cherished national heritage. but i also believe that a lot of gun owners agree that ak-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not criminals. the president emphasizing the need for more background checks to stop mentally imbalanced people from obtaining guns. he is blaming congress for the lack of progress made in reducing gun violence. new video emerged believed to show two young girls two weeks after they went missing. the sheriff believes the 10-year-old lyric cook and her 8-year-old cousin elizabeth collins are seen on this grainy surveillance tape riding their bikes. that's the last time they were seen. the bikes were later found near a lake. investigators drained that lake. they explored it and they think the girls are still alive. >> oh, my goodness. wouldn't that be great? federal investigators are looking for a pair of police shooting last weekend that sparked four days of violent protests in anaheim, california. the fbi agreed to investigate the fatal shootings of two suspected gang members by anaheim police officers. anaheim mayor tom tates asked the u.s. attorney's office in los angeles to investigate the shootings as well. drama still continues in anaheim over that police involved shooting. >> looking to reduce the tension in anaheim for sure. we're getting a look at your early reads this morning, what's going on in your local papers. in chicago and boston, they're talking about chicken chick-fil-a. the family has come out for years against gay marriage. they donated to anti-gay marriage causes. now the city of chicago and more specifically an alderman there says he's going to do whatever he can to keep chick-fil-a out of chicago. it is looking to open a second store there and he says "because of this man's ignorance i will now be denying chick-fil-a's permit to open a restaurant in the first ward. there are people in chicago who say they should come here and get any business we can. the mayor of boston also saying he doesn't want chick-fil-a in boston. he says he doesn't want that restaurant near the freedom trail. >> yeah, so consequences to those action there's. yesterday was also front page news in the "sun times" later in the day. a lot of folks talking about that one. so baltimore is rolling out the welcome wagon for immigrants. this is a really interesting story. i was talking about immigration and how it happens in arizona. this is the complete opposite of that. mayor stephanie rollings blake told latinos in particular she is counting on them to help baltimore gain 10,000 families within a decade. apparently they're having problems. they lost a large number of their population. the census is showing that. she is saying, you know this is the largest concentration we can grow here. she signed an order in march prohibiting police and social agencies from asking anyone their immigration status. she says that is just the first step. >> that's the opposite. it's like don't show me your papers. >> absolutely. the objective here is to make everyone feel welcome. we want them to come. we want them to tell their families they're welcome here. there was a town in illinois that really cracked down on immigrationmei immigration and they lost so many businesses. this is happening across the country. they have yet to track actually the growth. but that's coming. >> an expanding look at all our top stories, head to our blog, c cnn.com slk easter dot ko cnn.com/earlystart. >> facebook reports are out. curious? 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(sfx: loud thud sound) what a strange place. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. . found in the university of colorado's mail room, a package sent by the aurora shooting suspect before the massacre. right now in london, mitt romney meeting with tony blair and other leaders while trying to distance himself from a newspaper quote. the ride is over. check this out. a break in the case of this brazen biker who recorded himself doing over 180 miles an hour on the highway. >> the consequences i love. you're going to want to stay tuned for that. welcome back to "early start," everyone. 31 minutes past the hour here. a major new development in the aurora shooting massacre that has everyone asking what if? what if it was discovered earlier? law enforcement sources say the shooting suspect james holmes mailed a package to the university of colorado denver campus in aroar yachaaurora. it was discovered monday. it was mailed before. cbs news says it contained scribbling of the gunman shooting vicms. mitt romney is on the quest for i had own type of gold in london this morning. he is hoping to raise more campaign cash in the first stop on the three country international tour. but when he got there, there's a little bit of a glitch. a quote in a british newspaper from an unnamed campaign adviser. it says, "we are part of an anglo-sax anglo-saxon heritage and he feels the special relationship is special. the white house didn't fully appreciate the shared history we have". that is the quote causing a lot of problems. jim acosta is in london. what is the campaign saying about this this morning? >> reporter: well, john, you can say that the that come pains are fighting like napoleon and the british even though this mitt romney overseas trip has just begun. when he landed on the ground in london, the controversy over the quote in the paper was sort of making the rounds over here in the uk and overseas back home you read the quote a moment ago. you heard what the unnamed adviser supposedly said. however, we should say that there is no way to confirm whether or not that adviser actually said that or whether this was an adviser to the romney campaign. the romney campaign said flatly this did not come from an adviser. despite all that, the vice president joe biden put out a statement through the obama campaign, i'll read a portion of it, "not surprisingly this is juch another feeblejust anothere attempt by the romney campaign to score political points at the expense of this partnership. this is aergs is beneath a presidential campaign." mitt romney responded in an interview with brian williams last night. >> i'm not sure who this person s i can tell that you we have a very special relationship between the united states and great britain. it goes back to our very beginnings. cultural and historical. but i also believe that the president derstands that. so i don't agree with whoever that adviser might be. >> reporter: now there are some other things going on with this trip. obviously, the olympics are coming up this weekend. the romney campaign definitely wants the american public to see mitt romney in the con teventex the games. he was a big part of saving the 2002 salt lake city games. they want the american voters to hear that as often as possible. we'll be hearing about that from the romney campaign. now speaking of the olympics, earlier this morning he met with the former prime minister tony blair. they talked about the upcoming olympics. romney says he hopes to see a swimming event. ann romney, her drassage horse is competing in the games. and sow talked about that with the former prime minister as well. speaking of prime ministers, he'll be meeting with the current prime minister david cameron at ten downing street later today. the olympic torch is coming through here later on this afternoon and we're going to get a picture of it for you and send it your way. >> we're counting on you for that, jim. >> reporter: absolutely. >> i should say also that pierce morgan is sitting down with mitt and ann romney later today. you can see the entire interview tonight at 9:00 eastern right here on cnn. 35 minutes past the hour. the u.s. senate spending an entire day passing a tax cut plan that has virtually no chance of becoming law. a democratic proposal to extend the bush tax cuts for middle income americans passing 51 to 48. a republican measure that would extend the cuts for all americans including the wealthy went down to defeat. gop leaders and the house already on record saying they won't even bring the democrats' plan to a vote. >> that's a full day in washington, right? all right. shave your beard or we'll shave it for you. that is coming from the military judge overseeing the trial of in a nadal hassan. because he is drawing a military paycheck, his beard puts him in violation of army regulations. hassan who is muslim refused to shave now for more than a month. he's been fine d $1,000 for contempt. canadian police arresting a motorcyclist who recorded himself driving at speeds of up to 186 miles an hour weaving through traffic. this is a vancouver highway. the youtube video has been viewed nearly a million times. it's a 25-year-old randy scott. he is charged with dangerous driving. he was released on bail. the condition, he doesn't drive anything, a car, a bike, or even a scooter. >> nothing. he can't even look at a car. look at a car, you're back in jail. >> who does that? why do do you that? then you record it. >> he's going very, very fast. apparently the guy likes speed. >> only his two hands, guts and glory. extreme yachtsman is set to arrive in corn wall in england around noon today. he'll set a record for the fastest solo sail across the atlantic. now just a few days ago i was onboard the hugo boss racing yacht in the hudson river. the record to beat is ten days, 55 minutes, and 19 seconds. i would like to say that every sailor that i have met in the last few weeks is about to break a major record. i'm good luck for sailors. >> let's hope so. >> if you want to break the record, bring me on your yacht. >> i'll come, too. i don't know if i'll bring luck. that was exciting. 37 minutes past the hour. a tiny boat. no wider than your hips. coming up, we have a first-hand look at the olympic sport of print kayak. sometimes, i feel like it's me against my hair. 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[ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? here's your invoice. what's in your wallet? ♪ atmix of energies.ve the world needs a broader that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go. . we're live in london for you. welcome back to "early start," 41 minutes past the hour. >> we're taking a look at sports and athletes you may not know much about now. but we're making it our mission to make them household names. >> today we meet a two-time olympian in sprint kayak. kerri johnson let rob take a dry run in her kayak. you got to use that? >> let me tell you something, it wasn't dry for long. as you'll see. i wasn't very gifted as an olympic rower for sure. kerri johnson has been to two olympic games. it's a solitary sport. she has a volunteer kucoach, fu time fireman. a very lonely existence. not only does she have that challenge she faces, she has opponents, water, and one more thing. take a look. >> reporter: kerri johnson starts graduate school this fall to become a veterinarian. before she hits the books, she hitting the water. sprint kayaking in her third and final olympics, she'll race in the 200 and 500 meter sprints. johnson has yet to earn a medal. >> every athlete is lining up on that start line, you know, with the goal and dream of winning an olympic gold medal. i think if you can paddle away and say i did absolutely everything that i could do, then you have to be satisfied with that. >> johnson one gold in 2011 pan am games. her success hasn't come without ruggle. she has crones disease. >> i have a real appreciation for just being able to train. >> reporter: it kept her out of the water for a little while, she views it as extra motivation. pushing her through six hours of training a day. what's going through your mind technically? how long do you want that pad until there? how strong is the stroke? how are you balancing? there has to be a lot of things to think about. >> using your legs is a really important part of paddling which people don't realize. that really starts the rotation that brings, you know, the boat forward. >> all this while not falling in? >> yes. >> the boat you're on is pretty skinny. >> it is the widest part is just pretty much wide enough to get your hips in. so it's very unstable if you're not used to it. >> reporter: and if you're just a reporter getting in there, what are the odds of me staying afloat? >> we never had anybody bet in a boat for the first time and stay up, even the olympic rowers. >> so i'm going in? >> y're going in. grab the cockpit. step in with one foot. step behind and sit down. grab the paddle right around where the grips are. >> reporter: yeah? there's no way. no way i'm staying up! how in the world do you balance on this thing? don't hit your head on the dock. >> yeah, okay. no way. you're right. one second. that's impossible. olympian i am not, clearly. >> that's for sure. that's the most unstable i ever felt in my life much it's like sitting on a tight rope. she makes it look so easy. she goes so fast, five meters per second. amazing athlete. >> was that a record for falling in? >> it may have been. she wasn't impressed with my balance, that's for sure. >> two seconds. that's unbelievable. >> it was crazy. as soon as i got even close it to, as soon as i put one step in that kayak, i knew it wasn't going to take long. they stay afloat and go super fast. i think august 7th is when she's going to compete. good luck to her. >> that's g we would love to watch her. >> we're still impressed by you, rob. >> well then you're easily impressed. >> thanks for the stories. we appreciate them. 45 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date with christine romans. >> good morning. new developments in the aurora shooting massacre. police say the suspect mailed a package to his university on monday. that, according to cbs news. it has drawings of a gunman shooting people and he wrote about a rampage. president obama weighing in on the gun control debate telling the national urban league in new orleans he supports the second amendment and the right to bear arms but not when it comes to assault weapons like ak-47s. he says those belong in the hands of soldiers not criminals. the battle for the control of syria's city is intensifying. government troops continue to pound the town from the air and on the ground. there are reports of heavy fighting in damascus, too. turkey closed border crossings and will remain open for rev refugees. one town in arkansas is forced to evacuate. the fires not only threatening homes but a fireworks warehouse that's right in its path. a much larger fire is burning in oklahoma and nebraska. it has been a hot and very tinder box in the summer, hasn't it? >> it sure has. thanks very much. 47 minutes past the hour right now. she's back. coming up, michael jackson's mother catherine re-emerges and she has plenty to say about losing custody of her grandchildren. if you're looking right now, you can watch us any time on your desktop or mobile phone. just go to cnn.com/tv. 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[ male announcer ] at 0% apr for 60 months, no one needs to know how easy it was to get your new volkswagen. that's the power of german engineering. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. . new this morning, michael jackson's mother is speaking out for the first time after losing custody of her three grandchildren. catherine jackson told abc's "nightline" she is devastated after a judge granted temporary custody to 34-year-old t.j. jackson. jackson also slammed the controversy surrounding her reported disappearance. >> the rumor going around about me that i've been kidnapped and held against my will, i'm here today to let everybody know that i'm fine and i'm here with my children and my children would never do a thing like that, hold me against my will. it's stupid for people to think that. >> you may recall last week catherine jackson's nephew filed a missing person's report after michael's children said they hadn't heard from her. so joining me now is defense attorney joey jackson. no relation to the jackson family. >> none whatsoever. >> so catherine jackson says she is fine. we heard her say. that but her own attorney told a judge this yesterday. i want to put it up so everybody can see it. the judge says, we have reason to believe that mrs. jackson has been held against her will. cad katherine jackson saying she may be prevented from acting as a guardian because of the act of third parties". so what i want to know is what would prompt a judge? what evidence to take custody away from her? >> family squabbles, how difficult they can be. what happens is that you need to insure that the children are safe. that they're secure and that they're provided for. if there is any indication otherwise, a judge is going to become concerned. when you have allegations that a person is missing, in another state, they're not being responsive, they're not taking phone calls from people who their parenting, upbringing, they're guiding, a judge gets very concerned on that and would seek to remove children until the judge is satisfied that cadshe is fine, okay, competent, able, and responsible enough to engage in her duties which is to provide for the children. >> how do you decide, though, that she is incompetent? she was saying in the interview yesterday she was in constant communication and that so was her assistant. and that they had talked. she was actually concerned because some decisions were made in her absence that, you know, the staff had been fired. the cook had been fired. >> exactly. >> you know interestingly enough, the facts always get in the way, right? any hearing before a judge you want to know what the true facts are? was she in communication or not? was she held against her will or take a mental health break? what happened? of course a judge is going to err on the side of safety. you want to make sure at all times that a guardian is there who can provide for the upbringing of the children and that they're safe and secure. if there's any indication otherwise, a judge is going to step in. a judge will evaluate all the facts concerning her either disappearance or voluntary leave and see whether or not there was a firm foundation for that. is she okay? if a judge is satisfied after speaking with her and having a hearing that everything is okay and nothing is amiss, miss katherine jackson will be back in the ball game again. >> so a lot of people are wondering what really is at stake here? what is really happening? let's talk about the will. >> the will! >> it was contested by some of the jackson siblings. tell me about that. >> all right. what happens in a sl there's real issues on the part of the family as to whether initially the will is even authentic. there is some indication, of course, they wrote a letter, they being the siblings of michael jackson, the late michael jackson. they signed on to a letter saying, listen, you know what? he despised you, michael jackson did. as a result of that, why would he even put new charge of anything or leave anything to new a will? >> and his father was also -- >> yes, the father was left out of the will also. so there is a real concern by the jackson brothers as to whether or not they should be in charge or whether the will is even valid because there's an indication from them that, of course, michael jackson was not -- was in a different location when the will was signed. he couldn't have signed it. so there is a challenge based upon that. but there is another issue as to whether they have standing, the ability to challenge the will. under california law, standing means you have the capability to even voice a concern about it. you have to be a beneficiary under the toll do that. they were not. you have to be an heir, they're not. you have to be a receiver of property, they're not. of course if, a will is challenged and held invalid, you have to benefit in some way. >> we're running a little over here. if mrs. jackson goes back to the children, will they -- will she regain custody of them? >> i mean, there is every reason to believe she would. all she would have to do is to satisfy the judge's concern, she's responsible enough, able enough. this was a little hiccup and a misunderstanding. she does that, she's fine and life is good again. >> and her age and the fact she had a stroke won't weigh in? >> the 80s are the new 70s. she's a young woman. she's fine. >> joey jackson, thanks so much. we really appreciate it. back to you. >> i guess every family is complicated. this one, whoo! >> this morning's top stories coming up after a quick break including major development in the aurora massacre. a package from the shooting suspect. you're watching "early start." this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. every communications provider is different but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company. ♪ we link people and fortune 500 companies nationwide and around the world. and we will continue to free you to do more and focus on what matters. . shocking discovery, a package mailed by aurora shooting suspect james holmes to his college before the massacre. speaking out, president obama has something to say about gun control in the wake of the aurora tragedy. one campaign, two countries. mitt romney meeting tony blair and other leaders in britain while unleashing a brand new campaign video here in the u.s. good morning, everyone. welcome to welcome to "early start." >> it is just about 6 a.m. in the east. let's get started. the latest on the bizarre kidnapping case involving baseball legend cal ripken's mother. >> it is a strange, scary story but this something of a conflict with the olympics between north and south korea and a flag faux pas. a lot going on with that and perhaps a new married leader. >> the investigation into aurora, colorado, law enforcement sources say the shooting suspect james holmes mailed a package to the university of colorado denver campus in aurora received on monday and forced the evacuation of a building there. it was holmes himself who told police where it find it. they say it was addressed to a psychologist and contained a letter talking about shooting people along with scribblings of a gunman shooting victims. we'll have a live report in a few minutes. days after the massacre president obama entered into the growing gun control debate. he appeared before the national urban league in new orleans and said some weapon sales should be restricted. >> i like most americans believe the second amendment guarantees an individual the right to bear arms, but i also believe a lot of gun owners would agree that ak-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals. >> mitt romney has a different view of gun control. he is in london for a seven day foreign tour and even though he signed a ban on assault weapons in massachusetts he says it would do little to stop a massacre like the one in aurora. >> i don't happen to believe america needs new gun laws. a lot of what this young bhan did was clearly against the law and the fact it was against the law did not prevent it from happening. >> mitt romney is blasting president obama this morning in a brand new political ad released just minutes ago. it takes shots at president obama's you didn't build that speech where he argued successful business owners are helped by things like roads and bridges and things made by the government. take a look. >> if you have been successful, you didn't get there on your own. you didn't get there on your own. i am always struck by people who think, well, must be because i was just so smart. there are a lot of smart people out there. it must be because i worked harder than everybody else. let me tell you something. if you have a business, you didn't build that. to say something like that is not just foolishness, it is insulting to every entrepreneur in america. >> president obama has slammed romney for taking his words out of context. joining us is jim acosta live from london where romney has become his international tour and they may be blasting him here in the united states and once you leave american soil that stops. what is he talking about this morning? >> zoraida, in theory it stops. you didn't play that just a few moments ago and even though the campaign said the contender will not criticize president obama as he is overseas both campaigns are still going after each other and he says he arrived here in london yesterday and found there has been controversy surrounding this trip already. there was an article in the london daily telegraph that included a quote from an unnamed romney advisor that the newspaper says said something about what the romney campaign feels about the u.s./u.k. relationship and here is the quote. we'll put it on the screen. i will read a portion of it. according to the london daily telegraph they said we're part of an anglo saxon heritage and he, romney, feels it is special. despite the fact the internal press could not independently verify the comments as coming from this advisor, the obama campaign went after it anyway and joe biden put out a strong statement saying not surprisingly it is a feeble attempt by the romney campaign to score political points at the expense of this critical partnership. this assertion is beneath a presidential campaign. for his part romney did address the controversy in an interview with nbc and anchor brian williams. here is what he had to say. >> i am not sure who this person is but i can tell you we have a very special relationship between the united states and great britain. it goes back to our very beginnings and cultural and historical but i also believe that the president understands that so i don't agree with whoever the advisor might be. >> all of this is off the romney script because obviously the reason why he is in london or part of the reason why he is in london is they would like very much for americans to be reminded of the fact mitt romney helped saved the utah olympics in 2002. it is interesting, mitt romney was asked about this in one of his meeting with the british leader this is morning, the leader of the labor part in london even said to mitt romney it is good to have somebody here who had a successful olympic games. it is interesting this is already coming up. he met with tony blair earlier this morning and will meet with david cameron, the current prime minister, later on today. >> a full agenda for him. thank you so much. >> in just a few hours piers morgan will be sitting down with mitt and ann romney in london. >> it is new five minutes past the hour and the fbi has agreed to investigate the fatal shooting of two suspected gang members by anaheim police officers. last weekend's shooting sparked four nights of violent protests in anaheim. the mayor tom tate says he is asking the u.s. attorney's office in los angeles to investigate the shootings as well and the mayor says more violent protests will not be tolerated in anaheim. the mother of baseball legend cal ripken jr. is resting comfortably after surviving a kidnapping. police say an armed gunman showed up at violet ripken's maryland home early tuesday morning and forced her into a car and took off. she was found yesterday morning in the backseat of her car with her hands tied because she was not harmed. police say the abductor appears to have used her credit cards but they have no evidence of any attempted ransom demands. >> glad she is okay. a devastating drought and global economic downturn are a tough combination for consumers. the federal government confirming it suspects food prices to sky rocket because of the scorching heat and drought conditions. prepare to pay 5% more for beef with prices for pork, egg, dairy products, all expected to soar. >> we didn't know at the time but while aurora was reeling from a shooting massacre a package apparently sent by the shooting suspect was making its way through the mail. we have all the details coming up. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've been years in the making. and there are many years ahead. join the millions of members who've chosen an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. go long. welcome back to "early start." 10 minutes past the hour. immaterial zoraida sambolin. >> we have a major new development in the colorado shootings this morning. a package from the alleged shooter found in the mail room of the university of colorado. it arrived days after the shooting and it hinted at the massacre. ed is live in aurora for us this morning. what can you tell us about this package. >> reporter: we have been following this package for the last couple of days, john. on monday we knew some buildings on the university of colorado campus where james holmes studied had been evacuated because of the suspicious package and quickly everything went back to normal as there was nothing explosive or hazardous found in that package. yesterday we were able to learn indeed that package had been sent according to a law enforcement source by james holmes in the days leading up onto the shooting and arrived in the mail room in the university of colorado on monday and addressed to a psychology professor on campus there. cbs news is reporting that inside that package there was a spiral notebook that it contained ramblings about james holmes wanting to kill people and also cryptic drawings of a gunman shooting his victims. that's about all we know of what was inside the contents of that spiral notebook, obviously a great cause for concern and a piece of evidence that investigators are taking a much closer look at this morning. >> and another aspect so sad about this tragedy, the victims in the hospital dealing with wounds, dealing with the emotional after smamath and dea with huge medical costs. we hear they are getting help here. >> right. i think as we have gone almost a week away from the shooting, and the reality of that aspect of their lives and not only just getting over the aspect and the fear of the shooting and the agony of the shooting and the pain and the medical bills, that reality starting to set in and three of the hospitals where the shooting victims were taken are saying that they're taking steps to waive much of the medical costs these patients will be facing. we profiled some of the patients who don't have medical insurance. one patient who doesn't have insurance also had his wife gave birth just a few days ago, so many of these victims up against the daunting reality on top of everything that they're having to deal with and there are a great deal of organizations helping out and there is even a fund being run through the governor's office that collected some $2 million. that was simply described as a good start because many of these people will have millions and millions of dollars worth of medical bills in the weeks and months ahead. >> it is a start. we're glad they're getting some of the help they need. thanks very much. >> 13 minutes past the hour. questions about why it took emts 24 minutes to get inside theater 9 following the months ker in aurora, colorado. aurora police were on the scene within three minutes of the first 911 call. after another 10 minutes went by without any emts inside the theater police officers could no longer wait for help. >> metro 10, lincoln 25, do i have permission to start taking some of the victims via car? i got a whole bunch of people shot and no rescue. >> p d is again requesting emergent medical t the back of the theater. >> i copy that. i am trying to get things under control here. >> aurora fire department first responders arrived at the theater's parking lot just five minutes after the shootings but a fire captain says they were blocked from theater 9 and those most critically injured by aea of wounded victims screaming into the parking lot. >> it is now 14 minutes past the hour. a lot going on. christine is here with the headlin headlines. >> president obama is entering the gun control debate and told the urban league in new orleans he supports the second amendment and the right to bear arms but not when it comes to assault weapons like ak-47s. the president said those belong in the hands of soldiers, not criminals. the cia claims it inadvertently overlooked about documents it provided to film maker making a movie about the osama bin laden raid and why it failed to hand them over and they're seeking more information about how much they disclosed to the film makers. rick santorum is supporting chick-fil-a's stance against gay marriage. on his facebook page he asked americans to fight for traditional families and eat chicken at the same time. that's not the case with some elected officials in boston and chicago. boston mayor thomas says a planned restaurant will not be welcome across the street from city hall and joe marino says he won't let them open a restaurant in logan square until the company delivers an antidiscrimination policy in writing. a rough day at work for las vegas window washers. stranded in 104 degree heat for two hours 35 stories above the vegas strip, they're washing and repairing windows yesterday when their platform got stock. fire fighters went to the roof of the 57-story building and made their way down to the platform and fitted them with harnesses and lowered them down to the roof on the third floor. >> stob complaining about your job today. >> good point. >> you think it is hot outside? celebrity photographer now facing criminal charges for almost chasing justin bieber off the road. the l.a. city attorney says 30-year-old paul raf was one of a pack the photographing pursuing the pop tar well over 80 miles an hour and they say the paparazzi chase was an accident waiting to happen. the freelance paparazzi could get a year in jail, $3500 in fines and biebes himself will have to answer in court for a speeding ticket. >> thank you, christine. 16 minutes past the hour. bold idea amid the scandals we have been hearing about on wall street. why not break up the big banks? christina romans with more coming up. for an expanded look at all of our stories head to our blog cnn.com/early start. got the jetta. i wiped the floor with the guy! not really. i would've been fine with 0% for 36 months, but i demanded 60. no...i didn't do that. it was like taking candy from a baby. you're a grown man. alright, see you at home. [ male announcer ] the volkswagen autobahn for all event. we good? we're good. [ male announcer ] at 0% apr for 60 months, no one needs to know how easy it was to get your new volkswagen. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone likes a bit of order in their life. virtual wallet helps you get it. keep track of spending, move money with a slide, and use the calendar. all to see your money how you want. ♪ minding your business this morning, it is the flip-flop heard up and down wall street, former citigroup ceo is now saying banks should break up to protect taxpayers. >> it is from several years ago when he was lobbying in washington for the opposite. >> many call him the godfather of too big to fail because it was sandy wiles that lobbied intensely and post parties in congress and president clinton and other to repeal glass steel so they could get bigger and become financial supermarkets. we heard it over and over again, they would be able to innovate and grow middle class and you could have all of these different things under one roof and we know banks taking big risks and having everything under one roof turned out to be a big problem in the financial crisis. now on cnbc with a completely different opinion. listen. >> i think what we should probably do is go and split up investment banking from banking and have banks do something that is not going to risk the taxpayer dollars, that's not going to be too big to fail. >> say what? so you have this amazing change of heart, and i have seen this from others as well. phil purcell recently wrote something in the wall street journal saying you need to unlock shareholder value by maybe breaking apart some of these banks and stuff and completely different kind of story. i want to look quickly at the banking stocks. you can see it might have to be shareholders who are the ones that will demand this, not regulators or anybody else. look at the big bank index. over the past five years it is down 60%. >> that's bad. >> that's bad. the one that you really hurt is that, the 401(k) on the bottom. that's down 9% over the past five years. what that's telling you is there is value in banks not reflected in the stocks maybe because of concerns about too big to fail. glass steagall is wart of geeky and even in pop culture now. i want you to listen to something the financial reporter on the newsroom on a show about newsrooms and she is even weighing. >> in after the great depression they wanted a firewall between the investment banks and the commercial banks. they passed a law that helped lead to the largest sustained period of economic growth in u.s. history, a 60 year expansion of the middle class and the largest increase in median income and you know what happened next? we repealed glass steagall. >> sandy weil helped repeal glass steagall and now in the news and other former big bankers in the news for talking about maybe some of the firewalls that should be put back into banking. >> full disclosure, erin sorkin says that character is modeled after -- >> you. >> i kind of use it for that reason. not often you hear somebody talk about it on television besides another financial reporter. people are worried about banks being so big. they're worried about protections in place or not in place since the financial crisis and people are worried about what congress did and didn't do that led to the financial crisis and it is an interesting moment. >> one thing you should know about your money. >> the one thing you should know about your money is i think we could have a down day in stocks. it will be a little rough here. we have europe still on the ropes, still very concerned about the earnings reports watching every day to see what the impact is and i am worried about the fiscal cliff and the facebook after the bell. that's four things to know. >> up yesterday, down yesterday. thank you. it is 24 minutes past the hour. we have heard from plenty of others in washington about this. now we're finally hearing from president obama on gun control, what he said coming up and if you're leaving the house now watch us any time on your desktop or mobile phone. go to cnn.com/tv. [ male announcer ] while many automakers are just beginning to dabble with the idea of hybrid technology... it's already ingrained in our dna. during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values on some of our newest models. this is the pursuit of perfection. the word from the top, president obama says we need to get ak-47s off the street. >> found in the university of colorado's mail room, a package apparently sent by the aurora shooting suspect before the massacre. >> the ride is over. a break in the case of the brazen biker who recorded himself doing over 180 miles an hour on the highway dodging traffic. welcome back to "early start." happy you're with us. >> it is now 28 minutes past the hour and for the first time since the theater massacre in colorado president obama is weighing in forcefully on the issue of of gun control. he spoke to the national urban league last night making perhaps his strongest comments as president on gun violence. >> ak-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals. they belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities. >> i am joined by the delaware governor and, governor markell, a lot of people are saying this, the president hasn't done much on assault weapons since hhas been president. he talked about it on the campaign trail, voted on it as a state senator in illinois but this is the first we're hearing as president. has he waited too long to take this issue on? >> i don't think he waited too long. i think i will tell you this, like most americans i certainly would support the second amendment but i also feel it is just an unbelievable tragedy every time one of these events happens. this is why in delaware last year i pushed through three pieces of gun control legislation. there was a lot of resistance to it, but at the same time these are just incredible tragedies every single time. >> you said you pushed through laws as governor of delaware. the president hasn't yet as president. what would you like to see him do on gun control now? >> i will leave that to him. we're focused on what we can do at the state level. every state of course is different and again i think lots of us certainly support the second amendment but we want to make sure we're keeping these weapons out of the hands of people like the guy in colorado who took the lives of so many people. >> that includes assault weapons, i assume? >> and the control that the pieces of legislation we passed through last year, one was on basically keeping it out of the hands of folks who were under the influence when they're outside of their home and another piece had to do with mental health issues, reporting those properly. i wasn't successful in all of my pieces trying to close the gun hole loophole in my state. i think there is probably more work to be done. >> i want to talk a second about the presidential campaign and a lot of people are calling this a particularly negative campaign and in a recent nbc news wall street journal poll more people said it is the obama campaign that's more negative. why do you think there is that perception out there? >> i think this is what the media likes to focus on and my sense of the campaign, the president is absolutely laying out his agenda for the future and also making very clear the differences that he has with governor romney's perspective. i think that's what campaigns are supposed to be about. i think a lot of the attention focuses on all of the advertising on both sides. >> it is not just the attention. it is the spending which is predominantly negative in some cases >> again, i think, but if you listen to the president, he has been very focused on laying out what i agree are two very, very different messages about where the country is going and how each of the candidates will get there. the president of course being very much focused on how we build a strong middle class which is exactly what the country needs to hear. >> shifting gears now completely, you're in washington because it is the 22nd anniversary of the signing of the americans with disabilities act. we're talking about a really important issue which is getting disabled americans employed, greater levels of employment. what's the greatest obstacle right now to that? >> i think a couple things. i appreciate your asking. this i am actually answering in my role as the chair of the national governor's association and the other questions more and more personal. one of the things that we really want to focus on over the next year is making sure that more and more businesses understand that great businesses across the country, walgreen's, ups, office max, bank of america, understand that employing people with disabilities is not just a matter of charity. this is really about making a good business decision. these are the decisions that great leaders across the country are making and we want to make sure other ceos and small businesses medium and large all understand giving people with disabilities a chance for employment is a good business decision. >> right now the unemployment right for people with disabilities is much higher than others. it is 13.1% for people with disabilities, 8.2% for people without and people looking for jobs, you know, 70% of people without disabilities are looking for jobs. just 20% with disabilities are looking. how do you improve that number? how do you get people with disabilities to go out and hunt for work? >> the main reason i am here today is senator harkin, the champion for such a long time in the senate for people with disabilities is having this hearing and i think the more people with disabilities understand they will actually be given a shot the more likely they're going to actually be interested in seeking out employment. one of the things that we have seen and senator harkin's recent report shows this, we have a new generation of people with disabilities who are coming into the job market. these are folks that have had more opportunities as kids to be in a traditional classroom. they understand. they know that they can make a real contribution and what this is all about now is making sure that they're given that chance throughout the country. i am pleased to be joining with senator harkin and also with congressman pete sessions of texas, a democrat, a republican, very different perspectives idealogically and on this issue they understand we have a responsibility and opportunity to give more people with disabilities a shot at real employment. >> and rare and welcomed bipartisanship. thank you very much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> i am glad that dialog is happening. fantastic. 34 minutes past the hour. here is need for speed and led to a need for bail. canadian police arrested 25-year-old randy scott. there he is there. he is charged with dangerous driving. why? scott is the guy seen super speeding on his motorcycle weaving in and out of traffic. this is a vancouver highway, 186 miles an hour. the video was posted anonymously on youtube and went viral, being viewed nearly a million times and as a condition of his bail he can't get behind the wheel of anything, anything, strictly shotgun for him. >> don't even look at a car. if it has wheels, don't look. here in the northeast we're bracing for severe weather today. rob marciano with your travel forecast. rob. >> good morning, guys. last couple of weeks we've had severe weather across the eastern half of the country. today we'll likely see more. arcing back from chicago across michigan through southern ontario and western new york and pennsylvania and some of these are severe and getting down into the hudson valley and i think the bigger show will be later today as the storm system and for this time of year late july it has good energy and obviously we built up the heat and humidity and that will shift towards the north and east from the south. we'll build that humid air and that will create more in the way of instability and mostly large hail, damaging winds, might be an isolated tornado or two. what with he have seen is you don't need tornados to do widespread damage. that's what we're fearing from cincinnati through state college and new york and hartford and springfield, massachusetts. the heat that has build up, remarkable stuff. st. louis, missouri, 108, the 11th day this year over 105. that breaks the all time record in the 1930s. the damage is done and the heat hangs tough. 98 in memphis. here is the heat in d.c., new york, and that will add fuel to the fire as the thunderstorms begin to develop late today and into tonight. back up to you. >> thanks for the warning, rob. 36 minutes past the hour. a chilling find in a college mail room, a package thought to be sent from the aurora shooting suspect. coming up, find out how police new exactly where to look for it. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. [romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, i'm barack obama and i approve this message. for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... s different but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company by continuing to help you do more and focus on the things that matter to you. and it feels like your lifeate revolves around your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira adalimumab. humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief, and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. get headed in a new direction. with humira, remission is possible. welcome back. it is 40 minutes past the hour. >> a good welcome back. >> i mean it. we're glad to have you. >> nice to see you this morning. more familying paying respects and burying loved ones in co colorado. investigators have discovered a major piece of evidence, a package sent by the alleg hinti. ed is live in aurora. clearly he sent this before the shootings. what was in that package? >>. >> reporter: that package taernl sent a few days before the shooting in the movie theater in aurora, colorado, and arrived in the mail room on monday and caused briefly for various buildings on the campus to be evacuated as bomb technicians tried to figure out if there were hazardous materials. yesterday we were able to confirm it had been sent by james holmes to a psychology professor on campus. cbs news is reporting inside there was a spiral notebook that contained ramblings about wanting to kill people and also some drawings that showed a gunman shooting his victims. so obviously the psychologist and investigators taking a closer look at that and we should point out we learned yesterday back in early june james holmes did poorly on one of his final exams and all of that was going on about the same time law enforcement sources say he was purchasing his weapons and ammunition and so obviously it is another aspect as they try to figure out the timeline as to what happened in the weeks and months leading to the shooting. >> that's a new detail. i know a lot of people were wondering how he was doing in school and why he dropped out of that program. let's talk about the victims and more funerals being held today. >> we're standing here just in front of the memorial that has popped up across the street from the movie theater, that theater area still completely shut off as investigators continue to do their work there. yesterday there was a funeral for gordon cowden, one of the gold older victims who had come to the movies and brought his teenaged daughters and he was laid to rest yesterday. another funeral today for micayla medek who was 23 years old and we know the funerals will continue for all of them over the next several days. that morning process continues and we still see many people here flocking throughout the day to this memorial service and the first responders and police chief and various aurora police officers came out yesterday and paid their respects and reflected with many of the people who had been coming to this memorial on the street corner. >> everyone is so affected by this and i am glad we're keeping memories alive. thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> you bet. >> there is a lot going on so let's bring you up to speed on the morning's top stories. the gun control debate front and center on the campaign trail. president obama entering the fray five days after the aurora massacre telling the national urban league in new orleans he supports the second amendment and the right to bear arms and not when it comes to assault weapons. the president says those belong in the hands of soldiers not criminals. >> a rocky start to mitt romney's london visit. it is being over shadowed by a racially charged comment in a british newspaper from an unnamed romney campaign advisor about the bond between the u.k. and the u.s. it says, quote, we are part of an anglo saxon heritage and he feels the relationship is special and the white house didn't really appreciate the shared history we have. romney distancing himself from that comment saying he does not agree with it and he scent even know who said it. >> a fierce struggle for control of syria's largest city intensifying over night. rebel forces getting reinforcements as government troops continue to pound from the air and on the ground. there are reports heavy fighting in holmes and damascus, too, and neighboring turkey closed the border crossing to commercial traffic from syria and says it will remain open for refugees on the run. >> michael jackson's mother is addressing accusations she had been kidnapped. katherine jackson tells night line she is just fine and speaking from tucson, arizona, wednesday. mrs. jackson said she is, quote, devastated she lost custody of michael's three children. a missing person's report was filed last week after michael's children said they hadn't heard from katherine. tee tito jackson's son was apointed the temporary guardian. >> facebook is set to release the first earnings report as a public company today after the closing bell, and analysts are expecting facebook to post earnings of 12 krens per share on revenue of $1.16 billion. the company's stock price is down 24% from the $38 ipo price. >> it is 45 minutes past of the hour. soledad o'brien joins us with a look at what is ahead on "starting point." >> a lot ahead. you were talking about the politics of guns a moment ago. we'll continue that conversation and the presidential race in the aftermath of last week's massacre in colorado. of course president obama and governor romney don't see eye-to-eye on this issue. we'll debate it with congressman mike rogers of michigan, the former house majority leader dick army and white house correspondent michael cheryl will be joining me. a top ranked high school has been hit with a civil rights complaint. here is the question. did they purposely shut out black and latino students? four-times major winner phil mickelson will join us live. we're going to talk this morning to these three olympic stars chasing gold in london and tell us how they got there and what they had to overcome to get there. that's maya moore and chris paul and anthony. >> phil and those three stars? >> all today. i got it all today. >> that's awesome. >> we're going to hang out. >> good stuff. more for us going on with the olympic torch relay in is final legs through london. already an international controversy on the eve of the games. we'll go live to london coming up. ♪ express yourself [ female announcer ] why not try coffee-mate? with over 25 delicious flavors for a fraction of the cost of the coffee house. add your flavor, with coffee-mate, from nestle. add your flavor, this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. 50 minutes past the hour. welcome back to earl start. >> i can feel the competition. it is beginning. the opening ceremonies are tomorrow at the olympics. the games have already begun and the u.s. women's soccer team already played the first game. they're looking for the third straight gold medal and started off slow but man did they come on strong in the end with a stunning, exciting victory. amanda davies is live in london this morning and not many people know we started already. we're full under way here. >> yeah. day minus two in the women's football tournament got under way already and as you said, it wasn't the most convincing start for the two-time defending gold medalist team usa. they were really given a square by france, two goals down in 14 minutes but antibiotabbey and a level and went on to win 4-2. looks like fantastic competition over the next week or so and brazil the runner up and beat their opponents 5-0 in their opening game and team gb wants to put on a good showing in front of the home crowd and they beat new zealand 1-0. looks like it will be a hod fought competition but a long way to go until the final which is august the 9th. >> tell us about this embarrassing flag flap between north and south korea. what's that about? >> really not the best start for the tournament. organizers forced to issue an apology for putting up not just the wrong flag but the south korean flag against the faces, the pictures of the north korean team ahead of their match against columbia. the pictures of the players, the coaching staff, and the fans when they realized what had happened is absolute horror on their faces and they decided to walk off the pitch and they said, that's it, we're not playing after that and took serious groveling from the organizers to make them go out on the pitch and play the match. there was a delay of about an hour, but as it was, they came back out and they won 2-0. the tournament organizers have 16 flags to get right today because the men's competition there is eight matches and i tell you, there is going to be so many eyes on those graphics. >> looking forward to the men's soccer today. we call it soccer here. you can call it whatever you want over there. the torch relay going past the big landmarks today, right? >> yeah. it is the most fantastic day. the torch relay is winding down, day 69 of 70. in terms of what they're seeing, they're cranking it up, a-list a for the torch relay started at st. paul's cathedral and along the region's canal and going to buckingham palace in front of a watching kate middleton and prince william is meeting david cameron in the street and going through tri trifalgar square and it is all a warm up for the huge party going on in the stadium behind me on friday which is the official opening of the games and the music is playing and so many rehearsals going on until 1:00 this morning. we can't tell you anything because they're usualing the hashtag save the prize. what we do know is there will be a good fire work display judging by all the boxes and fireworks lined up along the rivers and canals behind us. >> you told us the secret despite yourself. thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> it is fun to get all the secrets trickling down. today's best advice is headed your way next from an olympic gold medalist. >> nice. >> coming up. 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[ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! before the hour. starting point with soledad o'brien on deck. >> we wrap it up as always with best advice. here is christine. >> today's best advice is from olympic gold medalist missy may trainer and offers her best advice about being thankful and grateful. listen. >> remember that there is others out there that don't have the opportunities that you have and to always know that someone would love to switch places for you for one day, you know, whether they're in a hospital bed or not. every day you get up be thankful and grateful for what you have whether it is big or small and just have fun with life. >> just have fun with life and be thankful and grateful. remember, there is somebody out there that would like to switch places with you. >> i think being an olympic gold medalist is the biggest honor in the world. >> this is the last olympics and she will go home and be a wife and hopefully a mother in the near future. >> focus on babies. >> she is married to a baseball player. >> i love the advice from the olympia olympians. they're focused and dedicated and you hear them talk about being grateful or about luck, too, you really have to work hard but you have to be a little lucky and visualizing your goals has been inspiring. >> these are people that know a little something about achieving goals sdl that's why we take their advice. >> we wanted her to come back with a gold medal and if she would come here and show it off. she said yes. >> good booking. >> thanks for being here. >> "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. >> welcome, everybody. our "starting point" this morning mitt romney tripped up a bit. the republican presidential candidate meets with britain's most powerful people and spends some of his attention dodging charges of racial incense activity. and president obama makes his strong euro comments get on gun control. ak-47s belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities. and a package found at the university of colorado mail room apparently sent by the suspect in the colorado movie theater