that. that is very bold. very bold. can t wait to share the ending with you. good morning. welcome to early start. i m zoraida sambolin. i m john berman. this morning mitt romney is in ohio. so is bobby jindal and jeb bush. parade? coincidence? it is sort of a parade. all about the veepstakes. also the key state of ohio. more coming up. also nelson mandela s 94th birthday. we ll hear from former president clinton who just visited with the icon in a cnn exclusive. that s coming up. first, zoraidzoraida, the b story affecting so much of the country, the weather and the devastating drought conditions that have turned half of the u.s. into a disaster zone. the department of agriculture is declaring natural disasters in 1,000 counties across 26 states. blistering temperatures are making conditions even worse. across the midwest temperatures have topped more than 100 degrees. and heat advisories are reaching up into the mid-atlantic regions. the bone dry conditions