i'm trying to hum that song. that's a pathetic effort. anyway, some people very concerned about the ufo possibilities here. we have the answer to what that fireball in the sky was. >> what are you trying to do? >> i was thinking about that '80s show, that '90s show. whatever. a woman wins gas money after she sues honda. she spoke to us when she first filed this lawsuit. she said the car's manual promised her 50 miles per gallon. it didn't deliver. can others cash in on her lawsuit? >> and mitt romney talks to cnn. our soledad o'brien saying something along i'm not concerned about the very poor. okay, hold on. was that all he said? or has he been eviscerated unfairly? we're going to get to the bottom of context and why it matters. up first, a war of words over ending a war. reaction is pouring in after leon panetta announced that combat in afghanistan will end next year. this was on a plane to a nato conference in brussels. he told reporters, quote, our goal is to complete all that transition in 2013 and hopefully, by mid to the latter part of 2013, we will be able to make a transition from a combat role to a training, advise and assist role. >> this is not highly unexpected during a campaign year. but the gop front-runner at this point, mitt romney, came out blasting this announcement. saying the obama administration is giving our enemy an edge. >> the taliban hears it. the afghani leaders hear it. why do you tell the people the day you're pulling out your troops? it makes absolutely no sense. it's putting in jeopardy the mission of the united states of america and our commitments to freedom. he is wrong. we need new leadership in washington. >> from one politician to the other, the chairman of the house armed services committee, also had harsh words about that. we'll get to that. first, to barbara starr live at the pentagon. first question out of the gate. everyone's asking, barbara, is this just too soon? >> well, you know, perhaps a hard reality check is in order here, ashleigh. nato has said the afghans have agreed. all troops, all foreign troops out of afghanistan by the end of 2014. that's long agreed to. that's the reality. end of 2014. what defense secretary leon panetta is saying, there will be a transition period before that, training the afghans. just like we saw in iraq. you have to start that before you leave the country, don't you? he's saying, basically, in 2013, they will start wrapping up combat. they will shift to this training role and stick to the nato flan of being out by 2014. the question is whether the afghans will be ready for all this. >> exactly. why is it we're hearing the critics saying this is a year sooner than we expected. even the chairman of the armed services committee saying this. the committee has not seen a single assessment by our commanders to say they have confidence in a swift transition. >> it's politics plus military policy. how unusual in washington. you're seeing people select certain facts. governor romney, what he says is what a lot of people are saying. will the afghan forces will ready. can they look after security in their country? are you handing the taliban a reason not to negotiate? not to come to the peace table and just wait it all out? can you do something about those safe havens across the border in pakistan in time? all these are key questions. but the alternative would be for u.s. troops to stay in afghanistan in definitely after more than a decade of war. everyone knows that that is not a sustainable option. >> barbara, thanks very much for that. i have so many more questions for you. i'll touch base with you at 6:00 with that. also to let our audience know we have a great guest coming up. general james marks is coming up. he'll weigh in, as well. and then, at 8:00, soledad's going to go further on this. she's going to talk to wesley clarke. not only a general, but a former presidential candidate. politics and the military. this should be a great interview soledad will have, as well. >> it's 5:05. minding your business now. stocks kicked off a new month with solid gains. the nasdaq led the way, with strong earnings from the tech sector. >> and the big news might though have been facebook, facebook, facebook. you probably saw it, heard it. the company finally did the filing. we were waiting and wondering. yesterday was the day. christine romans, you were the first to tell us at 5:00 in the morning. >> and status update is they're going to file for an ipo. now, we know. we have a look, as i was saying, under the hood of this company. we know how much money it made. and what kind of revenue it had and where that was coming from. this is how it stacks up with the rest of the big tech giants. we made about $1 billion of profit last year. that makes it a bit smaller than the microsofts the ibms, the googles of the world. its revenue was $3 billion, almost $4 billion in revenue. 85% of that comes from advertising. now, we know how that is the bulk of the money it makes. this company has a lot to prove. there's so much facebook hype about going public. now, this company has a lot to prove. it has to prove it can grow that billion dollars in profit to something that matches the other companies. and people are so excited about this. they're going to value this company very, very big. maybe even dwarf hewlett-packard. it has a lot to prove. when it gets access to all of the investors and that cash, that's how it grows, right? now, mark zuckerberg's going to have to answer to hedge fund managers. and he'll have to answer to people who are investors in his company. it will be interesting to see how the company might have to change and how things might have to change for us. >> that's the downside, right? it's a cultural change for them. >> it is. along with the filings, mark zuckerberg wrote a letter attached to the filings. talking about the engineering, the hacker way at this company. it is really a singular kind of culture there. and a lot of tech companies have this issue. and they become public. and say don't change us. this is what has worked for us. something so interesting about the letter with zuckerberg put with the ipo filing. we often talk about inventions like the printing press and the television. today, our society has reached another tipping point. ooh, the printing press and the television. so, facebook has changed the world. it has. it had a $1 billion profit last year. how is he going to drive that company so match that kind of language? >> that's 845 million active users an facebook. and i heard a crazy thing yesterday. one of the analysts said that zuckerberg might give every one of the users one share, just to be different. >> there's 3,200 employees who work there. that maybe took stock options. there's dell millionaires that took stock options because they didn't have cash. that's a heartwarming story. for us, you were telling us about your son. >> we had this full conversation about facebook and how can he get in on the action? he's 13 years old. what an opportunity for kids, right? this is something they know. this is a big deal. how do you do that? how do you get them focused. >> you don't want them to get in the stock if it didn't pan out the way everyone thinks it's going to. but that's a good question. you want kids to get involved in finance through things they know, like facebook. i'm going to find an investment club in this neighborhood. >> that would be cool. at 13 years old, he can turn into ali velshi. >> pinstripes. >> my brother was doing fantasy stock book portfolios at the age of 12. >> wonder what mitt romney was up to early in life. >> that's a good question. >> your next assignment. want to move on. we want to give you an early start to your day by alerting you to the news that's happening now and happening later. it's developing tonight for the big story tonight. in a few hours, attorney general eric holder will be grilled about the botched fast and furious gun tracking program. yesterday, congressman daryl isa accused the justice department of a cover-up. the agency just kind of lost track of over 1,000 different weapons they were tracking after they were sold to so-called straw purchases. some were seriesed from crimes. president obama speaking at the national prayer breakfast this morning. we'll have his remarks for you live at 8:00 eastern. protesters are expected to be outside, including gay rights demonstrators. and other groups who say the event is not inclusive enough. >> i was reading this thing in "the new york post" this morning. >> page 6? >> yeah. a crazy story in page 6 about waking up to tv tension. >> that's it. >> was that the one? >> we talk about early reads. we read really early. and it just turned out, we were reading about yourselves. >> it says, a lack of chemistry is plaguing cnn's new show, early start. with ashleigh banfield. has your picture. have expressed frustration of the schizophrenic nature of the source. they just don't jell. banfield says too much. >> you be quiet. why is it you never hear about the guys on espn having catfights? >> well, you never hear about that stuff. >> it's more fun when you talk about girls having catfights, right? anyway. love you, girl. >> we have to move on. we have a lot more news. a lot more important things happening in the world than that. thanks anyway, "new york post." we got an unbelievable scene developing in egypt. not what you think. this is a soccer match in egypt. the fans rioted, hitting each other with rocks and chairs. if you thought riots got out of hand, this one has a death toll of 79 people. >> unbelievable. >> hundreds of others injured in this riot. >> witnesses say police did very little to stop the violence. authorities are investigating the cause of the riot now. did it stem from sports rivalry? or was it politically-motivated? three-day national mourning period is being observed there. ben wedeman live in cairo for us. are you hearing about this being politically motivated? >> as with everything in egypt these days, there is a political element to it. just to give you some background, it was the cairo team that had gone to this stadium to play against the local team. the team is famous for its participation in the political clashes that have taken place in egypt over the last year. in fact, in november and december, they were leading the clashes with the police. so, many of the members of that club, of the hard-core fans of that club, are accusing the police of just standing by and allowing their rival, the rival team's fans, to go after them with, as we saw, everything. rocks, bottles, sticks and in some cases, according to eyewitness accounts, firearms, as well. many people in cairo are blaming the military for not being able to maintain law and order. not just at football games. but throughout the entire country. >> are they also being blamed for causing the tragedy? i read that somewhere. >> there are members who are saying exactly that. that this was the revenge of the security forces on the fans because of their participation in those clashes. obviously, we don't have evidence to suggest that. we're hearing calls of the minister of the interior to resign and for people to go on trial for this massacre. >> ben wedeman, in cairo. thank you for that. 13 minutes past 5:00. >> leon panetta's announcement on afghanistan, expected to make more waves on the campaign trail today. it came on a plane without the president yesterday. the announcement that u.s. forces in afghanistan, are expected to end their combat role in 2013 and continue a training role through 2014. >> after taking a bit of hit, planned parenthood has raised $400,000 in just 24 hours. how all of a sudden did all that money come in donations? it follows an announcement from the susan g. komen foundation they were going to pull their funding from planned parenthood. komen is blaming the cuts of congressional investigation over planned parenthood services. the founder is denying it had anything to do with political pressure. >> as we move forward, we will implement more strategies to serve more women. we will never bow under political pressure. we will stand firm to our goal to end breast cancer forever. >> that's nancy brinker, who is the sister of susan g. komen. she was a big contact with george w. bush, as well. this is a huge story. a california woman has defeated honda in small claims court. you'll remember heather peters of los angeles. she spoke to us after she filed a claim against the auto giant because the honda civic hybrid didn't come close to getting the 50 miles per gallon. she's been awarded nearly $10,000. and you probably didn't see it in the northeast or the northwest. but if you were in texas or oklahoma, what on earth was that streaking across the night sky in those states? check out the video from the police dash cam. i was going to sing some crazy song. but, listen. it was a routine traffic stop that caught this. but the faa is weighing in on what that is. it is a meteor. that's the fireball. it was an actual meteor. the reports came as far south as waco, texas. and as far north as oklahoma city of people saying, yikes. >> so much more fun to say it was a ufo. we go to the national weather forecast. did you see it, rob? >> no. but that's striking video. looks more like a ufo than a fireball or meteor. i'll take faa's word on that. another picture from space, actually. the dark side of the moon. check this out. ebb and flow, a twin satellite project, a grail that is orbiting the moon that takes the side we don't see. this is the dark side, the elusive one. you see how many impact craters are on that. down across the south pole. that, my friends, is good stuff. thank you, nasa. also, good stuff, you probably enjoyed it in trenton, new jersey, yesterday. 67 degrees. new york city, 64. record-breaking heat. this is going away. the temperatures today will still be a good ten degrees or so above average. 70 degrees in atlanta. 52 degrees in chicago. rain across parts of the delmarva. still some cloud cover today. at least for the most part this morning across pennsylvania. it's february 2nd. you know what that means. fog across parts of the south. hit the low beams across i-10. storms coming out of the colorado rockies. 12 inches possible from denver across nebraska beginning later on today. guys, happy groundhog day. back to you. >> that's when i said the groundhog was going to be sweaty when he came out. that would indicate how the spring would be like. >> that's the new gauge. >> instead of the shadow. >> i was waiting for the pink floyd reference on the dark side of the moon. i know you're old enough. >> yes. very much so. >> i actually just found out how old he is. i was shocked. >> can we say it, rob? >> you're 14. >> thank you. there you go. >> i like it. >> a story from american airlines, looking to cut thousands of jobs. here's the weird thing. why is american airlines saying, no. this is going to save jobs. what's that going to mean for you, too? >> the washington state senate passes the gay marriage bill. it's not a done deal. what happens next? you're going to find out in early reads. can you enjoy vegetables with sauce and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. good morning to you, milwaukee. it's 5:20. 32 degrees now. but later, it is going to be sunny and 44 degrees. >> very nice. in fact, milwaukee's a good town to start with because we're doing our early reads for you. getting a look at your local news that makes national headlines. this morning, papers from milwaukee, as well as seattle. the journal sentinel. 550 people have filing sex abuse claims against the catholic arch diocese in milwaukee. there was a timeline, a deadline on this. the arch diocese has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. we can't say who the people are filing. but we had the stories before. and they're requesting that a lot of the claims be thrown out. >> moving on to "the seattle times." we have a copy for you. it reads, historic vote clears the way for same-sex marriage. washington state senate passes the gay marriage bill. it's a big step on the path to legalize same-sex marriage there. if it passes, the governor says she is going to sign it. washington would be the seventh state to legalize same-sex marriage. so, in addition to 26 lawmakers who previously announced their support, 2 more republicans joined onboard. senators andy hill and joe faine. overall, 24 democrats, 4 republicans voted for the measure. >> something says it could be a supreme court suit. they always end up in that route. an interesting story. >> a long, ten-year battle. >> has it ever. another big story we're covering for you, some deep and painful cuts at american airlines. it's not the story you want to hear like this. but the company wants to eliminate 13,000 jobs from that company. remaking the nation's third-largest airline under bankruptcy protection. unions, not particularly onboard with this. >> the term sheet they put down today is not where we're going to wind up. it was absolutely outrageous. it brought up issues and made proposals that were never discussed in our four years of bargaining. it was so far-reaching that even i, who was expecting a very, very outrageous proposal was completely shocked. >> it's a difficult day for all of our employees. no question about it. from the senior management to every -- to the newest employee of the company. >> so, our cnn brand-new aviation and regulation correspondent, lizzie o'leary, is joining us live from washington. let's start right off the block by saying welcome. >> thank you. >> and also, what kind of jobs are we talking about? right across the board? or things we need to be worried about. >> they are, across the board. although, they're a little deeper in some places than others. when you look at the overall numbers, 13,000, that's the big headline number that are proposed. it's important to remember the airline has got the threat of the bankruptcy court behind them. so, you hear the union say those numbers are outrageous. there's a court proceeding here. that's why it gets pushed so aggressively. we're talking about maybe 400 pilots, 2,000 flight attendants. mechanics, 4,600. that raises eyebrows with fliers. >> i'm a flier. when i heard that number, is that safe? how are we supposed to digest that news as fliers? >> in two ways. number one, remember, these are union jobs. when you look at the way other airline bankruptcies have happened, you're probably looking at taking some of the union jobs and shifting them to nonunion employees. it means mechanics are working on your plane. but maybe they weren't trained in the union shop. maybe they have different hours. and this is something we're watching, where the work gets done. american used to do its work in-house. a lot of airlines don't do that anymore. does it get moved off-site. who is watching that? does it stay in the united states? that's another thing to keep an eye on. we don't know yet. >> the ceo said, yes, this will be an end of a journey for a lot of people. but in the end, it will preserve tens of thousands of jobs. hopefully that is the case. but what about the people who doesn't have a job with the airline and flies and pays for tickets? >> it's very soon to say what's going to happen overall right now. american is worried about your business. they would love your business. they've been advertising very cheap fares over the past day or two because they know that fliers are worried about that. in the longer term, yes, it probably means, as they get rid of some planes, planes are expensive, that the roots will be cut down. that could put pressure on ti