that are not true about george. how he's being portrayed is just an absolute lie. >> robert zimmerman insists his son acted in self-defense. >> he talked about taking a, quote, leap of fate. federal charges filed against that jetblue pilot that had a midair meltdown. the captain's mental health coming into question, whether he should have been at the controls in the first place. where's mom? what are you stopping for? >> here it is, right here, right here. >> we're out, we're out, we're out. >> dramatic cell phone video captures one family's harrowing escape from a fire burning in colorado. two key endorsements for mitt romney to tell you about. one, a potential running mate. the other, a former president. the polls show the gop front-runner has a lot of work ahead if he plans to beat president obama. we start with new developments overnight in the trayvon martin investigation. just released video obtained by abc of george zimmerman on the night he fatally shot the 17-year-old. the tape shows zimmerman, take a look there. he's being led in handcuffs from a police car to be questioned at the sanford, florida police headquarters. he seems to be moving normally. it's difficult to see any outward sign of the physical injury zimmerman was said to have suffered in a life and death struggle with trayvon martin. trayvon's mother has this reaction on cnn's "piers morgan" last night. >> this video is the icing on the cake. this is not the first part of evidence they have had. they've had the 911 tapes and also had witnesses. this is in addition to what the sanford police department already has. this video is clear evidence there is some problem with this case and that he needs to be arrested. >> we're also hearing for the first time from george zimmerman's father. cnn's martin savage is live in sanford, florida. what is he saying? what is his father saying, martin? >> good morning, zoraida. this is robert zimmerman. he spoke for the first time on camera at least. we heard from him several times writing op-ed pieces. this is the first time he's spoke on camera in defense of his son. his account is certainly the most dramatic and detailed of george zimmerman on that particular night. he says that george told him trayvon was the aggressor here. listen. >> trayvon martin walked up to him, asking do you have [ bleep ] problem? george said, no, i don't have a problem. and started to reach for his cell phone. at that point, he was punched in the nose. his nose was broken and he was knocked to the concrete. trayvon martin got on top of him and just started beating him in the face, in his nose, hitting his head on the concrete. >> reporter: it's quite clear that the zimmerman family believes that george's account as to what happened on that terrible night has not been portrayed enough. robert went on to describe the altercation. listen again. >> after nearly a minute of being beaten, george was trying to get his head off the concrete, trying to move with trayvon on him, into the grass. in doing so, his firearm was shown. trayvon martin said something to the effect of, you're going to die now or you're going to die tonight, something to that effect. he continued to beat george and at some point george pulled his pistol and did what he did. >> reporter: okay. what is really interesting about that last account there is -- first we should point out robert zimmerman was not there. what he is obviously recounting is what he says is george zimmerman, what he told him, his son, in other words. what is interesting there is that there have been some points in this discussion where there has been -- they've alluded to the fact that maybe there was a struggle over a gun. this has come from some witnesses and friends of george zimmerman. the father doesn't talk about a struckle over a gun. the father right there says george pulls out the gun, makes a conscious decision, fires the weapon and trayvon martin is killed. once again, new revelations, new insights but not an eyewitness account. zoraida? >> martin, one last question for you here. all of that was before we actually saw this new video of george zimmerman as well, right? his dad spoke before that? >> reporter: actually, i think that was on the evening news last night. it might have been after the video sequence had already appeared on network news. so this may have been a means of trying to counter that. there seems to be a lot of this beginning on. for every release that may favor one side of the story telling, there is quickly some effort to counter is with, well, but then there's this. >> it's kind of tough. you don't really see signs of a struggle there, although we can't really see that video very closely. >> reporter: no, you don't. >> martin savage, thank you so much. soledad o'brien will host a town hall meeting tonight "beyond trayvon, race and justice in america." see it here friday night at 8:00 and 10:00 eastern time. >> six minutes past 5:00. the jetblue pilot that had to be wrestled down in midair is facing federal charges for interfering with his very own flight crew. now for the first time we're hearing minute-by-minute what happened in the cockpit. the captain, osbon scolded air traffic controllers over the radio for making too much noise and then turned all the radios off. he started preaching about how things don't matter and said we're not going to vegas and yelled we need to take a leap of faith. listen to the video after that. eventually, the first officer had to tell flight attendants and passengers over the p.a. to pin him down. ultimately he and an off-duty pilot headed that plane to amarillo, texas, instead, a full diversion, making a safe but frightening emergency landing in that city. we have new details live from washington. federal charges, very serious. what is he facing and how serious are these charges, lizzie? >> they're federal charges, interfering with a flight crew. if they carried the maximum penalty that would be up to 20 years in prison plus a pretty significant fine. what you get in the affidavit that came along with the charging documents is a fairly disturbing picture of what was going on inside that plane. i kind of want to walk through different parts of what was going on. you're right, the first roifr essentially noticed things not long after takeoff from jfk. let's walk through a couple of points here. we know from the affidavit that clayton osbon showed up late, missed a crew briefing. he did talk back to the air traffic controllers, turned off the radio as you said. dimmed some of the monitors inside the cockpit and began giving what is describe as a sermon. then as things progress a little bit, he started talking about we need to take a leap of faith. this is the line that got the first officer's attention, we're not going to vegas. this is about 3 1/2 hours into the flight. at this point, the first officer realizes he'd like to get clayton osbon out of the cockpit. he gets up to go to the lavatory. at that point, the other pilot who was taking a free ride came into the cockpit. osbon had somewhat off behavior. he grabbed a flight attendant's hand, started banging on the lavatory door, he talked with some of the passengers on the way to the back of the plane but the cockpit door was locked and closed. he ran up to the front of the plane, banged on the cockpit door. the affidavit says the first officer was worried he might even get through the door. and at that point, that's when the passengers and the flight attendants helped subdue him. they essentially sat on him for 15 minutes or so as the plane came from cruising altitude down to what was certainly a safe landing in amarillo. we should emphasize all the passengers were absolutely fine after this happened, ashleigh. >> physically, that's for sure. >> physically. >> can you imagine having witnessed that and seen that and seeing it coming from someone in uniform, too. lizzie, thank you so much for that. nine minutes past the hour. colorado is putting its controlled burn program for wildfires on hold after one got out of control near denver. look at this. two dozen homes destroyed, two people killed, one still missing. one family's narrow escape from the flames was captured on cell phone video. >> daddy, where's mom? what's she stopping for? >> it's down there. it's down there now. >> she [ bleep ]. [ bleep ]. >> whoa. >> there it is, right here, right here. >> oh, my gosh. >> it's okay. we're out, we're out, we're out. >> oh, my goodness. we're going it talk live to the family. doug, kimberly olson and their children in the next hour. that's at 6:40 eastern. this just in at about this time every morning we tend to bring you bad news. i'm apologizing for it off the bat. the national average for gas just announced by aaa, sorry, $3.92 a gallon. it's up a cent, a full cent. the higher the gas goes, the more people will cut back on their spending. an a brand new survey from the u.s. travel association says more than half of you back there will cut back on your vacation plans this summer as the gas goes up another quarter or so as is expected. >> the airline fares are going up as well. it makes you rethink all of your travel options. >> i have starting getting more organized in the later part of my life. i book flights a good six months in advance and i still find i can rarely find a flight under $500. >> it's terrible. we are the bearer of bad news this morning. we'll have good news, too. 11 minutes past the hour. ahead on "early start," spike lee issuing an apology. he tweeted the wrong address for george zimmerman. a couple was forced to leave their home in fear. take a close look, this shows increased activity on this launch pad in north korea. and some controversies with regard to a missile launch that is planned for mid-april. we'll break down what that circle tells you and what that circle tells you, too, in just a moment. did you hear about the mega millions madness? >> oh, yeah. >> what would you do with $500 million? >> i'd be right back here working with you. >> i would, too. >> i love my job. >> i would, too. i don't know. what would you do with it? >> we'd change our hours. you're watching "early start." nent color matching creme right where you need it. then rinse. in ten minutes zap those grays and get on with your day. nice 'n easy root touch-up. and it hasn't been going exactly as planned. [ director ] cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be home for a while. [ male announcer ] the citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how'd that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine 2012 iihs top safety picks. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 passat for $219 a month. [ female announcer ] introducing new nature valley protein bars. 100% natural ingredients like roasted peanuts... ♪ ...creamy peanut butter, and a rich dark chocolate flavor. plus, 10 grams of great tasting protein in every bar. so it's energy straight from nature to you. new nature valley protein bars. find them in the granola bar aisle. welcome back. 15 minutes paragraph the hour. time to check the stories making news this morning. here is christine romans. good morning to you. >> good morning. filmmaker spike lee is apologizing for a retweet that may have forced a sanford, florida, couple to leave their home in fear. this retweet listed an address supposedly belonging to trayvon martin's shooter george zimmerman. elaine and david mcclain say they have a son named william george zimmerman who lived with them in the mid-1990s. the mcclains say they had to go to a hotel to get away from the hate mail and the media. spike lee tweeting last night, i deeply apologize to the mcclain family for retweeting their address. it was a mistake. please leave the mcclains in peace. a new satellite aimagery shows increased activity here. the launch is expected between april 12th and april 16th. it would, of course, violate several u.n. resolutions as well as a recent agreement with the u.s. to end its income ambitions in exchange for food. rupert murdoch's news corp. is reportedly working on a national u.s. sports network to compete with espn. news corp. is already acquiring broadcast rights from tv carriers and sports organizes and could launch later this year. for an expanded look at all of our top stories, head to cnn.com/earlystart. ladies? all right. thank you so much, christine. let's head over to rob marciano and check the travel weather. >> we start you off with what's going to happen across the midsection of the country which is a potential for severe weather. a storm coming out of the rockies will begin to crank up that may kick up winds. again, mostly north of denver. we'll check in on the fire. 15% containment here, southwest of denver by about 25 miles, temperatures will be in the 60s. gusty winds in the afternoon to about 20 miles an hour. showers across parts of new england, upstate new york, some of those in the form of snow. still trying to hang on to winter there. you have to go to extreme northern spots, the bigger cities fairly mild. they are heading towards chicago. for our friends in the pacific northwest, either getting up really early or staying up late, spring is certainly typical in the way of some showers and some snow and some dreary stuff. temperatures today, 79 in kansas city, 55 in chicago and 55 degrees in new york city. a little bit of a dose of reality there. the 80s from last week seem to be just a dream. guys, back to you. >> all right, rob, thanks. 18 minutes paragraph the hour. here's an early read on the local stories making national headlines. you have the "new york times" this morning. >> we have "the new york times" for you. you have to open up pretty deep into the paper to get the headline that says "for skittles death brings both profit and risk." way down here on page a-14. this interesting story about how skittles has become this rallying cry, a cultural icon for those protesting the movement. trayvon was carrying skittles and iced tea when he was shot. of course, he was unarmed. you see pictures like this all over the country at rallies. you see stacks and piles of the candy at all of these rallies as well. some protesters have been sending packages of skittles in the sanford police department, all in an effort to protest them not arresting george zimmerman in this case. skittles are made by wrigley. some are asking wrigley to donate the profits from this candy. they are deeply saddened they respect the family's privacy. remember the twinkie defense with the harvey milks killing? murders of the mayor of san francisco and, of course, harvey milk who was the -- he was the san francisco -- i'm trying to remember -- gosh, i had it right here a second ago. that was a problem for twinkie. they didn't want their brand to be associated with such a negative and tragic story. i think that's probably the same issue for skittles as well. >> i love that the girls at spelman college are buying them in bulk and reselling them for more money and will give it to trayvon's family. >> it's not the kind of brand you want to be associated with. still ahead, when fires attack. amazing video of a fireworks factory. look at that. it is exploding. can you imagine that explosion? rockets shooting out from the flames as people run. also, mass hysteria over this, a jackpot record in a lottery. it is close -- close to 500,000 -- close to $500 million. >> folks are inlooing up to buy tickets. >> it is unbelievable. we're in on it here, too. we'll get you the lowdown on this big jackpot coming up. you're watching "early start." all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart ways to sweeten. same great taste. splenda® essentials™. welcome back. it's 24 minutes past 5:00. we're minding your business this morning. one day -- >> i like this story. >> it's aspirational. >> we'll be millionaires if our office pool pays off. >> more than just millionaires, sister. >> how many of us are in the pool? >> i think 30, right. >> a lot. >> 34. >> 35. 35. >> we're probably at this point going to have less than $5 million apiece. >> we're doing what everybody is doing. you're pooling your money. >> the chances are basically you have almost as good chance if you find it on a subway grate in new york. if you have high interest credit card debt you have no business spending 10 bucks on a lottery ticket because you're not going to win. here we go top 120 million to 1. that's not stopping anybody. in george hjorth they're selling 150,000 tickets an hour. this is aspirational, you guys. people want to win. i actually put five bucks in. i kind of have enjoyed the last couple of days thinking about what i would do with it. may the odds ever be in your favor? you're 18 to 125 times more likely to die of a flesh-eating bacteria and more likely to have an asteroid hit you in 2029. i recommend you take the lump sum if you're good with money. you want the use of the money. you need to consider about a third is going to go to taxes. keep your head down. don't buy a maserati. most people lose all this money within ten years. the people who don't lose the money are very smart with it. they put a bunch of people around them. i'm available for financial planning and advice. you do strategic charitable donations, help people close to you but don't go crazy. >> i love this. i know what my first purchase would be. >> what. >> you ready? "how to speak money" by christine romans and ali velshi. >> if you win the lottery, you could buy all the books. >> it's fun. think about what you would do. use this as a personal finance moment. look at how much money you have, what's coming in and what's going on and let's try to advance our situations even if we don't win the lottery. >> i've enjoyed the camaraderie we've had. this is better than a starbucks latte. >> hopefully we don't end up in court because somebody didn't put all the money in. >> dean, you hear that? >> on a positive note, we're going to win. still ahead on "early start" because we still work here, folks, two big endorsements for mitt romney. republicans rallying around him but can he beat president obama? a congressman and ex-black panther booted from the house floor. for what? there he is. bobby rush. for wearing a hoodie. you're watching "early start." thinning skin, , by strengthening its moisture barrier, for improved texture and elasticity in 2 weeks. reveal healthy, supple skin. aveeno skin strengthening. in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check. ♪ why do you whisper, green grass? ♪ [ all ] shh! ♪ why tell the trees what ain't so? ♪ [ male announcer ] dow solutions use vibration reduction technology to help reduce track noise so trains move quieter through urban areas all over the world. together, the elements of science and the human element can solve anything. 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