electrified fences until they die. extreme words from a pastor -- yes, a pastor in north carolina. we're going to play the tape for you on cnn this hour. good morning, everyone. welcome to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. look who's here. >> i'm christine romans. zoraida sambolin is on assignment today. it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. let's get you started. it could be a day that brings a brand new era in the middle east, but we're not sure what kind of era it's going to be because this is election day in egypt. millions of people going to the polls for a historic vote. their first chance to cast a free vote for a leader in that country in its 5,000 years of existence. this is what they fought for last year in tahrir square. remember these images, the people toppling their leader, hosni mubarak? there's so many unknown ins this story? will women have more freedom? will egypt go to the islamists? will the attitude toward israel change for the better or the worse? and one of the candidates backed by a terrorist group? all of this as we consider fears there could be more bloodshed if the military leaders in power don't like what the vote tells them. our ben wedeman is live in cairo. i know we have a very long delay in our connection with you, but get me up to speed on how things are going so far, ben. >> reporter: actually, so far voting has gone very smoothly, very calmly. there are no real reports of any sort of violence. what we have here is a gentleman casting his ballot. people by and large very positive, very enthusiastic about this process. we spoke with one woman who was 2 1/2 hours waiting on a plastic chair outside the voting station to vote for the first time, and this woman was a spry 70 years old. for most egyptians, the elections of the past for hosni mubarak, there was one september of 2005, it was a farce. before that, all they had every six years was a referendum, and you could either say yes to hosni mubarak or no. one man told me this morning, even if you wrote no in the referendum, they would go and change your vote. so this is truly a historic day for egypt. >> one of the questions i have for you. i scanned through about 13 contenders. 4 of them are leading. one was a former arab league chief, one a former prime minister, one candidate from the muslim brotherhood, and another candidate a modern islamist. any of these candidates, are they going to be capable of doing what many in egypt think is the most important thing? that is just restoring security. it is awful on those streets, and it wasn't this bad when mubarak was in power. >> reporter: well, i think things really aren't as bad as they may have been portrayed recently. but certainly a restoration of security is a priority for almost every egyptian you speak with. they want to see law and order reestablished. they want to see the economy reinvigorated. this is where the economy was growing 6% a year before the revolution, and it's come to a halt. are any of these candidates capable of fixing egypt? they all will claim they are. this is an important time for egypt. all are given the choice of deciding for a civil route, a nonreligious future for egypt, and the other is with the muslim brotherhood, or the other islamist candidate, and that is to follow a route for egypt where islam is a very determining factor. most polls would indicate there's a narrow margin in favor of a civil egypt. >> ben wedeman reporting for us live in that polling station as the actual vote gets under way. stay with us, if you will, ben, and keep us posted as the day goes on. appreciate that. big development this morning in the facebook ipo fiasco. the state of massachusetts serving financial giant morgan stanley with a subpoena after it was reported by reuters, the lead underwriter for the ipo cut its revenue forecast for facebook in the days before the offering. this was information that they're investigating whether it reached all investors before the stock was listed or just some big, high profile investors. morgan stanley telling cnn in an e-mail statement "morgan stanley followed the same procedures for the facebook offering that it follows for all ipos. these procedures are in compliance with all applicable regulations." facebook shares have already dropped 18% from the debut of the ipo on friday. strong on foreign policy but weak on the economy. that is how voters feel about president obama according to the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. 52% disapprove of the way he's handle the economy, only 43% approve. only 33% expect an improvement next year. that's down seven points since march. president obama does get high marks from voters on his handling of the wars in iraq and afghanistan. a wildfire in nevada. more than 700 homes destroyed. hundreds of homes, structures, and utility lines are threatened at this moment. a woman is undergoing a mental evaluation this morning after causing a scare on an international flight, saying she had some device implanted inside of her. she was on board a u.s. airways flight from paris to north carolina yesterday when she made that claim in a note to the flight attendant. fighter jets had to scramble yesterday to put that plane down in a different location. the flight was diverted to bangor, maine, and she was taken off of that plane. >> we were down within minutes. i've been flying my whole life, i've never been from that altitude to landing that quickly. >> it was just weird. no one really knew what was going on. we thought it was a medical emergency. then they told us they were low on fuel because there were strong headwinds. then as we were landing, you could see all the ambulances. >> it may have seemed like a medical emergency because federal officials say that doctors who were on board actually checked her out but found she had no recent scars. of course, don't forget, she did say it was an implanted device in her body. they did say that she did not, however, pose any threat. >> and is undergoing a psych eval as we speak. sullivan expected to testify today and tell there was no security breach in that prostitution scandal in cartagena, colombia. the agents plan to fight their dismissal. the four agents and five others engaged in serious misconduct while in clolombia before the president's trip that month. on "starting point," soledad speaks to senator ben johnson, who will be grilling him at this hearing today. have you heard about the pastor in north carolina? if you have not heard him speak, have we got something for you. he says he has a plan for gays and lesbians. take a listen. >> build a great big large fence, 150 or 100 mile long and put all the lesbians in there. >> it doesn't stop there. boy, does it ever not stop there. more ahead and why this sermon -- yes, it's a sermon -- might just get him in big trouble with the federal government. that's coming up. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have six grams of sugars. with fifteen grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. 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i ain't going to vote for a baby killer and a homosexual lover. >> that is troublesome. another reverend apparently says he's planning to file a complaint about that, about pastor worley's words. that pastor's name is barry lynn, and he's an advocate for the separation of church and state, and he told "ac 360" that pastor worley really crossed the line with that one. >> nobody would have mistaken that for an endorsement of barack obama. these are so far over the line. there's nothing nuanced about it. and there's no guarantee under the first amendment that you can say anything you want and keep your tax exemption. >> that may be how reverend lynn feels, but members of that church in question are certainly standing by their pastor. listen. >> he would give you the shirt off his back. he would do anything he could for you. >> takes a real firm stand on the bible and what it says about different things. whether i like it or not or whether anybody else likes it. >> being gay and lesbian or whatever, homosexual, is wrong according to the bible. we love the people, hate the sin, okay? point blank. you need to lay off my pastor. >> you need to lay off the pastor, he says. local activists are saying they're going to plan a peaceful protest this coming sunday. >> what part of that is loving the people, hating the sin? putting people behind an electric fence and letting them die out doesn't sound very loving. >> doesn't sound like what would jesus do. >> they didn't have electrified fence in the old testament. i don't know, i'm not a bible scholar. >> or the new testament either. >> that's true. also new this morning, more americans support same-sex marriage. watch this polling. a new poll finds 53% of americans feel same-sex marriage should be legal. 39% said it shouldn't. >> 14 minutes now past the top of the hour. get up, get out of here. it's getting late. egyptians heading to the polls. exciting news overseas. right now they're going to elect their first president since the fallout and the fall of hosni mubarak just a year ago. by the way, hosni mubarak held that dictatorship for 30 years. this is new. live pictures, take a look from our reuters short this morning. if all goes as planned, this is going to end the year long military transition that egypt has been in for a year. this is being closely watched not only by this country but also israel to the north. not a whole lot of suspense left. mitt romney picked up two more primary wins, and he's in position to officially clinch the republican nomination next week. taking kentucky by 67% and arkansas by 68%. romney now less than 100 delegate as way from the magic number, 1,144. >> you think it's going to come in texas? >> i think it's going to come in texas. not another good day for this guy because verdict watch continues for john edwards in his corruption trial. back again. it is the third day that ended with no answers, no verdict, but a request, though, of a review of some more evidence. they're going to have to decide whether money funneled by two supporters to edwards' pregnant mistress rielle hunter were campaign contributions or merely just gifts. days before he was scheduled to graduate, the body of a missing harvard business school student was found in portland, maine. 31-year-old nathan bielmer was last seen celebrating with friends outside a waterfront bar in portland. police say there doesn't appear to be foul play. a man held on the death of his traveling companion in aruba was arrested for indecent exposure. they found gary giordano naked in his car in a parking lot on friday with a woman. authorities retained him in august over the disappearance of this woman, robyn gardner. he was released due to a lack of evidence. he claims gardner was swept out to sea while snorkeling. she has never been found. if you commute to work on two wheels, why not take a work at portland, oregon? bicycling magazine has ranked portland the best city to bike to work in the country. 2010 census figures show 5% of the population in portland pedals to work on their bikes. san francisco in second place, seattle third, washington, d.c., fourth, and denver fifth. >> rob marciano would cycle into work if he wasn't going into work at 2:00 in the morning. >> that's true. good morning. i used to live in portland, oregon. it's a beautiful spot. >> i spent some time there. i really like it. >> if you cut off a bike, you're going to get an earful. they're very protective. >> they'll get the coffee houses after you. >> and the micro-breweries. we're looking at showers in the northeast again today. it's going to rain but not as much as yesterday. for you tough guys, you can probably leave the umbrella at home. might have to dodge rain drops from time to time. showers and thunderstorms. these got a bit rough. this is going to be the area where we think we're going to see severe weather again today. this area is not moving. we have to wait for it to break apart and dissipate that way. once it does that, we'll get into somewhat drier air behind it. the northwest, where things are being controlled, deep trough here, even snow in the mountains. things continue across the southwest. fire threat is going to be high. windy conditions, and heat and humidity is going to be a factor as well. very dry conditions and hot as well. winds will gust 45 to 50 miles an hour. firefighters there, especially at the gladiator fire, are going to have their hands full. 80 degrees in chicago. so it was cool. temperatures well above normal in the northern plains. a quick check on tropical storm bud here in the eastern pacific about 600 miles southwest of manzanillo. it was forecast to be a hurricane. now keep it a tropical storm status and maybe have it dissipate before it hits the mexican coastline. that would be a good scenario for the tourist industry there. guys, back out to you. >> mr. marciano, thanks for that. this is the time of morning we like to get you up to speed on your newspapers even though they're not on your front doorstep yet. how far would you go to help somebody find a missing cell phone? >> to the ends of the earth. >> what if you're a police chief? this is a good one. there is a police chief in berkeley, california, who has apparently been accused of going too far and ordering officers on the drug task force to help him find his son's cell phone. it's an iphone, of course. apparently stolen from school. the san francisco chronicle is reporting that chief michael meehan had ten officers try to go after his son's phone through the built-in tracking signal. they couldn't find it, though. ten officers couldn't find the iphone. apparently, four detectives were also paid overtime to assist in the search. i think there's some trouble brewing. american catholic nuns are being criticized by the vatican for spending too much time helping the poor and nursing the sick instead of fighting against same-sex marriage and birth control. let me say that again. american nuns being criticized by the vatican for spending too much time acting like jesus and not getting into politics. nuns in new york city held a prayer vigil and a protest last night. "usa today" has a new vatican report slamming the u.s. nuns dedicated to helping the poor through missionary work. the vatican calls them radical feminists who spend too much time on helping the sick and not fighting against birth control. the nuns have a long history in this country of rubbing up against the vat cal. by the way, more follow up today from the facebook ipo. regulators want to know if some investors had an unfair leg up, like some secret information that the rest of us should have all had. [ male announcer ] this is corporate caterers, miami, florida. in here, great food demands a great presentation. so at&t showed corporate caterers how to better collaborate by using a mobile solution, in a whole new way. using real-time photo sharing abilities, they can create and maintain high standards, from kitchen to table. this technology allows us to collaborate with our drivers to make a better experience for our customers. 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