atone shtentio attention, including the attention of our president. >> and eruptions rage in afghanistan even after president obama apologizes for the burning of the koran. we are getting reports of a serious increase in the chaos there. >> in this country, a man accused of killing his wife while on a scuba trip and who pled guilty to it elsewhere finds he will not be spending time in prison in this country, the judge said i don't even want the jury to hear this. >> yesterday we told you about the lawmaker who called the girl scouts a bunch of communists and radicals. he says he's sorry, however he says it doesn't change the way that he feels. we'll have a lot more on that. up first, as ashleigh said, more pain at the pump. apparently there's no relief in sight. aaa says national average price of gasoline now is 3.64 per gallon. it's the highest ever for this time of year. >> we're watching the aaa report this year to see when they come up with a daily increase or decrease. >> there it is. >> 3.64, this was yesterday. >> 3.61 was out yesterday. this is the new number, up three cents overnight. >> two days in a row. >> you fill up this morning, three cents more than yesterday. >> while you were sleeping. if you think that is bad. l.a., 4.93 a gallon. that's not fun. a lot of people saying you can blame iran and tensions in iran for this. the president stressing an all-above approach to energy independence is needed to get this in check and he's answering to the republican critics coming down on him about the high gas prices. have a listen. >> right now we are experiencing just another painful reminder of why developing new energy is so critical to our future. just like last year, gas prices are climbing across the country. this time it's happening even earlier. >> i represent $2.50 gasoline. he represents 9 or $10 gasoline. which of those two will be happier? >> let's bring in christine romans to chat about this. if we continue krthree cents evy night this can get out of control. >> 3.75 to 4.25 is what i'm hearihear hearing for an average. the price of gas is divergent across the country. two things i know, my mom loves me and gas prices can get political. >> what's driving it? >> iran. people say the fear factor of iran is adding about $10 per barrel of crude, which adds about 30 cents per tank. the supply shock of iran would be something that effects the global market, even though we don't get a drop from iran. it's a world market that has speculators, hedgers, people who buy and sell all the time. this is how a gallon of gas breaks down for you. 12% is basically taxes. distribution and marketing is 6%, refining 6%, and the price of crude oil is 76% of the cost of a gallon of gas. when you see crude oil above $110 a barrel, this is where the money go. energy companies are making so much money and we're paying at the pump, why is that fair? a lot of you are asking for tax subsidies. >> 12% in taxes. >> right. a lot of you are asking me about that. and a lot of you are asking how much of this is speculators driving up the oil? because demand for gas is down in the u.s., why is the price going up? >> the rest of the world is gobbling up oil. they're building oil-intensive industries and also green intensive industries. the demand from brazil, india, china means, all the experts are saying, those days of dollar a gallon gas are behind us. >> why do we keep hearing republicans on the stump talking about $2 gas. >> is that just fantasy? isn't there a way do that with our u.s. oil reserves here. >> u.s. is already importing less oil. the president says he wants an all of the above approach to wean ourselves from dependence on foreign oil. our two biggest suppliers of oil are mexico and canada right here in our own backyard. it's a complicated scenario. there's nothing complicated about putting the pump into your car and it's 3.64 this morning. it's going to keep going up for the next few weeks, i think. >> that's hard to wean yourself and face that, right? that it continues increasing. >> i drive a smart car. i weaned. >> wait. wait. you drove in a suv the other day. >> my other car is an suv. but i make strategic choice now all the time about the suv. i put the kids in the suv -- >> we do that, it's just the rest of the world is growing so quickly that it might be whatever we do -- we consume more oil than anybody else. >> for now. >> china, i'm talking to you. christine, we'll keep on this throughout the show. stay close by. >> sure. >> we have another big story developing, that's in afghanistan where riot police and soldiers are on guard in kabul because it is friday, which you know means friday prayers. and the protests are growing as we speak. despite president obama's apology, which was hand-delivered to president karzai, angry protesters still erupted in afghanistan over that whole issue of a mistaken burning of korans at our nato air bass there, at bagram. two american troops now have been killed. that was by a man dressed in an army uniform of afghanistan, the people we're training. it called on after the taliban called on killing americans in revenge of the desecration of those holy papers. officials say more people died, several more injured, also including people from the area of the compound that is under siege. nick paton walsh is on the duty. this is his assignment. spends a lot of time there. it's been fairly quiet. you even had a chance to get to beirut and do reporting on syria. all of this has blown up, it is friday and most people know what that means. how bad is it today? >> we are in the fourth day of protests. so far friday prayers appear to have ended peacefully across most of the country. we're hearing of four to five protests nationwide, by interior ministry officials stress these are small so far and peaceful. that's not to say they dodged a bullet so far today because ail the protests of the past three days have begun peacefully and then spiraled out of control. there's a lot of anger there and a huge effort overnight of afghan officials to make sure things do not flair up. there's been nothing to remove that sense of tension particularly in kabul and around the country about what could happen in the next few hours. so far it's peaceful. >> president karzai, some say, play be able to tamp this down. he didn't right away suggest this was a mistake. he came out more on the side of those folks you're seeing on the streets. is this something he saw realized may have caused the chaos and now suggesting that this may have been a mistake and maybe give the americans bit of a bye on this? >> for the first few days all you could hear was a massive slew of nato and american apologies. now the president has apologized. there's not a huge amount else that the americans can do to say they're sorry. yes, people say hamid karzai could have apologized earlier, but some cynics are saying this plays into his hands. he's in the deal of negotiating with the americans about their future status and forces here, and he has a role in guiding the population, and that may strengthen his hand in those negotiations. that would be a cynic's take on this. at the end of the day, there's a lot of anger on the streets, they're appalled this happened and are amazed that nato admitted that it did. some say karzai had to stand with the afghans on this, but after what happened yesterday, he issued these statements last night. >> politic placing in, nick paton walsh, thank you for weighing in. >> newt beginnigingrich saying apologize was well deserved. coming up this morning, soledad o'brien will have a sneak preview of the annual governor's meeting with maryland governor martin o'malley, that's at 7:30 eastern. opening statements for the tyl tyler clementi case, he wclemen committed side days after being videotaped in his room. ryan braun is expected to show up at spring training today. baseball officials reversed his 50-game suspension after he s successfully challenged the drug test results. here's something you don't hear often, a saskatchewan screamer. i lived in the province beside saskatchewan, and i never heard of the saskatchewan screamer. >> hundreds of flights have been canceled. the city may see seven to eight inches of snow. you know who predicted this yesterday? yes, indeed, it's crazy in chicago >> saskatchewan screamer? >> i have not heard that term. i thought i heard them all. >> so did i. i'm canadian for heavens sake. >> thank you for adding another quiver or arrow into my quiver. >> some video for you out of chicago. several inches of snow. not quite ten yet. enough for folks to get out there, get the scrapers off and do more housekeeping, so to speak, this year than we have done in quite awhile. a different winter compared to last year. delays at the airports, you mentioned. frustrated travels there, not only at o'hare, but at mitt way as well, even 100 flights canceled as well. still snowing this morning, so delays this morning but the edge of the snow shield will begin to exit chicago as we go through lunch time it does extend over towards the northeast. snowing heavily north of new york city, rain in new york and most of long island, but snowing in bridgeport, hartford, poughkeepsie and newburg. warmer air will work its way in but it will be windy as well. a lot of energy with it from the canadian border down to parts of georgia. snowfall totals, four to seven across parts of upstate new york. the severe threat again today across parts of the southeast. this is after the report-breaking warm temperatures we saw yesterday across the area. into the 80s in some spots in georgia. 76 in atlanta. everybody coming out of the woodwork to enjoy an indian summer here. >> here's something else you will never hear, manitoba mudslide. it will never happen. >> no pretty flat. >> i just made it up. it's 13 minutes past the hour here. a judge tosses a case of a man accused of killing his wife on a scuba diving trip in australia. that happened ten days after they were married. he pled guilty in australia and served time in australia. now he's back here. why is the case getting tossed out here? and was there ever a tabloid story. john edwards and a sex tape with a mystery who bore him a child what about that sex tape? it's been hard fought over in court and there's a decision. you want to know where it is? you'll find out. [ technician ] are you busy? management just sent over these new technical manuals. they need you to translate them into portuguese. by tomorrow. [ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business. your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have 6 grams of sugars. with 15 grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. [ male announcer ] new glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. it's got 10 speeds, my friend. ♪ is it fast? it's got a lightning bolt on it, doesn't it? ♪ is it fast? i don't even know if it's street legal. ♪ is it safe? oh ya, it's a volkswagen. [ male announcer ] the security of a jetta, one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. ♪ got you in a stranglehold, baby ♪ sure. what flavor? mm, one of each. lemon burst, hm, cherry orchard, blackberry harvest... my daughter's grabbing some yoplait. pina colada, orange creme. i can't imagine where she is... strawberry cheesecake. [ grocery store pa ] clean up in aisle eight. found her! [ female announcer ] yoplait original. 25 flavors for you to love. it is so good. for you today ? we gave people right off the street a script and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? that department is currently closed. have i helped you with everything you needed ? if your bank doesn't give you knowledgeable customer service 24/7, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. will be giving away passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. recognize this? this is adele "set fire to the rain." taking a live look at baltimore. good morning to you. it's 56 degrees. a bit later, stormy for you and 7 72. >> 17 minutes past 5:00 on the east coast. same-sex marriage, one step closer in one more state. this time maryland. the state senate there last night approved a bill sending it to the governor in this state, maryland, as opposed to new jersey, promised to sign it into law. also, seven states and several catholic church groups are suing the federal government all over that new contraception regulation. the lawsuit claims that the policy is in violation of constitutional rights to religious freedom. what goes up can go even higher. we're talking about those rising gas prices. the latest gauge from aaa has a national average at 3.64 a gallon. that's three cents up from just yesterday. gas prices are the highest ever for this time of year. remember the indian lawmaker who called the girl scouts a radical organization that promoted abortion and homosexuality? he's apologizing, but apologizing for the tone of what he said. state representative bob morris said he was sorry for his emotional reactionary and inflammatory words. but he still believes what he said. and fights are breaking out overnight at a mall in orlando. why? hundreds of people are trying to get their hands on a pair of new nike basketball shoes. riot police were called in. two people were arrested fortress passing. no one was hurt. the shoes cost $220 and they glow in the dark. that's a reason to get in line to wait. i thought it was a lin shoe, but it's still a month away. i thought it was coming out today, quite frankly, but a month. >> i heard he was saying no to so many endorsements because they're trying to manage his brand and making sure they don't spray it out there. >> a nike shoe makes all the sense in the world. we have an early look at an early read of your local news. we have papers from charlotte and miami, let's start in charlotte. this is one story that will not go away from the news and observer. it's john edwards seen here walking on the left with a lovely hair cut. the woman in the middle, rielle hunter, and that guy who is walking with edwards apparently had a sex tape left in his house by hunter, and that apparently showed hunter and the former senator, but they went to court and hunter got that tape back. it will be destroyed. no one will not see the con teps of it, which is not a bad thing if you ask these two any way. the miami herald, though i don't want to talk about this. apparently you can't beat the heat. dwayne wade and lebron james pour cold water on our guy, jeremy lin. they stomped the knicks 102-88. the heat's eighth straight win. lin said they did a great job of making me uncomfortable. >> i would say so. >> miami defense too hot for the knicks. chris bosh led the team with 25 points. i think it's unfair you have those three guys on there. isn't it? >> isn't that what money buys? >> if i was living in miami, i would be happy. >> i bet. not just because of the weather -- >> show-offs. >> isn't that what makes it great? i don't even know about basketball. >> i love it. 21 minutes past the hour. a judge in alabama is tossing out the case against the so-called honeymoon killer. gabe watson was charged with killing his wife while on honeymoon along the great barrier reef. prosecutors say watson shut off her air supply and turned it back on after she died. watson pled guilty, spent 18 months in jail in australia. the case came to the united states, since he was accused of plotting the killing on u.s. soil. but the judge does not want a jury to hear the case. what? all right. so criminal defense attorney midwin charles joins us this morning. the big question is here, he serves time over there. and he actually pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter, yet he come here's and they don't have a case against him? what happened. >> involuntary manslaughter is very different from first degree murder. and i think what happened was there was evidence that came up during two weeks of trial that the prosecution put on that just was not persuasive enough to this judge. the judge believed that they didn't prove motive, as you know the prosecution was trying to say she had this life insurance policy, but it turns out that he was not the beneficiary of the life insurance policy. her father was. so this judge granted this motion for judgment of acquittal, which, ashleigh, i got to tell you is very rare. i've never seen it done in court. i've been practicing for quite awhile, both here in new york state and federal court. i have never seen a judge grant a judgment of acquittal before the defense presented their case. >> midwin, the defense didn't get to present a single witness. why is that? >> typically what happens is the prosecution goes first. right after they're done, before the defense puts on their case, the defense moves for a motion for judgment of acquittal, which essentially says, judge, we've heard all the evidence so far from the state. we don't think they have enough to prove their case. so we're moving and asking that you acquit our client because the prosecution has not proven their case. that's what the defense did here. it's pro forma, it happens in every defense case. chances are it's almost never granted. it's very rare to see that happen here. that's why the difference didn't even have to put on their case. >> the fact he pled guilty for involuntary manslaughter in australia does not way at all here? >> apparently it didn't. he served 18 months in australia and was extradited here to alabama. only on the condition that he wouldn't face a capital murder charge. it seemed to not weigh at all in this particular trial. i guess the evidence was just not overwhelming. >> the prosecutor said this case is over forever. i strongly disagree with him, meaning the judge, i'm extremely stunned and at a loss for words. so you cannot retry this? >> you cannot. >> oh. >> the judge has spoken. >> all right. well, midwin, we appreciate your time this morning. i think we're all shocked by this. are you shocked? >> i am. i've never seen it. when defense attorneys make that motion, they almost know it will be denied. to have it be granted is very much a surprise. >> all right. midwin charles, thank you for joining us. >> normally when we're covering these cases, we walk out expecting that's one of those things. defense stands up, he probably sits down. what? what happened? the judge agreed? >> when you see the pictures of that rwoman lying at the bottom of the ocean, that poor family. >> i was stunned because personally i felt there was at least enough evidence for the jury to look at this. i was just stunned that the judge did this. >> free man. >> that's the way it goes. that's the law. still ahead, newt gingrich is accuses president obama of surrender, official surrender, blasting him about the apology that he gave to hamid karzai over the mistaken burning of those korans in afghanistan. all of it to quell some of this violence, but it's not going over well among some people here. ve diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to h