>> more from the moment she was found unconscious in the bathtub. >> ann romney responding to a democratic strategist who said this about her. >> his wife has actually never worked a day in her life. >> the mother of five is fuming over that comment. >> hearing a cry from the morgue? they are calling her the miracle baby. a newborn baby found alive at the morgue 12 hours after being declared stillborn. >> that is a crazy story. stay tuned for that. actually nailed into a coffin. that's incredible. >> just incredible. >> one minute past 5:00 on the east coast. george zimmerman waking up behind bars this morning. the man who shot 17-year-old trayvon martin is now charged with second degree murder. zimmerman turned himself in to police yesterday, his arrest coming after weeks of protest in florida and right across the country, demanding justice for trayvon. a special prosecutor says none of that went into her decision to charge zimmerman. >> let me emphasize that we do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. we prosecute based on the facts of any given case as well as the laws of the state of florida. >> trayvon martin's parents were in washington when they got the news and his mother expressed her thanks. >> we simply wanted an arrest. we wanted nothing more, nothing less. we just wanted an arrest and we got it. >> as for zimmerman's family, his brother is telling cnn's piers morgan they're upset the prosecutor, quote, threw the book at him. >> obviously, as a family, we're devastated. i will say, we are a strong family and we have been living a somewhat altered reality for quite some time and we have had to prepare ourselves for an outcome such as this. >> george zimmerman's new attorney says his client plans to plead not guilty. he's expected to mack a first appearance in court in just a few hours. cnn's martin savage is live in sanford, florida this morning. we're waking up across the countries to headlines like this in "the new york post," "murder." . i assume the headlines there will be similar. what's the protocol for mr. zimmerman this morning? >> here's what's going to happen. we know he wakes up this morning, charged for the first time with murder, with the murder of 17-year-old trayvon martin. it's the second degree murder that's with a weapon and what that essentially means is that it's a first degree felony. he could get 25 years, that's the minimum, to a possible maximum of life. he is going to have his first court appearance later today. his attorney says he will enter a plea of not guilty and then they'll talk about the issue of bond. right now he has no bond. he was transported here last night in a black suv from jacksonville, a drive of about three hours. he was brought in, photographed, went through a medical as well as mental examination. and essentially what they're doing to do is evaluate whether or not or how he's going to be housed. in other words, are they going to put him into the general population. all of that is still to be worked out. we do expect to see him later today. he's not going to appear in court in appearance. they do it by video link. the family of trayvon martin, of course, believes it's the first step on the long road to justice. for the family of george zimmerman, it was an absolutely crushing blow as robert zimmerman, his older brother, explained to piers morgan last night. >> this is a series of not just physical but psychological issues happening to them. using his entire body weight to cover the broken nose of the person screaming out for their life. now what you have is a situation where you're out of breath and losing consciousness. what puts you in fear of your life is when you carry a gun and someone threatens to disarm you as you're becoming unconscious, you don't know if that person is really going to kill you or not. but if you're wrong about it, you are dead. >> what's interesting there, actually, robert zimmerman told piers he spent time with his brother while he was in hiding, waiting to hear if there would be charges and of course now we know there are. ashleigh? >> martin, obviously this was one of the most mysterious people. we haven't seen hyde nor hair of george zimmerman. what was expected in terms of how they were going to house him? protective custody, solitary? how are they going to handle his existence in a very worrisome circumstance? >> yes, it is. many people had discussed would they in fact how's him here in seminole county because it is epicenter of the whole event here and there was concerns about being mixed in with the general population, could there be a retribution? it has been a serious concern. it continues to be a concern. we believe they were going to isolate him at least for the time being while they do this evaluation. >> martin savage, live in sanford, florida this morning. thank you for that. coming up later on "starting point" we hear from both sides in the trayvon martin case at 7:00 eastern. soledad will talk with george zimmerman's new attorney, mark o'ma o'mara. she then talks. another attorney. the national average price of unleaded is $3.91. we're within the window that north korea says it will launch a new rocket. the launch hasn't happened yet. north korea says it will happen by monday. international leaders are urging north korea to kansing the launch. the united states says it is suspending food aid and japan is threatening to shoot down the rocket. north korea's insisting the operation is for peaceful purposes only. but the u.s. and south korean officials believe it is a cover for a ballistic missile test. confusion, panic and her people being difficult. 911 tapes are out from the night whitney houston died, obtained by tmz. the hotel security guard made the phone call and he says a woman in houston's room was pretty much out of it and wouldn't let him in to try and perform cpr. listen. >> you don't know if she's breathing at all? >> apparently she wasn't breathing. >> she was not breathing? >> yes. >> she is breathing now? >> i don't know. >> okay. >> the person that called me was irate and pretty much out of there. >> does it sound is like the person is still not breathing. >> that's correct. >> okay. is anyone in the room trying to give cpr? >> we're trying to go in now. >> are you in the room to give cpr instruction? >> no, because she kept hanging up on us. >> her assistant and body guard were the only people in the room at the time. turning now to the race for the white house, rick santorum once called mitt romney the worst republican in the country to put up against president obama. at least with regard to obama care he said. now that he's out of the race would mitt romney consider rick santorum for the number two spot? the vp? a voter asked him that very question. >> would you consider him as a vice president candidate? if not, why not? >> everybody's on my list. everybody's on my list. i'm not taking anybody off the list, all right? i actually don't have a list yet. so i can't say someone is on or off my list. the people i've had the privilege of running against would be among those i'd consider. >> he's been pressed on that list a few times. there he said everyone is on my list but i don't have a list, i don't have a list, not yet anyway. >> newt gingrich is still hoping for the number one spot, yes. he says it is still a two-man race only now between him and mitt romney. in "the situation room" he said he is sticking around until romney clinches the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination. >> i want to continue doing what i do best, which is talk about big solutions and big approaches. i want to keep campaigning. and we'll see what happens. you self-admitted, governor romney does not yet have the nomination, despite every effort to get people to concede it. i have every right to continue to campaign until he gets a majority. >> well, this is what he's up against. mitt romney now has 659 delegates, gingrich way behind at 140. it is mathematically impossible for him to pull it out before the convention. >> ann romney is firing back the aa democratic strategist and cnn contributor named hilary rosen. after rosen said this about the 64-year-old mother of five and grandmother of 16. it happened on "ac 360." >> what you have is mitt romney running around the country saying, well, you know, my wife tells me what women really care about are economic issues. when i listen to my wife, that's what i'm hearing. guess what? his wife has actually never worked a day in her life. she's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school and why do we worry about their future. >> she may not have worked in an office but ann romney used her first tweet ever to respond to that claim, saying, i made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. believe me, it was hard work. but hillary rosen is not backing down. she tweeted ann d. romney please know i admire you but your husband shouldn't say you are his expert on women and the economy. david axelrod, the senior adviser to president obama's re-election bid tried to distance the campaign perfect rosen's comments saying this. the comments were inappropriate and offensive. >> lots of people are weighing in on that one. >> i have two boys. i'm telling you, it's easier to be here. >> yes, it is. most women know that, they understand that. >> they do. >> 11 minutes past the minute here. still ahead, remember this video, take a look, campus police pepper spraying students at pointblank range. that's at uc davis, folks. their hands are in some cases tied behind their back, in front. a new state report is out and it is not kind to the officers or campus leader. also, police on the hunt for a pint-sized terror. a little boy who threatened to kill another child for his ice cream. no kidding. he allegedly tried to rob the victim at knifepoint. there's more to this. you're watching "early start." ♪ why do you whisper, green grass? 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[ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business. it is 14 minutes past the hour. time to check the stories making news this morning. here's christine romans. george zimmerman charged and in custody this morning. a special prosecutor filing second degree murder charges against zimmerman in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old trayvon martin back in february. zimmerman's expected in court for the first time today. his new attorney says zimmerman will plead not guilty and base his defense on florida's stand your ground law. for the first time in more than a year, no new major attacks being reported in syria. opposition activists say they now have weak hopes that the syrian government will stick to a u.n.-backed cease-fire plan. that cease-fire deadline passed early this morning. since then, activists say, quote, we've only been hearing the sound of birds. at least 9,000 people have been killed in syria since the government began cracking down on protesters last spring. 9,000. it could mean cheaper-bo, ebooks down the line. the government says apple conspired with these publishers to drive up book prices and basically force amazon's hand which was selling most ebooks for $9.99. apple hasn't responded to the lawsuit yet. a series of earthquakes coming off the baja coast. a 6.9 and 6.2, just minutes apart. no roars of damage. it follows a 7 quake that hit western mexico last night. that one could be felt hundreds of miles away in mexico city. causing tall buildings to sway. and the outcome could have been disastrous after a school bus crashed into a house. can you believe it? this is in florida. police say the driver swerved to avoid a car that ran a spotlight. two children and two adults were on board the bus. they suffer only minor injuries. amazing. police in pasadena, texas, looking for a 6-year-old or 7-year-old boy who allegedly tried to rob another kid at knifepoint. 6 or 7-year-old. the victim's older brother says it was over ice cream. >> my little brother went to the ice cream truck to buy ice cream when the kid came up to him and told him, buy me an ice cream or i'll shank you and i'll kill you right now and he actually opened the knife and pointed it at home in the stomach. >> the victim was 11 years old. his brother says he dropped his ice cream and ran home. the ice cream truck driver follow him home to make sure he got there safely. for an extended look at all of the top stories, head to our blog at cnn.com/earlystart. >> 6 or 7. >> 6 or 7 with a knife, went after an 11-year-old, give me your ice cream or i'm going to, as his brother said, shank you. the kid dropped his ice cream and went high-tailing it home. the ice cream truck driver followed him home to make sure he got there safely. >> if they find the 6-year-old, this will be big. a 12-year-old in florida is facing prosecution under angela corey right now. >> they're getting younger. raging floods, heavy hail, these storms are paralyzing the texas panhandle. take a look at these pictures on your screen. there are reports of people trapped in their cars. they were buried under apparently baseball size chunks of ice. look at that. just remarkable. this is land being chunked away by these raging floodwaters. potter county, texas, is what you're looking at. phenomenal video from kv11. rob marciano in the cnn weather center to tell us more about that. i am always amazed when i see waters like that and how quickly they can become flash floods. >> in that part of the country it doesn't take a whole lot of water. they got maybe an inch of rain. if you get it in less than an hour in an area that's been under a long-term drought, it just runs off, it does not sink into the hard, dry land of west texas. they've seen this now two days in a row. they may see it again today. they're see the threat for flash flooding, large hail and isolated tornadoes and damaging winds across tornado alley. tomorrow and the next day and over the weekend we see a similar threat. that cool air across western parts of the great lakes after nothing but warmth for the past three months, you'll take it, 20s and 30s this morning. frost and freeze watches and warnings in effect. we still have some fire problems as far as weather is concerned. gusts to 20 miles an hour across parts of northern florida today with winds gusting also across parts of western georgia. you'll see breezy conditions across the northeast. there's a little bit of moisture wrapping around what is a low pressure system out here. maybe a spritz or a sprinkle out on long island. in western parts of the u.s., including california, rain through san francisco and maybe snow across -- maybe? it will snow across parts of the sierra, maybe 1 to 2 feet of it. speaking of california, check out this video of stockton, funnel cloud amongst the interstate traffic. there was a tornado warning issued for this and it eventually did touch down. not a whole lot of damage but nonetheless, you see it doing the old rope-a-dope. >> is that an official term, rope-a-dope? >> sure is. >> thank you, rob. i don't think i've seen a funnel cloud snaking like that. >> the last part of the video looks to be sped up. >> that makes more sense. >> they do that when they try to figure out, do i touch down, go back in the included? what to do? >> do i spare everybody below? the person who -- actually, that looks like it might have been a tower cam. i marvel at the people who videotape it. >> you've got to roll. always roll on tape. >> rob marciano, you stop that. >> people like you. people like you. >> thanks, my friend. >> got to be trained to do that. >> 21 minutes past the hour. we're getting an early read on your local news making national headlines this morning. we have papers from california, north carolina and connecticut. we'll start this morning with the "los angeles times" for you. this is a story that everybody has been following. remember the california officials. this was back in november. this report has been a long-time coming. campus police sprayed a group of students, occupy protesters at pointblank range. the incident should and could have been prevented. the police lacked proper cause to spray the students said the report. the police officer said they felt threatened, the mob was encircling them. they felt they had no other choice but -- >> the pictures kind of tell a different story. >> a totally different story. a report says there was little factual basis supporting the belief that they were trapped by the protesters. >> actual basis being video? >> yes. >> and bystanders and witness accounts? >> look at this. >> video is not 360, that's for sure but it is tough to see -- >> they're sitting there and cuffed. >> so this is a good one, too. you may have forgotten. from "the charleston news and observer," jury selection starting in the trial of john edwards. remember john edwards? he's a defendant, facing six felony charges. see the woman on your screen with the little baby? he's accused of using campaign money to support that woman, his former mistress, rielle hunter. the experts say jury selection could be the most important part of this trial, not necessarily the litigation, the choice of who will sit on the panel. it's a hometown jury from the middle district of north carolina. apparently on a lot of the voir dire, there are questions about that. >> and people who want to write books, make money, be in the limelight. that's also an issue. >> 23 minutes past the hour. next, how a cell phone company is trying to get you now. are you thinking of upgrading to a shiny new smartphone? 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[ male announcer ] good choice business pro. good choice. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. 27 minutes past 5:00 on the east coast. with the closing bell we have stocks snapping back after a five-day losing streak. whew! as concerns over europe pass and investors hope for better than expected earnings season. that's always good. three green arrows. >> i love that. thinking of upgrading your phone? if you have verizon, you better do it fast. i was judgmental, they had an old phone. how could you possibly function with that? >> your technology costs are going up. you know this. in my books i write about how you can squeeze your monthly bills and lower your monthly budget by making sure you're using the right technology. i'm not sure that advice is good anymore. here's why. all of the prices are going up. to upgrade a phone for verizon will be $30. they're just the latest. t-mobile has an upgrade charge of $18. sprint $36, at&t, $36. they say they're trying to keep up with all the new kinds of -- look, we're using so much more data, they're trying to squeeze revenue any way they can because they're having to upgrade their networks to handle all the sfuf our phones can do. there's another story from the npd group about cable rising. can you imagine by the year 2020 how much you could be paying for your cable? take a look at this. cable prices are rising 6%. you could be seeing a charge of $200 a month for your cable bills if you have premium. that's going to keep going up. then you put a box in your office maybe. or you put a box in the rec room. >> you get dvr. >> you're talking about a couple hundred, $300 a month for your cable expenses. how we're using technology, we're addicted to this stuff, these companies are finding ways to, you know, they say they're offsetting their costs, of course but they're finding ways to squeeze more out of us. the thing about the cable bills rising, why can't my cable be like itunes? where i pay for what i use? >> a la carte. >> changes are coming with be no question. you have 9% or 10% of people cut their cable cord. they're going online, finding new ways. >> dishes, apple tv. >> they're finding that there are cheaper ways to get your -- >> i like the a la carte concept because of the kids. you have to get what they want and what you want. >> especially if you're getting premium channels, you're paying for stuff you don't use. anyway, there are changes coming. but for your budget what it means is for now, be very smart with how you're using technology. move over, gas prices, it's how you use technology that's the thing that's going up. >> thank you, christine. we appreciate it. >> aud tote yourself. audit. >> that's a good idea. next up on "early start," george zimmerman now an accused murderer. we'll have much more on that. edt 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. impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. it is 33 minutes past the hour. welcome back to "early start," i'm zoraida sambolin. >> good morning, i'm ashleigh banfield. it's time to check the headlines making top billings and news this morning. we've got it, the mug shot, the first look we've had at george zimmerman since he shot and killed trayvon martin 45 days ago. his lawyer saying he will plead not guilty to the charge of second degree murder. he was very close to becoming your president. today, jury selection begins in the federal trial of former senator john edwards. he's facing six felonies related to his mistress, his money and his campaign. grandma breaking bad. police say she's the leader of a huge drug ring. not kidding. and axl rose, the epitome of the pampered lead singer telling the rock and roll hall of fame and former bandmates that he doesn't need them or the honor either. axl, what? quite a story there, ashleigh. >> 34 minutes past the hour. george zimmerman is in state custody in seminole county, florida, this morning. one day after being charged with second degree murder in the killing of 17-year-old trayvon martin. zimmerman will be in court this afternoon. his lawyer is expected to ask the judge to release him on bond. his brother, robert, told piers morgan, his family is reeling from the news. >> they have thrown the book at him. we're disappoint as you would expect any family to be disappointed. >> special prosecutor angela corey announced the charge is murder and not manslaughter. 45 days after the teenager was shot and killed. trayvon's parents say this is what they have been fighting for. >> the heart has no color. it's not black. it's not white. it's red. and i want to say thank you from my heart to your heart. >> we will continue to walk by faith. we will continue to hold hands on this journey, white, black, hispanic, latino, we will continue to walk. we will march and march and march until the right thing is done. zblf mi >> michael scolnik has written extensively about the case and has been in regular contact with trayvon martin's family. he joins us this morning. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> did you talk with his family since the charges were announced. >> i did. i spoke to them last night. >> what did they say to you? >> everyone has taken a breath. sybrina was able to breathe better last night. they wanted to get to this point where they could at least get an arrest and have a moment to search for justice. >> i'm curious about the way the mother and father are handling the situation, perhaps a little bit differently. trayvon's parents spoke right after angela corey's press conference. listen to what they said and i want to talk about how they feel about this moving forward. >> we simply wanted an arrest. we wanted nothing more, nothing less. we just wanted an arrest and we got it. and i say thank you. >> as attorney crumb said, this is just the beginning. we have a long way to go and we have faith. >> so you're nodding your head. you understand the difference there. you talked to them. is there a difference here for his mother, is it just the arrest, regardless of the outcome and for the dad, he wants him in jail? >> i think what's so amazing about this family, the way they've carried themselves through this whole process, with incredible dignity and respect. they have a different relationship with their son and with each other. they've carried themselves with incredible dignity. the father said amazing things, i didn't just lose my son, i lost my best friend. what sybrina said was human and touching. what tracy said is strong. he wants more than an arrest. they've done a remarkable job in a horrible circumstance. it's amazing to watch them through this process. >> what about their relationship with angela corey? yesterday she started off this press conference by saying these sweet parents. how do they feel about the way she's handling this? >> i think we all were very impressed with angela corey's press conference yesterday and what she said. she mentioned she prayed with the family. there's a unique connection between the special prosecutor and the family. i hope that connection remains throughout the trial. i think it's important we keep the family and trayvon first. >> we heard from zimmerman's brother, right? and both of the families are devastated here. i'm just curious to know how trayvon's family feels about the brother coming forward and what the family has said so far? >> sure. i watched the interview last night with piers. i think it's hard to say anything about the zimmerman family, because they are going to protect their brother and protect their son. with the utmost respect and dignity to them, because the brother did nothing wrong and the father did nothing wrong. they're going to protect their loved one as well. and i hope the best for their family. >> have they talked about if in fact zimmerman is found not guilty how they will react to that? >> one day at a time for them right now. it's very difficult. this was such a relief, 45 days, now 46 days, since death of their son. it's been such a relief to get to this point. i don't think they looked that far ahead, but can we wake up tomorrow morning, that's this morning and handle another day. >> they're busy, constantly on the go, attending the rallies. how are they handling that pressure? >> i think it's absolutely remarkable how they've handled this. i do hope they have a moment to take a step back and breathe a little deeper because this is -- they're in it right now, in a zone of going from city to city, march to march, to press conference to tv show. but they did lose their son. and we have to continue to show them as much compassion and love, because at the end of the day they're a nice, beautiful family who lost their son. >> trayvon is not an only child. >> no. >> we heard of his brother and apparently he has a sister as well. how are they holding up? do you know anything about them. >> i do. the brother was with the family last night in washington. he's in college and he has struggled to remain in college throughout this whole process but he's remarkable and he's held up, as the older brother who lost a younger brother, he's very, very close, although tracy is not his father, he's very close to him, he's the only father figure he's known in his life. >> quickly, are they going to continue with the movement and the marches and the protests? >> absolutely. absolutely. >> michael scolnik, thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> ashleigh, back to you. a truly unbelievable story out of argentina to tell you about this morning. a baby girl found alive in a coffin after doctors pronounced her dead 12 hours earlier. her parents are calling her the miracle baby. she was born three months premature and showed no vital signs. doctors actually checked her twice. they pronounced her dead and they sent her body to the morgue. the mom told doctors she just wanted to see that little baby's body one last time. the father says he had to pry open the coffin with a crowbar. >> translator: at that moment, i saw white cover over the baby. my wife saw the little body first and she touched her little hand. she then uncovered her face and that's when we heard the first cry. >> unbelievable. the miracle baby is now in stable but guarded condition. >> that is incredible. i heard one of the reasons she wanted to go back, this was her first daughter. i think she has three or four boys and she just needed to say good-bye. >> that baby had been in a refrigerated area of the morgue for about ten hours or so. it is such a remarkable story. obviously there's a lot more that will be investigated. >> a lot of doctors fired over this already. 42 minutes past the hour. grandmother arrested for selling marijuana and she's no small fish. investigators say she is the biggest player in the drug trade in the grand lake area of oklahoma. police busted her after a four-month investigation. they found four pounds of marijuana and over $270,000 in cash at her home. detectives say they are shocked. >> i can't believe this. you know? this is a lady my grandmother's age. i could never in a million years picture my own grandmother doing this. >> surprisingly, investigators say more and more seniors are now turning to drug trafficking as a way to make extra money after retirement. dog lovers, be prepared to be outraged on this one. police in toledo, ohio found a litter of english bulldog puppies. look how cute. they along with their mom, were abandoned near a dumpster. the six puppies were inside a zipped up suitcase. >> yikes. >> and the guy who allegedly left them there has been charged with animal abandonment. his name is howard davis. you are probably wondering how did they track down the owner or at least the person they believe is responsible for abandoning these puppies in that suitcase? apparently the suitcase had a tag and his name was on the tag. >> how could you do that. >> pulls at your heart strings. >> who knows if it was actually him using the suitcase? >> that's a good point. how could anyone do that? so sad. still to come, a teacher at a texas religious school is fired for being a bad christian role model. now she's taking the school to court. we have so many more details on this one. you are watching "early start." actually, it's cruze e-co, not ec-o. just like e-ither. or ei-ther. or e-conomical. 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[ male announcer ] up to 5 weeks of comfortable shaves with one proglide cartridge. great things start with gillette. 47 minutes past 5:00 on the east coast. time to check the stories making news this morning with christine romans. good morning, ladies. 911 tapes are out from the night whitney houston died. the hotel security guard at the beverly hilton made the call after houston was found lying face down in a bathtub. the tape revealing confusion about the situation because the woman in the singer's room who called the hotel security kept hanging up. jury selection begins today in the federal trial for former senator john edwards. the trial is expected to last at least six weeks. edwards is facing six felony charges for conspiracy, false statements and accepting illegal campaign contributions. if convicted edwards could face 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine. a california state officials are blasting uc davis leaders over this pepper spray incident back in november. that went viral. you can see the kids all sitting there and the police pepper spraying them at close range. this is a group of occupy student protesters. pointblank right there. a new state report calls the police actions, quote, objectively unreasonable and says the incident could have been prevented. a texas teacher fired from a christian middle school because she was pregnant and not married. the school claims kathy sanford violated the moral clouz in her contract and wasn't, quote, a good christian role model. sanford accuses the school of discrimination. she plans to sue. >> we all have different views and interpretations and it's not necessarily i don't think the christian thing to do just to throw somebody aside. >> the supreme court as a matter of fact, within the last month, has ruled 9-0 that a christian school does have that right, because this is a ministry. so we have the right to have standards of conduct. >> sanford says her fiance offered to move their planned wedding up so she could get her job back. but the school rejected that offer, ladies. >> i wonder what they'd do if one of the students becomes pregnant? >> that's a good question. >> do they kick them out? >> it happened in my high school, and it was a million years ago, the first girl that got pregnant while we were in school. she went on with her pregnancy. >> this is an employee with a contract. if there's a morality clause in the contract, you sign your rights away sometimes. >> morality is morality. >> it will be interesting litigation. i'd love to be in that courtroom if it makes it there. thanks, christine. >> 49 minutes past the hour. still ahead, guns and roses front man axl rose sticks it to the hall of fame and the fans, again. >> axl, for heaven sake. >> you're watching "early start." ♪ take me down to a paradise city where the grass is green ♪ ♪ ♪ i can do anything ♪ i can do anything today ♪ i can go anywhere ♪ i can go anywhere today ♪ la la la la la la la [ male announcer ] dow solutions help millions of people by helping to make gluten free bread that doesn't taste gluten free. together, the elements of science and the human element can solve anything. solutionism. the new optimism. ♪ take me down to a paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty ♪ ♪ take me -- oh won't you please take me home ♪ >> the sweet sounds of axl rose, trying to take a look on what's trending on the interwebs, not sweet at all. count the song references i'm about to drop on you for pun fashion. for guns n' roses fans out there, hoping the hall of fame induction will get that band back together? it won't happen. infamous singer, axl rose wrote a letter declining, saying, no, i don't want to be inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. here's what he said, i won't be attending the rock and roll hall of fame induction 2012 ceremony and i respectfully decline my induction as a member of guns n' roses. he goes on saying the hall of fame induction ceremony doesn't appear to be somewhere i'm actually wanted or respected. so there. >> can you believe this guy? yes, you can. if you're a fan of guns n' roses this is small potatoes. he talks about the personal and professional tensions he's had with the members of the original lineup of the band. not once in his letter does rose mention the iconic ex-guitarist slash by name. that is colder than november rain. >> well done, well done. >> if the crew doesn't even care, i'm out of here. >> there's politics on the menu in the latest edition of late-night laughs. >> the campaign paid $500 to get his name on the utah primary ballot. and the check bounced. i want to tell you something, if noout is spending money he doesn't have, maybe he really is qualified to be president. [ applause ] >> say what you will about santorum, he wanted to ban gambling in the united states of america. no more gambling, outlaw pornography. right. and this is the guy that claims romney is out of touch with america. he claims romney is out of touch. >> a lot of republicans feel mitt romney has the best chance to defeat obama. that is understandable. see, mitt romney knows how obama thinks. you know how he knows? because he used to think the exact same way. it wasn't that long ago, really. [ applause ] and herman cain, remember herman cain? he plans to endorse mitt romney which is good news for mitt. polls show obama has the woman vote but herman cain and newt gingrich can deliver the other woman vote. you bring that other woman in. that's a huge -- that was a huge -- [ applause ] >> now that santorum is out of the race, that leaves newt gingrich and ron paul out there vying for the crack pot vote. let's keep our finger s crossed. newt is. >> i guess that's it for late-night laughs. ahead in the next hour of "early start," they're the toughest charges george zimmerman could have faced. second degree murder in the trayvon martin shooting. we're live in sanford, florida, where zimmerman will appear in court today. good news on gas prices. you heard me right, folks. an expert who says we may have topped out on gas prices. >> doubt it. >> we'll make him explain that. you're watching "early start." [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. that can help lower cholesterol? today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. cuban cajun raw seafood pizza parlor french fondue tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack baked alaska 5% cash back. right now, get 5% cash back at restaurants. it pays to discover. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and morning. welcome to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. it's 6:00 am in the east. let's get started. this is the first look we've had of george zimmerman since he killed trayvon martin. he is in custody and expected to plead not guilty. confusion, panic, precious time wasted because of her own people. 911 tapes released the night that whitney houston died. >> can you get into the room so that -- >> no, because she kept hanging up on us. >> more from the moment she was found unconscious in the bathtub. >> here is something you don't hear every day. good news for your money. we'll talk to an expert who says gas prices may have top ped out at least for now. hearing a cry from a coffin. they're calling this little baby a miracle baby. a newborn found alive at the morgue. 12 hours after being declared de dead. but up first this morning, george zimmerman, the florida watch volunteer now an accused murderer. zimmerman turned himself in after the special prosecutor investigating the trayvon martin shooting filed second-degree murder charges. public outrage over the teenager's killing did not factor in her decision. >> let me emphasize that we do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. we prosecute based on the facts of any given case as well as the laws of the state of florida. >> trayvon martin's florida were in washington when they got the news. this was his mother's reaction. >> we simply wanted an arrest. we wanted nothing more, nothing less. we just wanted an arrest. and we got it. >> george zimmerman claims he shot trayvon martin in self defense. his brother says the prosecutor threw the book at him. >> obviously, as a family, we're devastated. i will say we are a strong family and we have been living a somewhat altered reality for quite some time. and we have had to prepare ourselves for an outcome such as this. >> zimmerman's new attorney says his client plans to plead not guilty. he is expected to make his first court appearance in a few hours. cnn's martin savaidge is live i florida. >> reporter: it does not mean george zimmerman will be appearing in any courtroom in a physical form. at that time the charges will be read against him, the first court appearance. it's expected that he will enter a plea, according to his attorney, mark omera, of not guilty. it it will be argued, i'm sure by mark omera, that bond should be set relatively low, mainly because george zimmerman did turn himself in and that he's not a risk to flight. we'll have to wait and see how it pans out. the possibility of him getting released today, that is yet to be seen. it could happen. for trayvon martin's family, it is the first step in what they believe will be a long road to seeking justice. for the family of george zimmerman, it is a crushing blow. and robert zimmerman, his older brother, was on piers morgan, describing again that george zimmerman was in the fight of his life when he shot trayvon martin. here is what he said. >> this is a series of not just physical but psychological injuries. with a person that's 6'3", sitting on their chest, using his entire body weight to cover the mouth and nose, broken nose, of the person screaming out for their life. now what you have is a situation where you're out of breath and you're losing consciousness. now what puts you in fear of your life is when you carry a gun and someone threatens to disarm you, as you're becoming unconscious, you don't know if that person is really going to kill you or not. but if you're wrong about it, you are dead. >> reporter: fear of your life. the very important line there. because, of course, george zimmerman is going to claim the stand your ground law here in the state of florida, which many say is a liberal law that allows a person to use deadly force if they believe that their own life is threatened. we'll have to wait. that's probably some weeks before that argument is made. zoraida? >> george zimmerman, of course, spent the night in jail. how is he being handled there? is he in solitary confinement? >> we don't know. i would guess that is probably the case. transported here from jacksonville in an suv. brought in. cameras watched as he made his way in. was photographed and then mental and physical evaluation, according to the sheriff's office, will be conducted. but they're going to figure out later whether they're going to -- whether they will put him in the general population or keep him in isolation. i would think it's probably going to be the latter because of security concerns, zoraida. >> for his own safety. martin savidge live in sanford, florida, for us. thank you. >> it's five minutes past 6:00. there was confusion, panic and her people were being difficult. 911 tapes are out from the night whitney houston died, obtained by tmz. the hotel security guard made the call after houston was found lying face down in the bathtub at the beverly hilton. that guard says that a woman in houston's room was, quote, pretty much out of it and wouldn't let him in to try to perform cpr. listen. >> okay. we don't know if she's conscious or breathing? >> apparently she wasn't preething. she's 46 years old. >> she was not breathing? >> yes. >> but she is breathing now? >> i don't know. the person that called me was irate and i couldn't get much out of her. we have security going in there now. >> we'll send police and fire. did it sound like the person was still not breathing? >> that is correct. >> can you get into the room to try to do cpr? >> yeah, we're going in now. >> can you get into the room so i can try to give you cpr instructions? >> oh, i'm sorry. no, because she kept hanging up on us. >> the call was made public on the same day that beverly hills police detectives officially closed the case involving the singer's death. it's six minutes past the hour. turning to politics now, rick santorum once called mitt romney the worst republican in the country. now that he's out of the race, would romney consider santorum number two for the spot? a voter asked him that very question. >> would you consider him a vice president candidate? if not, why not? >> everybody's on my list. everybody's on my list. i'm not taking anybody off the list. i actually don't -- i don't have a list yet. so i can't say someone is on or off my list. i can tell you that the people this i have had the privilege of running against would surely be among those that i would consider. >> worst republican. rick santorum had a few things to say about that. he got into a huge scuffle with the "new york times" reporter about that. he said i was only saying worst republican to put up against obama, particularly with health care. >> it stays out there, worst republican. >> it does. sometimes things get quoted out of context and whether you agree with rick santorum or not, he makes a good point. i said that, but it was in a very big speech about one particular thing. who knows if he cares anymore about it. one person that does care about it, newt gingrich. he's still hoping for that number one spot. he says it's still a two-man race. only this time it's between him and mitt romney. he says he's sticking this thing out until romney clinches the 144 delegates that he would need to win the republican nomination. >> i want to continue doing what i do best, which is talk about big solutions and big approaches. i want to keep campaigning and we'll see what happens. governor romney does not yet have the nomination, despite every effort to get people to concede it. i have every right to continue to campaign until he gets a majority. >> okay. former speaker makes a good point. here is what he's up against. mitt romney has 659 delegates and newt gingrich has 140. we're not sure where the 275 delegates are going to go. it's not impossible for him to pull this off before the convention. firing back at senior contributor hilary rosen after rosen said this about the 64-year-old mother of five, grandmother of 16 on "ac 360." >> what you have is mitt romney running around the country saying, well, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues. and when i listen to my wife, that's what i'm hearing. guess what, his wife has actually never worked a day in her life. she's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing in terms of how do we feed our kids? how do we send them to school? why do we worry about their future? >> so, ann romney used her first tweet ever to respond to that, saying, quote, i made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. believe me, it was hard work. but hillary rosen isn't backing down. she wrote ann d romney, please know, i admire you. but your husband shouldn't say you are his expert on women and the economy. there are there is more. trying to distance the campaign from rosen's comments, david acti axelrod said also disappointed in hilary rosen's comments about ann romney. they were inappropriate and offensive. >> five boys. raising five boys. it is not just work. it is called overtime and it is years and years of jefr time. trust us. we have children. >> it's a lot of work. >> and i would rather be here than to do that work at home. ten minutes past 6:00. i should add that i don't know that that makes us an expert on the economy. two sides of that. look at these pictures out of potter county, texas. you may not be able to see heavy hail, but it was paralyzing the texas panhandle. chunks of trees and earth just flying in these raging waters. reports of people trapped in their cars, have iing to be rescued. >> so scary. >> just remarkable. four feet of baseball-sized chunks of hail. four feet of that kind of hail. this is what you call extreme weather. it shut down state highways and left traffic at a stand still. officials just now trying to assess the damage and the missing earth at this point. when they say flash floods -- and i can tell you, having lived in texas for a number of years -- flash doesn't begin to describe it. >> with this, you didn't see a lot of rainfall. this was the second day they had some thunderstorms. but you're talking about an inch of rain, maybe a little bit more. it comes in a short period of time but the ground is so hard, they're in a drought, it just runs off into the canyons and river beds, stream beds really. threat of seeing thunderstorms again in the same areas. damaging winds and large hail possible and maybe isolated tornadoes. today, tomorrow and really saturday night into sunday. is where we'll see the biggest threat for tornadoes. here is tornado alley, back in business here, as it should be this time of year. there's your storm coming out of the rockies. another one into the west coast. high pressure is dominating the eastern third of the country. with that high and clear skies last night, we had a decent amount of cold air. 20s and 30s and freeze warnings and watches across much of the ohio and mississippi river valley. temperatures 35 in indianapolis. 37 in chicago. 34 in springfield, illinois. 38 in roanoke. even spots against eastern tennessee below freezing right now. chilly, chilly start to the day. in some cases with the early bloom we've seen because of that warm march, maybe some damage to plants and maybe even some crops and orchards. we do rebound nicely. 60 in new york city. 61 expected in chicago. stockton, california, check out this video of a funnel cloud that eventually did touchdown. you kind of see it reaching for the ground there. and this video, as you can see, was sped up to highlight the movement of that rope tornado. little bit of damage to roofs and one outlying building was destroyed with this. nobody injured. the rarity of tornadoes out that way. >> you get excited about this kind of stuff, rob. if i saw that, i would be running for the hills. >> you have to take it in. >> almost cobra like the way it's moving. >> it is mesmerizing, exactly. it's fascinating. the power of mother nature. god's finger touching down to the ground. >> god's finger? i don't think that has anything to do with god. >> use any kind of analogy you want. >> his wrath. thank you. slamming uc davis for a pepper spray incident that went viral. the state released a new report ripping not only police but the school administration as well. also this story. a true miracle baby, found alive in a coffin at the morgue. the details are astonishing how long that baby was at the morgue in a refrigerator. you're watching "early start." 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[ sigh of relief ] [ short breath ] [ longer breath ] [ short breath ] [ male announcer ] new bengay zero degrees. freeze and move on. it is 17 minutes now past 6:00. on the east coast, it's time to check the top news making headline ons the east coast with christine romans. good morning, christine. >> good morning. zimmerman turned himself in to police yesterday after being formerly -- formally charged. he will use the stand your ground law as the centerpiece of their defense. blasting u.c. davis leaders over a pepper spray incident back in november that went viral. campus police sprayed a group of occupy student protesters at point blank range, right in the face. a new state report calls the police actions, quote, objectively unreasonable and says the incident could have been prevented. the outcome could have been disastrous after a school bus crashed into a house in florida. police say the driver swerved to avoid a car that ran a stop light. that house was pretty much demolished but thankfully only two children and two adults were on the bus and they suffered only minor injuries, ladies. >> unbelievable. >> incredible. >> it looks like those could have been fatal injuries. very lucky development. thank you, christine. >> lucky. 18 minutes past the hour. a truly unbelievable story out of argentina. a baby girl found alive in a coffin after doctors pronounced her dead 12 hours earlier. her parents are calling her a miracle baby. >> she was born three months premature. she showed no vital signs. the doctors checked twice, pronounced her dead and then sent her tiny body to the morgue, where she was refrigerated. the mom told the doctors she wanted to see that baby just one last time and the father says he had to prooi open the small coffin with a crowbar. >> at that moment i saw a white cover over the baby. my wife saw the body first and touched her hand. she then uncovered her face and that's when we heard the first cry. >> just miraculous. that little baby is now in stable but guarded condition. >> she was only two pounds when she was born. a lot of doctors have been fired over this. a full investigation is under way. that mom, kind of like instinct, right? she had boys at home. she had to see this baby one last time, though, she said. >> it was amazing that it was 12 hours later and the baby had been in a refrigerated part of the morgue. >> i had no idea they put them in a coffin when they take them to the morgue. nailed coffin. >> it was odd, wasn't it? >> it was odd. government suing apple, accusing the company of making you pay more than you should for ebooks. ♪ whoa, whoa, whoa sweet child of mine ♪ >> sweet child of mine or sweet child of whine? oh, yeah, guns n roses front man axl rose. he sticks it to the rock 'n' roll hall of fame and his fans. it ain't the first time. what's he so beefed about? you're watching "early start." to keep the car you reserved or simply choose another. and it's free. ya know, for whoever you are that day. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. 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[ kyle ] it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are. no...we're not. ♪ the allstate value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. it's 6:23 on the east coast. that's in the morning, if you're not sure. suing apple over alleged ebook price fixing. >> accused of colluding with apple to fix prices. >> does that mean that prices could be going down? >> it used to mean that amazon kindle was the only one in the game. it reads like a novel almost. publishing executives in back room private dining rooms of expensive manhattan restaurants talking with apple about how when the new ipad comes out to make sure that they could elevate prices and wouldn't have to be working through the wretched 9.99 price point. that's what one of these e-mails says. wretched $9.99 price point. this is one of the e-mails from the department of justice. and they pity the day can't be $9.99 for hard covers. trying to make sure consumers weren't going to get lower prices for ebooks in particular. apple has not responded to this. there were settlements, doj says, with some of the publishers here. but the hope for consumer advocates is that longer term is illegal, by the way, for an industry to get together and decide what a price is going to be for something. >> just ask microsoft. >> yeah. it's price fixing. if the doj prevails on this, prices could go down again for the rest of us for our ebooks. >> pretty deep pockets for a defense, don't they? >> yeah, they do. apple stock -- usually, i'm telling you how apple stock is up again. analysts said that apple stock will go to 1,000. it is up over 416%. every now and then there's a little bad headline for apple like box con and labor violations or labor concerns where they make their products. this, for example, is one of the rare kind of hits for the image of apple. real interesting read. >> it's 25 minutes now past 6:00 on the east coast. still ahead on "early start" george zimmerman. there you go. that's the new mug shot. that's what you're waking up to this morning. he's waking up behind bars, if aing murder charges in trayvon martin's death and could get life behind bars. we'll have two legal experts to tell us if that could happen, why that might not. and where the case goes from here. at 250 miles an hour it's one of the fastest vehicles on land. it's not just the speed that makes this motorcycle different. it is electric. >> we think it's the future. as energy getting increasingly expensive, this kind of efficiency is going to be important. for a dollar's worth of electricity, you can ride for over 110 miles. >> for richard hatfield as lightning motorcycles, it started as a hobby. >> i drove the car. i gotten thused about it. when the good, affordable lithium safe batteries came on the market i thought a motorcycle could be a very good application. >> it's designed for people who like racing and for people who just like to ride. >> a bike that can go 218 miles an hour is an efficient, responsible way to get to work. >> with that kind of speed and fuel efficiency, electric bikes could make gas a thing of the past. your finances can't manage themselves. but that doesn't mean they won't try. bring all your finances together with the help of the one person who can. a certified financial planner professional. cfp. let's make a plan. a living breathing intelligence bringing people together to bring new ideas to life. look. it's so simple. 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>> oh, i'm sorry. no, because she kept hanging up on us. >> we'll have more from the night she was found unconscious in a bathtub. and good news on gas prices. down again today. and they may keep going down. we'll talk to an expert who says we have actually topped off. and axl rose telling the rock 'n' roll hall of fame and former band mates that he doesn't need them. more drama from the guns n roses front man. it is now 31 minutes past 6:00 on the east coast. george zimmerman charged with second-degree murder in the killing of trayvon martin. he has a hearing scheduled this afternoon. the lawyer is expected to ask the judge to release him on bond. all of this, as george zimmerman's brother revealed a few more details about what george says happened in the struggle with trayvon martin. >> with a person who is 6'3", sitting on their chest, using his entire body weight to cover the mouth and nose, the broken nose of the person who is screaming out for their life, now what you have is a situation where you're out of breath and you're losing consciousness. now if you're -- what puts you in fear of your life is when you carry a gun and someone threatens to disarm you as you're becoming unconscious, you don't know if that person is really going to kill you or not. but if you're wrong about it, you are dead. >> could be something that we hear in court at a later date, but where does the case go from this moment on? jany winetraub is a defense attorney and phyllis kotay is a law professor at florida university and a former judge and state attorney. they join me now from miami. can you walk me through what george zimmerman went through last night from the moment he was brought into that jail? >> sure. he was probably brought in to seminole county jail, rebooked, refingerprinted, photographed, taken upstairs, strip searched, cavity searched, given clothes, shower, a uniform. probably orange for isolation. i'm sure he's being kept in solitary, which is a 23 1/2 hour isolation cell. he doesn't get meals with anyone else. he will get out for 30 minutes with a guard outside. and that's where he is. he's try iing to adjust. >> not a pleasant environment. >> six by ten cell. >> and also just emotionally so distressful as so many attorneys will say there's nothing worse than that first few moments when you realize where you are. phyllis, let me jump over to you about what comes next this afternoon. clearly, this may not be the place that george zimmerman wants to stay. it's up to his attorney at this point. because there's no bond available right now. it's up to his attorney to make his case later, isn't it? >> absolutely, it is. first of all, the first appearance, which this would be his first opportunity to appear in front of the court, would be the chance for his attorney to ask for bond in the case and for the judge to actually set the bond in the case. incidentally enough here in florida, we are a state that favors release. so there must be subject to that issue. >> he was sitting around, waiting in custody for the charge charges to come down and for that arrest. does that factor in, phyllis, to the idea that he's not, perhaps, a flight risk? >> it certainly can. because the whole issue of whether one is a flight risk is one of the issues that the court would have to consider in terms of bond. incidentally enough, one of the things that's not considered is whether we should punish that person for the crime that they're committing. of course, that comes later in terms of the case, in deciding what to do. close family ties, community ties. all of those things are issues that a court would have to consider in terms of whether to grant bond in this case. >>ladies, let's talk about second-degree murder. this is the most serious charge and some have said this is the proverbial book being thrown at george zimmerman. unlawful killing of trayvon by aan act imminently dangerous to another and demonstrating a depraved mind without regard for human life. if you want to go further into what that means, imminently dangerous, demonstrating a depraved mind. you have to prove this is done from ill will, hatred, evil intent, that the act is indifferent to human life. jamie, that is very high. that standard is tough, to say the least. do you think there's a possibility that it's going to start coming out, that critics will say this has been overcharged? >> absolutely not. >> absolutely not? >> no. because this is typical, as i told you last week that it would be secondment it's the heat of passion, spur of the moment in the middle of a fight. that's what second-degree murder is typically used for. he invinces a depraved mind when he goes for his gun and there's nothing facing him except a 17-year-old kid. but he goes for his gun and he uses it. and he uses it and eventually kills somebody. >> even after what his brother said, that he was almost losing consciousness? you have to prove ill will, hatred and spiteful intent. if george zimmerman ends up bringing in that story through his own choice -- >> it won't match the evidence. >> doesn't that change the game? >> it won't match the evidence. i'm assuming, but i'll speculate for a moment, that trayvon's hands, fingerprints, are not on george's gun. the fact that george said he was threatened by trayvon about losing his gun, no, no. that he was trying to disarm him? i don't believe that for a minute. i believe that the kid was found face down, which tells me there's a bullet in the back of trayvon. we don't have the medical examiner protocol. >> no, no, all of that still has to come out. one last question for you, phyllis. probably the highest profile case since casey anthony and, lo and behold, is coming out of the same community as casey anthony. there wasn't a change of venue, but they did bring in jurors from another community. do you think that will be an issue here? do you think it even matters? >> i think it certainly would be an option here nohere. i'm not sure that it really matters. this case has received worldwide attention. finding someone that has absolutely no idea about the case will be difficult. that's not even the standard in terms of what has to happen. >> phil list kotey and jamie weintraub, good to talk to you. i look forward to our next opportunity to discuss probably this case. >> such smart ladies. >> aren't they? >> really articulate it so everybody can understand it. >> i go way back with jamie and i'm new to phyllis, and i like her. gas prices dropping for the sixth day in a row. can you believe it? some experts say the downward trend will actually continue. should you get your hopes up? we'll talk to an analyst about this, right after the break. ♪ [ piano chords ] [ man announcing ] what we created here. what we achieved here. what we learned here. and what we pioneered here. all goes here. the one. the accord. smarter thinking from honda. welcome back to "early start." it is 4 1 minutes past the hour. drivers are sick of filling their tanks and emptying their wallets. $3.91 a gallon, down for the sixth day in a row. some analyst sass we've already reached the peak and price koss drop even further. petroleum analyst, minding your business from tampa this morning. i have to tell you, greg, you are a very popular man this morning. everybody is singing your praises and hope iing that you right. you say we've reached the peak and are headed downward. i want to show the last three months here. we can see a bit of a tiny relief. how low will prices go and by when? >> zoraida, i wish i could tell you exactly what the answer is to that question. we've seen prices come down about two cents a gallon just in the past week. so, we believer we've reached that point where we're at a plateau right now and barring some unforeseen events, anything that could cause a lot of turmoil, we think we're now at a point where we can see gasoline prices go lower. >> your fellow analyst at gasbuddy.com, patrick dehaan, he said barring any major event, refinery problems, iran, i think prices have peaked. define a major event that could cause prices to go back up again. >> well, the biggest issue, of course, is the middle east. there's an awful lot of nervousness associated with iran's nuclear program. fortunately, they are going into negotiations this weekend in istanbul. so, that has helped brighten the international perspective, at least on crude oil. and if things move well there, that's going to be very positive. of course, things can also go south. that would be the type of event that we're talking about. >> typically, as we're headed into the summer season, we're talking about these special blends in gasoline. why is it that we're not factoring that in and say, hey, we have still not seen a plateau? >> well, we're talking -- looking at about 130 refineries nationwide. most of them have basically gotten through that process. there could be a couple of hurdles in small pockets here or there, but for the most part, the refineries have gotten through that process and we're going to start to see the benefits of that as we get closer into may. >> patrick went on to say it could actually dip to $3.70 a gallon by early may. do you think that's really realistic? >> we do. we do. there's a lot of -- there's plenty of oil. one of the keys, of course, is refining capacity. and especially on the east coast. we're going to keep a watch on that. but, overall, the numbers that we're seeing from the federal government, from the department of energy, are encouraging. and given that crude oil is moving lower, we think those are all good signs that will take us to those lower gasoline prices. >> we're very excited. we're going to hold you to it. if they don't come down to $3.70 by early may, you know we'-- >> always driving us crazy. 6:44. soledad o'brien is joining us with a look at whatcoming up on "starting point." >> good morning, ladies. we're going to talk to a teacher who said she was fired for supporting a hoodie rally. now there may be a rally for her if she she doesn't get her job back. secretary of state hillary clinton in her shades, checking her blackber ary. it's so big she's even in on the joke now. we'll tell you about that. and happy birthday botox. people who discovered that botox could do even more than get rid of wrinkles. cnn.com/startingpoint. we'll see you at the start of the hour. what the world wants to know and share is here. demand media expands on the big board. 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[ 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. ♪ whoa, whoa, whoa sweet child of mine ♪ >> it doesn't get any better than that, waking up to that at 6:55 on the east coast. >> for some. for some. not all. >> axl rose for you this morning. what's trending on the web. it's axl. for guns n roses fans, hoping that it would get the band back together, here is quote number one. don't cry. it ain't happening. the infamous rock queen -- or should i say drama queen? i'm not getting any love from my crew on these references here. he wrote a letter to the l.a. times declining the induction to the hall of fame. apparently he doesn't want any part of this because of the band. as for a reunion, axl writes -- by the way, here is another one. you're crazy. another song reference. i won't be attending the rock 'n' roll hall of fame induction 2012 sar moani and i respectfully decline my induction as a member of guns n roses to the rock 'n' roll hall of fame. he goes on to say the hall of fame induction ceremony doesn't appear to be somewhere i'm actually wanted or respected. curious to know where he thinks he is wanted and respected but he does talk about personal and professional tensions with the members of the band's original lineup. on your screen to the right under that great hat, slash. not once does he mention slash by name in the letter. so, that's colder than november rain, baby. i'm done. i'm done. >> yeah, yeah, yeah, you are. dog lovers -- there are no guns n roses fans here, apparently. police in toledo, ohio, found a litter of english bulldog puppies and their mother abandoned near a dumpster. the six puppies were inside a zipped-up suitcase. the guy who allegedly left them there has been charged with animal abandonment. his name is howard davis. how did the police find him? the suitcase has a tag with his name on it. >> usually a giveaway. some evidence anyway. latest position of late-night laughs. here's your punch bag. gingrich's campaign spent $5 to get his name on the ballot. $500 to get your name on the ballot. and the check bounced. let me tell you something. if newt is spending money he doesn't have, maybe he really is qualified to be president. you know, maybe -- i mean, yes! >> say what you will about santorum. he wanted to ban gambling in the united states of america. no more gambling. outlaw gambling. outlaw pornography. and this is the guy that claims that romney is out of touch with america. romney. >> a lot of republicans, mitt romney has the best chance to defeat obama. that is understandable. mitt romney knows how obama thinks. do you know how he knows? he used to think the exact same thing. it wasn't that long ago really. yeah. and herman cain, remember old herman cain? he plans to endorse mitt romney, good news for mitt. polls show obama has the woman vote. but herman cain and newt gingrich, they can deliver the other woman vote. that's a huge -- >> it's only just begun, folks. it is on, this campaign. it is on. presidential campaign. wait for it. that's "early start:news from a to z." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. george