>> and i'm john berman. and the economy taking the back seat for a moment to foreign policy when it comes to the presidential campaign. >> we'll talk about mitt romney's trip overseas and president obama's brand-new ad. plus we're getting an idea of what the opening ceremony of the 2012 olympics will actually look like. but first, exclusive new details about the apartment of james holmes, the suspected colorado shooter. a law enforcement official has described to cnn video taken from inside the apartment. he said it was set up like something from iraq or afghanistan. 30 improvised grenades rigged to a control box in the kitchen and gas containers filled with ten gallons of gas, allegedly for the purpose of adding more fuel to the fire in an explosion. cnn's jim spelman is in aurora, colorado, right outside the theater where the shooting happened. the description of the apartment is extraordinary and terrifying. what else do you know about it? >> reporter: just trying to picture 30 of the home-made grenades filled with black powder and gas containers around to amplify the fire after these things went off. all set to a srs of trip wires. one set to go off when the first person who goes in opens the door. it took them almost two days to come up with a strategy to eliminate them. ultimately they used water to disrupt the control box. these things were so volatile, they had to carry each one out in a bucket of sand to a dump truck, take them out into the country and explode them. it made a huge fireball, even out in the middle of the field. you can imagine what it would have done if it would have gone off in the suspect's apartment. jim? >> one thing that everyone is talking about in the demeanor of james holmes in the courtroom. on front page of every paper. his red hair, his big eyes. you were inside the court, jim, what did it seem like to you? >> we didn't know what to expect. the first question on everybody's mind is would his hair be red. we had heard that from law enforcement sources. all the witnesses who were in the theater say he was wearing a helmet and mask. so that was the first thing was seeing his red hair after he described himself as the joker. this guy just looked dazed, he looked weak. he looked small to me and after initially scanning the crowd when he walked in, the rest of the time he more or less just looked straight ahead. meantime back in the seats of the courtroom. family members could not take their eyes off him. i saw parents of people who had died just staring at him the whole time. and you could tell it was a very emotional time for them. and they're there in the courtroom where they can't show any kind of emotional all. they have to be quiet. very typical for this family to get to look at him. and you just know that they're asking the question that all of us are asking -- why. and you know they're possibly never going to get a satisfactory answer to that. >> jim spelman in aurora, it was a strange, eerie scene yesterday, thanks very much. it's three minutes past the hour. the world got its first look at james holmes yesterday. and as he just mentioned, 0 so did his eledged victims and the first sight of holmes evoked a lot of anger. because of his demeanor in court. >> has no right to come into court looking like he has a sad face. the look that he has right now is not something that's going to be believable by anyone. >> you think it's masked? >> yeah. he had this thought out very well. >> do you think the hair and the face, this is all part of this act? >> it's an act. >> this guy is nothing, he's a coward and a genius. he knows what he's doing. he's playing the system. i don't believe for a second that he's sitting there, his wide eyes and pretending to be incoherent. he knows what he's doing. >> holmes will be back in court on monday. that's when prosecutors are expected to formally file charges against him. now the family of james holmes in san diego is standing by him. yesterday their attorney, lisa demijani told reporters they're doing as well as they can under the circumstances. but when it comes to details about their son, they're not ready to speak. >> the family wants to reiterate that their hearts go out to the victims and their families. the holmes family would like to maintain their privacy. so at this time we will not be discussing james or his relationship to the family. >> demiani said everyone at home's family is concerned about the possibility of their son facing the death penalty. coming up at 5:30, we'll be speaking with former fbi special agent steve moore about more insight. five minutes past the hour here. penn state's football future hanging in the balance this morning after the ncaa slapped the program with devastating penalties for turning a blind eye to jerry sandusky's abuse of young boys. $60 million in fines, this is over five years. a postseason ban from bowl games for four years. a reduced number of scholarships for four seasons. and the team has been stripped of all wins going back to 1998. that drops joe paterno from first in all-time wins to eighth now. susan candiotti is live from state college. susan, you spoke with penn state's president and athletic director, how are they reacting? >> well certainly this morning, penn state is knows that it faces what could be a crippling situation for years to come. these ncaa sanctions were not negotiable. and certainly penn state is not saying that it deserved what it got. however, the president tells me, the school will survive. >> we certainly had an unprecedented situation here. we had an unprecedented set of sanctions. penn state is a very resilient university. and i'm always struck by the sense of resolve that people have here. when confronted with a situation like this. >> and of course they do know that they'll need a lot of resolve to try to rebuild its football program. the athletic program as well. because how do you attract players, good players here when they know that there won't be scholarships, there won't be any postseason games and there will be a terrific loss of revenues to this university for years to come. it will be a challenge. zoraida? >> you know what, john berman will be talking to an ex-pro football player who is going to speak specifically about that. a lot of people are saying that the sanctions were really hard against penn state. what are you hearing? >> well of course, as we've been saying, it's going to be very tough for them to try too overcome this. and the ncaa said the thing about what happened here, is that schools around the country will have to learn a lesson, face what happened here and make sure it doesn't happen again. here's the head of the ncaa. >> our goal is not to be just punitive, but to make sure the university establishes an athletic culture and daily mindset in which football will never again be placed ahead of educating, nurturing and protecting young people. >> and along with the $60 million in fines, remember, what still lies ahead for this university. all those expected civil lawsuits that they're also going to have to pay out to all the victims in this case. the child abuse victims, zoraida. >> you are absolutely right so we'll be hearing much more. susan candiotti, live for us, thank you very much. moving on. growing concern in israel and the u.s. this morning about chemical weapons coming into play in syria. fierce fighting between rebel forces and government troops continuing overnight in the city of aleppo. the acid regime desperately clinging to power. this is the development that's getting everyone's attention. a spokesman for syria's government foreign ministry publicly threatening to deploy chemical weapons against any foreign intervention. senator john mccain says he's taking that threat seriously. >> there is a danger of chemical weapons that presently under bashar al assad's control, from flowing to hezbollah, presenting a grave threat to the security of israel. >> president obama warns the assad regime it would be a tragic mistake to use chemical weapons and syria will be held accountable. well remembering a true pioneer, isn't this just an incredible story. we just heard this overnight. sally ride, the first american woman in space has died after a long battle with ban caratic cancer. a lot of people didn't even know she was sick. that is the same cancer that claimed the lives of steve jobs and patrick swayze. after leaving nasa, sally ride founded an organization that encouraged young women to pursue careers in science. president obama called her a national hero. and a powerful role model. sally ride was just 61 years old. she is survived by her parents of 27 years. and her partner, her partner of 27 years. yesterday when they did release this, they talked about everybody who had survived, her nieces, nephews and her partner. >> that was the first word that many people had in this country was gay. sally ride, one of the coolest. >> don't you remember? >> i remember that moment in time. just very sad, because nobody, it seemed nobody knew she was sick, either. >> they didn't, she kept it secret. politics now, mitt romney preparing for a big speech on foreign policy, when he addresses a vfw gathering in reno. after romney lays out his foreign policy vision today, he'll travel to england, israel and poland. the white house is challenging him to offer americans clear policy ideas during this trip. she disobeyed a direct order from a judge. for that, a kentucky teenager has drawn praise now from around the world, folks. find out what she did, coming up. at shell, we believe the world needs a broader mix of energies. that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. wanted to provide better employee benefits while balancing the company's bottom line, their very first word was... 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[ male announcer ] the citi thankyou visa card. redeem the points you've earned to travel with no restrictions. rewarding you, every step of the way. welcome back to "early start," everyone, it is now 15 minutes past the hour. i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. we're getting an early read on your local news that's making national headlines. this one, a legal reprieve for a 17-year-old sexual assault victim who faced jail time. she faced jail time for revealing the names of her attackers. this comes us from the louisville "courier-journal." 17-year-old savannah dietrich. the girl had given her written permission to talk to a newspaper. she tweeted out the names of her attackers, but that was defiance of a court order because she was not allowed to do that. the attorneys for the two boys have now filed a motion or had filed a motion to hold her in contempt of court. they have now lifted that. they say that this law is designed really to protect the victim. so they say they were shocked that she decided to go ahead and tweet the names of the victims. she said i needed to talk about this and i needed to get my story out there. at the end of the day i've got a lot of support and that's helped her get through this. >> there was a huge outcry online. some 70,000 signaturings on change.org supporting her saying don't hold her in contempt of court. here in new york city, maybe less serious issue -- soda. mayor michael bloomberg in his war against soda. >> very serious to some people. >> if you love soda. he wants to ban sodas of more than 16 ounces from places like movie theaters and the like. there's a public hearing. if you love your soda, i would say get to the hearing. the decision will be made by a board that is all appointed by michael bloomberg. so barring some unforeseen event this thing is going to happen here. >> a lot of people are angry, because they're saying i can decide whatever it is i want to drink. you can't tell me what to do. i'm just dying to see how this all plays out. >> you can still have your big sugary drink in the comfort of your own home. for an expanded look at all of our top stories, head to our blog, cnn.com/earlystart. maine police releasing a video that looks like it was ripped from an action movie. a state trooper chasing down an elderly driver. it looks like a video game. going down the wrong way on the interstate. the trooper got the call during a traffic stop. and instead of chasing the car the wrong way down the highway, the officer floored it to the next exit to get ahead of the guy. he went exit ramp and bumped him. he bumped him with his own car at about 50 miles per hour. the trooper said he made the decision because if he had kept going and chasing the wrong way, people would have died. >> he risked his own life for that he's okay. 17 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date with this morning's top stories. >> good morning, exclusive new details this morning about the rigged explosives discovered in the apartment of suspected movie theater gunman, james holmes. a law enforcement official describing video taken from inside that apartment. he says it was set up like something you would find in afghanistan or iraq. the suspect's living room, littered with 30 improvised grenades, rigged to a control box in the kitchen. and there were glass containers filled with ten gallons of gasoline to enhance the quote thermal effect of an explosion. the violence is escalating in iraq. at least a dozen attacks in the form of car bombs and roadside explosives killing at least 282 people and wounding 180 more across the country yesterday. this was one of the bloodiest days in iraq since the departure of u.s. troops in december. the country is facing a political crisis with shiite, sunni and kurdish political blocs all at odds. a civilian shipyard worker now charged with setting a fire that sent a navy nuclear submarine up in flames while it was in dry dock in maine. that fire you recall back in may did $400 million in damage to the "uss miami." naval investigators say 24-year-old casey james fury has confessed. he told them he did it, he started the fire because he was having an anxiety attack. and he wanted to get off work early. >> wow. >> $400 million nuclear. airport security will soon be a breeze for airline flight attendants, they're being added to the tsa's known crew member program. this is used by pilots. the program is designed to speed up screening for low-risk travelers. and the tsa plans to expand the program to include flight attendants at 31 airports across the country. by the end of the year. >> they're going to like this. they didn't like waiting at all. >> and you know, a lot of people who have been waiting with all their bags open don't like it when 15 flight attendants come right in front of them, too. >> this person right here doesn't like it. >> i want one of those. but i'm worried about going through the screening process, it's very invasive, i hear. >> i hear you have a pretty clean record. so i wouldn't be too worried. >> i'm not hiding anything for the record. but you know, then they know everything about you and it's on somebody's record. so i don't know about that. there's nothing to hide. thank you, christine, thank you. >> thanks for the news. but don't go far because coming up, christine will be back with news about our credit rating, could the u.s. credit rating be cut again this summer? sometimes, i feel like it's me against my hair. 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