theblaze.com. happy friday let's get to our "starting point." protests happening right now in afghanistan, protesting the decision of some nato trops to burn korans. hundreds of people to surround the embassy. five people have been hurt. nick paton walsh is live for news kabul. what's the latest? >> well, what we're hearing is that the west of the country, hurat, one of the main city there's. u.s. consulate in kabul, the u.s. consulate out there have a very angry crowd outside. hundreds of people, i had actually from an eyewitness could hear the sirens, the panic from that particular area. we understand that to the hospital in hurat, one dead body has been brought fr presumably from this protest. one injured and one lost their life. they are apparently close to the u.s. consulate, setting fire to police cars, clashes now breaking out police police and proteste protesters. in kabul, we have heard of shots being fired in the air to try and move the crowd that we're heading toward the presidential palace here. reports of policeman and injured civilians. other protests across the country, more peaceful and smaller in nature but really this is now the fourth day of violent protests. against this mistaken burning of korans on a u.s. military base here in afghanistan. frankly, there's not much more america can do to apologize since president barack obama had an ambassador here to hand deliver an apology. hope that afghan authorities and afghan religious leaders could try and slow this protest down. not happening so far. >> thank you, nick. appreciate that update. let's take a look back at how this started. it began on tuesday when afghan workers found the burn korans in a trash pit that's used by coalition troops. roughly 2,000 afghans started protesting outside bagram. by wednesday, u.s. diplomats across the country were on lockdown. five people killed in the demonstrations then. then yesterday a man wearing an afghan army uniform believed to be connected to the protests killed two american troops. the afghan president hamid karzai med with the parliament and started talking about investigation and president obama apologized to hamid karzai saying, quote, the error was inadverte inadvertent. i assure you that we will take the appropriate steps to avoid any recurrence, to include holding accountable those responsible. a chaplain at guantanamo bay. at gitmo he advised them on the detainee religious practices. the president has now really all this has gone into an apology, but as you heard nick paton walsh saying, it doesn't seem to be slowing down the protests, you sense this is going to escalate with thousands of people in the streets. >> i would think that probably more and more people are going to protest because it's a very, very sensitive issue. no doubt it was a huge blunder culturally. and one of the things i point to is that this has been a pattern in this conflict. both in afghanistan and in iraq with culture sensitive mistakes being made, whether it's the burning of the koran just recently, whether it's the urinating on dead bodies last night by marines or the desecration of the koran in gitmo in 2003. >> let me ask you about the presidential apology, does that carry any weight at all? enamong the populous but certainly to the government official, many who say they want an investigation and really don't sound like they're backing down or receive that apology. >> yeah. i don't know what effect that apology is going to have. i do think it was a good step for the president to admit, hey, there was a mistake made. i think that's a sign of good leadersh leadership. but i did hear the general, general allan, said that all the coalition troops will get some culturally sensitive training. >> isn't that kind of like closing the barn door after the horse has run out, to some degree. as you pointed out, there have been past incidents. what kind of sensitivity training do people get, especially in the heart of a place where it's really, really critical. >> for one, i think it's appalling that ten years into this conflict the soldiers didn't already have had this type of training. but the type of training they should have really, they should have an overall basis of islamic culture, the muslim people. but more importantly, instill those moral and ethical values not to do these type of things because ultimately not only undermines the mission but it jeopardizes american lives like we saw those two american soldiers' lives taken. >> james, you mentioned that you see this now as part of a larger pattern. what is that pattern evidencing to you? >> good question. what is that? maybe a leadership failure. leadership failure within the ranks of the u.s. military to ensure that our troops overall really are instilled with these moral and ethical values. >> you feel certain that we're not looking at a series of mistakes? >> yeah, i mean, no doubt these are mistakes and these things are things that shouldn't happen. on the other hand, the violent protests, no justification for that as well. however, the demonstrations, the protests, the verbal and staunch condemnation of what happened, i mean, that's -- that's no different -- that should be no different than what americans do every day in our country, protesting and expressing our right to free speech. >> what is the rule? how is somebody taught about how to handle the koran? >> i don't think that is taught in general. >> at all? >> as far as i know, i don't know. when i was in agaguantanamo i helped policy within the prison cell blocks which took into account culture sensitive handling of the koran and actually working with muslims who were assigned to the joint task force in guantanamo to help, you know, crush some of the demonstrations and riot protests within the prison when the desecration was going on. >> let me play a little bit of what newt gingrich said and then we'll get to your question. here it is. >> president obama surrendered twice today. and i think it deserves to be brought to the country's attention. there seems to be nothing that radical islamists can do to get barack obama's attention in a negative way and he is consistently apologizing to people who do not deserve the apology of the president of the united states, period. >> so i was going to ask for some cultural sensitivity training for us. i imagine americans would be pretty horrified, say, if we discovered that in the saudi embassy bibles were being burnt. does -- >> do you believe that 2000 people would rush to the streets in the united states and kill people? >> saudi arabia is not occupying the united states. soing it's a slightly -- it's a very different situation. but i just offered that as an example of, you know, maybe how people might be starting to think about it in afghanistan. what i wanted to ask was, how do you think this feels? what message does this send if you're a person in afghanistan? what, you know, what are they taking away from this? i'm sure it's a mistake, right? i totally accept that's what happened. >> no evidence that it was not. >> i don't think it was meant to be a hostile act but how does it read to a person in afghanistan? >> i think the growing numbers that we're seeing in the protests that keep getting larger and larger over the last couple of days and even until today is an indication that the people really there now are really fed up with having the troops there in their country. i think it's a sign that the people are saying we've had enough of american troops here, you know, there are some views here in the united states where people want all the troops to come home immediately. so i think that's playing into it, as well. but it's an excuse to say, hey, here's another mistake made, when are you going home? >> you're the author of "for god and country." thanks for being with us. appreciate your insight on that. got to get to other headlines this morning. christine has that for us. >> good morning. >> good morning. while you were sleeping, gas prices aren't. according to aaa, gas average is $3.65, up 3 1/2 cents from yesterday. gas prices have never been this hyatt this time of year. the forecasts keep rising. with the syrian army continuing to shell the city of homs, world powers are meeting in tunisia. what is being called a friends of syria conference. secretary of state clinton is there. just a couple of hours ago former u.n. secretary general kofi annan announced he will serve as a joint u.n. arab league envoy to syria. the u.s., europe, and arab nations are drafting a warning to syrian president bashar al-assad to agree to an immediate cease-fire so food and medical supplies can get in and wounded and dead can come out. judge in alabama tossing out the days of the so-called hon honeymoon killer. he was charged with killing his wife on their money hoon while diving off of australia's great barrier reef. wats watson pleaded guilty to manslaughter in australia and spent 18 months in jail there. the case came back to the u.s. since he was accused of plotting this on u.s. soil but a judge judge ruled yesterday prosecutors did not have enough evidence of a crime to send this case to a jury. maryland is on its way to approving same-sex marriage. the state senate passed a bill to legalize gay marriage last night. maryland's governor pledged to sign the bill into law. if that happens maryland will become the eighths u.s. state, plus the district of columbia, to approve same-sex marriage. seven states and several catholic groups are suing the federal government over its new contraception mandate. the lawsuit says that policy constitutes religious rights to freedom. for religious institutions that must provide contraception coverage to women employed by those institutions. white house officials have given no comment on the pending litigation. minding your business this morning, stock futures for the dow, nasdaq, s&p 500 all trading up this morning. dow future is up 30 points. positive economic data in the labor market here in the u.s. is getting the credit. maybe he just needed a cook cookie. indiana lawmaker who called the girl scouts a radical organization, girl scouts, a radical organization that promotes abortion and homosexuality, he is now apologizing for the tone of what he said. state representative bob morris said he was sorry for his emotional reactionary and inflammatory words. soledad? >> but he meant them. but then he went on to say, but i meant them. >> you know, i have a lot of girl scout badges and none of them are for any of the things he's so concerned about. >> communism. >> no badges on my sash for those. >> i'm glad. i feel better about that. christine, thank you. still ahead, we're going to tell you about a gop congressman apologizing after making a comment about killing a couple of democrats to get them to pass a budget. also this morning, told you about gas prices going up again while you were sleeping. president obama says don't expect a quick fix. and republicans are on the attack on that. plus, our "get real" this morning. a brawl at the mall and it's all about the sneaks. plus, we continue our staff play list. have you seen that picture? this is zoraida's play list. she loves herself a little shakira. when you have 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 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. ♪ they hatin' ♪ patrolling and tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ [ mom ] hi, there. why do we always have to take your mom's car? [ male announcer ] the security of a tiguan, one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ i love it when it comes up with justin timberlake. what song is this? >> "carry out." >> this is mercedes, this is her choice this morning. i like that. thank you. she says, "carry out." let's talk gas as we told you just a few minutes ago, gas prices are going up, up, up, and the national average is $3.65 per gallon. the highest ever for this time of year. much higher than that in some areas. was it orlando who had $6? >> yeah. maybe at the airport. >> $6 a gallon. >> $4.93 a gallon in los angeles. the surge in gas prices is triggered by gas in iran. president obama stressing the all of the above approach on this. 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. he represents $9 or $10 a gallon gas. ask, which of those are going to be happier? >> rhetorical question, what would i be happier with? $2.50 a gallon? >> logical to me. >> or $9 or $10 a gallon, i don't know, christine. >> if the president wakes up in the morning and decides what the gas is going top. you blame the president or the speculator or whatever the story line happens to be when gas prices are rising. >> obviously iran is part of it. >> we have a complicated world oil market. emerging markets are gobbling up energy. they're using much more of it than, you know -- in fact, our demand is down for oil. our demand for gasoline in the united states is actually down. but you have all of these other factors. we're not the only game in town anymore. you also have probably $10 per barrel of gas -- per barrel of oil is speculators. people putting in bets. we think oil is going to be higher. that drives oil higher. >> the president was harsh on republicans saying that they were sort of cheering for the bad news because, of course, all of these stories turn into political stories in a political year. do you think that's true? >> i think that in a political year there are two things that are for sure in my life that is my mother loves me and everything about the price of gas is political. you know? and people try to ply every economic member for their own advantage. that's just the way it works. you know? i think the longer term discussion about how we're going to get our energy, use our energy, these are all valid discussions. in the very near term, to say that there's one reason why gas is so high, one thing to blame is too simplistic. >> at the end of the day it's one of those indices, right, that you're like, people feel that. you feel it when you fill up your car. you feel bad about it and that's going to translate directly into how you're going to peel when you vote. >> i don't think republicans are cheering high gas prices but certainly realize the political value of high gas prices. that being said, it doesn't make it legal intellectual honest. you can walk over to saudi arabia and hold hands with king abdullah and we've done that. the world is producing gas as fast as it can. global demand is skyrocketing. there is a critique in the obama administration. we shouldn't be investing in whatever we don't know is the tomorrow the industry of the future. shouldn't be shutting down the keystone pipeline but what your gas price is you just can't put on president obama. >> if you pass the keystone pipeline gas prices would still be $3.65 today. one thing dangerous for him and administration is the payroll tax holiday, two tanks of gas has just taken away your payroll tax. >> $4 a month was the selling pitch on that? >> the keystone pipeline is the political achilles heel. i agree with christine's analogies. i think this is 90% iran, is the cause of the price spike. but if you are a republican politician i think you can legitimately say there is no good reason to block keystone and in the medium term that is a way to increase america's energy security. >> sort of is the gas and long-term issues. >> i think that's one that can predict it. >> no hammering on. >> oil in congress, for the record. >> all you can do is fill up today and not just tomorrow. >> if americans don't speculate, everybody else still will. >> that's true. governors going to the white house today brainstorming on how to create jobs. maryland's governor is going to be there. and get real, going wild over glow in the dark nikes. and actually it's an all out brawl. you know what, maybe people will riot in the streets over things at times. >> if they burn shoes. >> courtney davis is our tech manager and this is the choice. [ jane ] how did i get here? with determination. courage. and all the points i earned with my citi thankyou card. [ male announcer ] the citi thankyou card. redeem points for travel on any airline with no blackout dates. so, heather, is this mika? heather is our researchers. this is mika. "relax, take it easy." >> disco? >> kind of. heather is way too young to have experienced the disco era at all. >> you say that like it's a foreign word. >> i had something in my throat. >> great message for friday morning. >> i love it. i'm learning a lot about the staffers and a lot about music today because i haven't heard any of these songs before. let's talk about "get real." brawls have been breaking out over this new sneaker being released. this particular one is a mall in orlando. they're a new nike basketball sneaker called the nike foam posit galaxy. it costs, guess how much? >> $200. >> $220. close. they glow in the dark, as well. they kind of look like a jellyfish sort of thing. yes, that costs $220. there's someone apparently even on craigslist where you see them as high as $2400 for a pair of some of those, offering to trade in their car. '96 chevy cavalier. i'm sure it's a fine car. anyway, it's not the first time that people like lose their minds over trying to get a pair of sneakers. the release of the new retroair jordans last christmas. nationwide mayhem. people used pepper spray at cops and then, of course, if you've ever been to the bridezilla event also known as feilene's basement, yes, this is not even a once in a lifetime occurrence when people smack each other trying to get a wedding gown. >> you have done this story or in line? >> both. i tried to get a wedding gown. it's a horrible experience if you're not really prepared for it. and i also covered it as a reporter. craziness. $2400. >> $2400 for a shoe. >> $220 you can fill up your car with a tank of gas. >> still ahead this morning at "starting point," we're going to talk to the former senator russ feingold. he's got a new book out called "while america sleeps." he's also president obama's campaign co-chair but he's bashing the president over super pacs. we'll talk to him about that. plus, maryland's governor is a state maryland is a state that has lower unemployment than the national average pep talk to him about his secret in creating jobs. and then we're going to talk to chazz palminteri walking down the red carpet. he's done it. nominated for an oscar and changed his life. he's going to join us to talk about the oscars. really, is being nominated as good as winning? everybody is like, just to be nominated is enough. it's an honor. it just to be nominate and, you know, i don't believe that. michelle murta is a line producer. she's going -- who is this? okay, go, "white-knuckles." [ horn honks ] hey, it's sandra -- from accounting. peter. i can see that you're busy... but you were gonna help us crunch the numbers for accounts receivable today. i mean i know that this is important. well, both are important. let's be clear. they are but this is important too. [ man ] the receivables. [