helping veterans back from war. we have the dogs and their people, live on set. it's saturday may 12th, good morning, glad you're with us i'm randi kaye. we start with new developments in several high profile legal stories that captured the nation's attention this week. three more people have been taken in custody for allegedly helping adam mayes evade police. he killed himself in the woods near al pine, mississippi earlier this week, as soon as police closed in on him. next to him at the time were the two sisters he kidnapped after killing their mother and older sister. authorities say the girls are still shaken. here is mayes brother. >> we don't even plan on claiming the body. that is just how we feel. anyone that was directly involved with adam, pretty much lived in fear. >> mayes' wife charged with two count of murder in the case. jennifer hudson's brother in was found guilty on three counts of first degree murder. william balfour killed hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. she was the first of more than 80 witnesses to take the stand for the prosecution. the former police officer convicted of shooting an unarmed man at a train station in the san francisco bay area was in court, doing have his conviction overturned. he served a year in prison for killing oscar grant. cell phone video showed him shooting grant, unarmed, in the back. grant's family is upset they didn't know about the hearing this week. >> we're angered, we're hurt, and we're here to express that we felt we were denied our right to be at this hearing. >> the community, the family, the friends are not going no where. we will follow you wherever you go, we will make your life miserable like you made wanda's life, bobby's, community miserable. we will follow you and we will make sure you will never enjoy life again like you're trying to. >> grant's family says messerly went to court because he wants to get his job back with the transit police. a florida woman sentenced to 20 years in prison. marissa alexander's defense was stand your ground law, a judge ruled it didn't apply in the case of her firing a gun in the air to supposedly scare off her abusive husband. there were two kids in the house at the time, that led to three charges of aggravated assault. prosecutors were blasted for being overzealous. >> jacksonville is my home, i have lived here all of my life. and clearly there was no justice in this courtroom. >> exactly. >> let me tell you, i just found out about it, this is the beginning, not the end. >> that's right. >> this is the beginning. clearly there is institutional racism, there is no way she was overcharged by the prosecutor, period. overcharged. she never should have been charged. >> the jury convicted alexander after 12 minutes of deliberations. let's bring in holly hughes, defense attorney and former prosecutor here in atlanta. 20 years for firing a warning shot. what is your reaction? >> it's crazy, and here's the problem. when you have mandatory minimum sentencing, the judge's hands get tied the law says if you use this equation, this is this many victims or this much criminal activity they are stuck within the boundaries. so the lady we saw that clip we watched where she said she was overcharged, that's exactly right because once a jury convict on aggravated assault, that doesn't have to be pointing it at the children, it's just firing in the direction of them. so this is -- >> incredible, 20 years, the bullet didn't hit anybody. >> she wasn't trying to, randi, that's the sad part. when we talk about the law, we talk about what is your intent, you have to have two things to commit the crime. do the act and intend to do the act. here all she wanted to do was get her abusive husband away from her, with see another domestic violence situation, completely out of control and sadly the victim in this particular case is the one who is going to be behind bars. >> we're glad you're with us, talking about the legal stories. your take on the adam mayes case, his wife and mother charged, the guy who took these girls, killed their mother and oldest sister. will this go to triall? he's dead but the wife is charged. will the little girls have to testify? >> they will, because they are old enough, when we talk about child witnesses, are they competent? the judge will make an inquiry ahead of time can they understand the difference between the truth and a lie. basically that is something they will find out from the children by questioning them ahead of time is it right or what is a lie, if you make up a story, that kind of thing. i don't foresee it going to trial, i think these women will probably work out a plea deal along the way. we know because the wife, teresa, confessed. she said this is what i did, this is what i saw him do, this is how i was involved. i'm curious about his mother, mary. we might see her push it to trial because we don't know how she got implicated and i'm wondering if teresa's statements put mama in the soup and said yes, she was there or she was aware of it or helped him, or something like that. she might fight it all the way, i think teresa's counsel will say to her "let's get you the best deal we can". >> the case that has hollywood buzzing, john travolta allegedly making sexual advances including groping, two unidentified men have said these things happened. how does he defend himself, a big celebrity, against he said, she said sort of case. >> that is exactly what it is. what you will do is either one of two things. minimize the damage by saying let ee settle, make it go away, or if you're totally innocent you will stand on principle and say no you're trying to extort money from me through the legal system, so therefore i am going to push it all the way to trial. i do want you to have to get on the stand and even though sexual abuse victims aren't identified, they are going to have to testify in a court of law even a closed courtroom. it's a matter of how far do you want to push this and john travolta has a family, does he want to subject them to that? that will be a team decision, sit down with the wife and say what are we going do, because again how much later do we hear these allegations made, did that person go running from the room screaming? >> they knew i was in atlanta or beverly hills, they can make allegations, but who knows what will happen. >> exactly, where is the evidence. >> holly, we'll check back with you later on. >> i'm stick around. the major business story of the week may be facebook's ipo, the company is looking to raise around $12 billion from investors and one of facebook's co-founders is making interesting plans to get ready. eduardo saverin renouncing his u.s. citizenship, owns less than 5% of facebook, it could avoid him paying taxes on the windfall from next week's ipo. saverin is from brazil, but lives in singapore now. also making news, north carolina's governor is upset with voters who passed amendment one this week. amendment one bans same sex marriage and civil unions. >> this is wrong for north carolina, clearly and simply, people around the country are watching us, and they are really confused, to have been such a progressive forward-thinking economically-driven state, that invested in education and that stood up for the civil rights of people, including the civil rights marchs back in the 50s and 60s and 70s. what in the world is going on in north carolina, we look like mississippi. >> that last part, didn't sit well with mississippi's governor. he's disappointed with the comments and says apparently north carolinans are more in tune with his state's traditional values than the values of governor perdue. carroll shelby has died, his name is synonymous with speed, he developed the cobra and self version of mustangs. he also designed cars for chrysler, including the high performance viper, he was 89 years old. wondering what the weather might brieng this weekend let's see what reynolds has in store for us. >> potential of having flash flooding along the gulf coast, big easy, biloxi, mobile, alabama before the day is out. as we look at the weather maps, the reason why we might see it, area of low pressure setting up along the gulf coast could give us strong storms that flash flooding will be in places that have very poor drainage. talk about that in a few moments. a fairly nice weekend with the exception of the gulf coast. >> reynolds, thank you. a run down of stories we're working for you. same sex marriage, front page news this week, north carolina banned it, president obama embraced it. putting this issue in focus look at how it came to the national stage. mitt romney's been accused of bullying when he was a teenager but says he doesn't remember. do voters care? we'll find out. "time" magazine's breast feeding mom is sparking conversations. are mothers who breast feed pre-school age children better than mothers that don't? we'll introduce you to dogs that are not only man's best friend but a veteran's greatest companion as troops return from war, these animals are rebuilding their lives. we'll have one in studio. you're watching cnn weeke"weeke early start", where news doesn't take the weekend off. [ sneezes ] ♪ got it all. here. have a good day, honey. i love you, ok. bye, mom. [ female announcer ] sam's mom is muddling through her allergies. what can she do? she can get answers at walgreens. with guidance and information to help her make informed choices for her allergy needs. like zyrtec -- with the strength of 24-hour rtec, you get relief from your worst allergy symptoms, indoors and out. right now, buy one and get one 50% off. ♪ find answers at walgreens. ♪ [ camera clicks ] ♪ it's hard to resist the craveable nature of a nature valley sweet & salty nut bar. welcome back, 12 minutes past the hour. it has been a rough year for birds in south america. more than 7000 birds have turned up dead in both chile and peru. 5000 alone in peru and at least 2300 alongalong beaches. do we know why it's happening, is it related? >> it's hard to say, a lot of people pointing toward the nets, many of the injuries are in line with what they might have, but the thing that is odd they have been using basically the same type of nets off the coast for quite some time and never had these numbers of birds die before. the nets they have have the hatches in the bottom sea turtles can get out but in terms of the aviary variety, they have been using the same stuff and this is an anomaly. >> it's heart breaking. the question is is there anything they can do about it? will the numbers keep rising like this? >> that is interesting to say. the number one reason why you might have a bird killed is because of something they eat not struck, but digested. they have had numbers of fish kills along the coast. what happens is you have this process in many years, this year not been much the case we have what appears to be an el nino developing less oxygen in the water you have a lot of dead fish, they have been feeding on dead fish, could that be an issue? we don't know. when they get the birds and take the samples, they will perform very similar with people, autopsies, but the fastest you get any dikind of information ia week. we like to get answers, science takes a little bit of time may be at least five days. >> we have no patience for that. >> we definitely don't. >> reynolds, thank you very much. so you have a little competition, reynolds, so you know. prince charles shows off his forecasting skills with wife camilla by his side. we want to you take a look. >> the best of the dryer and brighter area will be in the northern isles, little hazy castle, but cold day every where with temperatures of just 8 celsius, brisk northeast wind. thank god it isn't a bank holiday. >> so reynolds how do you think he did? >> i'm impressed. he's so charming and the most incredible voice. >> he's a prince. >> he is a prince for heaven's sake. great delivery, very smooth, comfort hear his voice, i thought he did great. >> i'm hoping and we'll see how it goes i'm hoping you will do the forecast for news a british accent. >> i will do the very best i possibly can to give you a forecast that sounds a little royal for you. but he needs to keep his job, he has a good gig, i don't think he needs to get in metereology. >> a good start for him. >> you bet. >> that was fun. same sex marriage front and center. the president gave his endorsement while he said it was a personal decision it could have public consequences. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere, is always headed somewhere. to give it a sense of direction, at&t created a mobile asset solution to protect and track everything. so every piece of equipment knows where it is, how it's doing or where it goes next. ♪ this is the bell on the cat. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ welcome back. the issue of same sex marriage jumped front and center this week with two landmark events. a vote in north carolina where voters approved a measure that banned same sex marriage and civil unions, plus president obama, just a day later with this. >> at a certain point i've just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think same sex couples should be able to get married. >> we're focusing on same sex marriage this morning and here's a look back how the issue has played out across the country over the past few decades. >> we start our look back at same sex marriage in illinois. in 1962, the land of lincoln became the first state to decriminalize private homosexual acts between consenting adults. the 1970s saw a slew of state court cases aimed at same sex marriage. the first in minnesota in 1971. a couple sued for the right to marry but lost the case. in 1984 the traditionally progressive city of berkeley, california was the first to approve equal benefits for couples in same sex domestic partnerships. a pre-cursor to same sex marriages. 12 years later in 1996, president bill clinton signed a law on same sex marriage, defense of marriage act. set the federal definition of marriage between a man and woman. but it also confirmed the right of each state to make its own policy. >> i believe historically for 200 something years marriage has been a question left to the states and religious institutions. i still think that is where it belongs. >> massachusetts was the first to act. in 2004, shortly after a state supreme court ruling, it became the first state to allow same sex marriage. and call it marriage. governor mitt romney opposed the move. >> less than a year after i took office the state's supreme court inexplicably found a right to same sex marriage in the constitution written by john adams. i presume he would be surprised. >> four years later, california became the largest and highest profile state to legalize same sex marriages. but that would only last a few months. in november of 2008, voters approved proposition 8 which banned same sex marriage. court challenges followed and this past february, an appeals court ruled prop 8 was unconstitutional. but same sex marriages in the state are still on hold until the supreme court rules. that leaves new york as the biggest state to allow same sex marriages. the state's legislature approved the move in mid-summer. now, after maryland and washington state approves same sex marriages this year, though the laws haven't taken effect yet, when they do, there will be eight states and district of columbia that allow same sex marriages. we will have much more on this divisive issue throughout the morning. next hour we'll look at political side of the debate and see how the president's support could play with voters in november. beach goers scream for help as a huge shark attacks a tourist. wait until you hear the dramatic 911 call. (spoken in mandarin) i've still got hours of battery life. it's an ultrabook. you bring great shame upon this coffee hut. with a long-lasting ultrabook, everything else seems old fashioned. ultrabook. inspired by intel. >> announcer: this is the day. the day that we say to the world of identity thieves "enough." we're lifelock, and we believe you have the right to live free from the fear of identity theft. our pledge to you? as long as there are identity thieves, we'll be there. we're lifelock. and we offer the most comprehensive identity theft protection ever created. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. good morning, san francisco. hope you're waking up with us here on "weekend early start," we're glad you're with us. grab some coffee, stick around a little bit we have a great show on tap this morning. we're looking at stories making headlines across the country now. chaos in florida as paramedics rushed to help a woman attacked by a shark. >> what bit her? what bit her? >> a shark. >> it's a shark bite? >> yes it is, it's huge, ma'am. >> the woman has undergone surgery but will be several days before she can leave the hospital. experts say by the size of the bite it was likely a bull shark, or a tiger shark. they emphasize shark attacks are very rare. in new mexico, police say a man was drunk when he drove on a horse track and yes, he started doing laps. the suspect told police he wanted to drive like he was in nascar. he didn't even stop when the police were chasing him. martin mcdonald is charged with driving under the influence and trespassing. in atlanta, a kindergartener made an unassisted triple play during a youth baseball game. 6-year-old ross has really made his dad proud. >> bases loaded, no outs, we were just praying the ball would be hit to the right kids and they hit it pop up to ross, he snagged it, ran to third base to get the force out from the runner and turned to look to see what was going on second, and basically dove and tagged the runner out coming from second and that was it, triple play. >> you caught the ball, what did you think? >> i was happy, and excited. >> did you think i can get a triple play? >> yes. i can do it every day. >> wow, confident. so you know how rare it is, there are only 15 recorded unassisted triple plays in pro baseball, since 1909. sign that kid up for the majors! this mother's day weekend i want to introduce to you a woman who made a big difference in the lives of children after losing her 16-year-old son in a drowning accident. meet cnn hero wanda butts, started a non-prove foyt tea-- nop-profit to teach minority kids to swim. >> just went to spend the night with friends. had no clue they were coming to bird lake. about here is where josh was, where the raft capsized. and he went down. very hard for me to believe that just like that, my son had drowned and he was gone. my father instilled in us the fear of water and so i in turn didn't take my son around water. children don't have to drown. my name is wanda butts. i save lives by providing swimming lessons and water safety skills. jacob kendrick. >> african american children are three times more likely to drown than white children. that's where we started the josh project. to educate families about the importance of being water-safe. >> at that time ring, throw it at the victim. >> many parents don't know how to swim. >> he was afraid of the water. the first in my family to learn how to swim. he has come a long way from not liking water in his face, to getting ducked under. >> feel better, do you like it? all right! i'm so happy to see whso many o them learned how to swim. one job! that is one life we saved. takes me back to josh and how the tragedy was turned into triumph and makes me happy. >> remember, cnn heros are all chos friend people you tell us about. if you know someone like wanda, making a difference, go to cnnheros.com. your nomination could help them