0 curtain, talking about d.c. versus obama. talking about the fact that there was not a reservoir of goodwill for the president with the democratic friends and allies around town. his political fortunes are no longer tied with democrats who are being more critical of him. and the press corps, has gotten beaten up for being pro-obama, soft on obama. at the same time the white house was complaining to us. they have no incentive to go easy, either. >> mike allen politico. lost in the stories is surprising budget news. the nation's federal deficit is shrinking faster than anticipated. the cbo expects a deficit for the 2013 fiscal year. it's more than $200 billion lower than the previous estimate just three months ago. the adjustment reflects new revenue, thanks from changes in tax laws and increase in payments from fannie mae and freddie mac. the cbo's current projection would mark the lowest deficit yet under president obama. another u.s. service member assigned to a military sexual assault program under investigation for sexual misconduct. the pentagon says a u.s. army sergeant could face charges for solicitation abusive sexual contact, assault and treatment of subordinate. the soldier allegedly forced one subordinate soldier into prostitution and physically assaulted two others. the report comes a week after an air force lieutenant colonel working in the sexual assault prevention office was arrested and accused of sexual battery. a day after being convicted for some of the worst crimes you can imagine, dr. kermit gosnell has avoided life in prison. he was found guilty of the deaths of three babies at his abortion facility. under a deal with prosecutors, the 72-year-old will spend the rest of his life in prison, while giving up his right to an appeal. now, to business. the dow and the s&p logging fresh highs yesterday, mostly led by gains in the financial sector. this is an impressive streak for the dow. the 18th-consecutive tuesday that the index has posted gains. i guess you want to buy on tuesday mornings. let's get more of the headlines with geoff in london. france in recession. germany growth is weak. give us a sense of how bad it is. >> we're taking the gloss off the market run in europe. we had a weak print on the french economy for the first quarter. they're in recession, effectively. about half an hour ago, we got a look at the eurozone and the e.u. numbers. and they are weak, as well. so, at the moment, no real evidence that europe is able to overcome in stagnating growth that's coming from this battle against governments that have spent too much. so, austerity around the euro area is driving growth lower here. and we are weak on our equity markets, as well. remains to be seen if some of this takes the shine off the u.s. session when you guys get started a little later on in the trading day. >> corporate and consumer news. boeing, they're putting the dreamliner problems behind them. how and much cash is airlines making off our checked bags? >> the dreamliner back in the air. we've seen qatar airway was resuming flights. the other airlines will run through checks. we don't see many of the planes getting back in the air until june. the airlines are really able to stick it to us consumers, aren't they? $6 billion worth of what they call ancillary charges for 2012. that's the highest level we've ever seen from the airline sector. they are working out ways to get money out of our pockets, my friend. >> yes, they are. >> alongside that ticket to travel. back to you. >> $3.5 billion in checked bags alone. you have to gary it on and gate check it. it's a nightmare. geoff, appreciate it. finally, if you take one medicine to sleep you may start taking a little less of it. the fda okayed lower dosages for the drug sold as ambien. according to the findings extended release versions of the drug can stay longer in a patient's system. people who take the drug shouldn't drive the whole next day. i think a lot of people have been driving while impaired by ambien. with controversy swirling on washington, d.c., we want to know your top three political scandals. my top three, the florida recount. clinton/lewinsky. the number one, the iran-contra scandal. and the reason for it, it's my first memory of political scandal. my first political anything was the hostage crisis. that wasn't so much a political scandal to me. it was a foreign policy. that's why i chose it as number one. you can post yours on twitter. the #tooearlytop3. we'll read the best responses later on the show. still ahead, dangers of the dome. or the roof or the ceiling. i don't know what you want to call it at tropicana field. whether it cost the red sox a victory. and when christie met harry. should be a good sitcom. we'll hear what the governor thought of the prince later. that story and a check on weather. when "way too early" comes right back. hi! i'm rach.