or your buck. in the top three of return on investment for college, caltech and stevens institute of technology. they have a focus on engineering. study up. that french major. >> my kids are on a snow day today. they will be doing algebra. "early start" continues right now. >> a u.s. ambassador attacked in south korea. slashed in the face before a speech. what motivate the attack? and the latest on the ambassador's condition. we are live. there is a monster storm hitting 90 million people from texas all the way to the northeast. thousands of flights canceled. roads everywhere just a mess. we will tell you what you need to know. >> michael brown's parents set to respond to the federal investigation that cleared the

police officer that killed their son. i'm christine romans. welcome to "early start." >> i'm john berman. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. >> are you out of salt? >> i'm out of everything. this morning, the u.s. ambassador to south korea is recovering from surgery. he was attacked. he was slashed in the face in seoul overnight. the ambassador mark lippert. you see the dramatic pictures. he was preparing to give a speech when he was attacked. the surgery to repair the four-inch wound in his face was successful. the police have a suspect in custody. we have correspondent andrew stevens tracking the latest. >> reporter: good morning, john. mark lippert was the guest at korean council for reconciliation. what we know was before he was due to give a speech he was an

approached by kim kei jong. he started shouting the maneuvers between the u.s. and south korea must stop. this is the report. he then assaulted the ambassador. as you say, the ambassador receiving some very very nasty wounds indeed. not life threatening. a gash to the right side of his face and a gash to his left forearm. needing 80 stitches in the facial wound. he is able to walk from that room. the assailant was wrestled to the ground at the meeting by people. mr. lippert was able to walk to a car. he was taken to hospital. he is still in hospital. he is expected to be there for a couple more days. if the facial wound was deeper it could have been life threatening. kim kei jong has a previous

conviction. he was given a two-year suspended sentence in 2010 after he threw a lump of concrete at the japanese ambassador to the south korean republican. there is some indication there of this man's motives. he is also stated as a person of unpredictable behavior. mr. lippert putting on a brave face. he tweeted not that long ago from the hospital bed. he hasn't lost his sense of humor. he tweeted on behalf of himself, his wife and son and dog. in the tweet, he said he is deeply moved by the support he had gotten from the people of south korea. i will be back asap to advance u.s.-rok alliance. the wording is let's work together. he is a man ready to get back on the job. he has been contacted by the u.s. president. they are close, those two, john. the president making sure he is

okay. >> mark lippert had been a long-time supporter of president obama. worked in his senate office. andrew stevens, thank you. i appreciate it. we wish the ambassador a speedy recovery. >> we hope they look at security. when you think of the ambassadors and diplomats around the world. four minutes past the hour. overnight storm slamming much of the nation. up to another foot of snow expected from texas to the northeast. nearly 90 million people under a winter watch or warning or advisory. >> the weather having a serious impact on travel. look at that board. ugly. cancellations everywhere. more than 2,000 flights already canceled today. that number is going to go up look at the situation outside boston. maybe not as bad as they feared. still bad enough considering that more than 8 feet of snow has already fallen there. they are two inches away from setting an all-time record. this is what it looked like in fall river massachusetts. you can see the weight of all

that snow and water on roofs. the collapsed roof at the shell station. snow and ice paving the roads in ohio. it made for a messy travel when snow started falling overnight. cars stuck in the street. some people forced to push their vehicle off the road. >> sleet, heavy snow in southern indiana. you can see it right there. forecasters say up to a foot of new snow could be on the ground there by this morning. schools have been shutdown. businesses closed. man. >> west virginia has severe weather and it is prompting allegean emergency declaration. the latest storm could dump up to 8 inches of snow on that state. >> virginia dealing with dangerous flood conditions. the snow and all that is melting and heavy rains. a lot of the state is under water. emergency responders using rafts to try to rescue people trapped. how bad will this thing get? meteorologist derek van dam is tracking it for us.

>> john and christine, consider in that over 90 million americans are under a watch, warning or advisory you can imagine this is going to somehow negatively impact thursday's commute. look how expansive this storm is from mexico to texas through the mid-atlantic states. a temperature contrast with the cold front as well. very warm moist air across the southeastern u.s. that cutoff across the tennessee river valley. of course cold enough for all snowfall to the north near louisville, kentucky. temperatures range in the lower 20s. to the mid-20s. the ice potential today, not looking too good for the i-40 corridor. stretching anywhere from mississippi through tennessee and all the way to west virginia. we have the possibility of .25 to .50 of ice. we have up to a foot of snow in some locations. lesser amounts for new york city and the nation's capital. look at the temperature

contrast. louisville kentucky through jacksonville florida. new york city your temperatures are taking a nose dive as well. back to you. thank you, derek. the family of the unarmed black teen whose death setoff days of unrest in ferguson. we will hear their reaction to a justice department decision not to bring criminal charges against the officer who shot their son michael brown. brown's family will have something to say about the justice department report. 102 pages. a document details discrimination against african-americans in the city of ferguson and by the city and by the police department. cnn's sara sidner is in ferguson with the latest. >> reporter: ferguson mayor responding to the scathing report by the department of justice. the doj highlighting blacks during traffic stops and arrests and tickets. the doj says it seems the

department and city were more concerned about gets revenue than about public safety and that black folks paid the highest price. >> a community where local authorities consistently approached law enforcement, not as a means of protecting public safety but as a way to generate revenue. a community where both policing and municipal court practices were found to be disproportionately harmful to african-american residents. >> reporter: the population is 67% black, at least 85% of those who were pulled over for traffic violations arrested or ticketed were black. the department of justice pointing out it is the toxic background that was around and helped create what happened after michael brown was killed by officer darren wilson. the doj did not find enough evidence to charge darren wilson with any civil rights violations. he was not indicted by a grand jury either. however, the police chief and

some others inside of that department may have to pay the piper. the doj talking about e-mails, including racist e-mails sent by the department. we do now know that the mayor has responded to those who have sent those e-mails. >> this type of behavior will not be tolerated in the ferguson police department or any department in the city of ferguson. immediately upon leaving that meeting, the three individuals were placed on administrative leave pending investigation. one has since been terminated. >> reporter: a source close to the investigation said the two others on leave will no longer work for the department. john. sara sidner thank you. breaking overnight, hillary clinton calling for the release of her state department e-mails. this comes after the e-mails were subpoenaed by a house committee investigating the attack on the consulate in benghazi. the former secretary of state tweeted this in the dead of night. i want the public to see my e-mail. i asked the state to release

them. they will review them for release as soon as possible. republicans also subpoenaed e-mails that mrs. clinton stored on a private server on operated out of her new york home. the state department is looking into mrs. clinton's use of the personal e-mail account. she did not have a state department e-mail account when she served. secretary of state john kerry arriving in saudi arabia off the latest round of nuclear talk was iran. he is there to ease concerns. those in sunni saudi arabia are nervous about any deal with the shi'ite arabians. kerry is expected to discuss the unrest in yemen with the king salman. the white house is warning the supreme court that the fate of health care for millions of americans is in its hands this morning. the justices heard arguments on the meaning of the four-word clause that has the potential to undo a huge part of obamacare. the white house is trying to

make sure the court is clear on the stakes. >> we would see millions of people lose their health insurance. we would see prices would likely go through the roof and there's not a lot frankly the government can do about it other than congress passing legislation to fix it. >> cnn's pamela brown has more from washington. >> reporter: good morning, john. it was a sharply divided court along ideological lines during the latest affordable care act oral arguments. what happened here is important. the stakes are very high. if the justices rule in favor of the plaintiffs it could derail the affordable care act. you have to look at the law as a whole and context. you cannot look at the four words at the center of the debate established by the state. the justices said it would be a

death spiral if subsidies were taken away from americans in the 34 states with the federally run exchange. on the other side the conservative justices says it focused on the four words established by the state. it makes it clear that is what the law intended. it did not intend for people in the state was federally run exchange for subsidy. chief justice roberts did not have a lot to say. as we know he upheld the constitutionality of the affordable care act years ago. all eyes were on him to see which direction he was leaning. he did not want to tip his hand. ultimately it could come down to his vote or justice kennedy. he was asking questions favorable to both sides. it remains a mystery as to how the justices are going to rule and it is bound to be a close

case. pamela thank you. time for an early start on your money. asian stocks mostly lower. china lowered the growth target from 7.5% to 7%. that is still pretty good. that's not as much as the world expected. european shares are optimistic. waiting to hear from the european central bank. u.s. stock futures barely moving right now. we will see if the stocks can break the two-day losing streak. s&p pulling back. we are in the middle here of the six-year bull run has that been remarkable. coming soon to wall street. homemade crafts and jewelry. online marketplace etsy filed the ipo yesterday. hoping to raise $100 million. 1.4 million people use the web site. etsy does not make a profit. it is a brand that maybe you heard about. >> all of my jewelry, i make

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golf. great. how about over tennis? even better. a game changer! the ready for you alert, only at laquinta.com. day two of testimony at the trial of accused boston marathon bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev. on opening day, jurors saw graphic images and heard witnesses describe the scene near the marathon finish line. before that during opening statements the defense admitted that tsarnaev took part in the bombing. admitted it. revealing a window into the strategy for saving tsarnaev from the death penalty.

let's get more from alexandra field. >> reporter: christine and john the start of the trial with emotional testimony. one video that resonated inside the courtroom was taken from surveillance video in a running store on boylston street. it is recorded at the time of the explosion. you see a panel of glass blown out of the window. people running to take cover. the manager of the store seen in the videos grabbing clothes off the rack and using the clothes to make tourniquets and helping those on boylston street on the day of the marathon. they paint tsarnaev as a self radicalized extremist with a plan to carry out with his brother. he faces 30 charges. 17 of the charges come with a possible death sentence. in a move that may have surprised some in the courtroom,

the defense made their opening statements conceding to the vast majority of the facts of the case. yes, in fact their client, the defendant dzhokhar tsarnaev was the man behind the attack. the case they will make the place they differ from the argument being made by the federal government is what motivated dzhokhar tsarnaev. they say this is a young man preyed upon by his older brother. the mastermind of the plot. this is trying to build measure for sympathy for tsarnaev. they feel that is key for the sentencing phase of the trial and if the jurors could choose the death sentence here. >> very hard for the families there. a 17-year-old virginia student accused of being a recruiter for isis. the unidentified teen was taken into custody last week. he is charged as a juvenile but prosecutors want him tried as an

adult. the suspect helped a man travel to syria where it is believed he successfully joined isis. in a separate case a california man trying to board a plane for turkey with a fake passport. more testimony on the stand today for the trial of former nfl star aaron hernandez. the judge ruled evidence hernandez was involved in a shooting with a friend in florida a few months before odin lloyd was killed. that evidence would not be admissible in the case. hernandez is accused of shooting odin lloyd fatally in 2013. he is back. i'm talking about the most significant new york yankee of the last decade. he is back in uniform. he saw his first game action in more than a year. andy scholes will have all of the glorifying details in the bleacher report next.

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you know it has been an unusual basketball season. something remarkable going on right now that you have to see. russell westbrook recorded his third straight double-double. >> andy scholes has more in the bleacher report. >> good morning. this run by westbrook has been nothing short of amazing. the first player to have four straight triple-doubles since michael jordan in 1989. in case you did not know what a

triple-double is. double digits in three categories. westbrook scored 49 points a career high 16 rebounds to go along with 17 assists. with this recent stretch of performances westbrook is quickly becoming a front runner for the mvp. alex rodriguez made his long awaited return to the yankees. in the first at bat, he singled to left field. after that he grounded out and a walk. a-rod missed last season for serving a suspension for using performance enhancing drugs. >> it was exciting. emotional to be honest with you. i'm just happy to put the ball in play a couple times. a dream come true to be back in pin stripes. i'm thankful for the opportunity. it looks like peyton manning

is choosing a possible super bowl ring over $4 million. manning agreed to a $4 million pay cut to give them flexibility. he will make $15 million instead of $19 million. manning will have a chance to pick that up with bonuses. rockets and grizzlies. a fan had a chance at a half-court shot. one of the workers at the toyota center carried him off the court. here is another look. the rockets were robbed of a win. james harden got hacked on the way to the basket. i'm upset about it. as you know. i'm a houston rockets fan. he was mad. >> maybe that guy who hit the

half-court shot and got the money, can lend some to peyton manning. >> no doubt. >> pay cut down to $15 million. poor peyton manning. >> $4 million in pizzas every year. >> andy scholes, great to see you. 26 minutes after the hour. a knife-wielding man attacking the american ambassador in south korea. you see it there. his face slashed as he was about to give a speech. what was behind the attack? that's next. the lather, even the tiny bubbles of a johnson's® bath are helping to enhance the experience. the touch of your hands is stimulating her senses. nurturing her mind. and helping her development. so why just clean your baby when you can give her... so much more™? johnson's®. so much more™. meet the world's newest energy superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one

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an american ambassador attacked with a knife. slashed in the face while giving

a speech. we are live with who was behind the violence and we will tell you how the ambassador is doing. from texas to the northeast millions of us facing a monster winter storm. schools closing, flights canceled. and a damning report for ferguson missouri. federal investigators find a pattern of discrimination in the police force, but they still found no evidence to charge officer darren wilson for killing unarmed teenager michael brown. no evidence to say he was any different than darren wilson said it was. reaction from the family. welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. the u.s. ambassador to south korea is recovering from a knife attack in seoul. ambassador mark lippert slashed in the face as he prepared to give a speech. the surgery to repair the

four-inch facial wound was successful. we have international correspondent andrew stevens tracking latest from hong kong. the ambassador was slashed on the face and forearm. a lot of stitches to close the wounds. what do we know this morning? >> reporter: that is right, christine. 80 stitches on his face alone. nearly three hours to close the wounds. this was considered a low security event. the u.s. embassy not asking for additional security. mr. lippert was going to the korean council of reconciliation. he was sitting there waiting to give a speech early in the morning. a breakfast meeting. he was approached and assaulted by a korean man yelling anti-u.s. south korean military drill slogans. he was against them. he violently attacked the

ambassador. he slashed him in the face with a ten-inch knife. the pictures show the ambassador calm. he left the auditorium. he was helped out, but he did not need any help to walk to a car. he went to hospital. he was speaking to the surgeon at the hospital. nearly three hours of operations to close up the wounds. what we know christine, at this stage, he is a 55-year-old an saillient salient. he is known to police. he also has a record. in 2010 he was given a suspended two--year sentence because he threw a lump of concrete at the japanese ambassador to south korea. he was charged and given that suspended sentence. not particularly a high security event. there was no expectations of anything like this could happen. mr. lippert is putting on a brave and humorous face.

he is tweeting about the event. tweeting in his name his wife and son and family dog. i'm deeply moved by the support i got from koreans. we will be back as soon as possible to advance u.s.-rok alliance. the south korean president park saying this is important on the relationship and military relationship as well. >> the president of the united states andrew reaching out to his ambassador. they go way back. they are friends from when the president was senator. andrew stevens, thanks for that. 34 minutes after the hour. this overnight storm, it's not over. >> i can't take it. >> hitting from texas all the way up to the northeast. including new jersey.

hometown of christine romans. 90 million people under serious series of winter watches and advisories. >> the weather is doing a number on travel. if you have a flight today, check with your carrier. you probably don't have a flight today. already some 2,000 flights grounded. that number will continue to rise. the snow he is falling hard outside of boston. the region buried under 8 feet of snow in just over 2 inches away from setting the all-time record. the scene playing out just as the storm started. look at the roof. the roof of the shell station collapsing in fall river. >> snow and ice all over the roads in ohio. cars stuck in the street. they cannot move on their own accord. they need human beings to push them off the road. that car's not going anywhere. >> sleet and snow across southern indiana. forecasters say up to a foot of new snow could be on the ground there this morning. the storm shutting down schools and forcing businesses to close.

severe weather hitting west virginia prompting a declaration of emergency from the governor. the flooding is the biggest storm. the latest could dump 8 inches of snow on west virginia. >> virginia dealing with heavy rains and melting snow left the state under water. emergency responders are using rafts to reach people trapped in their homes. >> this storm is dangerous for drivers this morning. it is leaving a lot of kids at home. when is this all going to stop? meteorologist derek van dam tracking the latest. that's right, john and christine. it will be a messy thursday morning commute anywhere from dallas texas through the tennessee river valley all the way to the big apple. you don't need to be a meteorologist to see that cutoff divide with our cold front. warm moist air to the south and east with the changeover of precipitation taking place across tennessee and into kentucky. we have over 90 million people under some sort of winter storm watch, warning or advisory

today. you can see we are expecting up to a foot of snowfall in some locations. be careful traveling along the i-40 corridor. lesser amounts to the nation's capital and new york city. treacherous travel conditions possible across interstate 95. upwards of .25 to .50 of ice possible with the storm. anywhere from louisiana to mississippi and into west virginia. new york city your temperatures take a nose dive with snowfall expected throughout the course of the day. look at the temperature contrast. jacksonville florida, compared to chicago. upwards of 70 degrees. back to you. derek, thanks for that. the family of the unarmed black teenager whose shooting death by police setting off unrest in ferguson, missouri is set to speak out at a news conference in ferguson. for the first time we hear their reaction to the justice department decision not to bring criminal charges against the officer darren wilson who shot michael brown. the evidence does not support bringing any charges at all.

michael brown's family will also no doubt have something to say about the blistering report from the justice department. the 102-page document which states discrimination by the police department in ferguson missouri. we have new reaction from the mayor of that city. sara sidner is in ferguson. >> reporter: ferguson mayor responding to the scathing report by the department of justice. the doj highlighting issues they say that blacks were unfairly targeted. especially during traffic stops and arrests and tickets. the doj saying it seems the department and city were more concerned about getting revenue than public safety and black folks paid the highest price. >> the community where local authorities approached law enforcement not as a means for protecting public safety but as a way to generate revenue. a community where policing and

municipal court practices were found to be disproportionally harmful to african-americans. >> reporter: the population is 67% black, at least 85% of those pulled over for traffic violations or arrested or ticketed were black. the department of justice pointing out that it is that toxic background that was around and helped create what happened after michael brown was killed by officer darren wilson. the doj did not find enough evidence to charge darren wilson with any civil rights violation. he was not indicted by a grand jury either. however, the police chief and others in the department may have to pay the piper. the doj talking about e-mails, including e-mails that were sent by the department. we do now know. >> the police department or any

department. immediately upon leaving that meeting, the three individuals were put on administrative leave pending investigation. one has since been terminated. >> reporter: a source close to the investigation says the three on leave will no longer work for the department. sara sidner thank you. time for an early start on your money. asian stocks lower. china lowered the growth target from 7.5% to 7%. >> suffering. >> the new normal chinese officials say the slower rate for chinese growth. european shares are optimistic from the european central bank. u.s. stock futures are not moving much. very close to record highs. a six-year very profitable bull run for the market. big corporate story. mcdonald's banning chicken treated with antibiotics. mcdonald's is one of the largest buyers of chicken in the u.s.

this could change how chicken is produced and consumed more broadly. not all antibiotics are banned. mcdonald's under huge pressure to improve the quality of food and slumping sales. this is all about antibiotic resistant bacteria. you look at the food produced and drugs fed to the animals that produce the food we eat. it is affecting human health. many people say. >> and mcdonald's is such a consumer and buyer of chicken. >> you know, they need the millennial audience. when you become more healthy or perceived to be more healthy. 41 minutes after the hour. dramatic video of the boston marathon bombing. that as we learn surprisingly to many people the strategy that the defense will use to try to avoid the death penalty of dzhokhar tsarnaev.

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>> reporter: christine, john the start of the trial marked by emotional testimony from the victims. graphic images and videos never seen before. one video resonated in the courtroom from the running store on boylston street. you can see the panel of glass blown out of the window. people from the street run into the store to take cover. at the same time we heard testimony from the manager of the store who said he was the one in the videos grabbing clothes off the rack and running outside to use the clothes to make tourniquets and triage some of the people on boylston street on the marathon. the prosecution made opening statement laying out the charges against dzhokhar tsarnaev. they paint him as a self radicalized extremist bent on attacking america. a man with a plot he carried out along with his brother. he faces 30 charges. 17 of the charges come with a possible death sentence. in a move by the defense,

opening statements conceding to the vast majority of the facts of the case. their client, dzhokhar tsarnaev was the man behind the attack. they will say the place they differ from the argument made by the federal government is the motivation dzhokhar tsarnaev. they say this is a young man preyed upon by his older brother. the true mastermind of the plot. the plan for the defense is to build some measure of sympathy for tsarnaev. they feel that will be key to the sentencing phase of the trial. christine. >> alexandra field, thank you. new progress in the fight to take back a key iraqi city from isis. we are live with the latest developments after the break. and you're talking to your rheumatologist about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain

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this morning, iraqi forces reportedly making progress in a major offensive operation to retake the city of tikrit from isis. iraqis set to take the city from five directions. this as isis releases a new propaganda video.

that video aimed at including recruits to join isis in the fight. senior correspondent nic robertson following the latest for us. nic. >> reporter: the latest from the front is that it is going relatively well. villages have been taken. tikrit not just strategically important, but because it is to the north of mosul. it is if you will the part of the government would see the sunni resistance against the government. this is the birth place of the former president saddam hussein. it is important on many levels. they are saying they are attacks from five sides. the tribe getting isis from getting in. the potential of problems of ieds. i think if we look at the recent track record of the iraqi army taking quite an amount of time to take a percentage of that

village al bagdadi in the west of the country. taking a long long long time to take control of the oil refinery to the north of where they are tikrit. success here is not expected to happen overnight. part of the success will come in the composition of the 30,000 troops involved. it is not just iraqi army. shi'a militias but significantly some sunni tribesmen fighting alongside the government forces there. why is that important? because this is a sunni heartland area. unless there are sunni elements on the government's side, this is perceived as a sectarian fight. certainly there are sectarian elements on the ground. we have seen them in the iraqi army. that is a concern for human rights organizations. that the fear of retribution. for the iraqi army here, they saw isis back in june single out

and kill 1,700 shi'a government forces by the sunni group isis. there's a lot at stake here psychologically and cohesively. can the government be seen as non sectarian on this? >> important, important point. nic robertson. thank you. 54 minutes past the hour. college tuition soaring. which schools give you the most bang for your buck. the best return on your education investment. an early start on your money is next. to actively uncover, discuss and debate investment opportunities. which leads to better decisions for our clients. it's a uniquely collaborative approach you won't find anywhere else. put our global active management expertise to work for you. mfs. there is no expertise without collaboration.

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let's get an early start on your money this thursday morning. u.s. stock futures up slightly. trying to break a two-day losing streak.

dow fell 106 points yesterday. s&p also down. here is some important perspective. six years ago, stocks hit bottom. since then the stock market has climbed 210%. tuition and student debt levels are soaring. so students need a good return on that hefty investment. anccording to pay scale, harvey mudd gives you the best bang for your buck. also in the top three. caltech and stevens institute of technology. they all have a heavy focus on engineering. a u.s. ambassador attacked with a knife. new details on how he a recovering after a knife attack. >> the host country is

responsible for the security of the ambassador. hillary clinton speaking out. >> she wants the public to see her emails. >> for some reason she thinks that those emails are hers. over 90 million americans are under some sort of winter storm watch, warning or advisory. >> the roads look pretty bad. darren wilson will not face federal civil rights violations. >> i'm outraged you're targeting people. >> ferguson police officers routinely violate the fourth amendment amendment. good morning, welcome to your "new day," it is thursday march 5th 6:00 in the east alisyn is on assignment john berman joins us this morning. the u.s. ambassador to south korea slashed in a bloody knife attack. adding insult to injury north korea state media saying he deserved punishment calling it

a knife shower of justice for military drills the u.s. is conducting with south korea. ambassador john lippert was preparing to give a lecture after a man attacked him. >> he received 80 inches to close a four-inch gash to his face as well as cuts to his arm and hand. our coverage begins with andrew stevens live in hong kong. andrew? >> michaela this was supposed to be a pretty routine start to routine day for the u.s. ambassador to south korea. he was about to give the speech to a commission on peaceful reunification. he became the victim of a vicious and apparently politically motivated attack. a horrifying scene blood