
Americans Olympians are just weeks away from their shot at gold in London this summer. That includes the women's soccer team, but for one player, physical training is only half of the battle.
Abby Wambach is fighting a mental battle after the break heard around the world. Before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Wambach was hurt in on-field collision in the final warm-up match, breaking her leg in two places.
But that was then, this is now. The women's team is looking strong and setting its focus on Japan, the team that blocked the American girls from clinching the 2011 World Cup. Wambach talks with Ashleigh Banfield on "Early Start" this morning about her dream of winning the gold this summer.
Wambach is also working with Arnold and Oroweat breads to inspire healthy living and eating. By going to Facebook.com/arnoldandoroweatbread you can win a clinic with Abby and learn more.
You may not know it, but there may be more CNN anchor influences in the new HBO show "The Newsroom" than you'd think.
On Monday night, "Early Start" co-host Ashleigh Banfield and CNN Business Correspondent Christine Romans attended the highly anticipated premiere of "The Newsroom." It's the newest project from screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, best known for his work on the TV show "The West Wing" and the movie "The Social Network."
Though Sorkin has insisted that his lead character in the show is not based on any specific news anchor, he did admit to Christine that the show's financial reporter was loosely based on her.
"He said, look, none of these characters are based on anyone. Except there's you in the Olivia Munn character. And he said now she'll grow on you," Romans says on "Starting Point" this morning. "I said, wait a minute, what is that supposed to mean, am I not going to like her? Is she's like crazy and socially inept? He said no, no, no, she always goes back to markets and the money. How every story is about the markets and the money. And who has the money and who needs the money and wants the money and how people are trying to get the money. And he said 'I've been watching you for years and that's what you always talk about.' It was really, really flattering."
Christine wasn't the only one whose work influenced the show. Ashleigh, a long-time friend of Sorkin's, admits she helped him work through early concepts of the show.
"One of his first questions was, 'Walk me through it. How does the whole thing start on a big breaking news story?' I said it doesn't start like you think it starts. It's an organic thing," Banfield says. She explained to Sorkin the chain of events that would lead to a big story getting covered by a news network, like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. She says she provided him with at least 40 pages of notes on what it's like to work in news to help Sorkin shape the show.
You can see Ashleigh and Christine's contributions yourself when "The Newsroom" premieres on HBO this Sunday, June 24th at 10pm.
In the mean time, here are some photos from the premiere party last night. Of course, Piers Morgan had to jump in there for some of the fun!
Jill Dougherty on the outcome from the G-20 summit and how leaders plan to shore up the global economy.
Mayan calendar says six months until world ends, Alec Baldwin's photog scuffle & double amputee climbs Kilimanjaro.
Susan Candiotti on Jerry Sandusky's possible testimony in the last day of the defense case in his child sex abuse trial.
Everyone's waiting on the Fed this morning. Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke will hold a news conference this afternoon at 2:15pm ET in Washington. What is Wall Street hoping to hear to stabilize and stimulate the economy? Christine Romans explains what is in the Fed's tool box that could be discussed.
With just 38 days until the 2012 London Olympics, top competitors are likely doing everything they can to be ready to win for the U.S.
One of the top U.S. competitors is Misty May-Treanor. She and her teammate Kerri Walsh-Jennings have dominated beach volleyball since the 2004 Olympics, leaving the competition eating sand. She's won two Olympic medals and she's trying now to win her third.
Misty May-Treanor talks to Zoraida on "Early Start" on the challenges she faces at the 2012 London Olympics.

