1:00 eastern, some washington grade schoolers reciting martin luther king jr.'s i have a dream speech. he faces six criminal counts, alleging he misused campaign funds to hide an extramarital affair. then the president and first lady host members of the famous airmen. they'll be joined by the movie red tails for a screening at the white house. that does it for us. hope you have a great weekend. suzanne malveaux is taking on from here. happy friday. >> thank goodness. friday 13th, though. >> why did you have to say something? >> good luck with that. >> live from studio 7, i'm suzanne malveaux. want to get you up to speed. happening this hour. president obama rolling out his plan to make the federal government leaner and meaner. the president will ask congress for the power to shrink the government by merging six agencies. he's expected to speak around

11:20 eastern. going to bring you the remarks live. and just a week and a day until the south carolina primaries. one of them will be in florida. newt gingrich attends the opening of his campaign headquarters. that's happening this hour. mitt romney speaks in south carolina in the next hour and r rick perry is going to be in bluffton. >> he's made a career out of poking fun at the political process. but now comedian stephen colbert actually talking about running for president himself. it sounds like a joke, but it's no laughing matter. >> i am proud to announce that i'm forming an exploratory

committee to lay the ground work for my possible candidacy for the president of the united states of south carolina. now clearly my fellow south carolinians see me as the only viable mitt-ternative. happening now in peru. this is live pictures. joran van der sloot waiting to find out how many years he's going to send behind bars. a panel of judges is sentencing the confessed killer. this week he pleaded guilty to murdering stephany flores in 2010. van der sloot remains the main suspect in the disappearance of natalee holloway almost seven years ago. the u.s. military is issuing a strong warning to iran. don't miss with the shipping routes in the strait of hormuz. that's the only passage from the persian gulf to the iranian sea. the iranian officials are threatening to close the strait,

choking off the world's oil supply. defense secretary leon panetta says it would be crossing a red line. >> we cannot allow them to develop a nuclear weapon. that's a red line. number two, we cannot tolerate iran blocking the strait of hormuz. that's a red line. it happened when the west and japan are all pressuring iran to end the nuclear program. check this out. this is madness. this is crowds lining up to get the new ergs version of the apple iphone.

the store announced in the morning they didn't have any of the new phones. fist throws. one person threw eggs into the store. apple said today the stores in china have already sold out. four quick convicted murders to their newfound freedom and disappeared. therm pardoned by outgoing governor haley barbour and set free. now state officials want to know where they are. >> there will be a national search for them. we'll cap them. it's a matter of the time. >> do you know where they are? we're in contact with their family. local law enforcement. we'll lay hands on them at some point. >> our own ed lavandera is following what could turn into a nationwide man hunt for these guys. ed, this is a little confusing to people, right?

they're behind bars, they're convicted murders. then they're pardoned and set free. then there's a man hunt to get them back. how does this work? >> well, i think the legal minds in mississippi are trying to figure this all out. and they're trying to do whatever they can to figure out a way of slowing this pardon process down. so that's why the attorney general, a democrat there in mississippi asked the judge to make a temporary conjunction. all of that is on hold. five others made it out. including pictures of the four convicted murders ch those people were already released. and they hit the road running. part of this injunction includes a phrase that would require these people to check in while they're out and while the legal fight continues. they've already been let go. the records have been completely

cleared. until they get the paper work and are served with the notice, they don't have to comply. it's not clear they would have to comply since they're not considered criminals anymore. >> can the attorney general or judge send them back to prison if they capture and finds these guys? >> that's the million dollar question in this situation. whether or not these pardons would essentially be revoked. so that's why you're seeing the attorney general. they're trying to find any kind of case law or legal argument to support the case. there's a hearing scheduled on january 23rd. that will be much of what is discussed on that day. >> are there other states, other authorities that are involved in trying to help mississippi track these guys down? >> not that we've heard yet. we heard him mention if they kneel they need more help, they will cast out searches and help from across the country.

so it will be interesting to see what kind of help these pardoned murders are getting from family members, or if the family members are helping authorities keep tabs on where they are while the legal process plays out. >> ed lavandera, thank you, ed. check this out. watch out. space station debris is headed your way now. the international space station is playing a game of orbital dodge ball, chad. what are they dodging here? >> a piece of an old satellite floating around space. you know the thousands of pieces of space junk. and the the russian satellite. the thing was supposed to go to mars months ago. that's going to fall on saturday to the earth. we're going to watch that. that's tomorrow obviously. but this thing is about the size of a coffee cup. they're going to take the shuttle, the iss, and they're going to hit the gas.

you go through it, you lose pressure, the iss is gone and so are the people inside. is there any possibility that if it hits the iss it won't be damaged? or if that thing hits, that's it. we don't know how fast this piece is going. they only found it two days ago. we didn't know it was up there for two days. they're going to push this thing 1,000 feet higher. they deponent have to go into the little capsule. they think this is fine. >> they're able to move it just like that? >> just like that. they're going to send it higher from a signal in russia. >> wow. why don't we have pictures of all of this? first, tensions are rising between the u.s. and iran over this week's killing of a nuclear

scientist and threats to cut off a key oil route. and president obama announcing how he wants to shrink the size of government. set to happen in a few minutes. and then syrians giving a hero's welcome to arab league monitors. also newt gingrich is making a huge jump in the newest poll from south carolina. and apple has egg on its face or at least in the stores after an iphone launched in china. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self?

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these images sparked an international scandal. now the marine corps has interviewed two of the four marines shown urinated on the enemy corporation on an ion line video. so far the military is not releasing their names. but defense secretary leon panetta says the video is troubling him deeply. iran threatens to choke off the world's oil supply and the u.s. military sends a strong warning against that. this is the narrow shippi inpin passage called the strait of hormuz. they say they're going to close it all blocking aup ships into and out of the persian gulf. fred townsend, member of the advisory committee, fran, when you look at the situation and you hear the defense secretary issuing a warning saying there's a red line with iran, don't cross it. are we on the brink of a

military confrontation? >> suzanne, there's no question that there are increasing tensions in the united states. not just over the strait of hormuz. we learn that had the four iranian scientists murdered on iranian soil. we learned the iranian court has convicted and sentenced to death an american former marine accused of spying. remember the retired fbi agent taken into custody? and lastly was the plot against the saudi ambassador to assassinate him in washington, alleged by iran. so there has been a whole set of actions taken. not clear all of these, who they're being taken by, right. but you add to this the threatening to close the straits of hormuz, and you could see

there's a reaction and action for each of these. >> do we think there's an opportunity for them to step back and december escalate the situation? >> absolutely. it's clear the u.s. is trying to do that twice in the last ten days or so. u.s. navy ships have rescued iranian sailors in the persian gulflf. that's all by way of an attempt to try to deescalate, diffuse the situation. but you need a partner on the other side. so the iranians would have to be willing to act in a reasonable way, for example, in the case of the marine who was convicted and sentenced to death. >> let's talk about that partner there because there are reports that say the u.s. is already in secret talks with the supreme leader. so is it possible? is it advisable? can the u.s. talk to iran and work this out diplomatically?

>> there were similar attempts through the swiss channel. they've not been productive thus far. that doesn't mean the current administration shouldn't try. but if that's what they're doing, they do so mindful of the fact that others have tried before them. they've been unsuccessful. but in an effort to avoid overconfrontation one can see why they might want to try to open a dialogue. >> thank you, fran. here's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. what is the growing glass conflict mean for america? carol costello, i haven't seen you forever. it's nice to see you. where you been? >> i've been working on a

special project. but i'm back home in d.c. i'm with my husband and things are good. >> you look happy. that's all we want. tell us about the question. >> it's going to be an us versus them election. many americans don't believe there's a middle class. that's created a rift between the haves and the haves not. in 2011, 66% of americans said there were strong or very strong conflicts between rich and poor. just two years ago only 47% have felt that way. we all know the rich are enjoying bigger paychecks. if we didn't know t democrats remind us all the time. >> times are especially tough right now. they've been tough for a while now. for the better part of a decade we've seen the rich get richer, the poorer get poorer.

the middle class gets squeezed. >> republican mitt romney knows the middle class is hurting, but says the president is adding to the rift between rich and poor by promoting the politics of envy. that's exactly what he's doing. although romney's republican opponent seems to be adding fuel to obama's fire by ripping on wealthy big business types. you know, venture capitalists like mitt romney. >> they're just vultures. they're vultures sitting out there on the tree limb, waiting for the company to get sick. and then they swoop in. they eat the carcass. they leave with that and leave the skeleton. >> rhetoric aside, there's no doubt bitter neness between the classes exist. will it make the problems worse?

what does growing class conflict mean for america? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your responses later this hour. >> you know, carol, it's amazing. we've been covering this all week. the differences between those who are very poor and very rich. and the statistics are startling when you think about one-third of the american people who are now low income. how many people are in poverty. and the likelihood of folks who are in the middle class not likely to actually end their lives in the middle class, but actually take a dip, and things are getting really, really difficult for so many people. >> and, of course, so many people are feeling that, suzanne. and there's a growing bitterness between the classes. we used to admire rich people for what they achieved. in large part we still do. there's a sense that they're taking advantage of the system, you know, and really hurting the middle crass. taking advantage of things. rules within our government to make themselves richer at the expense of the middle class and the poor. that's what i was trying to say.

so interesting to see what, what this conflict between the classes means for america in the future. >> we'll have to see what our viewers think. thank you, carol. great to see you. >> sure. >> republicans call president obama a supporter of big government and big spending. now the president says he wants to shrink the government. live look at his remarks and what it means for our economy. cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be home for a while. [ male announcer ] the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries.

we're waiting to hear from president obama about his plan to shrink the federal government. the president is asking congress for authority to merge federal agencies. starting with commerce and trade agencies. well, for a preview of what to

expect from the president, what it means, want to bring in my friends wolf blitzer in washington. alison kosik of the money team. wolf, i want to start with. he will ask for greater power to shrink the government combining six different agencies. last time he had the power it was under reagan. the goal is to save $3 million over the next ten years. but no mistake that it's happening now during the 2012 campaign season. talk about the politics. gl wrel, the president has been unveiling, almost sometimes on a daily basis, usually on a weekly basis, a bunch of new initiatives designed to see what he can do without necessarily getting normal congressional authorization. it's sort of the out of the bill clinton playbook. i remember covering him in '96 when he had all sorts of what were considered relatively modest initiatives. if you add them up it clearly shows that you're doing

something. in this particular case there's enormous waste in the federal government. there are agencies working on the same issues. they're competing for limited amounts of funds. they have some people working there that basically do nothing. a lot of the government is critical and really important. but there's enormouses ways. this is a relatively modest but important step designed to eliminate the waste. you have so many different international trade organizations working under the department of the government. go ahead. try to consolidate. get the u.s. to increase exports, promote trade. but at the same time, you don't need five different agencies doing it. have one agency. that means some people are going to lose some turf, some power. but it's obviously very, very important. >> and obviously a challenge to the republicans and to congress to do something to get something done during this campaign season. i want to bring in alison now. what could this potentially mean for the economy and the job

market? does it necessarily mean a meaner, leaner government make much difference to the economy? >> it does because you mentioned jobs. that's really where you can see the impact of this merging of these agencies. because when you translate the word leaner, that really means job cuts. what the obama administration says is that you can expect at least 2,000 jobs to be cut through attrition. now attrition is when workers retire or resign or are not replaced. it's a nice way of the saying you're not working here. but the problem here is you get a smaller workforce. the way the economy is now, it's bad timing. 13 million americans are out of work. those people would normally be vying for those government positions when they opened up. so these people may not be laid off outright. but there will be fewer jobs available. you can see an impact on the economy that way. on the other hand, you have $3

billion in savings over the enyears. that's money that could be spent that's being saved instead. suzanne? >> thank you, alison. we're keeping an eye on this. waiting to hear from president obama. his plan is to shrink the federal government by bringing agencies together. mitt romney's business rez may is under fire from his rivals. but some republicans say it's better for him to face these questions now. rather than later. find out why. >> good morning, everybody. please have a seat. welcome to the white house. i see all sorts of small business people here, and i am thrilled to have you here. as small business owners you know as well as anybody that if we're going to rebuild an economy that lasts.

an economy that creates good, middle class jobs, then we're all going to have to up our game. the other day i met with business leaders who are going their part by insourcing. by bringing jobs back to the united states. i told them if you are willing to keep asking yourselves what you can do to bring jobs back, then i'll make sure that you've got a government that helps you succeed. and that's why we're here today. i ran for office pledging to make the government leaner and smarter and more consumer friendly. and from the moment i got here i saw up close what many of you know to be true. the government we have is not the government that we need. we flif alive in a 21st century economy. we have a government organized for the 20th century. our economy has fundamentally changed. as has the world. but our government, our agencies have not.

the needs of our citizens have fundamentally changed. but their government has not. instead, it's often grown more complicated. and sometimes more confusing. i'll give you a few examples. there are five different entities dealing with housing. there are more than a dozen agencies dealing with food safety. my favorite example which i mentioned in last year's state of the union address, as it turns out the interior department is in charge of salmon and fresh water. but the commerce department handles them in salt water. if you're wondering what the genesis of this was, apparently it had something to do with president nixon being unhappy tw the interior sector for criticizing him about the vietnam war. so he decided not to put noaa in

what would have been a more sensible place. no business or nonprofit leader would allow this kind of duplication or unnecessary complexity in their operations. you wouldn't do it when you're thinking about your businesses. why is it okay for the government? it's not. it has to change. no what we tried to do over the first few years of the administration is a whole range of steps administratively to start making processes, procedures, agencies more consumer friendly. well, we need to do more. and we need authority to do more. so today i'm calling on congress to reinstate the authority that past presidents have had to streamline and reform the executive branch. this is the same sort of authority that every business

owner has to make sure his or her company keeps pace with the times. and let me be clear, i will only use the authority for reforms that result in more efficiency, better service, and a leaner government. now a little bit of history here. congress first granted this authority to presidents in the midst of the great depression. so that they could swiftly reorganize the executive branch to respond to the changing needs of the american people and the immediate challenges of the depression. for the next 52 years presidents were able to streamline or consolidate the executive branch by submitting a proposal to congress that was guaranteed a simple up or down vote. in 1984, while ronald reagan was president, congress stopped granting that short. and when this process was left to follow the usual

congressional pace and procedures, not surprisingly, it bogged down. so they fought to protect their turf and lobbyists were the only ones who could navigate the confusion. it's always easier to add and sub strakt. inertia prevented any real reform from happening. layers kept getting added on and added on and added on. the department of homeland security was created to consolidate intelligence and securities. but congress didn't consolidate on its side. so now the deapartment of homeland security reports to over 100 different congressional panels. that's a lot of paperwork. that's a lot of reports to prepare. that's not adding value. it's not making it safer to file

reports. it's been a generation since the president has the authority to pro prose streamlining the government in a way that allowed for real change to take place. imagine all the things that have happened since 1984. 1984, we didn't have the internet. just to take one example. a generation of america has come of age. land lines have turned into smart phones. the cold war has given way to globalization. so much has happened. the government we have today is the largely the government we had back then. we deserve better. go talk to the skilled professionals in government who are serving their country. and you won't meet harder working folks than the folks in the federal agencies. devote countless hours to try to make sure that they're serving the american people. but they will tell you their efforts are constantly undermined by an outdated

bureaucrat. if you talk to ordinary americans, including the small business leaders here today. they'll tell you to deal with government on a regular basis is not always the highlight of their day. over the past three years, as i've said, we tried to take some steps to fix the problem. to bring our government into this century. and in doing so to root out waste. so just to take some examples. we made sure the government sends checks to the right people. in the right amount. which should be obvious. we've been able to prevention $20 billion in waste over the last few years by making sure checks are sent properly and we're reducing error. we cut a whole range of overlapping programs.

we have tried to yank the federal government in thest century when it comes to technology and making everything we do a little bit more web friendl friendly. by the way. that also helps in transparency. they can get on whitehouse.gov and see where the money goes. we've done a lot, but we've got to do more. we need to think bigger. today i'm outlining changes we could make if congress gives the green light to hay low us to modernize and streamline. these changes would help small business owners like you. they would also help medium and large businesses. and as a consequence, they would help create more jobs, sell more products overseas, grow the economy faster, improve the quality of life. right now there are six deeptds

and agencies focused primarily on business and trade in the federal government. six. commerce department, small business administration, the u.s. trade representatives office. in this case six is not better than one. sometimes more is better. this is not one of those cases. because it produces redundancy and inefficiency. with the authority that i'm requesting today we could consolidate them all into one department with one website, one phone number, one mission. helping american businesses succeed. that's a big idea. [ applause ] >> now we've put a lot of thought into this. over the past year we spoke with folks across the government and across the country.

and most importantly we spoke with businesses. including hundreds of small businesses to hear what works and what doesn't when you deal with the government. what's frustrating, what's actually value added. and frankly in those conversations we found some unsatisfiedcustomers. a lot of times what we heard is the individual who i was working with was really helpful to me, but the process itself is too confusing. most of the complaints weren't about an unresponsive federal worker, they were about a system that was too much of a maze. so take a look at this slide. i don't usually use props in my speeches, but i thought this was useful. this is the system that small business owners face. this is what they have to deal

with if they want the most basic answers to the most basic questions. like how to export to a new country or whether they qualify for a loan. and by the way, this is actually simplified because there are color codes. the business owners don't get the blue and the purple. it's all just -- there's a whole host of websites. all kinds of toll-free numbers. all sorts of customer service se centers, but each are offering different assistance. it's a mess. this should be easy for small business owners. they want to concentrate on making products, creating services, selling to customers. we're supposed to make it ease yr for them. there are tools we can put in place that every day are helping small business owners across the country. but we're wasting too much time

getting that help out. and if congress would reinstate the authority that previous presidents have had, we would be able to fix this. we would have one department. where entrepreneurs can go from the day they come up with an idea and need a patent to the day they start building a product, and need financing for a warehouse, the to the day they're ready to export and need help breaking into new markets overseas. one website. easy to use. clear. one department where all our trade agencies would work together to ensure businesses and workers can better export by better enforcing the trade agreements. one department dedicated to helping our businesses sell their products to the 95% of global customers who live beyond our shores. so with this authority we could help businesses grow, save businesses time. save taxpayer dollars.

and this is just one example of what we could do. the contrast between this and this. is sums up what we could do on the business side. these inefficiencies exist across government. and there's a real opportunity for us right now to rethink reform and remake our government so that it can meet the demands of our time. so it's worthy of the american people, and so that it works. so this should not be a partisan issue. congress needs to reinstate this authority that has in the past been given to democratic and republican presidents for decades. in the meantime, as long as folks are looking for work and small businesses are looking for customers, i'm going to keep doing everything i can with my current authority to help. so to take one example, as of today, i am elevating the fall business administration to a cab level agencies.

[ applause ] karen mills, who is here today, and who has been doing an outstanding job leading that agency is going to make sure that small business owners have their own seat at the table in our cabinet meetings. in the coming weeks we're going to unveil a new website. business usa. this site will be a one stop shop for small businesses and exporters. it will consolidate information that's right now spread across all the various sites so it's all in one place or easier to search. with or without congress i'm going to keep at it. it would be a lot easier if congress helped. this is an area that should receive bipartisan support, because making our government more responsive and strategic and leaner, it shouldn't be a partisan issue.

you know, we can do this better. we can provide taxpayers better value. so much of the argument out there all the time is up in 40,000 feet. the abstract arguments about who is conservative or who is liberal. most americans and certainly most small business owners, you are trying to figure out, how do we make things work? how do we apply common sense? and that's what this is about. so i'm going to keep fighting every day to rebuild the economy so hard work pays off, responsibility is rewarded. and we have a congress that is helping. i'm going to keep fighting to make sure the middle class families regain the security that they've lost over the last decade. you know, i've said before, i believe this is a make or break

moment for families who are trying to get in the middle class, folks who are trying to maintain their security. folk who is are trying to start businesses. there's enormous potential out there. the trend lines are moving in our direction towards innovation and transparency, but we have to take advantage of it. and you need a strong ally in an effective, lean government. that's what this authority can do. >> president obama making that announcement. i want to bring in wolf blitzer and alison kosik for a post game analysis here. first, let's go to you, wolf. what's significant is the small business administration cabinet level agency there. that was significant. but also the fact here is that he has got to get congress on board, first for this fast track authority that he's asking for. and then for these kinds of

consolidations, the cuts that he wants to make. is it likely at all he can get congress on board? >> i suspect so. but as far as the small business administration being elevated, he can do that on his own with an executive order. he can say the united states ambassador to the united nations is a cabinet level position. he doesn't need congressional authorization to do so. he can do that on his own. what he's seeking is an up or down majority vote in the house and the senate to go ahead and make other changes, consolidating all the various international trade agencies that the u.s. has for the overseas private investment corporation. the office of the special trade representative. he can unite them. but he needs the authority from congress. so he doesn't want a filibuster.

he wants to do it with a majority vote. that's what he's asking for. ronald reagan asked for it from the democrats who controlled congress in the 1980s. and he lost it. you make a good point. this is a political year. an election year. who knows what's going to happen once the proposal gets up to capitol hill. you know, suzanne, and the president makes a good point. there will be various lobbying organizations that won't like it for whatever reason because it respe affects their respective businesses. >> from purely a political point of view here, does it matter what congress does? is it the idea the president puts the owness on congress. i dare you to vote against making the government leaner here. i'm trying to do my part for the middle class. why aren't you doing yours?

>> this is the do nothing congress that they talk about from the har tri truman play book. look, i want to do this. the republicans at least. so there's a if feud going on between the white house and the republican leadership in the house of respects, the republican minority in the senate. it's tough politics. i don't know how much is going to get resolved this year before november, before the election. because so much of this plays into a political election year. we'll see if there's cooperation. i think on this particular point, the republicans like the democrats. they want to consolidate. they want to shrink the government. they want to trim it. so this would seem to make some sense. i don't know how much opposition there will effectively be when the president says we want to cut the number of government jobs. we want to consolidate the agencies. that seems to play into the

republican playbook. that's what they've been prop e proposing for a long time. >> thank you, wolf. i want to bring in alison. 1,000 to 2,000 jobs may be cut with the consolidation. mostly through attrition. is this plan going to cost people jobs? >> it would. it would. just because this plan looks at about 2,000 jobs cut through attrition. as you mentioned. but you have to look at the flip side. what this this country is facing with the economy, there's not one silver bullet. you can't raise taxes without cutting spending. and what happens is over ten years the president's plan saves $3 billion in spendi ingspendin. so that's a good thing. the smaller streamlined

government means less red tape. he talked about in the audience a lot of small business folks were in the offices. hopefully a faster process to get a small business loan. because the small business administration, as you heard, is one of the areas the president wants to streamline. it's that spending. the spending will save billions of dollars over ten years. and that will help reduce the debt load. it's the baby steps that certainly have to be taken to get the economy back on its feet. sometimes it doesn't seem like a big move. but every bit helps. >> the consolidation, does it make much of that difference when you look at the big economic picture? if little baby steps that you're talking about? >> you have to start somewhere first of all. it's not going to feel good to see jobs just go away. you look at the economy right now. the bad timing of it. 13 million people are out of

work right now. it means ha thousands of jobs will just go away. so clearly not an easy pill to swallow. and you look at our gdp rate at 1% pace through the third quarter of last year. to see the gdp rate go up. to see more growth in the economy, you need to see jobs growth. so you get a little concerned. at least in the short term. >> alison kosik, thank you so much. have a great weekend. inea pig: row...row. they genatectry, wch le me rf t. guinea pig: row...row.took one, 8 months to get the guin: ..row.ow...row. they genatectry, wch le me rf t. lile cbby one to yell row! guineaig: ro's kof strange. guinig: row...row. such a simple word... row. anncr: t an easierayof strange. save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. e u 15% or more on car insurance.

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♪ stronger! ♪ stand a little taller [ male announcer ] stay seamlessly connected to your smart phone. available on the reinvented 2012 camry. from toyota. ♪ we're watching developments on the campaign trail. all things political.

south carolina primary just eight days away. several candidates have campaign stops in the state over the past couple of hours. one of them is in florida. newt gingrich is attending the hoping of his campaign headquarters in orlando. mitt romney speaking in south carolina next hour. rick perry will be in bluffton. mitt romneybluffton. mitt romney and newt gingrich and rick perry over at his work at the private equity firm, bain capital. joe johns is where romney will be campaigning within the next hour. the man who is out on front. you've got new polling out of south carolina today, joe. what does it say? >> reporter: interesting numbers, suzanne. a new poll shows that mitt romney has actually lost a couple of points in the most recent poll, newt gingrich has picked up a couple of numbers.

romney at 29%, newt gingrich at 25%, ron paul has picked up a lot of support there apparently at 20%, then all of the others, rick perry at 9, santorum at 7, he's lost quite a bit. jon huntsman at 1 %. and then there's undecided at 7. the big story here, very probably is, about how much some people in the field have actually lost points, including rick santorum, and the fact that newt gingrich appears to be running strong in south carolina. not that big of a surprise because he's from the south, from georgia. the former speaker of the house has been pushing hard. one thing i don't think we are ready to say is that these attacks involving bain capital and the business practices of mitt romney have any effect on this poll. it's not clear at all that that's the case. so watching the polls, also watching this location in aiken,

south carolina. >> what's the mood like there? are people revved up to go? >> reporter: yeah, they are rolling in. you know, mitt romney has been able to attract very large crowds. it looks like this is going to be quite a crowd here this afternoon. because the people started filing in quite some time ago and i would almost predict that this will be standing room only. he's got a lot of people coming out to take a look at him. his big problem, perhaps, is evangelicals, value voters. it looks like newt gingrich is doing real well with them, getting about 40% support from that group of people and the question is whether mitt romney can sort of eat into that by making his case here in south carolina. we'll see. >> all right. we'll see. thank you, joe. as joe mentioned, mitt romney may be the front-runner but some tea party republicans are not ready to rally behind him just quite yet.

in the next hour, we'll talk with a south carolina tea party who is hoping for a romney alternative. it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

you've been sounding off on our "talk back" section. what does the growing class conflict mean for america? carol, i imagine a lot of people are weighing in on this.

what are they saying? >> a lot of people have opinions, suzanne. the growing conflict means people need to stop talking and start doing. adam says, highlighting the differences will make it worse. success should be celebrated. people are focusing on the symptom, not the real problem. this from lavon, many believe the rich not only have the money but they also have control of the politics of america. i'm not sure if what i think even matters at this point. all the poor can do is try to survive. from christopher, we won't get back on our feet. the middle class move down to poor and rich will move down to middle and we're about to drop the bomb. wow. now, that's a pessimistic view point. from michael, it means that we the formal middle class are fighting back. we've been losing without even knowing what is up. now that us in the lower classes know what's going on, we can fight back.

keep the comments going, facebook.com/carolcnn. >> people have very strong opinions about this because this is people's livelihoods. this is what they are up against now. >> they want to get out of the hole and for goodness sakes, they want someone to help them get out. we are following a big international story out of syria. at least seven people were killed today. some of them children. that is according to a human rights group watching this massive anti-government rallies. just look at those pictures. our nic robertson is in the syrian capital and he's joining us to talk about what is happening on the ground. we hear you've got these opposition groups joining sources with the soldiers who have defected. how is that impacting this movement? has it become even stronger against the government? >> reporter: the organization,

there are many sort of different opposition groups and there has been -- there is also the syrian army. so what we've seen now by the syrian national council, one of the main poll lit cal opposition groups, this is very significant because it puts a strong political message along with the military muscle of the opposition right now and the situation in syria has led to a standoff with the government, a stalemate where unarmed protests on the street, the free syrian army, the opposition army joining the protesters and giving them support is going to be able to keep them from getting stronger. >> you know, the president assad made a rare public appearance a few days ago and essentially the

world is asking him to end this violence and to potentially step down. has that changed at all, the fact that he came out there and spoke to the people? >> i don't think it's changed anything other than to make his own supporters feel stronger. it's certainly none nothing for the opposition other than to make them realize that he's not going to back down. i think everyone saw that. there are parts of this country that you go to and go through when you can see there have been battles taking place, concrete bridges blown up, you see army checkpoints along the wayside. today there are so many protests. you see very few people on the street. even the army is afraid of driving down some of the roads and they have been with the army for some of the day and the opposition, you might see it politically and militarily it makes them more strong. if divided, they are weaker but

together they are stronger. >> you have been doing an excellent job but how is it that you're allowed and able to report out of syria now, to travel and report these stories? >> reporter: we don't have a great deal of freedom of access. the government gets issued permission to form in damascus. what we can do is follow the abe r arab league monitors when they go out and that's what we did in the 2 1/2 hours drive north of damascus. the father who was president then put down a revolt, put it down by killing 30,000 people. that it, is has become -- the city has become synonymous worldwide with the oppression and we saw a lot of that on the streets and we can follow monitors without government

permission but we're not free to roam wherever we want to go. >> please be safe. we appreciate your reporting. top of the hour. i'm suzanne malveaux. i want to get you up to speed. the u.s. military is issuing a strong warning to iran. don't mess with the shipping root, the strait of hormuz. iranian officials are threatening to close the strait, essentially choking off much of the world's oil supply. defense secretary leon panetta told troops at ft. bliss it would be crossing what he calls a red line. >> we cannot allow them to develop a nuclear weapon. that's a red line. number two, we cannot tolerate iran blocking the straits of

hormuz and that's a red line. >> iran blames the united states and israel for killing a nuclear scientist in tehran this week. it happened at a time when the west, japan are all strongly pressuring iran to end its nuclear program. police in thailand arrested this man today. he is a lebanese terror suspect. they say he was preparing to attack places that are popular with western tourists. at the same time, the u.s. and israel are warning their citizens in thailand to be especially careful in public places, saying terrorists are planning attacks in the near future. the u.s. embassy advice, keep a low profile. these are live pictures we're watching from lima, peru. joran van der sloot is learning his face. the confessed killer of a peruvian woman. they have been reading charges against him for more now than an hour. van der sloot pleaded guilty to

murdering stephany flores back in 2010. you may recall he remains the main suspect in the disappearance of the alabama teenager natalee holloway. these images sparked international scandal. now the marine corps says they have interviewed two of the four marines shown urinating on the corpses in the video. so farther not naming any names but the video deeply troubles him. he has ordered a full investigation. president obama rolls out his plan to make the federal government leaner and meaner. that's what he's talking about. the president is asking congress for the power to shrink the government by merging federal agencies. he wants to start by combining several agencies that deal with trade and commerce. four convicted murderers left a prison in mississippi on sunday and haven't been seen since. now, they didn't escape. they were set free, pardoned as a final act of outgoing governor

haley barbour. it happened with no notice and so far, little explanation. officials are frantically trying to figure out where these men are. the problem is, there may be no grounds to even arrest them. their records were wiped clean. on the phone with us is senator harry coats. you have moved for, in an effort to make sure that this doesn't happen in your state. what are you doing? >> well, earlier -- or at the end of last year i filed a bill that we hope to have heard this net up coming legislative session, senate joint resolution 46. it would actually take the oklahoma governor completely out of the pardon and parole process. and it would certainly avoid having a similar situation as what is going on in mississippi but it also would help avoid the bottleneck of pardons and

paroles in oklahoma to deal with our overcrowding in our prison systems. so it would solve a couple of problems. >> why do you feel this is necessary? do you feel your own government might make the same choices that governor haley barbour did? >> we have a great governor. governor mary fallon. but our issue is that the governor already appoints a majority of the parole members and i don't feel that the governor should be micromanaging the appointees and should let them do their job. they are well qualified to do it and i think it would be arrogant of the governor to second guess the pardon and parole board. >> one of the things is it rights the wrongs in the system. justice is sometimes not

actually carried out. how would you do that in your state if you deny the governor from perhaps doing that to someone that shouldn't be in prison in the first place? >> that could be handled by the board members, one appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court and the others as a member of the chief justice of the supreme court and the other is a presiding judge of the court criminal appeal. so you have five members that can review all of the paroles and pardons and if they feel that this individual needs to be pardoned, certainly they can do that. and i just fail to see how the governor would have more information than the pardon and parole board would have. >> do you think that this is the kind of thing that other governors could do as well, that you could become a model and lead the other way that states handle this? >> no, i think it's a good idea. what we're proposing is that the voters in oklahoma would decide

if this is a process to get the governor out of the pardon and parole business. so what we're suggesting is to put this on as a state question and a ballot initiative to let the voters decide. >> finally, real quickly, if those four convicted murders from mississippi show up in your state, will you assist in arresting them and bringing them back? >> i'm sure law enforcement in oklahoma would work within the confines of the law. but i think this is -- was a very bad decision on governor barbour's -- on his watch and i would hope that we wouldn't have a similar situation in oklahoma. >> all right. senator coates, thank you so much. appreciate it. first, the last of the legacy airlines is filing for bankruptcy. it's another one interested in buying american airlines. then, a tea party meeting in advance of the south carolina primary shaping up as anybody

but a romney affair. also, cnn talks with oprah at her school in south africa. she says that she doesn't need to endorse president obama again because he has her full support. >> everybody always asks, are you going to do what you did in 2008? what i did in 2008 i did because my own friends didn't know who he was at the time. you think that guy's going to be president? i go, yeah, i really do. and he's become the best-known player in the nfl. a lightning rod as well. we're going to dig deeper into the tim tebow phenomena. when you have tough pain, do you want fast relief?

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we're watching live pictures out of orlando, florida. this is where newt gingrich is opening up his headquarters in orlando. he is talking to supporters there and hoping for a big showing but, again, newt gingrich setting the stage for florida. president obama says he wants to shrink the size of the federal government. now, just last hour the president outlined his plan to reduce the government by merging agencies. putting them together, he asked congress to give him this power to do it. >> so today i'm calling on congress to reinstate the authority that past presidents have had to streamline and reform the executive branch. this is the same sort of authority that every business owner has to make sure that his or her company keeps pace with the times. and let me be clear, i will only use this authority for reforms that result in more efficiency, better service, and a leaner government. >> all right. want to bring in john avalon for

newsweek and the daily beast. john, good to see you here. >> thank you. >> we know that the president made this campaign promise in 2008 and he said that he's going to eventually do it, shrink the federal government, combine these six agencies. the last time a president had this authority was under ronald reagan. he said, look, why don't we save $3 billion in ten years or so. is it really all that important, do you think, that congress does this, that they actually act on this? s or is this a political move, to get him to force congress to say yes or no whether they are going along with his plan? >> well, sometimes suzanne, good policy makes for good politics. this would combine six agencies into one. it's not just to save $3

trillion but really there should be 21 stp century treem lining in place and it presents a real challenge for republicans. because at the end of the day it does appeal to republicans. if they somehow deny that the president should have this power, which ronald reagan had before him, it puts them in a struggle to explain why they would not want to streamline the government. so it's good politics and good policy. >> okay. there's a new super pac supporting newt gingrich and it shows mitt romney speaking france. >> massachusetts governor mitt romney will say anything to win. anything. and just like john kerry, he speaks french, too but he's still a massachusetts moderate and a massachusetts moderate

cannot beat barack obama. >> what is going on here? come on, john. really? are they trying to show that he's a foo-foo kind of guy? he speaks french. so what? >> it's like getting hit with the french stick. this is what the republican party did to john kerry in 2004. they tried to make him sound elite, et cetera, and it's the same thing that newt gingrich is doing to mitt romney this time around. it tends to work and it's kind of funny as well. >> it is kind of funny. i don't know. super pac money, very well could make this race a lot longer because it's supporting candidates, rick perry, newt gingrich. these guys would not normally be able to afford all of these contests but with the super pac, they wrap things up, support the strongest candidate with mega

money as opposed to faster than slower? >> it's huge. this is a major new development in a post citizens united world where a billionaire can come and sustain a campaign that otherwise may have imploded from lack of support, lack of money. it makes these proxy wars occurring on air and online over these usually expensive negative ads. i think the bigger concern, it's sort of a brave new world but will this end up alienating people as they see more and more attacks dominate the airwaves but it's an important feature of this election cycle and typically it's something to keep our eye on. >> all right. john, great to see you. have a great weekend. >> you, too. here's a chance, talk back on one of the big stories of the day. what is the growing glass conflict mean for america? carol costello is joining us from california.

>> hi, suzanne. it's going to be an us versus them. 66% of americans said that they were very strong or strong conflicts between rich and poor. just two years ago, only 47% felt that way. we all know middle class wages have stag nated while the rich have enjoyed bigger paychecks. democrats remind us of that all the time. >> times have been tough right now. they have been tough for a better part of a decade we've seen the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, the middle class gets squeezed. >> republican mitt romney knows the middle class is hurting but says the president is adding to the rift between rich and poor by promoting the politics of envy. although romney's republican opponents seem to be adding fuel to obama's fire by ripping on big wealthy business types, you know, like venture capitalists like mitt romney.

>> they are just vultures. they are vultures sitting out there on the tree limb waiting for the company to get sick and then they swoop in, they eat the carcass, they leave with that and they leave the skeleton. >> rhetoric aside, there's no doubt bitterness between the classes in america exist. the question is, will that solve our problems or make them worst? the talk back question for you today, what does growing class conflict mean for america? go to facebook.com/carol and lee read some of your comments later. >> thank you, carol. cnn caught up with oprah at her school in south africa. >> everybody asks, are you going to do what you did in 2008?

what i did in 2008 because my own friends didn't know what he did at the time. you think that guy's going to be president? i go, yeah, i really do. more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa.

we are watching live pictures from lima, peru. juror van der sloot just learned that he's going to spend 28 years in prison. he still remains the main suspect in the disappearance of the alabama teenager, natalee holloway. but learning today, his fate is 28 years. it could have been a maximum of 35. but now 28 years behind bars in

peru. and what is oprah winfrey up to these days? one of the world's most recognized people quietly helping children in need. now, the schools she opened in south africa is having its first graduation. cnn got a one on one with the school, the politics back home and she's actually inside the library of oprah's school. tell us a little bit about what happened. clearly she must be pretty pard of her school and the students that she's been supporting. >> reporter: absolutely. this library is filled with books and computers and 400 girls who oprah has handpicked from some of the poorest homes in south africa, girls who come from homes of abuse, some violence, many have hiv and aids. she built this school and she's

given them a tough class quality education and her experiment in in a way she calls it that has worked because this first graduating class is going -- these girls are about 17. they will go to universities around south africa and more importantly, some of them are coming to universities in the united states. what an amazing thing for these young girls. many of them had absolutely no hope, no future, no chance of an education and now they are in a library like this and they get to read magazines, chose where they want to go on holiday, classic music. the kind of opportunity that oprah has given to these kids is just life changing, isn't it? >> it is. and what's interesting, too, is that you got a chance to talk to her about politics and i remember back in 2008 i covered her rally, she had a huge rally that she had supporting obama and at the time that everybody was more excited about oprah than obama, she says she's not

going to get involved this go around. why not? >>. >> reporter: absolutely. i mean, hi to ask her. she's sort of seen as a king maker, isn't she? she really gave obama a stamp of approval and a lot more people knew who he was. i also asked her why she isn't do it again and this is what she told me. >> i don't need to endorse him because i am a 100% supporter of him and i've already endorsed him and everybody always asks, are you going to do what you did in 2008? what i did was because people didn't know really -- my friends didn't know who he was at the time. you think that guy's going to be president? i go, yeah, i really do. so i was happy to step up and do what i felt was a public service because i so believed in him and i still do. >> reporter: she says that if the obama campaign calls her up and says that they need her

help, she will gladly offer her services. but more importantly, the fact that she's not going full out into public and endorsing him again is not a sign that she's disappointed. i think that's key for her and for the obamas. >> all right. thank you, robyn. good to see you. as mitt romney and rivals are doing all they can to take the wind out of the sails and having a big impact in south carolina. we are going to take a look at what it means for romney's chances calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce.

mit is t is in south caroli

and will american airlines buy out another airline in that is the discussion going on right now. and tebowing is making the term popular, dropping down on one knee to thank god. the inside scoop of the most popular athlete in america right now. mitt romney on the campaign trail in south carolina. at this hour he's getting ready to rally supporters in aiken, south carolina, just eight days before the state's primary. he's been firing back on his business record and attacks against free market capitalism. so what exactly did romney do at bain capital? david mattingly takes a look back. >> reporter: in the mid-'90s when mitt romney's bain capital

was investing? steel, he bought this plant in south carolina. james sanderson says things did not go well. did you see them investing anything in the plant? >> no, not at all. >> reporter: was your equipment wearing down? >> yes, it was. >> reporter: claims of no investment in the plant, mitt romney says, is not true. that's from the downside of the private sector record of job creation. >> were you more or less competitive? >> we were less competitive when bain left. >> reporter: why? >> because we couldn't compete because all of our commitment was being neglected. >> reporter: touring a motorcycle dealer in south carolina, romney points to bain's success. he also acknowledges the failures. >> and there are some businesses that have to be cut back in

order to survive and in order to make them stronger and sometimes you're successful at that and sometimes you're not. >> reporter: in georgetown, 50 were laid off and bain sold the plant in bankruptcy after just four years and it wasn't the first time bain exited the state quickly. the first inked a deal in 1987 to bring a photo album manufacturer to cherokee, south carolina. at the time it was a very big deal when bain decided to expand. this entire area had not been developed and the county was eager to get this park up and running. >> reporter: but the company closed five years later. county officials estimate up to 150 people lost their jobs. >> what do you say to the people who did lose their jobs in those vagss and might view venture capitalism as a job killer instead of a creator. >> i think any time a job is lost, it's just devastating and every time that we invested in

the business, it was to try and encourage that business to have ongoing life. >> reporter: it was a surprise after the county provided $3.2 million in bonds and a $50,000 sewer line as incentive to build. but 20 years later county officials look back at the deal as a win-win. >> even though you lost 150 jobs when this company left, you still consider it something that helped the county? >> in the long run, we came out okay. >> reporter: the building bain built is now of pen manufacturer, bic, employing 80 people and the steel plant in georgetown is back up and running with 225 hourly workers and some bitter bain memories that have not mellowed with time. >> reporter: how much do you hold mitt romney responsible for this? >> very responsible. because he was the leader. >> reporter: decisions and consequences the apparent leader among republican hopefuls will

be explaining in this critical primary state. david mattingly, greer, south carolina. looking for alternatives to mitt romney, they are meeting in texas starting today and tea party groups are holding a convention to discuss the choices for the republican nominee. joe dugan is chairman of the tea party group and the convention that is happening this weekend. he's joining us live. great to see you here. there are going to be a lot of folks and energy and compassion and south carolina has the unique distinction of picking the republican nominees. obviously the role of the tea party is very important in all of this. how important is it for you to make sure that that candidate is a social conservative? >> it's very important. not only a social conservative but a fiscal conservative. our country has gone down the

path of wire almost at insolvency with a $15 tril krli debt. there's no way it can be repaid and we see ben bernanke artificially cutting rates and that has resulted in a 17% loss in the value of the dollar since the summer of last year and for a retiree like myself and so our whole standard of living across. >> mitt romney at 29%, newt gingrich at 25%, newt gingrich is your guy. how did you make sure that it is not mitt romney, that the republicans get behind the

person that you want to see who really represents your values? >> well, ultimately it's up to the voters to decide. what we try to do in the tea party is to educate the voters as to the positions that the candidates are taking as well as many other issues that largely go unreported in the press in this country. >> do you want -- a couple candidates are going to be joining your convention. that is rick santorum and newt gingrich. what do you need to hear from them to convince your folks that they have at least a fighting chance. ever? >> well, i think they do. south carolina is a very conservative state and those conservative people are also very independently minded. they will listen to the candidates and make up their own minds and our job as a tea party is to see that they have told both sides of the story, including the truth. >> all right. joe dugan, we are going to be

checking back in with you on monday, see how your convention went, what you guys decided, how that all went. appreciate your time. have a great weekend. >> great. you don't have to be a football fan to know who tim tebow is. he has wild popularity taking him into pop culture. i'm going to speak to a sports journalist who just had some exclusive tebow time.

the nfl playoffs continue this weekend with a team getting a step closer to playing in the super bowl. it does not take a football fanatic to recognize this guy, tim tebow. he's become the most popular athlete in america after record pace. his team got off to a slow start and then led the struggling broncos into the playoffs. along the way he stayed humble and true to his christian beliefs, attracting some others, and even had a phrase named after him, tebowing. his parents were missionaries and he's open about his beliefs. john got an exclusive interview with tim tebow.

he's become a huge story in the nfl season, overshadowing other quarterbacks. you spent a lot of time with this guy. what is the one new thing that you learned about him? >> well, suzanne, a couple of things. america's god fearing clean living quarterback does not have a girlfriend, which i think surprises a lot of people. he's not joe nameth in his career. another interesting thing about tim tebow is he actually has a vice, which may surprise some folks out there. and that vice is -- are you ready? >> yes, please. >> vanilla ice cream. >> oh, that's not a vice. >> and when he wants to get really wild, suzanne, he puts a brownie on it. >> that's just way too

squeaky-clean. there was a survey of the most popular at least in america but he does have some folks, some detract fors, right? because they are not all buying the squeaky-clean. >> the national nightmare conditions. listen, i like tim tebow but there comes a point, make it -- he had a great game. he's supposed to have a great game. they want to make it seem like, oh, the world is aligned correct. you know, he does play quarterback. he's supposed to play well. >> why do you suppose he attracts some of these criticisms? >> well, as a player he's a very unrefined passer in the nfl. tim has a way to go to become a polished passer and to become the player he believes he can become. none t

nonetheless, he pulls out miracle victories late in the game. of course, there's a religious aspect for some people. i don't think tim is polarizing for evangelicals. pull in you're a nonbeliever or a skeptic, then you might wonder, is tim tebow the real deal. i believe he is. >> is there anything in your time that you spent with him that you questioned whether or not it was fully insincere and that his one vice is the ice cream with brownies. is that real? >> you never know with athletes. it turns out that they have feet of clay and we want to believe in heroes. people want to believe in spirituality. with tim tebow, i think what you see is what you get. until he shows us otherwise, i think he's genuine. >> joe, we'll be watching this

weekend. good to see you. have a good weekend. it is a bible verse that a football superstar has brought into the mainstream. the new found significance of john 3:16. and these america's sweetheart when it comes to people becoming financially sound. suze orman talking about the middle class. beth! hi. looking good! you've lost some weight. thanks! you noticed! you know these clothes are too big now,

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the sha rimpging middle class between the rich and the poor is causing controversy. for the first time in 24 years, americans see the conflict over wealth and equality a bigger conflict than even immigration or race relations. and a pugh study shows nearly a third of americans born into the middle class will fall down the economic ladder to low-income by the time that they are adults. well, i had a chance to speak with personal finance expert suze orman and she made some comments about the income gap. take a listen. >> if you've ever heard me speak, you have heard me say, people, be careful. the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and sooner than later the middle

class will not exist the people that call into the suze orman class used to be in middle class. they are now in poverty. the face of poverty is the person sitting next to you. it's every single color. and what keeps us in poverty is there is a highway into poverty and there's no longer even a sidewalk out. even if you do make money, you can't afford to pay things, especially when you see the prices of feud out there and what it costs. >> the most recent census numbers show that one out of three americans are now in the low-income category. well, it looks like another major airline could change hands. american now has filed for bankruptcy. we're going to take a look at who may be interested in taking that over. also, household budgets are

being strained. college so expensive these days many families need financial aid but the process, complicated, confusing. poppy harlow is getting help for you at the help desk. >> time where we get help for you at the cnn help desk. thank you both for being here. we appreciate it. jack, your question comes from sam in trenton, new jersey. sam says, my daughter is in college and is fully funded by financial aid. will this affect my financial aid? >> it's possible even with $25,000 more in assets he'll still come under that level so she can get her full ride. it is also possible, however, that it can fall into the formula. the college assesses up to 5.6% of your assets and says, you should be able to pay that towards an education. so worst case scenario here is they dock him for $1400.

i might say, you know what, that's okay. pay that $1400. you've still got 23 plus and maybe some other student can benefit. for instance, he can ask his uncle to wait until she's a senior. there's a higher exclusion for retirement accounts. so every working person in his family could put up to $5,000 in an i.r.a. and that would be shielded to a certain extent depending on how much retirement assets they already have. there's various ways that they can protect it. 1400 of the 25, i wouldn't sweat it. >> donna, your question comes from linda in indianapolis. linda says, i'm a student and my husband left his job a year ago. i'm wondering whether it will be difficult to get approved for a mortgage without putting down every last dollar. >> we know it's hard for everybody to get a mortgage these days. with one income and an income that is probably unsteady, it's

going to be tougher but it's not impossible. the first thing they want to do is consider how much they can put down. there's no particular rule of thumb but you want to put down a substantial amount, more than 20%, if possible. a third of home purchases these days are all cash. so that's going to help you a lot. but if you have a good credit score, if you can show two years of steady income with your irs tax returns, that's going to help, too. so the bottom line for this couple is they probably want to wait until the husband has at least two years of a track record, keep their credit scores up and keep saving money and they are going to be in a better position to get a good mortgage. >> and they don't have to worry about mortgage rates going up in the near future? >> that's right. people with a machine.

what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

take a look at the stories from across the country. in wisconsin, a plane landed or rather crashed in some trees in the middle of a neighborhood overnight. people watched it fly

erratically before it happened and the pilot, who had been drinking, walked away with minor injuries. in atlanta, here there was a huge leak and of all platces, a boat show. a pool started gushing water on the floor of the convention floor. what a mess. of course, who hasn't been annoyed by a ringing cell phone in an inappropriate place? how about at the symphony. the ringing came at the worst possible time, during a quiet stretch. frustrated, the conductor stopped the orchestra until the owner silenced the phone. >> it was actually the loudest thing in the hall. there was so much tension and such a stunned feeling, i think for everybody in the room, but certainly for the musician. >> alison, i can only imagine

the mayhem. so this is what the guy says, alison, he says that he didn't know it was his phone. right? this thing keeps going and going and going. his company replaces his blackberry the day before with an iphone, right, and he says this alarm clock, he turns off the iphone but the alarm clock is going off so he's fiddling with it trying to make sure that he -- he didn't even realize it was him and then suddenly the sound stops, the beeping, the alarm. i don't know. do you buy that one? >> i do buy it and it's super embarrassing. a tough, tough crowd. new yorkers are tough. i know all about it. >> he was lucky he didn't get beaten down by the audience, huh? >> yes. i'm telling you, new yorkers are

a tough crowd. i'm telling you that. >> alison, thanks, i think he learned his lesson. we've all got to learn our lessons here. >> yep. >> american airlines, let's talk a little bit about that. the executives are waiting by the phone. there is talk that american may be bought out and some big names seem to be interested in the last legacy airlines to file for bankruptcy. alison, has anybody made a bid for american yet? do we know? >> suzanne, no bids yet but, yeah, you made a good point. the vultures are certainly s circling. they smell blood. who is looking out to buy american? delta, u.s. airways. private equity firms. there's some airports that would be interested in buying america so the question is, who would and that is considered an asset

and also american airlines has primo dibs on new york city, l.a., and chicago. and it would make it the biggest airline. any deal, even the announcement of any big deal could be months and months away. suzanne? >> could they possibly stay independent? do they have the cash they need? did is possible. a lot of changes have to be made for american airlines. it's got to be labor organization cost and it's losing money.

>> i guess i'll turn my cell phone off now. >> make sure you watch it. >> will do. what is the growing class conflict mean for america? brian says, the rich get richer and the middle class become squeezed into the poor until there is no middle class. more of your responses just moments away. can you enjoy vegetables with sauce and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce.

our talk back question, what is the growing class conflict

mean for america? carol costello is joining us live from washington with some responses. what are folks saying? >> strong opinions here, suzanne. shawn says, i believe that this is a slow start to a revolution in america regardless of who wins the presidential election. it will hopefully lead to action and real change that we can all believe in. this is from colleen. it means that the middle class will soon be the lower class. it's a conflict fueled by greed in congress. this is from todd, remember the poor rose up against the aristocrats? history always repeats itself. it's all just