kyra. >> big debate, big money. you should hear suzanne malveaux next to me right now. she's teasing you, paul. >> it's all very dramatic. paul is very dramatic. >> i'm working it here, ladies. i'm working it. >> but he adds so much energy to our program, right, paul? you wake us up and get us excited to be here. you get us big on politics. >> i'm your cup of caffeine, lady. >> yes, you are, my dear. >> he doesn't realize we've already had three cups. >> exactly. he just gave me a jolt. i'm passing it on to you. >> my parents are going to be here, too, watching in the studio. >> they are so lovely, the malveauxs. mom and dad. are they going to make you nervous? >> a little bit. >> i'll keep an eye on them. >> thanks, kyra. live from studio 7 i'm suzanne malveaux. want to get you up to speed for this monday, january 23rd.

listen to the roar of the tornado. this is in arkansas. severe weather is now tearing across the southeast today. at least two people have already been killed near birmingham, alabama. dozens of homes are destroyed. another 100 people now injured. >> we made it just in the nick of time. the good lord just blessed us and we're just glad we're here. we've lost our house but at least we have -- i'm sorry. we got our family, and that's all that matters right now. >> wow. that is tragic. chad myers here to tell us about where the storms are right now and what caused this outbreak. chad? >> well, it was just a big storm in the upper atmosphere. it was cold. temperatures were only in the 50s and 60s. in alabama and mississippi, around 70. sometimes in the spring you can get to be 80 degrees and then you really get the juice going. storms went across parts of birmingham, south of birmingham as well. the biggest storm headed into columbus, georgia. not rotating enough to put a tornado warning on it right now but still a very large storm. when you soo he this much red all the way down to the gulf

coast and one storm just rolled right through atlanta metro airport slowing down the airplanes there. updates in a few minutes. >> thank you, chad. focus shifts to florida and the race for the republican presidential nomination. all four candidates are on the campaign trail today. now, the primary in florida just eight days away. mitt romney stepping up his attacks on newt gingrich after a solid win by gingrich in south carolina over the weekend. romney is also now promising to release his tax returns tomorrow. after cheating death and inspiring a nation with her fight for recovery, gabrielle giffords stepping down from congress. a year ago she was shot in the head while meeting with voters in an arizona shopping center as one of her last acts in office she plans to finish that event. she posted this message on website. >> i have more work to do on my

recovery. so to do what is best for arizona, i will step down this week. ♪ grief, tears, and regrets at penn state. students and alum gather last night for a candlelight vigil honoring the late joe paterno. the former head coach also known as joepa died from lung cancer at the age of 85. he was fired in noft over his handling of a child sex abuse scandal involving his former assistant coach, jerry san dudu. four convicted murderers pardoned by haley barbour will have their fate decided by a judge. the hearing will decide whether those pardons are valid. a state constitution says pardon requests have to be published in a newspaper 30 days before being

granted. mississippi's attorney general says many of the almost 200 people pardoned by barbour did not meet that requirement. and authorities say there could have been passengers who were not registered on that cruise ship that crashed often the coast of italy. meaning that the number of missing could actually be more than the 19 previously reported. another 13 people are known dead and divers are blasting new holes in the sides of the ship to speed up the rescue operations. officials want to get fuel off the ship before it becomes an environmental disaster. new images of violence plaguing syria. ed the head of the arab league monitors are rejecting claims they failed to end the bloodshed. he says they were there to investigate and observe the situation. now the arab league has voted to

extend the mission. back to our top story, deadly severe weather outbreak in the southeast. alabama's governor robert bentley is joining us by telephone to explain what is happening on the ground. so far, governor, thank you for joining us. i understand two people have already been killed, at least 100 injured. >> well, the latest number that i have received is four unconfirmed fatalities, and i say unconfirmed because we want to make sure that's accurate, but that's what i've been told as of just the last few moments. >> are there others who are missing? >> well, certainly we have some that are injured. we don't know about the missing at the present time, but we have our search and rescue people out working, and i declared a state of emergency this morning at 8:10 so that this could release our resources and our services

from the state and so we have our search and rescue people out at the present time. >> where is the most damage? is it in a concentrated area or is this a wide swath across your state? >> well, it's not like it was on april 27th of last year when we had 62 long-track tornadoes. this time we have primarily the worst area is in jefferson county which is just above birmingham, and it is -- that is where we've had the fatalities. we have some damage in other parts of the state, but that's primarily where our worst damage is. >> are you expecting more bad weather or has this already -- the worst is already passed? >> i believe the worst has passed but we'll continue to monitor it. >> what should residents of your state do now? should they take cover? should they look for relatives? how should they get information? >> the most important thing is let's allow the people that are our first responders to do their

job. and if they allow them to do their job, we will take care of the search and rescue. we need to take care of people first, make sure those that are injured, those that are missing, those are taken care of first. then we'll worry about the -- assessing the damage to the property. >> and, governor, you're still getting over last year's tornado outbreak, at least i believe it was 243 people killed in alabama. it was the largest tornado outbreak in u.s. history. how is your state recovering? >> well, actually we're recovering very well. we've made a rapid recovery, and today i was actually going to announce a commission that i had set up to talk about how we could improve response, but, unfortunately, because of this we had to cancel that. but we've made good progress, but it's primarily because we have great people in this state who have done a wonderful job, and i'm very proud of what they've done. >> all right. governor bentley, thank you so

much for joining us, and certainly we hope the very best to you and to the residents in your state there. we appreciate your time. thank you. now it's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. so nobody ever said you had to be polite in politics, right? candidates, they step into the presidential race, they have to be ready for these attacks from all sides. but do the voters actually want someone who is downright mean? carol costello is joining us with more from washington. carol, i remember the time in south carolina when you had hillary clinton, barack obama going head to head, and the audience -- it was electrifying in those debates and it just went on and on and on. it was a fight to the end, and it really motivated them. do we think that peep want them to toughen up a little? >> well, that's the question today. if you're wondering why newt gingrich shellacked mitt romney in south carolina's primary, don't. it's simple.

as one south carolina voter told "the washington post," i think we've reached a point where we need someone who is mean. another south carolina voter put it this way, i have a little bit of a problem with the divorces, but i need somebody to beat obama. i like romney, he's decent and moral, but i just don't see him beating obama. many republicans think gingrich struck just the right tone when john king asked the former speaker about open marriage. >> i think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media make it is harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office, and i am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that. [ applause ] >> and some voters cheered, they cheered gingrich when he talked of beating obama. >> i don't want to bloody his nose, i want to knock him out. okay?

>> a conservative blog says voters feel gingrich's blunt talk works on another front, too. it says, quote, basically south carolina's vote is about the republican grassroots giving the washington republican establishment the finger. the base is angry, and right now only newt is left to fight for them, as imperfect as he is. so is romney just not mean enough to put up a good fight? the governor seems to think so because today romney sure sounds a lot more passionate when he talks about newt gingrich. >> he's gone from pillar to post almost like a pinball machine, from item to item in a way which is highly erratic and does not suggest a stable, thoughtful course, which is normally associated with leadership. >> so is his tone angry enough? is it mean enough? the talk back question for you today, do republicans need someone mean to beat obama?

facebook.com/carolcnn, facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> thank you. here is a rundown on some of the stories we're covering. homes destroyed in a matter of minutes. just listen to that. we are on tornado watch across the southeast, and then arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords is resigning, but first she's going back to that shopping center where she was shot a year ago. and then a woman who gets paid for sex, but there's more to it than that. >> you're getting paid for sex. >> but i'm not getting paid for sex. i'm getting paid -- that is a piece of it, but more of the session we're doing communication skills, touching skills. it's not all genitally focused. it's the whole body. >> is sex surrogate tells her story. [ female announcer ] experience dual-action power,

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at least two people are dead and 100 injured from a line of severe storms in the southeast. alabama's governor has declared a state of emergency, and, chad, i just talked to the governor. he says they're using everything they can. they've asked for federal resources, that this is pretty serious. >> it is. this is not the day they had last year that killed hundreds of people, this is not that day, but this was significant because it happened at night. 3:30 in the morning some of these storms hit, 4:00 in the morning, and the brand new pictures, we are just getting in brand new pictures, this is

centreville. i can't even find some of the houses. i can't find the second story. that's an f-3 tornado. that's 130 to 145-mile-per-hour storm right there, trees sheered off off the top. let's just hope people were not living -- sleeping in those upstairs bedrooms because they were injured and at some point, you know, i know we have a couple fatalities and more that are sure to come in, but we have 100 people injured just from one storm alone in one community. you don't hear about injuries like that. one or two, five, but a hundred? the that's amazing. >> do we think it's a concentrated area or is this a large area? >> it's like taking a couple tines out of the rake and raking it across alabama. there's a stripe north of birmingham and a stripe south of birmingham. there was a very big tornado in are a, didn arkansas, didn't kill anybody though. the only storm that has any

potential of rotating is heading towards columbus, georgia. there's just a little red heading to columbus, probably more of a wind event, 60 miles per hour. after a year of defying the odds and fighting back from a gunshot wound to the head, congresswoman gabrielle giffords says it is time to step down. >> i don't remember much from that horrible day, but i will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. >> that is so touching. giffords plans to step down later this week, but not before returning to the arizona shopping center where she was shot and finishing her meeting

with voters that she began a year ago. our elizabeth cohen takes a look at giffords' road to recovery. >> suzanne, the doctors we've been talking to say they're not surprised that gabby giffords has opted to step down and that's because recovering from an injury like this is in and of itself a full-time job. now, it's not so much the recovery from the physical parts. we see in the video that she's walking with her husband. she's really doing quite well physically. the issue here is something called expressive aphasia. gabby giffords, what she's going through is she'll often know what she wants to say, her cognitive skills are really terrific. the issue here is that she has trouble getting the words out and has trouble in speaking in more than a one or two or three-word sentence. however, the good news here is that over the course of the next couple of years, she will likely improve by leaps and bounds. her doctors have told me it is not unusual to see vast improvements at year one, year two, year three, year four. they really expect to see her

get better and better. i have spoken with gabby giffords' doctors and i have asked her will she be able to be a congresswoman again, and they say that is absolutely possible. they're very possible about it. they say over the course of the next couple years, her speech will likely improve by leaps and bounds. that really this one year mark doesn't end her improvements. they expect her to get better all the time. suzanne? >> thanks, elizabeth. we wish her the very best. well, weeks after killers, armed robbers, and other convicts were set free in mississippi, a judge decides whether or not their pardons will be revoked. ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before,

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an effort to revoke the pardons of at least four

murderers and other convicts in mississippi is now front and center today. a judge is set to review this controversial pardons made by haley barbour during his last days as governor. sonny hostin is joining us from new york to talk about this. just setting the stage, there were some 200 convicts who were pardoned by barbour initially. people of mississippi were angry and it caught the attention of all of us here. the states attorney general came out quickly saying these pardons violated the state's constitution. what is this hearing going to decide today? >> well, the hearing is going to decide whether or not these pardons actually will be upheld. as you mentioned, there were about 200 pardons, four or five of them these inmates were released, and they were convicted murderers. and so there is a very nuanced constitutional requirement in mississippi that requires that every single person that has been pardoned has to publish, has to provide notice in a

newspaper, somewhere in the community 30 days before they are released that this pardon is coming up. well, they have to now prove in front of this court that they, in fact, met that publication requirement. if they cannot prove that, many people are saying that this judge could void those pardons and send them back to prison. the judge could then decide to free them, let them repamain fr, or he could take the ruling under advisement. but i have to tell you this is so unusual because pardons typically can't be appealed. once someone is pardoned, that is it, game is over. we are really in a legal quagmire here. this is something that lawyers just don't see very often, and i think that's why so many of us legal geeks are so enthralled today because you just never see it. you don't see it with presidential pardons. you certainly don't see it with pardons by governors, and this is really a very unusual case. >> and sunny, how many pardons do we think are in jeopardy we

suspect they didn't follow in publishing in a newspaper? >> some are saying more than half are in jeopardy. so we're basically in the 136, 137 realm, at least that's what i'm hearing. you know, that's significant. now, the ones i think that most people are concerned about are the five convicted murderers in the trustee program that were released. my understanding four of them are going to be in court today and so we could see them certainly go back to prison. one hasn't been tracked down and so he won't be there. >> and real quickly here, sunny, if these pardons are revoked, does it end there or can these convicts go back -- are they going to go back to prison or could they fight it and take it another step? >> they're going to take it another step, that he is no question about it. if they are sent back to prison, we will see an appeal in this case because it is just so unusual. i think we're going to see a lot of changes in the pardon law. >> all right. sunny hostin, it's a fascinating

case but already a lot of people concerned for their safety as well. thank you. the republican presidential candidates are descending on florida now with the race still up in the air, and while their fight is dragging on, does it actually help or hurt president obama? we're going to ask our political insiders. back then he had something 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. vacations are always wasn'ta good ideaa ♪ priceline negoti - - no time. out quickly. you're miles from your destination. you'll need a hotel tonight we don't have time to bid

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here is a run down of some of the stories we're working on. next, the terrorist ypivotal pr florida. and then the controversial world of sexual surrogates. and then how to win in your next job interview. the winner takes in all florida's primary. the contest is just eight days

away. it's going to give the winning candidate a whopping 50 delegates. that's double the number from south carolina. the state is also a pretty good indicator of how a candidate will do across the country. it has a diverse population, almost a quarter of floridians are hispanic. about 1 in 6 african-american. 18% of florida's population was born outside the united states. unemployment 9.9%, which is higher than the national average. also, floridians have been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. they have the fourth highest foreclosure rate in the country. so the road to the republican presidential nomination, of course, it swings through the critical florida. and with gop race still up in the air, spotlight even brighter on next tuesday's primary. joining us to talk about florida and beyond, jamal simmons, a democratic strategist, principle of the raven group, and chris tal wright, editor and blogger with conservative black chick.com. so good to see you guys again. >> good to see you, too.

>> it just gets more and more interesting. this is really historic. i want to start with you jashtion mall. this is a three-man race. there's no clear winner. the fight for the nomination could very well go beyond super tuesday. so the longer this thing goes, does it help or does it hurt president obama? >> oh, i think this time it helps president obama because it gives him the opportunity to stand on the stage like he's going to do tomorrow night at the state of the union to be president of the united states, to be commander in chief, to be focused on jobs and the economy while the republicans are involved in this sort of circus that's been taking place over there. so you have all of these folks sniping and shooting at each other, going back and forth. mitt romney is still probably the favorite to become the nominee just because he's got money, organization that will last, but newt gingrich has surely decided if romney is going to win this nomination, he's going to have to go through gingrich's body to do it. they're really fighting it out. >> mitt romney just went before reporters to answer some questions and he really went after gingrich on this. i want you to listen to this.

>> i think as you look at the speaker's record over time, it's been highly erratic. you know, he voted in favor of establishing the department of education, and yet he gets in a debate and he says we should get rid of the department of education and send all the education issues back to the states. he's taken -- i mean, he's opposed vehemently to the massachusetts health care system, and yet just a couple years ago wrote about what a superb system it was. >> i think governor romney's core problem was that he g governed as a massachusetts moderate which by voter standards is a liberal. he can't relax and be candid. >> all right. so is this an effective line of attack for romney? >> you know, watching that clip, romney can't even attack gingrich with fortitude. he stammers, he stutters. i mean, a weak romney is not an electable romney, and we're

seeing that over and over again. and gingrich is pointing out the exact thing i have said all along. romney is looking soulless. he's looking like a wooden man, like a plastic ken doll. he's going to have to break through in florida and connect with the people, and i think finally, you know, the only circus that's going on is the presidency of barack obama. barack obama, while the candidates -- the gop the last four standing are talking about jobs and real issues, barack obama was in disney world followed by four fund-raisers. i think the one with spike lee was like $30,000 a plate. then he had three others in new york and the day after the state of the union, barack obama is going to go to five swing states to raise money to protect his job. so i think if anything this battle between who our gop nominee is going to be great for our nominee because they're putting a spotlight on barack obama, the campaigner in chief, more concerned with saving his own job than helping 13 million americans find a job.

>> we have to get jamal in here real quick. one of the things mitt romney decided to do over the weekend after he lost in south carolina was to go ahead and release his tax returns tomorrow. how do you think this is going to play out? does it put this issue to rest or does it highlight his millionaire status and make it even more difficult to relate to him in terms of middle and working class republicans? >> well, we'll see what's in the tax returns, and, remember, he's only releasing 2010 and an estimate for 2011. it will be interesting to see if people want us to go back further than 2010 and whether or not he has do this again when he has the final 2011 numbers. what's most interesting is something crystal said a second ago, that mitt romney when he's asked questions about this, he certainly does look uncomfortable. i wrote a piece on govote.com about this. about how he has this row tearian -- this rotary club president demeanor. he loonls he's standing in front of a bunch of businessmen. he can't really deliver these attacks while newt gingrich is

sort of like a reformed rascal. he's sort of like one of these guys, you know he's had a bad life before, got noon some trouble, but like bill clinton and george w. bush, he's trying to pull himself out of his negative traits and trying to get back to the american people, and the american people are a forgiving bunch which is why his personal life really doesn't have the same impact i think we thought it would be. we'll see what happens when this fight goes on. >> okay. a lot of fight left. jamal, crystal, thank you very much. 67-year-old grandmother of two with an unusual line of work. that's right. she gets paid for sex. but she says there is much more to this, and she's telling us her story.

all right. a woman has sex for money. she says it's just one part of her job. she calls herself a sex surrogate and her story is now inspiring a new movie debuting at the sundance film festival.

our kareen wynter met her. >> i have had many people tell me, i have never been with anybody who talked so openly and comfortably about sexuality. >> reporter: cheryl cohen green doesn't just talk about sex. the 67-year-old grandmother of two actually engages in sex for money. nearly 40 years ago she became a sex surrogate. today she's one of about 50 registered in the u.s. >> you're getting paid for sex. >> but i'm not getting paid for sex. i'm getting paid -- that is a piece of it, but more of the session we're doing communication skills, touching skills. it's not all genitally focused, it's the whole body. >> reporter: over the years cohen green says she's seen more than 950 clients most of them here inside her berkeley, california, home. they're primarily men dealing with everything frommi impotenc to those dealing with physical disabilities. in this oscar winning 1996

documentary, the late author and poet margot brian who suffered from childhood polio recalled visiting her desperate to lose his virginity. >> she kissed me on the chest after we had intercourse. i felt my chest was very unattractive. >> take a deep breath. >> reporter: their story inspired the surrogate, premiering at sundance this week. this is where cohen green talks with clients. she says she talks with them about their bodies and instructs them on how to conquer their sexual hangups. the therapy sessions can include anything from fondling to actual intercourse and range from 6 to 10 sessions, sometimes more. the american psychological association hasn't taken a position on the use of surrogates like cohen green, but some mental health experts think the practice is outrageous. >> you have a person holding themselves out to be an expert or an authority figure engaging in an act that puts another

person in a position of tremendous vulnerability. >> reporter: cohen green says the vulnerability goes both ways. >> this is a very vulnerable session we've had together. i had a mastectomy. i had reconstruction. >> reporter: her husband supports what she does. >> it doesn't bother me. >> reporter: he was a client in 1979 struggling in relationships due to what he calls performance anxiety. >> for me it was life changing. she provided a safe and secure environment where i was able to relax and calm myself, my mind. >> the more comfortable people are in any culture with their sexuality i believe there's less fighting. i believe they are happier people. >> reporter: people she wants to feel as comfortable talking about sex as she does. kareen wynter, cnn, berkeley, california. >> it's an interesting story. you can hear more from sex surrogate cheryl cohen green because our brooke baldwin will talk to her live tomorrow in the "newsroom" 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

eastern. we're getting a lot of responses to today's talk back question. we asked do republicans need someone mean to beat president obama? your responses up next. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there?

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you have been sounding off on the talk back question. carol costello is here with some of your responses. hey, carol, do people want to play nice or do they want the candidates to be mean? >> well, let's see, today's talk

back question, do republicans need someone mean to beat president obama? this from pete, he says no, but they do need someone to intelligently, firmly, and passionately stand up for them. if firm but kind is a political liability for mitt romney, that's a sad state of affairs for american politics. this from stuckey, he says you mean republicans aren't mean already? calling the president names and belittling every chance they get? this from j.m., they don't just need someone mean for the republicans, they need someone mean for the usa. wake up america. and this from henry, if newt is so good, why did he get the boot from his own party? please keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll be back with us in about 15 minutes. >> all right. carol, you're always nice. we like nice here. >> i try. >> all right. 13 million americans are now out of work. others with jobs are looking for a promotion. the competition, as we know, very intense. so doing well in a job interview

could basically make or break your chances of getting hired. felicia taylor is joining us with some tips. some people can be very qualified but just bomb it in the interview. >> you were talking about being nice, the job search isn't always so nice, suzanne, but there are more than 3 million job openings out there, so says the bureau of labor statistics. if you're frustrated because you're getting the silent treatment from a company you have applied to. unfortunately, 90% of job seekers say getting feedback on their applications is making the process of applying quite frustrating. 77% of job seekers think less of a company that doesn't respond to an application naturally. that's from survey by startwire, an internet job search organizer. >> felicia, obviously it's frustrating if you're just waiting around. you have already done that interview. what do you do so you're not

driving yourself crazy waiting for that call back? >> exactly. it can take months to find a job, and on average it takes six months, and in this economy it can take even longer. it can be maddening but career coach carolyn levine advises to be proactive. don't be afraid to ask when you can expect to hear from them. who should you follow up with? if you're upfront about it, they may respect you more for that and you won't just be sitting by the phone. you will have a list of things to do. it's often a waiting game of at least a week or two, but levine says even the best companies have candidates that sometimes fall through the cracks. meaning it takes time. or they need to wait for a key d decisionmaker to come back with salary requirements or how long they can offer a contract and budgets have to be sorted out or they have to finish the roster of interviews. for instance, this is an obvious one, but send a thank you note in the first 24 hours. and, yes, in this day and age

e-mail is fine. it doesn't have to be on painer. then you can wait five business days to follow up with the person who actually interviewed you, and just check in with them and say how is it going? i'm literally just checking in. suzanne? >> within 24 hours, huh? that's quick turnaround. just send it in, right? >> so you're still on their radar. >> that makes sense. felicia, stick around for us because we want to find out how you can actually get the best deal if you have two job offers at the same time. ♪ he was a 21st century global nomad ♪ ♪ home was an airport lounge and an ipad ♪ ♪ made sure his credit score did not go bad ♪ ♪ with a free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ app that he had ♪ downloaded it in the himalayas ♪ ♪ while meditating like a true playa ♪ ♪ now when he's surfing down in chile'a ♪ ♪ he can see when his score is in danger ♪ ♪ if you're a mobile type on the go ♪

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we're back with tips on landing that new job. so if you have asked for the interview process you find yourself with maybe a couple offers. what do you do then? that's always the best scenario,

right, when you can pit one against the other? how do you deal with that? >> absolutely. in this job market if you get two offers, you're really doing well. career coach carol levine says this is a great leveraging strategy. give they specific details on when their deadline is. be aware that the company may not be able to move as fast as you want them to. and they should also tell you that in return. so then you have to make the decision as to how long you're willing to wait and possibly risk losing that offer. so you have to kind of know where your best fit is and which company is really suited for you. but be aware, if you try to stall a company's offer, they're going to suspect you're negotiating elsewhere naturally, and they might feel like they're a second choice. so don't use the strategy unless you really do have a second offer because it could backfire. >> yeah, that is a risky strategy if you don't have two. felicia, thank you very much. great tips. >> no problem, suzanne.

eight days until the next primary in florida, but this race, it is going -- of course, a heck of a lot can happen in eight days. paul steinhauser is joining us from washington. this is pretty amazing, over the weekend, it's all very exciting. you have four candidates but it's starting to feel like it could be a two-man race. how close do we think this is going to come in florida? >> it's getting very close in florida. i would assume -- we haven't seen any brand new polls out of polls out of florida. it's going to show a pretty close contest, suzanne. last week the polls showed that romney was way up. i have a feeling that because of what happened in south carolina, newt gingrich's win there, it's going to be a tighter race. back on january 15th, right after romney won new hampshire, there was a 5% points ahead of

gingrich. look at it now. again, this is nashville, not florida. gingrich's campaign says they raised $1 million. they did a money bomb. they raised $1 million in that 24-hour period and say that 500 people volunteered just in those 24 hours after gingrich's big begin in the south carolina primary. >> money bob? >> money bob. he's stealing from ron paul, i guess. we have another debate on thursday night. and i have a feeling these will be as well. >> a lot could change in a week. mitt romney's now promising to release his tax records tomorrow, right? and he's also digging into some

other things. >> that's right. it's one of the reasons why he did not do so well in south carolina. he wants to go on the offense tomorrow morning he's going to release his tax records, the 2010 records and the estimate for 2011. you're right, he's going on the offense against gingrich over gingrich's time when he was with freddie mac. that's a big story that a lot of people with home foreclosures. take a look at what romney said in tampa this morning. >> i'm calling on speaker gingrich to do two things. release all of the work product and return the funds that he made from freddie mac. i wouldn't have normally suggested that other than he was the one who said that if you made money on this failed model that you ought to return that money. >> it's like we're seeing a much more aggressive mit mitt romney. suzanne?

>> thanks, paul. president obama is getting ready to outline his future. weem we'll lo we'll also look at some of last year's goals. [ male announcer ] the cadillac cts sport sedan was designed with near-perfect weight balance from front to back... and back to front.

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all right. if you want to compare president obama to the republican candidates when it comes to their jobs plans, it all comes down to the role of government. the republican candidates all have different ways of saying essentially the same thing. >> free markets, free enterprise, not top down government control. >> we're going to get rid of a lot of programs, even some we like. we've got to cut back washington. >> they want to police the world and spin us into bankruptcy. >> this is a country that is overspent. it's not undertaxed. >> so basically they all want to limit the role of government by cutting taxes and regulations, slashing federal spending. mitt romney's plan is to try to repeal president obama's signature health care law. then he would knockout the financial regulations that followed the wall street melt down. now, romney would also like to reduce the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%. newt gingrich is in the same camp. he would repeal the health care

law and recent financial regulations. he says the country should move towards an optional tax cut and eliminate the capital gains and inherit taxes. and ron paul takes the most aggressive approach. he wants to return to the gold standard. eliminate the federal reserve and income tax entirely. he also would do away with most federal regulations. rick santorum would specifically scrap taxes for american manufacturers, slash other corporate and individual income taxes to try to spur economic growth. tomorrow night president obama is going to outline his plans for the future in his state of the address. what goals did he set out in last year's speech? i'm going to bring in dan lothian. good to see you. >> reporter: good to see you. >> give us some examples of what

the president promised to do and what he did not do? >> reporter: we decided to highlight a couple of things where the president was not able to get what he wanted. first of all, we heard the president speak about the extension of the tax cuts was not something that the american people could afford. republicans pushed back hard. the president spoke about in that address last year that there needed to be more jobs. he wanted to see jobs created for those who were working on roads and bridges and that it should be fully paid for. we did see much of that vision included in the president's jobs bill sent up to congress and, of course, we saw that that did not go anywhere. on the flip side, there were those trade bills that the president last year talked about how he wanted congress to approve quickly. it was held up. the white house had not sent

those bills up to the hill because they wanted to make sure that they were as strong as possible trade agreements that were sent up there. eventually all three of those agreements for panama, colombia, and south korea were passed, everyone agreeing that it would lead to tens and thousands of jobs. >> what do we expect to hear from the president tomorrow night? >> reporter: the focus will be on economy and job creation. we got a hint of what the president plans to deliver from supporters over the weekend. take a listen. >> we can go in two directions. one is towards less opportunity and less fairness or we can fight for where i think we need to go. building an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few. i'm going to talk about how we'll get there. i'm going to lay out a blueprint for an economy that is built to last. >> that blueprint will focus on a few things. manufacturing, how to get manufacturing out there, energy

sources, education, how to prevent -- rather prepare young people for the jobs of the future and then finally again, middle class values, how to create a system where not just the wealthy can succeed. suzanne? >> all right. we'll all be watching. dan, thank you. watch cnn for the state of the union address tomorrow night. 8:00 p.m. eastern followed by the president's speech at 9:00. top of the hour, i'm suzanne malveaux. i want to get you up to speed. at least two people are killed after severe weather tore across the southeast today. the victims, a 16-year-old girl and 82-year-old man near birmingham, alabama. emergency crews are trying to locate people who may be trapped or injured. several homes are destroyed and

alabama's governor have declared a state of emergency. >> just in the nick of time, the good lord blesses. we lost our house but at least we have -- i'm sorry. we've got our family and that's all that matters right now. four convicted murders pardoned by haley barbour will have their fate decided by a judge. a judge will decide if those who were pardoned and others are actually valid. the state constitution says that pardoned requests have to be published in a newspaper 30 days before being granted. the mississippi general says many of those pardoned did not meet the requirement. florida is the latest stop for the race of the republican nomination. the state's primary just eight days away. earlier this morning, mitt romney held a round table discussion on housing. next hour, rick santorum is going to hold a faith, freedom, and family town hall in lady

lake, florida. and then newt gingrich is in tampa florida. gabrielle giffords is now stepping down from congress. a year ago she was shot in the head while meeting with voters at an arizona shopping center. as one of her last acts in office, she plans to finish that event. she posted this message on her website. >> i have more work to do on my recovery. so to do what is best for arizona, i will step down this week. yemen's embattled leader is now on his way to the united states for medical treatment. he was wounded in june by a bomb attack on his palace. now, his trip here comes just days after yemen knee lawmakers approved a law granting him

immunity from prosecution. in exchange, mr. solai will step down after ruling that country for more than 30 years. egypt's parliament convenes for the first time since hosni mubarak was overthrown last year. now the parliament is dominated by islam mists. the presidential vote is set for june. all right. football playoffs. it came down to the feet. kickers decided the super bowl matchup two different very endings. all right. the joy, new york giants kicker, game over. and the heartache. the baltimore ravens missed a 32-yarder with just 11 seconds to go. so it's going to be new york versus new england in the super bowl. good luck. now our top story.

at least seven al bam may counties are now reporting damage because we are talking about severe storms that blew through. the governor has declared a state of emergency for the entire state. we had a chance to talk to him the previous hour. at least two people were killed in west of birmingham. several other homes are now destroyed. i want to you see this picture. just take a look at the destruction here. you've got a home completely obliterated and right now it's really too early to say even if these were tornadoes. but it is very likely looking at that kind of damage. our reynolds wolf is on the ground. he joins us by phone and he's on his way to one of those towns that was devastated by the storm. reynolds, what are you seeing that took place in that community? >> what we've seen so far, just the image really tells the story. i think when all is said and done, there's an event that was caused by tornadoes rather than straight line winds is the official word but it's amazing.

this is the second deadly possible tornadic event in alabama in less than a year. the last one being in april, just to the west of the birmingham, alabama. tuscaloosa, clay, center point, oak grove, the two fatalities that we know of are a 6-year-old boy who lost his life and a male who lost his life in oak grove. you can imagine structural damage all over the place. widespread power outages across the state. communication is very limited. a lot of telephone lines down. a lot of cell towers have been damaged also. so communication is very difficult to spread across these communities. family members are having a very difficult time getting in touch with each other. the jefferson county schools closed near birmingham. many side streets and some of the cell phone polls.

there have been a lot of injuries. the sheriff department has if he noticed at least 100 injuries. and i would not be surprised to see that number go up as we make it through the afternoon. >> i want to bring in chad. he's here and has been monitoring the situation from our studios. chad, do you want to weigh in here? >> reynolds, we know about the fatalities already but are you still seeing rescues happen, still seeing firefighters trying to break into literally half obliterated homes? are they still trying to find missing people? >> absolutely. because we have to remember in this part of the state, it's very heavily wooded. i have to say this coming from a guy in the state of alabama. if you're in montgomery or southern half of the state, things flatten out a bit. it's like a rolling prairie. in this part of alabama, you have heavily wooded airs.

because of strong woods that came through, a lot of roads are blocked and homes received structural damage. chad, there are going to be people trying to find possible people trapped, survivors, of course, and of course there's always the grim reality that you might find more fatalities, which is certainly the last thing that any of us want to have happen. >> you covered the f-4 and f-5 tornadoes last year. is this anything like it or is this a different situation? >> this is kind of a microscale. situation. if you look block to block, it sort of resembles it but if you compare it to the damage that we saw in tuscaloosa last year, that was just incomprehensible. this is certainly bad but in terms of the whole scope of damage, i would say it's a different category. not quite as bad. but, again, you can't put a price on the lives lost. no question. two now. we hope the number doesn't rise, chad. >> be careful. there are boards that are nails.

the people out there trying to find loved ones. there is just stuff scattered everywhere that can hurt more people after the storm than during the storm. i've been there and there's just stuff laying over there and it could hurt you. be careful if you're in alabama trying to recover from this. that's the one that is at center point. a couple went south of birmingham. still one more storm that went through phoenix city, alabama. right now, this whole thing is over. it was an event for arkansas on saturday, parts of mississippi, it's just a rain event. it's over. suzanne? >> chad, thank you. >> you're welcome. tonight, your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. nobody said you have to be polite in politics. candidates step into the presidential reats. they have to be ready to be attacked from all sides. do voters want somebody who is downright mean? carol costello is joining us from washington. carol, i remember 2008, the

gloves came off between hillary clinton, barack obama, and the race was on. that was south carolina. is that what folks want? >> i don't know. that's the question we're asking this afternoon, suzanne. if you're wondering why mitt romney and don't, it's simple. as one south carolina voter told the washington post, i think we've reached a point where we need someone who's mean. another south carolina voter put it this way. i have a little bit of a problem with the divorces but i need somebody to beat obama. i like romney. he's decent and moral but i just don't see him beating obama. many thing that gingrich struck just the right tone when john king asked the former speaker about marriage. >> i think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office, and i

am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that. >> and some voters cheered the way gingrich talked when he talked of beating obama. >> i don't want to bloody his nose. i want to knock him out. okay? [ applause ] >> redstate.com, a conservative blog, says voters feel that gingrich works on another front, too. south carolina's vote is about the republican grassroots, giving the washington republican establishment a finger. the base is angry and right now only newt is left to fight for them, as imperfect as is he. is romney not mean enough to put up a good fight? the govern thinks so because he sounds a lot more passionate when he talks about newt gingrich.

>> he's gone from pillar to post, like a pinball machine, from item to item, which is highly erratic, which does not reflect a stable course which is normally associated with leadership. >> it doesn't have the same zing, does it? do republicans need someone mean to beat obama? go to facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your responses later this hour. >> not mean. passion. right? >> depends on your perspective, i guess. >> all right. thanks, carol. here's a look at the stories we're covering over the next hour. first, the pivotal primary in florida and the research that could lead to healing blindness in seniors. and seal and heidi klum

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florida is the hot spot. does mitt romney have enough sizzle to remain his front-runner status? he's hoping for a comeback after losing to newt gingrich in south carolina. joining us to talk about the race, david gergen. great to see you. it was an exciting weekend. it was interesting to watch. we now have three different winners of the first three republican contests. that's pretty rare. what does this say about the

state of the party and then we'll follow up with where we're going in this race. >> i think right now, suzanne, it says that this is a very, very fluid race in which attachments seem to be lightly held. you know, we've had so many people go up and down, voters go from one candidate and then leave and go to another. we saw that in south carolina, where mitt romney was some 20 points ahead by some polls, certainly 15 points ahead the week before the election and then lost by 12. that's a huge swing among voters over the course of a week. we just don't see that in politics very often. what it means is, people are sort of leaning towards a candidate but they are not as devout or enthusiastic as they might be. >> and, david -- >> that raises question for the fall. >> what does that mean in terms of the upcoming florida primary? does it put more weight on what happens in florida or does it suggest that we are going all the way to super tuesday in

terms of how this is going to shake out? >> it depends on who wins there. if mitt romney were to lose florida, that would be taking a whole blow to the waterline on his campaign. i'm not sure that he would sink but he would take on a lot of water and there would be calls for him, private calls for him to step aside and the establishment quote such as it is, also worry about gingrich as a potential nominee. if romney were to win, he's not going to knockout newt gingrich. that means we're going to have a long race in which romney can grind it out and potentially put it away by super tuesday, by march. >> okay. >> but it doesn't -- it matters as to which one wins. >> let's put this into a historical practice. you've dealt with these guys, many, many years, many campaigns. which group do you think mitt

romney falls into? al gore, john kerry category or perhaps newt gingrich category, bringing pag and perhaps messier. >> there's no question that gingrich is much more like bill clinton. they are both can be mesmerized and bill clinton was the better politician as he showed when he went against newt. one was president, newt was speaker and the other part of it s. the bigger mystery here is mitt romney. and that is, he seemed to be cruising towards the nomination and organization. he still has the money and organization but does he have the dna? does he have it within him? can he reach down in his gut and in effect reach people emotionally? he has not been able to do that. he's much more like the ceo

manager who fixes problems but is not the leader who mobilizes and inspires people. >> all right. well, david, we're going to have to leave it there. >> okay. >> we're going to have to see what his dna is made up of in the last days and weeks and perhaps months ahead. >> okay. >> thank you. syrian activists uploaded this video showing security forces attacking protesters over the weekend. now, there has been no let-up in the violence despite the presence of arab league. arwa is joining us from damascus. you've just come back from the city of homms which is at the center of this. >> it's pretty intense, suzanne. it's the em pi center of the

ongoing clashes and you really feel it. this was once a thriving metropolis. the largest city. now shops are closed, no electricity, trash piled on the streets. we were in the center of the city in one deprom nantly christian neighborhood that was the only area that our government escort thought it was safe enough for us to be in. while we were there, we could hear gunfire, automatic machine gunfire echoing down the alleyways and this has become the norm for everybody. they hardly flinch when they hear this but at the same time they are confined to this one area because they say the clashes are happening just all around them. >> so -- >> and people standing in front of their shop saying that this is perfectly normal. >> what happened here with the

arab league? they are there to help the syrians feel safe? did they fail here? >> well, the opposition certainly make them feel like they failed because they hoped to bring an end to the violence. those who support the government are infuriated with the arab league because they feel they are trying to take over some vendetta that it has had against t the arab league says, look, our mission wasn't to end the violence. it was to make sure that the syrian government adheres to the protocol that was agreed on and that involves removing political prisoners, stopping attacks on civilians, allowing free access to the media and the arab league says that it's improved but has not adhered to this initiative. there's a lot of frustration because most people we are talking to say the arab league

can't provide us solution. the international community is incapable of providing solution and they are the ones who go through all of this. >> arwa damon, please be safe. promising new stem cell research and how it could actually reverse blindness.

all right. this sounds pretty amazing. the medical journal is now reporting that stem cells could one day be used to reverse blindness. i'm going to bring in elizabeth cohen to explain this. >> this is a landmark medical study and i don't say that that

often. these are cells that you take out of an embryo and treat them and can be used to treat people who are sick and there's been a theory that these cells would be great but this is the first time that we're getting a report that they actually helped people. >> wow. give us an example. >> these two women, small study, teeny tiny, two people who were blind, two women, and they made these stem cells into retinal cells, shot them into their cells and they were able to see better after the surgery. they didn't go from blind to being fully sighted but they were able to see one woman who had furniture in her bedroom and looked one day and said, oh, my goodness, i can see the carving. they couldn't see that for years. another woman saw her granddaughter and said, you've changed the color of your hair. she didn't realize that. >> the same woman who was walking through her house and

she saw these scuff marks on her wall and she's like, we've got to clean this up and he said, i don't like this surgery. it's giving me a to-do list. it's very exciting. very preliminary. it's two people. but the fact that they saw improvements is very exciting. >> and where do they come from? >> they come from a couple. we don't know their name. they made embryos in a lab to do ivf. they had all of the children they wanted but left over embryos and donated one of them for this work. now, in the process of ex trabling the stem cell, they destroyed the embryo. so groups against abortion, they don't like this. because he destroyed an embryo and that's destroying life. in the future, you may be able to get the cells out without doing that. >> could there be other developments, illnesses, or

diseases that are cured? >> yes. because they are a blank slate and depending on what you do with them, you can make them into retinal cells, spinal cord cells and the hope is that you could help save paralyzed people. help them walk again. christopher read in the last few years of his life devoted himself to this cause. >> that's amazing. they can see. >> they are not fully but you can see it. and then in the eye charts they can measure it. this woman been surgery, they said, how many fingers are we holding up, she couldn't tell. after the surgery, she could tell. >> that's awesome. >> thanks. that's a huge breakthrough. our affiliates in lubbock, texas, fierce winds nouking down telephone polls and ripping trees right out of the grournd. take a look at those pictures. that's a dust storm stirred up that lasted for five hours yesterday. now today folks there are adding

up the cost of the damage, trying to figure it all out. california now, an amazing rescue. apparently a paramedic leans from a helicopter, stretches out his hand to save a 19-year-old woman who is trapped on a cliff. just look at this. the drop below her into the canyon, that is 100 feet. she got stuck while hiking. today she is fine. no injuries. unbelievable. in washington state, a mudslide wrecks the calm of a suburban neighborhood. three homes there damaged and another was evacuated. the mud is covering half of a busy road which is now closed indefinitely. so i want to talk money and prepaid debit cards before you get one, better read the fine print. this is the smart is new rich report. christine romans tells us what you need to know before you sign up. >> the concept of a prepaid

debit card is simple. add cash and avoids the spending and debt. here's the bottom line. be wary. they are useful only if you're trying to stick to a budget or want to give it instead of a credit card to your college-bound kids. there's a long list of fees in fine print that could end up costing you too much. you could be charged for just checking your balance. there are often fewer protections. listen to how "time" magazine boils it down. consumers who use debit cards are relegated to an underclass that presents them from obtaining or borrowing credit on the best terms. ouch. there are alternatives and getting into the banking system will help your credit. use a debit card from your credit union. look for a credit union first or a low-fee bank. if your debt is a problem, get it under control. talk to a nonprofit credit

counselor. head to the national foundation cite to find one near you. for the smart is a new rich, i'm christine romance. she's an inspiration and now gabrielle giffords says it's time to step down to focus on her recovery. in america, we believe in a future that is better than today. since894, ameripe cial has been working hard for their clients' futures. never taking a bailout. helping generations achieve dreams. buy homes. put their kids through college. retire how they want to. ameriprise. the strength of america's largest financial planning company. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you, one-to-one. together, for your future. ♪

here's a rundown of sm of the stories we're working on. gabrielle giffords is going to resign from congress. then, flags fly half-staff to honor joe paterno.

but some have mixed feelings about his legacy. and later, tracy morgan collapses at the sundance film festival. after a year of defying the odds, fighting back from a gunshot wound to the head, congresswoman gabrielle giffords says it is now time to step down. >> i don't remember much from that horrible day but i will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. >> that is so touching. giffords plans to step down later this week but not before returning to the arizona shopping center where she was shot. she wants to finish that meeting with voters that began there a year ago. i want to bring in our dana bash. dana, when you take a look at

her message, i mean, you can't help but be moved and be touched by this. she is such a courageous person and to look at her recovery, you spoke to two of her closest friends on the hill today and what have they told you? >> that's right, kristin gillibrand who worked with congresswoman giffords in the house, they both said that they have been in touch with her, with mark kelly, gabby giffords husband and certainly this was a difficult decision but something that she felt she had to do and it came into focus for her that she wanted to step down and focus full-time on her recovery. when she went back on january 8th for the year anniversary, she realized how hard it is for her to do the job that she needs to do. congressman was ser man-schultz says that it's more likely to be years than months but has every

plan to return some day. >> was that difficult for her friends to talk to you about this? >> they said it was. debbie wasserman said that this is classic gab gee. she does everybody 150%. she couldn't simply do both of these 150%. before she steps down she wanted to go back and finish what she started on that fateful day, january 8th, that congress on the corner event at that shopping center. she already has done that, and we showed it. maybe we can put it up again. she went and had a private meeting -- not a public meeting but a private meeting with some of the people who were there so she could finish the discussion with them. >> do we have a sense of how painful that is for her, to go back, those kinds of memories and to reexperience income that place? >> it must be incredibly difficult. you know, you heard the congresswoman in that video talk about the fact that she really doesn't remember much from that day at all and by all accounts,

from talking to her friends on capitol hill, that is the case. that she really has very little memory of it. as her memory comes back, as she recovers, i mean, maybe it's ironic, the more she progresses, the more she realizes what went on and how more difficult it it's going to be for her and the months and years to come to get back to where she was. but there's no question, look, this is -- suzanne, as you well know, because you've worked in washington for a very long time, this is a very partisan and biting town but for even republicans who want to get her congressional seat, they simply do not want this to happen this way. there is an outpouring of sentiment and sympathy and really love for gab gee give fords, especially as she made this announcement. >> dana bash, thank you. a former penn state head coach joe paterno has passed and now students and alumni are

talking about how he's going to be remembered after his handling of the child sex abuse scandal involving his long time assistant.

grief, tears, and regrets at penn state. former head coach joe paterno died yesterday from lung cancer at age 85. public viewings are going to begin on campus at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. now a debate over how he will be remembered begins. his handling of the child rape allegations by long-time assistant jerry sandusky could take his legendary career. susan candiotti has the story. >> reporter: in the shadow of joe paterno's statute, students sang the ala mater.

>> joe was penn state. he made penn state. and it's really -- it's just a very sad, sad day for all of us. >> reporter: in the end, the winningest coach in football lost his life to lung cancer. he was 85. he died as he lived, his family said in a statement. he fought hard until the end. the end came 2 1/2 months after he was fired as head coach in the wake of the penn state sex abuse scandal. sparking outrage on campus. paterno was not criminally charged in the child rape case involving his former assistant coach jerry sandusky but he acknowledged he could have done more to bring the allegations to light in 2002. in what turned out to be his final interview, published by the washington post just over a week ago, he tried to explain his thinking. >> i had never had to deal with something like that. and i didn't feel adequate. i've had a wonderful experience

here at pen state. i don't want to walk away from this thing bitter. >> reporter: still, some question whether paterno and the university tried to cover up the sex abuse allegations. paterno fans stand by him. >> we're still going to love him no matter what anybody else said. it wasn't joe's fault. we're still going to love joe paterno forever and ever. >> yeah. >> period. >> reporter: yet, for some, his loss could be more painful because of questions that may taint his legacy. >> so, susan is on the penn state campus. susan, what is this going to mean for the ongoing investigation? >> reporter: well, suzanne, that's certainly being debated right now because imagine now we no longer have the possible dramatic testimony. imagine what it would have been like to have joe paterno testify at a criminal trial. that obviously won't happen. the pennsylvania attorney

general's office won't talk about this right now but other legal experts say they certainly cannot introduce his grand jury testimony anymore because you can't cross-examine who isn't there. but, remember, mike mcqueary is the key witness for the prosecution in this particular case and not only did he say that he told joe paterno about what happened in 2002, about a boy allegedly being raped in a locker room back at that time here at penn state, but he also said he told two other penn state officials. so he certainly could testify and will still testify in that case. so it might not have a major impact on the criminal case but we'll have to see what happens. >> all right. susan candiotti, thank you, susan. a power couple calling it quits. a super model and soulful singer. heidi klum and seal now saying they have grown apart. on my jou,

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comedian tracy morgan is rushed to the hospital after collapsing at the sundance film festival. a.j. hammer is with us from new york. a.j., what happened? >> suzanne, what we know is morgan collapsed at an award ceremony at the sundance film festival before being taken to the hospital. we've got ireport footage of tracy on the red carpet as he was entering the ceremony on sunday night. he seems a bit subdued, from what i can tell from this video.

there's usually a party going on and people following him. he seemed to be with it. obviously something went wrong a short time later and off to the hospital he went. right now there is nothing being released about his condition. >> and this was something that got our attention in the morning meeting. heidi klum and seal breaking it off? a lot of people were surprised by that. >> yeah, you can count me among those surprised. these two seemed very much in love. they were always gushing about the other. they were married back in 2005. every year they would celebrate their anniversary by renewing their wedding vows and also seemed to be showing each other affection in public. they both released identical statements to "showbiz tonight." while we have enjoyed seven very loving, loyal, and happy years

of marriage, after much soul-searching we have decided to separate. we have had the deepest respect for one another throughout our relationship and continue to love each other very much, but we have grown apart. obviously it's always said to see this happen, particularly when there are kids involved. they have three kids. heidi has a daughter from a previous relationship. suzanne, whenever a celebrity couple breaks up, everybody is speculating about what happened. did somebody cheat. that's why they were quick to include the language, we have enjoyed seven very loving and loyal years of marriage. hopefully those rumors do not follow them around yet. >> they do. they have beautiful kids. it's a shame. all right. thank you. want information, everything breaking in the entertainment world, a.j.'s got it on the evening "showbiz tonight" on hln. we're getting a lot of responses to today's "talk back"

question. do republicans need someone mean to beat president obama? jeff says, mean is exactly what we don't need. how about civility and intelligent discourse based on facts. carol is back with more of your responses.

all right. you've been sounding off on our "talk back" question. hi, carol. >> hi, suzanne. got a pretty good response. do republicans need someone mean to beat president obama? david says, actually they need someone that makes sense and a party that makes no sense to bring him back and rewrite that history. this from rick, he says, it's worked so far.

this has been the tactic so far in congress. it has proved to work and they are getting good at it. this from mark, the republican party doesn't need someone mean. they need someone honest who represents himself with integrity. obama is a very charismatic president. and wally says, newt is not mean. he's straight to the point. i guess some people can't see the difference anymore. and this from phillip, yes, but here's what i don't understand. newt gingrich said he wanted to run a positive campaign. why can't everyone just get along? that's what i don't understand. why can't everyone just say cue bias and get along. >> mean-free zone, right? >> i think mean is a synonym for politics. >> ouch. so, carol, i want you to stick around. you've got to stick around for this. this is our guilty pleasure. i don't know if you're a fan of big rides and amusement parks.

are you a fan of those stuff? >> oh, yeah. >> you've got to check out these two. what this ride is like for him. check this out. >> i'm going to be back in afghanistan doing this. >> here we go. here we go. here we go. >> carol, this is crazy. i mean, the poor guy. >> i think if they are more afraid of that ride than they are of combat, i want to ride that ride because it must be quite the thrill. >> i think everybody can relate to that.

our team went out to six flags and everybody was just screaming like that marine. >> it makes the ride more fun when you scream. >> it was unbelievable. all the best to those guys. they are brave but i don't know if they can handle that too well. >> all right. see you carol. >> political newcomers are facing a fundraising reality. they spend most of their time trying to bring in cash. we'll take an in-depth look at the high cost, what it takes to run for office. first, we have a question for you. a little bit of trivia. when is the last time that three presidential candidates won the iowa caucuses? the new hampshire primary and the south carolina primary? that answer in just a moment. but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund

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all right. so did you get it right? the answer, 1980. republican presidential candidates and the pact that support them are spending millions of dollars on ads but even candidates for congress are learning how much it costs to get elected these days. atheen na jones spoke with two up and coming political running for office. >> reporter: at his virginia farmhouse, first-time candidate john douglas is dialing for

dollars. >> i know you kicked in another $250 at the end of the year. >> reporter: democrats elected him to try to defeat wolf who has been there for 32 years. the retired general knows it's an up hill battle. >> it is a real challenge to be a challenger. it is not a trivial thing to do. >> reporter: the thing he needs most is money. >> you spend how much of your time raising money? >> about 75% of the time. >> reporter: he's made 9,000 calls since may and has raised about $1 million. he hopes to bring in more. >> how many miamles do you thin i've put on? >> reporter: i don't know. >> 50,000 miles. >> reporter: there's no question fundraising is king.

in the last election, candidates spent about $1.4 million to get here, according to the center of politics. that's 70% more than a decade ago. >> my big issue. >> i'm running for u.s. congress. >> reporter: we caught up with him at a breakfast hosted by the u.s. chamber of commerce. >> would you be willing to have a fundraising for me? that would be great. >> reporter: he will be running against jerry connolly. >> once again, this was very carefully considered with my wife. we put in a big chunk of money ourselves in this campaign. >> reporter: you did? >> yeah. >> so you are partly financing? >> yes. >> it's not nearly enough to win but it's enough to get started. >> reporter: that big chunk? $100,000 from his 401(k).